Baked with love at Frankie's

When I think of baking, my mind conjures up a kitchen permeating the irresistible smell of fresh bread hot from the oven, or announcing the sweet arrival of warm cookies, without words. These comfort foods speak of home; of complacency; of a mom affirming that special kind of love for her family through the language of baking.

One such mom, Donna van Veghel-Wood, has spent most of her life in the kitchen, creating, inventing, and mastering that special kind of food love, but with a particular purpose. Having discovered from infancy, several decades ago, that her first child had a severe intolerance to gluten, a condition known as Celiac disease, Donna was faced with having to reformulate food preparation. Not taking any chances, she raised her subsequent children on the same gluten-free diet, while learning to navigate the world of food with a new compass.

In 2008, Donna, a trained chef, opened her long-awaited dream restaurant, Frankie’s Ristorante, in Uxbridge, serving up an exclusive wheat, gluten, and nut-free Mediterranean menu. Celiacs from near and far continue to savour Frankie’s liberal, unrestrictive menu, evoking emotional responses from many of their elated customers, something that keeps Donna inspired and committed. To see people shed tears over being able to eat taboo foods without consequence is unimaginable for those of us who don’t give it a second thought. But Donna understands it all too well.

As an added convenience to her customers, Donna prepared gluten-free breads and custom baked goods that patrons could pick up from the restaurant. But as the demand rose, so did the realization that she was out-growing the existing kitchen, and that an expansion was imminent.

Last fall, Donna found a suitable location just a few blocks from the restaurant, and despite the busy season, she and her husband, Frank, remodeled it for their new bakery: Baked at Frankie’s, which opened its doors earlier this year, in time for Valentine’s Day.

The new bright and open space features a tempting dessert case lined with tantalizing goodies of every description. Chocolate Raspberry Cakes, Fruit Tartes, Cookies, Brownies, Muffins, Butter Tarts, Sticky Toffee Puddings in returnable ramekin dishes, Sticky Bits, and other sweet treats all vie for consideration.
The baker’s rack features a selection of fresh buns and baguettes ranging from: caraway sunflower, cheese, multi-seed, black olive, classic, garlic cheese, and even Donna’s version of pumpernickel – a bread so closely resembling its rye counterpart, it drew tears of delight from one appreciative customer.

Without the elasticity of gluten to give rise to breads, the challenge to produce replicated baked goods is great. Batter is much more challenging to handle, humidity affects results, and different combinations of flours, including: corn, rice, and tapioca, some of the common choices, must be adjusted for different items. As a tradeoff, however, no kneading or proofing is required, a convenient time saver.

Although a limited range of gluten-free baked goods can be found in grocery freezers, it is indeed a rarity to find such a variety of fresh items of comparable or superior flavour to traditional baking. One can even custom order gluten-free and diabetic birthday cakes, or other special requests, with a few days notice.

The same delicious pastas served at Frankie`s Ristorante can be purchased in convenient packages for you to make at home, as can several of their popular dessert items: Sticky Toffee Pudding, Carrot Cake (also good with bananas), and Chocolate Cake. Flour blends for making your own recipes, along with gluten-free baking powder (free of contaminants from packagers that also handle wheat products) will meet your specific baking needs.

Freshly packaged ‘Sunshine Chips’ are prepared from their selection of bread recipes, hand-formed in slender loaves that are thinly sliced after baking, and then brushed with olive oil, dashed with salt, and baked again until crisp. Another favourite, Frankie’s savoury Bits & Bites, are packaged for easy snacking, also made fresh on site. Try their seasoned gluten-free croutons to upgrade a simple salad.

Coming soon, to augment the bakery selection, are complementary gluten-free choices including: Canadian artisan cheeses, and a collection of: Tapenade, Lemon Hummus, Tzatziki, and Bruschetta - all quick picks to go. Frankie’s bakery will also be hosting cooking classes with imported instructors teaching everything from chocolate making to cake decorating. Check the website for these and other on-line purchases, including baked goods
and supplies.

Donna smiles when she recounts stories of people without food sensitivities who comment that, not only is gluten-free delicious, some find it superior. (I concur – try those brownies!) One of Frankie’s customers, Joyce, couldn’t help but offer her opinion during our interview: “I just like their food because it’s good for you and not full of chemicals.” She discovered gluten-free fare after winning a gift certificate to Frankie’s Ristorante, and has been a fan ever since.
As much as this pleases Donna, it is the celiac customers that move and motivate her, despite the unrelenting hours and uncompromising workload.

“I just want to stress the dedication to gluten-free baking and our commitment to Celiacs. That is what is important. That is what keeps me going. As you can see, this is a big job coupled with the restaurant, but as long as we reach as many Celiacs as possible, I have the motivation to keep going,” Donna interjects. “The bakery grew out of a need for more space in the prep kitchen at the restaurant. This bigger space allows me to experiment with more choices in baking and therefore, more choices for our Celiacs. As in the restaurant, it would be my wish to reach as many Celiacs as possible. We make a good product, very similar to regular baking and cooking, and Celiacs deserve to eat as well as the rest of us.”
Sounds to me like the voice of a compassionate mother, one who bakes with integrity, purpose, and love – not just for her family, but for yours too.

Baked at Frankie’s
64 Brock St. W.
Uxbridge, ON
905 852 1777
www.frankiesristorante.ca