Handmade by Jeanette started as a creative expression when my friend who has celiac disease invited me over for Christmas dinner and told me to bring dessert. Christmas cake was the first thing I thought of was Black cake, but how do I make it with all the same great taste minus the wheat flour? Thankfully, I was in a transition phase in my career as a chef. Clean eating, mindful eating, and dealing with lifestyle diseases were now my new focus. I experimented with some sweet potato and breadfruit flour, but I found that the texture was really dense and I wanted the product to be fluffy without using a gluten replacement. To get the right mix I have to use heavy flour with a lighter flour such as cassava or rice and use coconut oil instead of butter and whipped the egg whites to a medium peak and then fold this into the fruits, gluten-free mixture, and rum. Your friends and family are usually the ones who get to test out all your experiments before it reaches to market. Next, I made a granola bar using quinoa instead of oats and my friend said to me “Jay you have to put this on the market. It is so good.” So, I tried it with oats and cocoa nibs, and voila! Handmade by Jeanette gluten-free products were born. We have since added granola, sauces, and spice rubs to our line of products.