Ep 139 Innovation from Queen Street Bakery
Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –
On this episode I speak with Giovanni Angelucci, founder of Queen Street Bakery, a recent addition to the world of gluten free breads. The breads are available across Canada in many of the major stores. Queen Street Bakery was started with a mission to make healthier, good tasting, moist breads. The nutritional labels tell a unique story of low fat, minimal sugar and lots of fibre. The ingredients show some thinking out of the box with charcoal, grape skin flour and chicory root. They even have a black bread and black pizza dough.
Giovanni was kind enough to send a sample box to one of the co-hosts of my Gluten Free Weigh In Podcast, Carla, who shared a review with us. Carla, who was inspired to use the breads in different ways, really enjoyed the different tastes, health benefits and fresh texture.
You can find Queen Street bakery online at –
They also have a very useful store locator at –
You can find Carla on the Gluten Free Weigh In Podcast and on Instagram at
Celiac_in_the_Suburbs
Sue’s Websites and Social Media –
Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com
Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com
Facebook – @acanadianceliacpodcast
Twitter – CeliacPodcastCA
Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com
Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com
Instagram – @suesgfbaking
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL
Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com
Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com
My Thoughts –
It’s wonderful for me to be a witness to the innovations in the gluten free bakery business that are coming from some “out of the box” thinking.
When I started my bakery, most people had never heard of gluten free. I spent a great deal of time educating the public, the newly diagnosed and local retailers. Customers came to me because they needed gluten free products and couldn’t find anything decent at their local groceries. Eventually, I closed my retail location to concentrate on wholesale to stores and institutions. This was a time when gluten free was making a real mark in every grocery store.
As I mentioned to Giovanni, I was a very small operation, so I was responsible for everything, including nutritional and ingredient labelling. Keeping up on the government regulations for labelling is a job all on its own. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with all the moving parts it takes to get a product onto a shelf.
I knew other gluten free entrepreneurs in a similar situation, we would often meet at trade shows. Each of them worked hard to get their products accepted by customers and retailers, struggled to ensure every ingredient was gluten free with every shipment, and did so while trying to more than break even with their costs. Innovation, although we all strived for it, was a luxury, something to shoot for, if you had the time and money. Most of us did not.
Times have changed. I’ve spoken with many new entrepreneurs and some savvy business people who have managed to keep up with change. Kinnikinnick is one of those business which has been around for a very long time, and is trusted by those of use who must eat gluten free. They have recently pivoted with their “free from” line.
Whether it’s a relatively new business looking to establish itself, or a long-time trusted name in gluten free, we need the innovation that time and talent bring. It’s taken many years to get to the point of not only great tasting gluten free, but foods that are healthier for us. I know how hard it is to formulate a new product, and to take the further step to innovate with new ingredients, or to omit some familiar ingredients, all for the sake of health benefits. I applaud these companies, it’s harder than you might think!
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