Monster Munch

Without gluten or dairy, the East Market’s new mini-donut vendor offers monstrously delicious flavors, and a process Columbus can trust

By Matt Mahoney / Photos by Tyler Jamison / Story Design by Bryce Patterson

In my eyes, “trust” isn’t that much of a consideration when dining out. For better or for worse, we believe that the appropriate health authorities are keeping everything in line behind the scenes, but beyond that, most do not worry much about getting what they need.

If the salad comes out with blue cheese rather than goat, consider this a happy little surprise. If the beef turns out to be pork, you might feel a bit slighted, but this is far from a serious health concern. As I have come to find however, this might not be the case with everyone.

In the midst of my conversation with Emma Fleming, owner and operator of Monster Baby Donuts at East Market, I came to learn a little bit about donuts, and oddly enough, a lot about trust.

For the uninitiated, Monster Baby Donuts offers their own unique spin on the beloved breakfast treat, with each and every available item made both gluten-free and wholly vegan. Make no mistake: these labels have been in vogue as of late in the food sector, but Fleming’s desire to produce these vegan, gluten-free treats does not appear to be borne out of an eagerness to cash in on a trend – after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease and allergies to dairy and eggs at a young age, Fleming became aware of the difficulties that people with dietary restrictions face.

“It's very difficult to find places that specialize in allergy-safe baking, especially if you’re talking straight gluten-free or the vegan community,” she remarked of the culinary landscape.

When she was lucky enough to find an institution that did serve gluten-free, vegan food, however, the quality usually wasn’t the best. “Everything tasted like playdough or cardboard,” Fleming admitted with a laugh.

The only thing worse than food you can barely taste is food that you can’t trust, and when it comes to supposedly “gluten-free” institutions, one must tread carefully. Fleming recalls a time when she ordered gluten-free pasta at a restaurant, only to find that the pasta was boiled in the very same water as the fullgluten stuff.

As a result of her untrustworthy experiences and dietary restrictions, Fleming decided to start working in a series of locales that specialized in gluten-free and vegan food. First, Simply Gluten Free in Dayton, and then Chubby Bunny Bakery in Hamilton, the latter of which is an entirely gluten-free and vegan operation.

“I feel like the biggest takeaway I had from that place is the community aspect of it – finding people who have been through the same experiences as you, who haven’t been able to eat places or can’t trust what they eat,” she said. “Especially when I was serving kids and they were like, ‘I’ve never had a cookie before, I’ve never had this before.’ Being able to help them have that first experience, it was truly amazing.”

Though a stint in the corporate world stole Fleming away from the baking sector for a time, the call of the kitchen eventually became too strong to ignore. Slowly but surely she began to craft her own recipes, and while it was not an easy process trying to create desserts without any eggs, milk or flour, she was eventually able to develop a product that satisfied both dietary restrictions and taste tests.

As is often the case with fledgling bakers, Fleming’s first opportunities to sell her products were at area farmers markets and festivals. One particular moment of realization came at the Columbus Book Festival, where even a week’s worth of baking beforehand only provided them with enough product to make it through the first few hours of the first day of the festival. With the product honed and the demand overflowing, Fleming and her collaborators set out to find a suitable spot for expansion.

The first and most important step was finding a location where they could bake their gluten-free and vegan products without having to worry about cross-contamination. After securing a kitchen in Plain City, Fleming then began to research places to sell the finished products. In what she saw as a long-shot, Fleming submitted a vendor application to East Market, and to her surprise, she was accepted. “I thought about it for like, ten minutes, called my husband and was like, ‘We’re doing this, let’s go.’”

Monster Baby Donuts’ stall officially opened for business on October 27th, and here, Fleming and company appear to have hit the ground running. “It was utter insanity,” she reflected upon her first day. “Moving into it I was like, ‘OK, we’re just gonna do it, we’re gonna make a bunch of mistakes and it’ll be fine. We’re gonna learn from it and go.’”

Today at the East Market, Monster Baby’s donuts exude a fun, almost cartoonish playfulness, in part due to their miniature size, and in part due to their exuberant frosting colors and add-ons. Visitors can try their popular Donut Packs in flavors like Strawberry Lemonade (a strawberry donut with lemon and strawberry glaze), Cookie Monster (a chocolate chip donut with blue vanilla glaze and crushed, gluten-free Oreos on top), or A Sprinkle in Time (a vanilla donut with pink and chocolate glaze and rainbow sprinkles), plus more classic flavors like Cinnamon Sugar, Chocolate Glaze, and rotating seasonal donuts.

Aside from mini donuts, Monster Baby also offers Sunbutter Buckeye Fudge, indulgent mini muffins, a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich, and even chocolate-covered pretzels. All of these treats are, of course, vegan and gluten-free as well.

The biggest surprise thus far has been the sheer distance that some folks have been willing to cross for their donut fix. As Fleming expressed, it is not uncommon for a customer to have driven 60, even 90 minutes for the sole purpose of getting a treat. While this might seem absurd to some, we must always keep in mind the concept of trust as it surrounds gluten-free and vegan institutions.

Even today with a growing number of these dining locales available around the greater Columbus area, it can be difficult to find a place that you can trust to both prepare a tasty meal, and to have it prepared in a way that accommodates one’s dietary restrictions. With Monster Baby Donuts going the extra mile to ensure every product is crafted in such a way, it should come as no surprise that those with these special restrictions would travel a considerable distance to do business with folks they can trust.

A vegan, gluten-free donut might not be for everyone—but I would certainly implore the “meat and wheat” heads like myself to try it. For those who truly need a place they can trust, Monster Baby Donuts might just be a light shining in the darkness. ♦

To see more flavors and learn more about Monster Baby’s offerings, visit Monsterbabydonuts.com.