O Gluten! My Gluten!
Our fearful trip is done.
Right around this time two years ago, I received devastating news. It was a message from my body to my body. It said, “Dearest body—get wrecked,” and boy howdy, my body got wrecked. To make a long tragedy a short tragedy, I realized that foods with gluten in them were ruining my existence. Come to find out, I spent too much time doubting a witch’s curse, which resulted in me getting Celiac Disease – long story for a different bus stop.
So, what’s the big deal and why are we here today? Because I love food, food that traditionally contains gluten. My body hates gluten. My body sees gluten walking around in its neighborhood, hops off the porch, and says “You’re mean and I’m here to fight you” which is a false assumption a Celiac gut loves to make. It’s tough breaking up with gluten, it’s like a once great relationship that you swore you would never give up, until one day it frames you for a federal crime and you just HAVE to step away.
Giving up gluten is tough; it legitimately is and it brings me genuine upset on some days. It makes life really inconvenient. You have to ask waiters questions that they don’t know the answer to, but they don’t want to screw up. You have to sit down at Thanksgiving, staring at the wall as you drown out the blissful conversation of your family, who enjoy stuffing, rolls, macaroni and cheese, and Aunt Kathy’s god-awful stories. You sit there vacant. Joy leaves. Hope leaves. The dopamine floods from sweet treats and slithers out the door, too.
It doesn’t have to though. Newnan offers something exceptionally rare and we’re here to discuss that today. No, it’s not Alan Jackson’s supple mustache, it’s something much greater, and that is Bootin’ the Gluten Bakery and Food Truck!
So, what is Bootin’ the Gluten beyond a fantastic name and a delicious-looking mascot? They are a local, small business that is a true beacon of hope for many. Bootin’ the Gluten’s motto is “All Sweet No Wheat,” and as sure as the sky is blue, that motto is true. I had the opportunity to sit down with the founders, Elizabeth Reed and her husband, Damon who dove into the story of what and why behind Bootin’ the Gluten. These two lovebirds met at the gluten hellscape that is Olive Garden and moved to Newnan from Decatur, Illinois in 2021. Shortly after their move, the initial seeds for Bootin’ the Gluten were planted.
MVR: How did Bootin’ the Gluten come about?
ELIZABETH: We moved here early May and my birthday is May 8th and I did not want to bake my own cake because we were in an AirBnB and I told [Damon], “I just want a gluten free birthday cake, that’s all I want” and we couldn’t find anything here. I was really shocked, with it being such a big town, you would think they would have gluten free options. So, I did not get a birthday cake and [Damon] just jokingly was like, “you know, you’re not happy where you’re at, why don’t you just start a gluten free bakery?” So, we did research – found out about cottage law, had to get a license, had to get everything and got it in order September 16th, 2021.
MVR: What was the first then you made that you felt could be worthy of selling?
ELIZABETH: The zucchini bread, it’s my grandma’s recipe and it’s literally on this torn up, brown, vanilla soiled recipe card and she actually submitted it to the newspaper back in ’96 to win awards, because everyone always raved about it.
MVR: You recently bought a food truck, how did this idea come about?
ELIZABETH: I wanted a food truck since I went to culinary school. I just thought it would be so cool. I love to cook. I don’t cook as much as I used to, I feel like I’m always baking. I’ve worked in restaurants since I was 16, I love to cook and now I’m happy to turn things gluten free. People don’t understand, you literally have to read the back of your salt. We actually got a Blackstone last year so that we could come up with more things to cook.
MVR: The name, Bootin’ the Gluten, it’s catchy, it feels nice rolling off the tongue – was it the only name you thought about or did you bounce around other names?
ELIZABETH: The name actually came because we asked on Facebook and a lady from our church back home came up with it, I told her she has free baked goods for life, but she’s never cashed in on it. I want to make sure when people see my name, they know what it is. I want to make sure that people know what my bakery is.
MVR: Have you thought about the menu for the food truck?
ELIZABETH: We have 3 for sures, definitely funnel cakes and fried Oreos. Those both are dairy free, we bought two fryers, one is dairy free and one is regular. Cheese curds for sure, that’s something I’ve really missed. Other than that, we have been bouncing so many things around, people have been begging me for corn dogs. So, that is something we’re going to play around with, I just had some cornmeal shipped to me, so that’s the next thing to try. Our idea really is to have a rotating menu, so we’re not always offering the same things. I thought I should just get going with a simple 5-6 thing menu. After a few months, we’re going to do a rotating menu, that if we go to a morning event, we’ll do breakfast burritos and gluten free hashbrowns. Then if we do an afternoon event, we’ll do more of the fair foods. I feel like the world is my oyster right now. One thing I really want to do is a loaded mac n cheese.
MVR: You’ve done several charity drives, taking proceeds and donating it to a cause or organization. How did that start?
ELIZABETH: When we parted ways with Heirloom [Donuts] right before Christmas, it was a really hard decision for us. We were just like, what do we do? Again, back to do we throw in the towel, we’ve had a good run, like what do we do? I kept praying about it – I wanted to do something good. My mom told me about that she had heard that the food banks were empty, and I was like, that is awful, can you imagine needing food for Christmas and going to the foodbank and can’t get food? We met the people for the foodbank in Senoia and we donated so many pounds of food, it went really well and it was super exciting. We didn’t think it was going to go that well, I was really excited. I was a teen mom at 17 when I had my son and then graduated high school. Our church partners with the Coweta Pregnancy Center and it was just automatic, I wanted to do that one next. That one raised $540, I was in tears, I was so happy. We dropped off so many diapers and wipes, we love seeing people just want to participate. It’s not just about the cupcakes, it is bigger than cupcakes.
MVR: What keeps you guys excited about the future of the business?
ELIZABETH: I would like for Damon to be able to quit his job and do this full-time with me and do the food truck – having weekends where we’re traveling and doing this in other cities. A special place in my heart has been the kids that I’ve met. It breaks my heart to hear so many parents say their kid hasn’t had a birthday cake in years or a donut in years, and that’s what gives us this passion. For [Damon] to be home more and do this full time and we could have our kids with us to travel, that would be amazing. That’s the dream; that’s the goal.
MVR: What’s something you wish the general population knew about gluten allergies?
ELIZABETH: Just how serious it is. I did days of research on Celiac, wheat allergies and the effect gluten has on our bodies when it comes to eczema, inflammation, arthritis, all of that, I mean I was just blown away. I knew with Celiac that you would get super sick, but knowing it does physical damage to your body, a lot of people don’t understand that. It’s a very serious thing, especially in restaurants. I feel there should be so much more training involved.
MVR: Is there anything you want to announce or shout out?
DAMON: We just want to continue to say thank you to all the people who not only follow our page but come out and show support – to those who come out to show support at the Senoia’s Farmers Market or wherever we are.
LIZABETH: Just thank you – this was all word of mouth. Back in May, we had three Auburn graduation cakes, which is crazy people in Auburn are talking about us. That means a lot to me. I won’t sell something if it doesn’t taste good to me. If I’m not happy with it, I don’t want you to pay me money for it. I’m very particular about what goes out of my kitchen.
MVR: Do you guys consider yourselves dessert dealers?
ELIZABETH: Gluten free dessert dealers? I’ll take that.
Getting to sit down with Elizabeth and Damon was a real treat, which is a real pun. They love the community and support they’ve received and are making serious strides in their business and their effect around them. They are a powerhouse couple with a truly fantastic mission that deserves every ounce of support and adoration possible. You can find them at https://www.facebook.com/bootinthegluten and be sure to meet them at a farmers market or wherever the future food truck will be!
Newnan Time with Harold 