Our Story

Our story begins here -

A baby girl was born to us!  What a complete joy and gift she has been. She loves life like no one I've ever seen, but by her first birthday, it was apparent that she was special for other reasons as well. She endured chronic rashes, eczema, infections, and shortness of breath, which became a cause for great concern. We discovered through doctors and testing that she had an immunity dysfunction which had caused her to develop 50-60 food allergies by the time she was three years old. That's right - 50 to 60. Why the range? Well, we tested for 70 and lost count after 50, so I figure 50-60 is a safe bet without risking over-exaggeration! Basically she was allergic to just about everything and nobody had any real answers for how to make her well. 

Prior to this we were just a regular American family. We ate frozen  dinners, fast food, canned veggies, and used artificial seasoning packets in nearly everything we cooked. Baby girl changed all of that.  

You have no idea how much the world and your culture revolves around food until you have to cook every single thing your child eats from scratch with the same seven ingredients!  It was tough to say the least, but through this adventure, I was forced to learn to cook. I followed great teachers of whole-food, ingredient-driven cooking like Lidia Bastianich and Jamie Oliver. Those guys know how to slap five things together from the garden and make something great.  I learned process and flavor profiles from chefs like these and every day was an adventure in the kitchen.

Out of that time I gained a very strong appreciation for all-natural cooking. The seasoning packets I used to depend on began to taste artificial and chemical to me. I started to study shows like America's Test Kitchen for natural ways to season things like tacos and roast. 

I learned to make my own ranch dressing and chili mix. Pretty soon my spice cabinet was full of natural spice blends and my garden was full of fresh herbs, which I used to make cooking easier, healthier, and more resourceful. Dinner parties with friends and family became a common occurrence and jars of spices, mixes, and flavored sugars went home with them for birthdays and Christmas. It was soon thereafter that I realized the treasure that had been born out of a truly great trial, and I set my mind to perfect these recipes.

Et voila! Here we are. Boutique Treats officially launched in January of 2014 with an ever-developing line of artisanal and hand-crafted specialty goods. Our specialty sugars are just the fantastic beginning of many things to come.  

And what about that baby girl?
Well I'd say she's doing just fine! It was an incredibly difficult journey, but she overcame it with an uncommon courage that sustained us all. She outgrew most of those allergies in time and continues to charm and amaze the world with her tenacious joy and fervor for life.  She's the inspiration to what has started here and we hope to share it with you.