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Mum's free-from food invention

Published: 22nd May 2009 10:38

Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, a mother of three, promises to revolutionise the lives of the 600,000 people in Britain who are gluten intolerant.

Gluten-Free BreadGluten-Free Bread

Genius is the first ever fresh gluten and wheat free bread - available in the supermarkets - which looks, tastes and feels every bit as good as a freshly-baked traditional loaf.

Within two weeks of going in store Genius has become Tesco's best selling Free From food.

Lucinda is a mother of three, including a seven year-old boy who is gluten intolerant. If Robin eats a food which contains the protein found in wheat, he has an auto-immune reaction which causes him considerable pain. There are at least 80,000 children in the UK who are coeliacs, or gluten intolerant, who haven't even been diagnosed, which quite apart from short-term problems, such as diarrhoea or lethargy, could lead to more serious long-term issues including infertility and cancer of the lower bowel.

Although Robin and Lucinda have come to terms with his reaction to gluten they have to work hard to ensure that he can enjoy a normal life without any limitations.  ‘Meals have to be planned properly and precisely,' explains Lucinda, ‘and even then, things can go wrong.  School meals, day trips, unexpectedly long journeys and holidays all create their own series of problems which have to be overcome if he isn't going to suffer or miss out.'

‘Without planning, gluten intolerant children can miss out on much more than chocolate cake, pizza and hot buttered toast. Play dates, birthday parties and sleep overs can all be potentially dangerous unless you spend time discussing menus and snacks in detail.'

‘If you don't have a coeliac in your own family, knowing exactly what they can and can't eat isn't easy.  A typical birthday party may contain nothing that is suitable for a coeliac child other than fresh fruit, jelly and a few carrot sticks. All the best bits - cake, biscuits, pizza and sandwiches all contain gluten. Even sausages, sweets and some brands of crisps and cloudy lemonade can cause a bad reaction. When you don't have any experience of gluten intolerance it is also difficult to understand that for some children, even a small amount of gluten can cause hours of agony.'

‘Like every child with gluten intolerance, Robin has had to accept that he sometimes has to go without certain treats and will never be quite the ‘same' as his classmates - even though I have always been determined to do whatever I can to allow him to feel as ‘normal' as possible.'

‘I knew that the one invention that would help Robin more than any other would be a fresh gluten free loaf that both looked and tasted as good as ordinary bread. There have been many attempts to create just that, but the fact that 70% of coeliacs choose not to eat any of the existing brands and have effectively given up on bread altogether, speaks for itself.'

‘Having studied physiology at university and cooked at a Michelin starred restaurant, I was convinced that there was no reason why a gluten free ‘loaf' need look or taste any less appealing than one made from wheat. Although I was fascinated by the challenge from a professional point of view, the real driving force to create a ‘breakthrough' gluten free bread was my desire to stop Robin missing out.  Making it easier for me to give him a balanced diet was great but what really spurred me on was the thought of him being able to enjoy having ‘soldiers' with his boiled egg in the morning and sandwiches in his lunch box - just like all his friends.'

 Lucinder Bruce-GardyneLucinder Bruce-Gardyne

‘Three years, a broken oven and more than a thousand loaves later, I finally succeeded in creating Genius. I knew that I had finally cracked it when Robin kept asking for more.  Now the loaf is going on sale nationwide in over 700 Tesco supermarkets! I am so excited.  Genius will hopefully remind thousands of children, as well as adults, how delicious bread can be.  But, better than that, it will help them feel a little more ‘normal'.'  

Lucinda's achievement is all the more remarkable when you look at the speed with which the Free-From foods market is growing - both in terms of sales and the number of new products. Over the last decade sales have risen six fold and there is no sign of that pace decreasing.  Mintel predicts that what was a nascent niche in 2000 has already become big business with sales of well over £200m last year and sales of £350million by 2012.

Mrs Bruce-Gardyne hopes that she will soon be enjoying her own slice of that market - and it could be quite a thick one...

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