Lizzie’s Bake Shoppe is proud to be a Nut-Free establishment.

Nut-Free

As a mother of three school-age children, I know that having access to nut-free desserts is of paramount importance.  My children have many friends that are afflicted by nut allergies, and it’s imperative to me as both a mom and a businesswoman that I take the necessary steps to ensure that my business is doing its part to provide the highest quality of cakes and baked goods that can be enjoyed by those who have peanut and tree nut allergies.

At Lizzie’s Bake Shoppe, we take every practical precaution to ensure that peanuts and tree nuts are not used in any of our products and do not cross contaminate any of our products.  Our policies for maintaining a nut-free environment include the following:

• We do not use peanuts or tree nuts in any of our products.

• We do not allow peanuts or tree nuts to be present anywhere on our premises.

• We prohibit employees from bringing any products onto our premises that contain peanuts or tree nuts.

• We prohibit customers from bringing products containing peanuts or tree nuts into our store by clearly posting our Nut-Free notification at our entrance, and by posting and enforcing our Nut-Free policy inside the store.

• We read every label for the ingredients and products that we use, and we call the manufacturers to confirm that their product is peanut and tree nut free and that their product is manufactured in a facility that is peanut and tree nut free or segregated far away with strict HACCP guidlines.  Below is a list of ingredients and products that we use.  For the manufacturers that have provided us with their confirmation in writing (and not just over the phone). Please feel free to request copies of the correspondence that they’ve provided to us at any time.

Manufacturer/Vendor List**:

Callebaut~White, milk, and dark chocolate

Vermont Nut-free chocolate~White and Butterscotch chips

Guittard~White, milk and dark chocolate candy compounds

Hersheys~Cocoa

Jetro Chef’s Quality~mini Chocolate chips, Canola Oil, vanilla

Ghirardelli Foodservice~chocolate chips (we have only determined that the foodservice chips are safe)

Abuelita~Chocolate syrup (NOT the disks, those contain shea nut, which is controversial)

X-Cell Foods~Sprinkles, Sparkles, non-pareils, sugar pearls

Bettty Crocker~sprinkles, non-pareils

Kraft~Marshmallows, Mini Marshmallows

B&G Products~gold and silver glaze, disco dust

Americolor/Ateco~gel colors, meringue powder, piping gel

Chef Master~candy color oil

Satin Ice~Fondant

General Mills~Baking mixes, cereals, pie dough

McCormicks~Vanilla

Sysco~Baking Powder, Cornstarch, canola oil, baking soda, raisins, maraschino cherries

Morton’s~salt

Bakers Joy~Cooking Spray

Vegaline~Vegetable Oil Spray for gluten free cakes

James Farm~cream cheese, eggs, buttery blend

Earths Balance~Soy Free “butter”

Kemps~milk, cream

Grassland, Amco~Butter

Sweetex~Shortening

Pinnacle Foods~Pie Fillings

Nescafe~Instant Coffee

GF2~Gluten Free Scoop and Bake Cookie Dough, Gluten Free Flour Mix

Best Foods~Bavarian Cream

Smuckers~Jams

Gaucho Ranch~Dulce De Leche

Gerbs~Sunflower Seeds

Craisins~Dried Cranberries

Sunbutter~Sunflower seed butter

Kellogs~rice Krispies, gluten free rice krispies

Nabisco~Oreo’s, Golden Oreo’s, Graham Crackers

Red Star~Yeast

Cargill~Paramount Crystals

**Special Thanks to Sysco Foodservice for doing a tremendous amount of legwork for us!

Despite all of these efforts, certain things are beyond our control. We cannot control whether our products are delivered by companies that also deliver products that contain nuts. We do, however, guard against any cross contamination occurring during delivery by insisting that all of our ingredients are delivered in sealed bags and boxes.

Coconut

We do NOT use any coconuts in our bakery. While coconuts often are not restricted in the diets of people that have a tree-nut allergy, we note that the FDA began identifying coconut as a tree nut in October 2006.  Although we do not use coconut in our products, we want to advise any person that has a coconut allergy that certain of the ingredients that we use in our products are processed in a plant that also processes coconut and cross-contamination may occur.  Please inquire upon placing your order.

Other Dietary Restrictions

In addition to all of our products being peanut and tree nut free, we also offer a growing selection of cakes and baked goods for those who have certain food sensitivities or dietary restrictions, including the following:

Sugar-Free.  Available for special order upon request.

Gluten-Free.  Available for special order upon request.  Please note that we do have unbleached flour on the premises, and it is difficult to contain, and, as such, cross contamination could occur.

Egg-Free, Dairy Free and/or Soy-Free.  Available for special order upon request.  Please note, however, that while we can make egg-free, dairy-free and/or soy-free products upon request, we do have egg, dairy and soy ingredients and products in our shop, and cross-contamination could occur.

Contact Us With Any Concerns

We take pride in our Nut-Free policy. We are transparent in our operations and are always willing to provide a tour of our kitchen and storage areas and to provide copies of certifications, fact sheets and other information provided to us by manufacturers.

Please feel free to contact us at 773-227-3736 with any questions or concerns, or to arrange for a tour of our facility.

We’re excited to be able to provide our customers with nut-free delicious cakes and baked goods. Please help us spread the word!

About Liz

Growing up in New York City, Liz dined out often and developed a taste for good food at an early age. She earned a graduate culinary degree from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. She then went on to apprentice at Food and Wine Magazine; The Food Network television program; and the Tavern on the Green restaurant in New York City. Liz then moved to Chicago to set up and run the culinary program for the newly opened Sur La Table anchor store in Chicago, where she helped to develop culinary content and a corporate-wide training program for their nationwide chain of stores. Shortly after the birth of her first child, Liz began to recognize the need for more regional child-focused programming and menu development. Liz founded Kiddy Cuisine to teach children self-assurance through cookery and fun, and to teach parents to enjoy cooking with their families.  Currently Liz is focusing all her efforts on bringing Lizzie’s Bake Shoppe customers the most delicious cakes in the city. Stop on in, and try one of her delectable creations.