We spent the last weekend in Salt Lake City at the Gluten-Free Expo. Overall, we had a blast. The event took place over two days, and we decided to go both days this year.

Vendor Highlights

Overall, we were hugely impressed with the vendors at the expo. Most vendors had samples and offered advice and tips for eating gluten-free.

Most Impressive

We were most impressed with these vendors:

  • King Arthur Baking Co. offered samples of their banana bread mix, and they explained that at high altitudes they prefer to use the reduced fat version of their mixes. They gave out coupons for free products, so we’re excited to share what we think.
  • Ambrosial from Provo, Utah opened a mini bakery at the expo. We were most impressed with their hand pies (which were surprisingly a really nice, light pastry), their cupcakes (which were perfectly fluffy), and their sweet rolls. Their cookies were good, but we thought their other items were much more worth the money.
  • Grandpa’s Kitchen had excellent white bread and quick bread samples. Their booth was extremely busy, so we forgot to pick up a bread mix, but their white bread was certainly in our top 3.
  • Mrs. Hewitts sold a huge variety of products and offered samples of sandwich bread. We were so impressed with their sandwich bread that we agreed it was worth their price ($8 a loaf). However, their products all seem to contain nuts, so that’s something to look out for.
  • Brazi Bites offered samples and encouraged people to ask local grocery stores to stock their products. We were so impressed by their pizza rolls that we’re asking a local grocer to supply them.
  • Gluten Free Heaven sampled a number of mixes. All of them were good, but everyone was in love with their white bread mix and thier donut mix. We have yet to try making the mixes we bought, but the samples in the expo tasted like real, fluffy donuts.
  • gf Jules sampled a wide range of baking mixes. While we weren’t impressed with their graham cracker mix, we really enjoyed their fluffy, chewy pizza crust (which can be turned into a baguette) and their white bread.
  • Via 313 Pizza gave out pizza samples and coupons, and we were so impressed that we ate there on Friday night and had a blast.

Not So Impressive

We weren’t blown away by these vendors:

  • Bismark Doughnuts had a very long wait and didn’t offer samples, and their donuts were much less impressive than those at Gluten Free Heaven.
  • Chicken Boy had fried chicken samples. They were decent, but you can make better fried chicken at home.
  • Franz is, in our opinion, one of the worst brands of gluten-free bread. It makes an okay grilled cheese, but it’s hard to eat on its own.
  • Fed Up Kitchen offered samples of muffins, and they were way too dense for our liking.
  • Posh Pop offered cookie samples that nobody in our group could finish.

Was it worth it?

We feel like we made really good use of our expo tickets. It was one of the most educational experiences we’ve had, and it was great to meet so many people trying to figure out how to live gluten free. We’ll definitely go back next year.

Note: We paid the full price to attend the expo, and we are not affiliated with it or any of its vendors in any way. This post details our experience and is not an advertisement. We encourage readers to do their own research to determine if products meet their needs before purchasing anything.