Gluten/Allergen Free Expo Recap

Last weekend I made the trip to Dallas for the GFAF Expo - and it was AMAZING! I have to say too that I haven't been that full in awhile, you can't not try every single gluten-free food on display. For the first time since I was diagnosed I felt totally comfortable talking about Celiac Disease. Being around people who live with it, understand it and care about it was so nice.

I want to thank Kim Koeller (GlutenFree Passport) and Joel Warady (Enjoy Life Foods) especially for sitting down with me to chat about how they got involved in the gluten-free industry and where they think the growth and needs are going. Both have done so much for the industry and I feel very lucky to have met them. I cannot wait to finish school and start working in it myself.

There were so many highlights. I was impressed by many of the foods, especially some of the local items. What does seem to be a trend is that there are many bakeries/bread items as substitutes and not as much in the form of meals. I was able to find the best bread so far from Local Oven that is located in the Dallas area:

Thank goodness that Subway was there as well because I've been so curious about their gluten-free test. Of course I was wondering how they were training the sandwich artists, handling cross contamination, etc. and the head of the effort, Micki Winterburn, was more than willing to chat about it. So far they are in only a couple of markets, including Dallas, and we all cannot wait for a nation-wide release so I'm hoping the test is successful:

Finally, one of the biggest highlights was just talking to so many people about their experiences, symptoms, diagnosis stories and the ways they handle their gluten-free diet. I actually felt lucky because I was one of a few who only has a gluten problem, many others have eggs, soy, nuts and more in addition to being gluten-free. I cannot wait to go next year!