Camp Celiac 2009

So after returning from our three week cross country trip from California to upstate New York and back we had a little over a week and then we were off to Camp Celiac at Camp Arroyo http://www.celiaccamp.com/ in Livermore, California. Camp Arroyo is part of The Taylor Family Foundation http://www.ttff.org/. Elaine Taylor who is the founder of this foundation is also a Celiac and understand the hardships that children with this disease face, created a week of Celiac camp. Camp Arroyo allows children with various disabilities to come for a week of camp for only a nominal $25.00 registration fee. As the camp runs solely on donations my husband and I volunteer as much as we can. It is not all work, it is so much fun!!

This camp while having tons of amenities of a REAL camp experience is based more on the food. Gluten-free food that is! Elaine Taylor hunts high and low to ensure that only the best gluten-free foods are prepared and served at Camp Celiac. Everything from French toast, waffles, pancakes, bagels, all of the bread you can eat, home made pizza, Pad Thai, ravioli's, chicken strips, lasagna, Caesar salad, a salad bar and sandwich bar at every lunch and dinner, chocolate souffles, cupcakes, ice cream on ice cream cones, brownies, birthday cake, cherry and apple pie to just name a few, were some of the delectable fare served at camp.

The most amazing attribute of this Celiac Camp is that not only the children that participate have Celiac but the ALL of the counselors, and parent volunteers as well. You can't even imagine what a great experience this is for all involved. The children all become instant friends and they all look out for each other. There is no other place in the world where all of these children feel so much acceptance, and empathy.

This year at camp I was able to do a gluten-free cooking class for mostly the junior counselors, some campers, and parent volunteers. While the class was not one of my usual classes (because the attendants were primarily 19 years old and under and I did not actually have a kitchen) it was quite enjoyable. I served them three different kinds of cake: Black Forest, Carrot Chocolate Chunk, and Orange Pound Cake. I shared recipes and my philosophy on cooking and baking gluten-free.

Although everyone was exhausted, no one really wanted camp to end (except for Elaine's kitchen staff who were cooking and baking non-stop!). We ended our week with an awesome gluten-free vendor fair. We had over 16 gluten-free vendors. It was a taste treat for all of the senses!! We again had more food to sample and take home with us.

Click on this link to see photos and videos from camp: http://campceliacshutterfly.com/ .