Bruin Bites Bakes Gluten-Free Sweet Treats

Bruin Bites sign. (Nick Rampe)

Bruin Bites is now baking gluten-free desserts for students in-house, bringing tasty safety and intentionality to the table.

Belmont University dietician Julia Green and Sodexo Dining Retail Chef Erika Martinez cooked up a new project to meet the demands of students in need of more diet-friendly options. A new gluten-free dedicated oven was installed at Bruin Bites exclusively, making it a reliable place to avoid cross-contamination. 

Freshman, Grace Boeger, has a mutation that makes her severely sensitive to gluten. Her intolerance worsened when she arrived at Belmont, and her experience with finding gluten-free, nutrient-dense options on campus is challenging.

“It is not realistic to fully eat a comprehensive diet here. There’s not enough options for breakfast and proteins and all of that,” said Boeger.

With the number of gluten-friendly options proving to be less than delectable, Boeger relies heavily on off-campus grocery outlets such as Costco and Whole Foods to accommodate her diet.

The Bruin Bites bakery leavens Belmont’s dessert game, providing baked goods prepared in a newly-installed oven dedicated to “made without gluten” items. From coffee cake, to peanut butter protein bites and lemon bars, this change might make the search for gluten-free options easier. 

Decreased risk of cross contamination is what sets Bruin Bites apart from other gluten-free dining spots on campus, such as Neely, said Green. 

As the risk is always possible, Martinez and her team at Sodexo Dining label the items as “made without gluten,” even on the campus’ dining app, Mobile Order. 

“We can’t 100% promise there’s not going to be any cross contamination, which is why there’s signage in Bruin Bites and on the menus that are like, this is not an allergy free zone,” said Olivia Roemer, a member of the marketing team at Sodexo. 

In the early stages of development, the staff at Bruin Bites underwent training with AllerTrain U, an allergen-safe cooking certification class taught by Green. According to Green, the course takes about 2.5 hours to teach and is followed by an exam for certification of up to three years, prior to retesting. 

“It's pretty cool that AllerTrain has this program to be able to teach people how to prepare food safely, how to reduce cross contact, how to store things safely, how to have this completely separate prep area and serving area,” said Green, 

Green mentioned the staff was “very engaged” when learning the safety protocols through the program. These include replacing used gloves, and utilizing a clean cutting board and knife to prepare “made without gluten” items to avoid cross-contamination. 

“What we really try to do in campus dining is to diversify it. There's things that you're going to get at Bruin Bites that you're not going to get at Neely and vice versa,” said Green. 

After partnering with local businesses to carry gluten-free products on campus, contracts would end and prove inconsistency. Green and Martinez took matters into their own hands to provide home-made desserts that are both consistent and tasty. 

“Prior to this, the coffee shop had store-bought, gluten-free desserts that are just not as tasty. We can’t be as versatile as we want to. So, I had this idea that we could bake everything from scratch,” said Martinez. 

By providing Belmont with the tools and equipment to produce their own gluten-free items, Martinez and Green are confident campus dining has the variety that students are demanding for. 

“The demand is for the gluten-free. And I want to do everything in my power that I can do to accommodate this and make it great. I want you to have an abundance of options,” said Green.  

Martinez plans to eventually bake the goods in-house and transfer them to other dining sites on campus, such as Bare Necessities and Betty’s Market. 

The team at Sodexo Dining is working hard to provide gluten-free students with a variety of options on campus. Green said this process takes time, patience and teamwork.

“Things do take time, but I just ask the students to trust me… When we're making changes in a university, it's like turning a ship,” said Green. 

Additionally, Boeger believes there is a lack of sources to get information on gluten-free options on campus. She visits Green every two months to ask her about new options.

“She’s the only source of information I’m getting about what’s an option,” said Boeger.

On March 19, Sodexo Dining will be hosting a Celiac Disease education event and tasting at Bruin Bites in the Jack C. Massey Center, in cooperation with the Vanderbilt Celiac Center. 

For more information regarding gluten-free options on Belmont’s campus, contact Julia Green at julia.green@sodexo.com.

This article was written by Carla Loreta