Today we’d like to introduce you to Cortney Mumaugh.
Hi Cortney, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When life gives you lemons, you make lemon cake right? No, just me? That’s cool – because I love to bake! When our little guy was diagnosed with dairy and soy allergies as an infant, he threw us for a loop! Kids, right! Once we got his diet under control and his little tummy happy, we saw the power of food – the good and the bad. We kicked off this little adventure in 2015 because we couldn’t find any safe places for us to get a treat, and Little Monkey Kitchen was born! Everyone deserves fresh brownies every now and then!
We have grown over the years to what we are today – an allergy-friendly home bakery serving Northwest Ohio. We meet for delivery in Allen, Putnam, and Hancock counties making it easy for everyone to get safe treats. We also have products for sale at two amazing local businesses, in Ottawa and Elida. Is there anything better than small businesses working together?
Everything we make is completely gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy free from a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free home – making us Celiac safe. Most items are nut free as well. If you have other allergies, like rice, corn, cinnamon, coconut,… don’t worry! We make our own custom flour blend, so it’s very easy to substitute for other allergies. Everything we make is custom, just for you, to fit your specific allergy needs!
Navigating this crazy life can be hard enough before throwing food allergies into the mix. Let us help make things a little easier because desserts are our thing!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a business is a lot like having kids; a lot of people have done it but no one really knows what they are doing! There have been growing pains and lessons learned – the hard way a few times, unfortunately. What keeps me going are my amazing, AMAZING customers! When I receive messages saying, “Nothing brings a smile to my kids’ faces like yummy cookies that are safe for them to eat! Thanks for your tireless efforts to make allergy-friendly treats for everyone to enjoy!” it makes it all worth it!
No one, especially little ones, deserve food allergies! At social events, like birthday parties, it can be so lonely watching everyone else enjoy a beautiful cake while a child is stuck sipping on a glass of water wishing to be “normal.” It can be heartbreaking to watch, especially as a mom. If I can help in any way to make things a little more normal, I’m up for the challenge! Foods are such a fundamental part of our society, especially when big moments are celebrated: birthdays, weddings, First Communions, graduations, etc. We gather around the table to feast and bond together. We want to help make sure everyone has safe treats at that table for all of life’s big moments!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My home bakery specializes in allergy-friendly treats – specifically gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy free! Our home is also free of those allergens which makes us safe for even the most severe allergies – anaphylactic reactions. Almost all our products are nut free as well but we do have a limited number of nut products in our home. Getting fresh allergy-friendly treats is hard! I’m proud to be able to offer safe treats to the allergy community!
I love being able to help our community! When I get that first message from a mom whose child was diagnosed with an allergy, she’s scared, tired, and overwhelmed – and I get it! I was right there a few years ago too. I love being able to help process all the information and ease the worry a little bit. There is nothing better than seeing the relief in her eyes when we deliver that first set of beautifully decorated treats to her, and she realizes that everything will be OK!!! Allergy parents carry extra worry about our kids, and I can definitely relate to that.
Little Monkey Kitchen has lots of best sellers but topping that list are our cinnamon rolls, pumpkin maple cookies, brownies, and sugar cookies! I’m constantly told by non-allergy customers how “normal” they taste! And that’s my goal – allergy-friendly treats should never suffer in flavor or presentation!
What are your plans for the future?
The sky is the limit! Unfortunately, food allergies have skyrocketed the last decade or so – for numerous reasons, but our customer base keeps growing. As more people are in need of allergy safe products, we are happy to help! No one deserves to miss out of life’s special moments just because of food allergies!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.littlemonkeykitchen.com/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/littlemonkeykitchen
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/littlemonkeykitchen
