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- A Nashville Pastry Chef is beating the odds. She is one of the best Pastry Chefs in the country, and she has Celiac Disease.
Why It Matters
- This bridges the gap for people with Celiac Disease who struggle with eating pastries because of gluten.
What Happens Next
- Chef Alyssa Gangeri is hoping to take the Certified Master Pastry Chef test to become one of 12 CMPC’s in the World.
For Context
- It’s very rare to see a pastry chef who has Celiac Disease. Gluten, which is essential in baking, directly affects their bodies.
Catch Up
- Chef Alyssa is also writing her 5th Children’s book centered around baking.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Imagine having a gift and not being able to fully embrace it, such as a blind artist or a deaf musician
A Nashville chef recently shared how she found her passion after a disappointing medical diagnosis
If you’ve been to Buttermilk Ranch, you’ve seen and smelled the work of chef Alyssa Gangeri. If you enjoyed what you tasted, well, you’ve actually done something she cannot do
“I grew up in a large Italian family. So, we were surrounded by food. We celebrated with food. We mourned with food.” Said Chef Gangeri, who co-owns Buttermilk Ranch
The busy kitchen Gangeri conducts is a symphony of smells and sounds. Even at a young age, baking with her grandparents, she knew baking was in her future
“The fact that you can take flour, water, yeast, salt and turn it into… Take those individual ingredients and turn them into something incredible was very intriguing to me,” Gangeri explained
What is even more intriguing is that Gangeri is unable to taste anything she makes
“So, I was diagnosed with Celiac in 2017,” Gangeri admitted
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered by the ingestion of gluten, which is essential in making pastries
“A lot of people have digestive issues. Obviously, everything’s rooted in your gut. But I started having a lot of neurological symptoms,” Gangeri said. “So, I started losing my vision, losing my speech. And it became very alarming to me when I, you know, started stuttering my speech or my 20/20 vision started blurring. But getting that diagnosis was so hard for me to digest, really, that I didn’t want to change my career path. I didn’t want to give up something I was passionate about.”
Some might call it stubbornness, but she calls it determination. She studied the disease extensively, looking for ways to live with Celiac, while still doing what she loved
“I look at things on a macro level, and I wanted to understand what was going on in my gut biome,” Gangeri explained. “What was causing this? What about wheat was causing my body to do this to me? Because I got to a point where I realized that food was killing me.”
Her restaurant has trained the entire staff on Celiac Disease, and the restaurant even has different equipment for gluten and gluten-free menu items
“We make sure we have specific equipment that is dedicated to just gluten-free,” Gangeri said
The goal is to take the stigma out of eating gluten-free and provide an exceptional dining experience for every customer
“Creating an environment where it didn’t matter whether you were gluten-free or not gluten-free, you were going to get that same great experience,” she asserted
Gangeri is planning on taking the Certified Master Pastry Chef exam in 2027. If she passes, she will be just one of 12 certified master pastry chefs in the world, and the first with Celiac Disease
In addition to studying for that, she’s also working on her 5th Children’s book following Mimi’s Adventures in Baking
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