A quaint little place with beautiful outdoor seating, The Happy Tart is nestled comfortably on Maple Avenue in Pearson Square. It is the only completely gluten-free bakery in Falls Church, and out-bakes all the other gluten-free options around.
The owner and executive chef of the bakery, Emma Cech, started the pastry shop in Falls Church about a year and a half ago, her second location. The other is in Alexandria on Mount Vernon Avenue.
The little bakery not only provides an awesome opportunity for gluten-free people to enjoy baked goods, but it also was a life changing experience for Cech. While attending culinary school at age 38, she discovered that she had celiac disease. As a baker since her early childhood, this was a drastic interference with her dreams of starting her own bakery. But instead of giving way to her conflict, she decided to work with it and create something new and wonderful. And tasty.
“Mentally, I just went from being super sad and depressed all the time to being normal and happy… and it made me so happy that I wanted to have “happy” in the name,” Cech said.
After much deliberation on the name of her entrepreneurship, she finally decided on The Happy Tart. The logo was created by a friend of hers, who is a graphic designer, and it perfectly captures what she hoped for:
“I wanted something fun and kind of flirty and a little bit sexy, ” Cech said.
Many people are sceptical of gluten free food. I think this is mainly because they either cannot believe food without gluten could possibly be good, or because the gluten free food they have tried is the sub-par – flavourless gluten-free food found in some grocery stores that is merely there as a replacement for gluten free people, not to actually be enjoyed.
“There really wasn’t any decent gluten free out there, it was all pretty horrid… I was like, I could do better than this,” Cech said.
And she did do better, I can tell. I am mostly gluten-free as well, and have tasted some of the flavourless gluten-free food that is out there. But in her bakery, Cech brings together sweetness, beauty, and gluten-free-ness in a truly wonderful mix.
As a very adamant fall-themed food fan, I had to try the pumpkin roll, and it was delicious. I could hardly tell it was gluten-free. It stayed together surprisingly well, and tasted like a normal pumpkin roll.
She also has an open window room that looks out into the seating place where she can decorate cakes in the view of the people.
Whether you want to go and enjoy a delicious gluten-free treat, or you are just willing to give gluten-free food another shot, go stop by The Happy Tart.
