I was so excited about it but unfortunately I have to give it a thumbs down:( The consistency of the bread was great, but other than that we didn't really like it. The flavor was lacking and I didn't feel so good after eating it (I tried it on two different days to make sure it was indeed the bread that made me feel icky and it seemed to be). The one I bought did have egg & milk in it so maybe that is why, but usually I can tolerate it if it is baked in something like that.
The real reason I give it a thumbs down was the lack of attention to cross contamination. When I went in the guy behind the counter pointed out the gluten free scones to me. I looked on the shelf and they were displayed on the SAME cookie sheet as some crumbly muffins that were NOT gluten free. They were literally touching! I told him I didn't feel comfortable eating something that was displayed on the same tray with gluten containing items. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Well you know we bake everything in the same oven." I decided not to get into it with him but I felt like he had no idea about cross contamination. I was hesitant to even buy the bread but since I had the Groupon and drove all the way there I took my chances. It was at least wrapped in a bag but who knows what kind of surface it was created on! Oh well, glad I tried it but I won't be going back.
*in their defense, Great Harvest's are franchised so they might not all be this way. I went to the one in Lake Forest Park. Let me know if you have better luck at another location:)
That's really too bad. Wonder if it's worth writing a kind letter explaining this to the owners? Then they can decide if they want to educate employees and promote true GF?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your post about Great Harvest gluten free. We have just spoken with the owner of the Lake Forest Park bakery and have brought to his attention how best to avoid cross contamination. He informed us they’re making gluten and dairy-free on Sunday now for those who are sensitive to dairy as well as gluten. I have Celiacs Disease myself so I understand the importance of caution. Great Harvest Bread Co. is a whole wheat bakery, therefore, we cannot guarantee 100% gluten free. That said, many of the bakeries in our franchise work with Celiac organizations and have had good success producing products for those avoiding gluten. Again, we really appreciate you bringing this to our attention so the bakery can better educate their employees and implement better systems to help alleviate cross contamination.
ReplyDeleteBonnie from Great Harvest Franchising, Inc.