Honestly, I just want people to enjoy the cookie—or the muffin, or the cake! I don’t want anyone to think, “these are pretty good for gluten-free or vegan or upcycled (or you fill in the blank)”.

My favorite response, from the head of the innovations team at one of our big commercial customers was, “(expletive), no way these are plant-based and gluten free!”. So yes, the goal is to make a great product that people want to eat and buy again. And again!

It is definitely a high standard! And a huge challenge. But it’s the only standard we can hold ourselves to if we want to create real change in the food system. Our products must be delicious enough to please as many people as possible—not just vegans and/or gluten-free folks, and not just food activists or true believers either.

My career was built on a very high standard of quality for desserts and baked goods—I don’t give that up just because there are new parameters like plant-based, gluten-free, and upcycled. If anything, parameters inspire innovation and creativity! That’s my mantra on the best days.

When I’m working on a new product, my approach is culinary rather than preachy. I focus on flavor and texture and pleasure rather than changing the food system because delicious products will ultimately have more impact on the system! In fact, we need more chefs to work with upcycled ingredients.

All the ingredients that I work with at Renewal Mill taste good, so I never have to try to cover up a bad flavor just because the ingredient happens to be upcycled or vegan or gluten free. I like to think in terms of hero ingredients. In my book, "Gluten-Free Flavor Flours", I explored gluten free flours that had distinct flavors and textures—all very different from wheat. Rather than treating them as mere substitutions for wheat or trying to make them into familiar wheat-based baked goods, I made them heroes in their own right. Another way to frame this: I worked with rather than against the ingredient! This allowed me to create entirely new baked goods with new flavors and textures. I became a more open minded and creative problem solver. Flavor flours inadvertently prepared me to work with new unfamiliar upcycled flours at Renewal Mill.

That said, creating baked goods that are both gf and plant based, while using upcycled ingredients, is a monumental challenge.

I’m excited about doing challenging work that hasn’t yet been done—it feels like a contribution to a more sustainable future. It also gives me an opportunity to work with a new and creative generation of doers and thinkers. Meanwhile, it’s a tremendously engaging personal challenge.

I’ve always loved the work I do and always tried to exceed the standard or the boundaries of what came before. These days I say that I’m applying old skills to new problems—while learning a ton in the process, which is essential and enjoyable too.

What could be better than giving back by doing exactly what you love to do?