Please note: Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery is not part of the Annual Tourism Passport Challenge
Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery: Store Feature
What do you do when life gives you lemons? You make lemonade. What happened when a successful pastry chef finds herself diagnosed with a gluten intolerance? She made Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery.
Owner Tracy Kadonoff studied as a pastry chef internationally and worked successfully in Vancouver for nearly 20 years before opening Lemonade — a small bakery creating big flavour in the heart of the Cambie Village, near 18th Ave. Despite just having celebrated their first birthday in August, they have already won GFreek.com’s “Best Gluten Free Bakery in Vancouver” award for 2013.
Now, this bakery is not just for those who need to avoid gluten; their products are impressive by every standard. They take pride in providing quality products and use all natural and non-GMO ingredients, no preservatives or additives here. They even make their own flour blends which they sell for home use as well.
If you look on their website, the product information page lets you know which of their products contain oats, soy, or corn as well as what products are dairy free, vegan, or sugar free. Dietary restrictions are gaining visibility these days, and this kind of ingredient transparency can be very reassuring when trying to determine if a product falls within your dietary parameters.
They are also very active on facebook and twitter, updating with seasonal offerings, events, and delicious photos. But the digital experience won’t tell you everything you need to know about Lemonade, there are many more products in-store such as homemade jams, and gluten-free hamburger and hotdog buns.
Because I work in the neighborhood, I stopped by last year when they first opened to buy some cookies on my lunch break. I was very impressed by the flavors and especially the texture since that is typically the most noticeable difference in gluten-free baking. I’ve been back since then, mostly getting their lovely scones or cookies, but in preparation for this piece I decided I needed to branch out a bit and do some research. Very tasty research.
The first thing I had was the lemon meringue tart, and it was perfect; the meringue was impeccable and the flavours were well balanced, not too sweet. Now I’m a sucker for coconut, so despite already choosing something with lemon in it, I had to try the coconut lemon mousse cake. From the fluffy cake layers to the creamy mousse to the coconut and candied lemon pieces on top, it was everything I had hoped. The last stop on my dessert-filled tour was the raspberry passion tart, which is only available in the summer. The whole thing was fresh and light with a golden crust, but when I took a bite with one of the fresh raspberries on top it was pure bliss.
After all the sweets, I also had one of their savory olive rosemary rolls. The texture was not what I expected at all; it was way better. The outside was nice and firm and the roll pulled apart much like a gluten-based bread would, which is a huge deal for gluten free bread.
Texture is what makes or breaks gluten free baking, and why it is so rare to find gluten free baking executed so well. That is what makes this bakery so great: it’s not just a good gluten free bakery, it’s a good bakery period.
Danniele Livengood
Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery
Address: 3385 Cambie St, Vancouver
Phone: 604-873-9993
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 9-6, Sunday 10-5, Closed Mondays
Website: LemonadeBakery.ca
Twitter: @LemonadeGFBaker
Facebook: facebook.com/LemonadeBakery
