Allergy-Safe Bakery Cedar Rapids | The Sans & Sucre Story
Since the earliest days in human history, the most important thing you can do is share a meal. In the face of food allergies, gatherings become divided.
It starts small. Saying no to samples in the grocery store. Skipping the cake at your sister's wedding. Then, the gap grows as you bring your own meal to Thanksgiving. You have to tell your grandmother you can't eat the Christmas cookies she spent all morning baking, only for her to ask, hurt, "Why don’t you like them anymore?" You fumble through your words, stuttering as you reach for your glass of water. What started as a simple food indifference becomes isolation.
Saloni & Landen Thompson, the owners, bread masters, and pastry chefs behind Sans & Sucre, are on a mission to bridge that gap- one expertly crafted, allergy-compliant pastry at a time, right here in Cedar Rapids.
A Passion for Pastry Formed in the Dark
All her life, Saloni has loved to bake. As a child in India, while the moon climbed the sky and her parents slept, she would stay up into the earliest hours of the morning, experimenting in the kitchen. That burning passion eventually took her across the globe to Ottawa, Canada, where she mastered the rigorous art of French pastry at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu.
After graduating, Saloni returned home to India, only to find a culinary landscape heavily dominated by men, with little room for a young female pastry chef to grow. Undeterred, she packed her bags once more and moved to the United States.
She spent years honing her craft in high-end hotels and major catering companies and tackling massive culinary projects. Saloni loves the adrenaline rush she got through preparing big orders and working through late nights. Her husband, Landen, came alongside as her fellow night owl, horror buff, and baker. When they moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the pair bonded with their new city over their love of sharing sweets.
Turning Isolation into Inclusion for Local Families
Saloni and Landen's focus changed when their youngest daughter, Anais, developed severe food allergies. They started to notice the isolation food allergies can bring, and the family began to adapt, making meals that all four of them could share and genuinely enjoy. Saloni and Landen began to develop new recipes—ones that were completely safe for Anais.
The family made their most courageous choice yet: sharing these creations with the world.
“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.” — Lessons in Chemistry
Saloni and her family started tabling at NewBo City Market on Saturday mornings, selling a wide variety of her decadent French pastries, and Landen's specialty breads in an all-new, gluten-free and vegan form. The result? Customers of all needs finding delicious, inspired desserts, and a community full of friends. Where isolation used to live, inclusion leads out in love.
A Cedar Rapids Community Connected by an Orange Volkswagen
Today, anyone who orders from Sans & Sucre isn’t just a customer- they’re a friend. The family regularly takes custom catering orders, meticulously working around unique, individualized allergen lists so that everyone has a seat at the dessert table. The rotating weekly menu is heavily shaped by a vibrant community in their Facebook comments, and the final creations are personally delivered in their iconic orange Volkswagen.
For Saloni, baking has become a beautifully chaotic family sport. On Friday nights, after the kids go to bed, she and Landen put on their favorite horror movies and bake straight through the night to ensure everything is perfectly fresh for Saturday deliveries.
As Sans & Sucre fast becomes a Cedar Rapids staple, the Thompsons are already eyeing the future, with dreams of expanding into a permanent, physical storefront. But whether they are experimenting with allergen-safe ice cream, crêpes, or elaborate cakes, their core promise remains unchanged: to supply mindfully made, family-baked sweets that bring people back together.
Ready to taste the magic? Bring everyone back to the table and place your order with Sans & Sucre today!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanssucrebakery/
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Website: https://sansandsucre.com
Email: [email protected]
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