I’m sure you’ve had those conversations where it feels as if the person you are talking to is reading your mind or telling your story? Well that’s exactly what happened to me when I sat down with Amy Gibson, owner of real food café Wilder and Hunt. Amy, like myself, has been on a journey to feeling healthy inside and out, and it has been a long process of elimination. Amy trained as a chef over 10 years ago and has worked in countless cafes and catering companies through the years. “My whole life revolves around food. Some people play tennis and I like to eat food. My husband and I like to try a new restaurant every date night and a new café on Sundays but it’s always been hard for me as I have gluten intolerance,”

Symptoms of gluten intolerance can range from migraines, fatigue, Keratosis Pilaris (the “chicken skin” on the back of arms) to bloating and more. Over 55 diseases have been linked to gluten, the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It’s estimated that 94% of the people who have either gluten intolerance or celiac disease are never diagnosed. “I first went gluten free but I soon realized how awful most gluten free food is. Most of it is full of dead carbs that don’t give you any nutrition. The main parts of my sickness went by going gluten free but I still didn’t feel great,” It was with her pregnancy to her second child that Amy tried eating paleo. “I started eating what I thought was paleo and I put on 30kgs. It was all from the sugar I was eating from such large portions of fruit. I was pregnant but it was crazy. I thought I was eating what I thought was clean food but it was only when I read Sarah Wilson’s book How I Quit Sugar that I realized how bad my diet was.” So after 7 years of trying every diet under the sun Amy finally started feeling better. Her eczema, the main symptom of her gluten intolerance, went away.

It was through this new healthy lifestyle of being sugar, grain and dairy free that Amy started baking paleo treats. “One of my good friends was an amazing baker of paleo treats and she had a blog and we were like we should sell this stuff. People want this kind of food, nobody else was selling this. So I actually started baking and selling at the soccer club. Our first order was 10 items and that’s how it really all started,” The orders flooded in and Amy soon needed a bigger kitchen to do this type of baking. So she inquired about a kitchen in St. Helliers. However the front of the shop, including the kitchen, was part of the lease and so Wilder and Hunt was born.

From the moment Wilder and Hunt opened last year it has gathered momentum and a loyal customer base. In July Wilder and Hunt will open its second café in Ponsonby. The space will be bigger with a courtyard and more room to sit. They will have a salad bar where you can make your own salad, a breakfast menu (there are rumors of paleo waffles…stop it!) and specialty coffees. Along with their frozen meal options (a lifesaver for the busy person) will be paleo pies and all kinds of baked treats that I can’t believe are free of sugars and gluten. The chocolate brownie is my personal favorite. I can’t even handle how “not”-good-for-me it tastes.

Amy and her team have made something truly special at Wilder and Hunt. The food is real, fresh and delicious. It’s all about your own journey to health, learning and still having that slice of (healthy) cake at the end of the meal. Perfect!

FM-What is a food you could not live without? Coconut oil. I use in on my skin, hair for cooking and baking. But it has to be the good stuff.

FM- Your perfect day off would be? Going with my kids and husband to the beach for the day. Or just a road trip to the farm.

FM-What is one food that you think is doing the most damage to the modern day diet? Sugar, Sugar is in everything and is disguised. And it think it’s the worst thing you can do to your health.

FM-What advice would you give to someone who is just starting off their healthy lifestyle? Don’t be too hard on yourself but make a commitment but do something each day that will improve your health. Every time you make decision about what to eat take something bad out and add something good in. Don’t try to change your whole diet overnight. Also don’t do this to lose weight do this to give yourself life.

FM-Where was the last place you travelled and what’s next on your travel list? I last went to great barrier island and the next place is New York with my husband.

FM-Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? I see wilder and hunt in every supermarket and service station so people will always have good healthy real food to eat.

The amazing photos are shot by Danelle from A Couple of Night Owls. Check them out!!

Make sure you check out these amazing two cafes.

15 Maskell Street, Saint Heliers and 65 Mackelvie Street Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand

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