Hi, I’m Paula.

“You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made… Even after you eat it, it stays with you — always.” —

Julia Child

Pastry chef, founder & CFO (Chief Flour Operator) of Gusto.

I’m a graduate of The Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, Certified Holistic Chef & a food-lover.

I’m also a mom who struggled to find great gluten free recipes for my child, which then turned into my baking for others, which was so well received it now brings me here!

It’s my goal to now hand over my passion, & what I’ve learned in 25 plus years in pastry, (a decade dedicated to gluten free) & give consumers easy, delicious & versatile home-baked goods.

I hope you have half as much joy making, baking & sharing them as I had creating them. It has been a true labor of love.

Bake with gusto friends!

gus•to (noun) passion, joy, delight in doing something

Why Gusto?

Like many businesses, mine began when I needed to fill a need in my life. I was a mom with a struggle to make dinners.

In 2014 I had a five-year-old son with an auto immune condition, acute painful arthritis & an obvious sensitivity to gluten. He wanted his comfort foods and, as a pastry chef & mom, I felt compelled to try & deliver.

Everyone:

“A pastry chef? No problem for you!”, they said.

“It’ll be easy for you” they said!

Clueless, but determined, I navigated a new way to bake for my son, myself and many others along the way also.

I now find great joy in catering to those with dietary needs, & creating the comfort foods & recipes we all know & love.

“No cooking is good if not done out of friendship for the person for whom it is intended”

Paul Bocuse

My gluten-free baking mixes

Easy. Delicious. Versatile.

See also:

  • Empowering: Easily bake like a pro. Impress family, friends & yourself. You got this!

  • Wow factor: A crusty French style baguette (2 minutes hands-on time) ready in just over an hour? Oui. C’est possible!

  • Family time: Lazy weekends rolling easy cinnamon rolls for breakfast & garlicky breadsticks for dinner. (Toddlers comfortable with playdough welcome.)

  • Adventurous: Something new. Think gluten free sourdough is difficult? The artisan bread mix (and I) can totally help.

  • Variations: Add your own twist. With any of the baking mixes you get to be master in the kitchen with the base recipes I created. Parmesan & roasted garlic buns? Apples in your cinnamon rolls or chocolate pancakes? The choices are yours.

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating & drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”

Voltaire

Weigh. Bake. Eat. Repeat.

“…continually tweaking. And that’s obsession.”

Nancy Silverton, Chef’s Table

It took nearly a decade to figure out the nuances of gluten free flours, their interactions and their downright finicky nature. Taking the guesswork out of it for homebakers has been a true labor of love.

All recipes thoroughly tested to also be deliciously plant-based, as needed.

Now my goal is to hand over the reins to you and give you foods you may not have eaten in some time. I think of warm crusty breads from the artisan bread mix when I say that, or crazy easy flaky puff pastry (Pastry & Pasta mix) and pizza pockets & fluffy naan (flatbread mix) and buttery scones and…you get the idea.