Shared Use Kitchen Life + Cross Contamination Risk
Those of you who have been here a minute know that we didn’t set out to start a bakery. I have always loved baking, but Thistle’s Summit started as a queer B&B in 2019. In a huge victorian house in a tiny town. We delivered charming accommodations, farm-fresh breakfast from our backyard and homemade pastries and snacks. Baking became a way to pay our mortgage when COVID hit and we had to close our doors. First in Eastern Iowa, and then in Des Moines when we moved back to the metro.
Our journey to this point has been about pivoting and making it work. It is our dream that we will one day be able to build out a stand-alone kitchen that will be the first certified gluten-free and vegan bakery in Iowa. For the moment we are adapting to the financial and spatial realities of the restaurant market in the metro. Real estate is EXPENSIVE and SCARCE.
Working out of a commercial shared-use kitchen affords us the ability to build our brand and accumulate capital while we work on funding our dream. While we don’t work with ingredients that contain gluten or animal products, it is an understandable concern about the risk of cross-contamination in a shared-use environment, for our audience of celiac and allergy folks.
Our shared-use kitchen contains three separate kitchens, and gluten and animal products don’t enter our space. We have all of our own equipment, sheet trays and storage away from tenants that use gluten. We do share a dish pit with other tenants in the kitchen. We have a high temp and chemical dishwasher that washes all of our dishes. Gluten cannot cling to stainless steel at the temperatures we wash at.
While cross-contamination cannot be 100 percent ruled out in a shared-use space, we work tirelessly to make sure that it is safe for you and your families. Below are some additional procedures we incorporate into our workflow to make sure we can serve you safe and satisfying treats.
Strict cleanliness and sanitation practices: We follow strict cleanliness and sanitation practices, including regular cleaning and sanitizing of all equipment and surfaces before and after use. All tables are stainless steel. This helps to minimize the risk of cross-contamination and ensure that our products are safe to eat.
Separate equipment and work areas: We use separate equipment and work areas for gluten-free baking to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. This includes dedicated gluten-free mixing bowls, measuring cups, and other equipment, as well as separate work areas for gluten-free baking. We have our own sheet trays and use single-use parchment paper on every sheet tray, always.
Labeling and packaging: We package all of our goods in single-use sealed cellophane bags. This ensures the safe transport and storage of all of our baked goods. Both in the shop and at all of our wholesalers we have ingredient labels on file.
Ingredient Sourcing: While we are unable to certify our shared use kitchen as gluten free, we can control our buying habits. We only buy certified gluten free and vegan ingredients.
Overall, while working in a shared-use kitchen can pose challenges, by following strict cleanliness and sanitation practices we can provide delicious and safe gluten-free baked goods to our customers.
We are always available for questions and feedback. We are working hard to make our dream of the first certifed gluten free vegan bakery in Iowa a reality.
Love ya big!
Marti