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Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/90978
Q&A; W Q Going Crackers BY DENISE SHOUKAS hen Mary Waldner was diagnosed with celiac disease a decade ago, she had a hard time finding gluten-free foods that were both nutritious and delicious. This void in the market inspired Waldner to leave her career as a marriage and family therapist to start Mary's Gone Crackers in 2004 with her husband, Dale Rodrigues. Her handcrafted crackers became a hit and Waldner won a sofi Gold Award in the Outstanding Cracker category in 2008. Today, she offers 13 products, including crackers, cookies and pretzels. Here Waldner talks about challenges she's faced and why a career in psychotherapy pre- pared her for the food business. What was the gluten-free market like when you entered it? Most of the gluten-free food at the time wasn't good; I wouldn't even call it mediocre. It's getting better now, but often products are made with pretty junky ingredients and are trying to copy existing junk food. What is the key to creating delicious, award-winning gluten-free items like yours? When I develop products, I'm not trying to imitate an Oreo or a Pop Tart. I don't have a set idea of how it should be—only that I want it to taste fabulous and contain certain ingredients. When you're trying to replicate something that already exists, it's often made out of white flour—and gluten-free people use gluten-free white flours, which are even worse. It's limiting if you don't think outside of the box. What has been the biggest challenge you've faced in your business? Everyone telling you that you can't do what you want to do. We were told you can't use the name, people won't like it, you can't get into stores like Whole Foods with only one product and so on. And these were well-meaning people. But they had the outlook that this is the way it's always been done, so this is what you have to do. It helped that Dale and I were working together and could talk about our vision and support each other. It's solidified our goals even more. Do you find your skills as a psychotherapist give you an advantage as a business owner? At first I missed being a therapist; it's a privilege to have people share their lives with you and be that intimate. It taps into a creativity and 72 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com skill set that I worked hard to hone. I jumped out of that and went into something I didn't know anything about. But the skills of being a therapist are the skills of knowing yourself and that's useful wherever you go. You have to listen to the other person and yourself. Your favorite product? The onion crackers. It's what I reach for the most. If you knew you were having your last meal, what would you choose to eat? Most of the time when I eat, it's when I'm hungry and need food. But if I were to focus on pure pleasure: a perfect fig, a perfect peach cobbler and perfect chocolate truffle. |SFM| Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine. PHOTO: MARY WALDNER