Introducing Sweet FA Gluten Free

 

Island Bakery is launching a new brand, Sweet FA Gluten Free. The colourfully packaged new cookies are gluten free, organic and suitable for vegans.

 

The idea for the new products stemmed from an unwelcome coeliac diagnosis for the bakery’s longest serving staff member Fiona Aitali.

 

Fiona joined Island Bakery in 1994 as the company’s first ever employee, following her studies and work in baking and cake decorating in Glasgow. Fiona was born and raised in Tobermory, and her family have lived on the Isle of Mull for generations. Fiona is renowned on Mull for her baking. As well as her day job, she has baked cakes for cafes, restaurants and celebrations over the years. More recently, her job with Island Bakery has seen her take responsibility for the development of recipes for all the company’s new products.

 

Fiona was devastated to learn that she had coeliac disease and was no longer able to enjoy or test the biscuits she was making, or to continue baking her favourite recipes at home. However, Fiona is not to be underestimated or defeated! She is a talented baker and was determined to find a way to carry on baking and enjoying what she baked. With her skills and persistence, she was soon creating gluten free baking to rival any conventional bakes.

 

The idea soon emerged that she could create gluten free cookie recipes for the Island Bakery team to produce.

 

Fiona came up with the name Sweet FA Gluten Free, as a witty take on her own initials. The cookies are sweet, created by Fiona Aitali, and they are gluten free. No gluten, no wheat, no dairy – Sweet FA!

 

So, what about the cookies? They are lacking in allergens, but not lacking in taste. Fiona spent many months exhaustively creating and refining dozens of recipes which were tested by all the staff at the bakery. Around 10 cookies were shortlisted and sent out to be sampled and appraised by a group of coeliac, gluten intolerant or vegan volunteers, as well as some omnivores, before we collated the responses and settled on the final four:

 

 

Oat & Raisin Cookies

 

Richly sweet plump raisins nestle like glistening jewels in these delicate yet crisp oatmeal cookies. A twist of cinnamon adds warmth and complexity. Perfect to enjoy in your pyjamas with your choice of milk while watching your favourite film cosy on the sofa.

 

Peanut Butter Cookies

 

Peanut is the star of the show in these cookies. Using both peanut butter and chunks of peanut in the Sweet FA cookie base, there is nothing to detract from the intense peanuttiness. A must for lovers of peanuts!

 

Cranberry & Orange

 

A zesty orange aroma from organic orange oil is complimented by the sweet, tart cranberries studding these cookies. They lend the cookie a pleasant chewy texture following the initial crisp snap. Deeply fruity, our Cranberry & Orange cookies will perk up your day.

 

Double Chocolate Chip

 

A classic flavour favourite – there’s no need to reinvent the wheel if you already know you like your cookies chocolatey. These double chocolate chip cookies contrast a crisp texture with the soft creaminess of the dark chocolate chips.

 

 

 

Made with Sweet FA Gluten Free’s unique formulation of gluten free oats, almond and tapioca flours, Sweet FA cookies have none of the gritty residue normally associated with gluten free baking. Our cookies are made with the best organic ingredients and are suitable for vegans and coeliacs, but HONESTLY everybody can enjoy them!

 

The cookies are certified by the Soil Association, the Vegan Society and the Coeliac Society.

 

Our environmental credentials are central to what makes Island Bakery different – and the same principles apply to Sweet FA Gluten Free. We bake slowly in ovens uniquely fuelled by locally grown sustainable timber. Organic standards mean that all the ingredients are grown with the health of the land and ecosystems to the fore, without the use of artificial fertiliser or pesticides.

 

Ends

 

About Island Bakery

 

Island Bakery was established in a small garage in Tobermory on the Hebridean Isle of Mull by Dawn and Joe Reade in 1994. The couple began baking bread for sale locally, and the business evolved over the next decade to a busy delicatessen shop on Tobermory’s Main Street. In 2001, they launched a small range of organic biscuits at the Speciality and Fine Food Fair in London’ s Olympia. Buyers liked them and soon they were being distributed throughout the UK.

 

In 2012, the business moved into a new, purpose-built bakery. The bakery is fuelled by local, sustainable renewable energy, with its ovens fired by local wood, and electricity generated by nearby hydro and wind turbines.

 

The biscuit range has grown to include 8 sweet varieties, many of which have won accolades in the Great Taste Awards or BOOM Awards. Recently, savoury biscuits were added to the Island Bakery portfolio, including Oatcakes and Isle of Mull Cheese biscuits. The products are now sold in fine food shops across Britain and Ireland, as well as in Europe, Korea and the United States.

 

Sweet FA Gluten Free is a new brand owned and manufactured by Island Bakery Organics Ltd.