The Tribune

By Felicity Ingraham

IF MORE people could look beyond differences such as ethnicity, social status, economic background or lifestyle and work together in the things that unite them the way Elizabeth Thompson and Julie Pellerin-Knowles have, the world would be a better place.

For these two phenomenal women, the ingredients that bind them together include the fact that they are both mothers, that they are health conscious, and that they have a desire to see Bahamians eat more gluten-free foods.

That was enough for Elizabeth, a former Registrar General of the Bahamas and founder of Mudda Flipp gluten-free products, and Julie, co-owner and chef of Le Petit Gourmet in the Shirley Street Plaza, to come together to offer more gluten-free options in a country with little local accessibility to such products.

Julie, who has been living in the Bahamas for 14 years, uses her French-Canadian background and the experience gained through her many travels to offer an ever-changing international menu. Clients love the freshness of the food and Julie’s ability to come up with exciting new dishes from around the world. She also keeps her patrons educated about healthy lifestyles through daily e-mails.

When Julie first saw the Mudda Flipp gluten-free products logo, she became intrigued. She has a family member that can only eat gluten-free foods, and for 14 years she has had to prepare everything for them from scratch. The thought of being able to get a break sometimes led her to contact the owner, and the rest is history.

Elizabeth and Julie hit it off from the start, chatting often about healthy lifestyles and gluten-free products and introducing more vegan and vegetarian products to the Bahamian market for the growing number of health-conscious consumers.

Ideas were put on paper, and passion was backed with purpose, and today Mudda Flipp has gone from just sitting on a shelf to being a restaurant menu item.

Mudda Flipp currently offers an assortment of gluten-free pancake and brownie mixes, but more products are currently being developed due to the good response that the partnership is already getting, even at this early stage. The pancakes and brownies are now made to order with love by Chef Julie at Le Petit Gourmet, and are even combined with other menu items so that the patron can experience an entire gluten-free meal.

Mudda Flipp came about when Elizabeth was experimenting in her kitchen with her four children. She wanted to give them a gluten-free meal. Their first experiment was using cassava flour instead of regular flour. When one of her sons bit into the pancake, he exclaimed: “Well mudda flipp!” They think other kids will also enjoy the pancakes and brownies, making it easier for any mother trying to get their children off of wheat flour products to do so.

“I know what it’s like to be unhealthy and on a journey to wellness,” said Elizabeth. “I began to research and understand how food was impacting my body and also my children. I wanted Bahamian people to be exposed to what I have been exposed to, and in a small way this is my contribution to Bahamian society.”

When asked to explain what gluten really is, Julie said: “Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat. Wheat by itself, a long time ago, was fantastic and everyone could digest it. But now they have modified the wheat and put more gluten in it because it’s a very cheap thickener that makes the bread more chewy. It’s in all sorts of products such as ketchup, tomato sauce, many juices that you see on the market, ice cream, beer, and many other products. It is used under many different names, so you have to research it. Anyone developing gluten intolerance suffers when they consume these foods. The more you have been exposed to gluten, with time the body says it has had enough and you develop gluten intolerance. You avoid it and you feel better.”

The women advise that customers make the switch to more gluten-free foods before developing issues.

You can visit Le Petit Gourmet to not only taste the gluten-free products, but also to purchase Mudda Flipp products off of the shelf. Consumers find that in addition to pancakes and brownies, they can make fish and chicken batter, crepes and other recipes, Julie and Elizabeth said.

You can find Mudda Flipp and Le Petit Gourmet on Facebook.