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Food & Drink: Kember’s, Perfect Dish deliver on health

By Rachel Pinsky
Published: February 2, 2018, 6:00am
4 Photos
A disease led Marilyn Roseburrough to make dietary changes that helped her create businesses. She owns Kember’s Gluten Free and co-owns Perfect Dish in Vancouver.
A disease led Marilyn Roseburrough to make dietary changes that helped her create businesses. She owns Kember’s Gluten Free and co-owns Perfect Dish in Vancouver. Photo Gallery

In 2009, Marilyn Roseburrough was diagnosed with fibromuscular dysplasia, a rare disease that causes a blockage of arteries. A specialist in New York was able to clear an artery leading to her kidney but told her there wasn’t anything he could do to prevent another, highly likely, life-threatening artery blockage.

On the airplane ride home, she decided to see a naturopath that a friend recommended named Dr. Keivan Jinnah. She described her first meeting with Dr. Jinnah: “I walked in and I said, ‘I am willing to do anything. I have a 5- and 7-year-old at home. I want to live as long as I possibly can.'”

“I wasn’t a big believer in this at that point, but I was willing to give it a try, to go full on,” she said. “I spent a ton of money on supplements. I walked out at that time with what I thought was a crazy diet — no gluten, no dairy, no soy, no nightshades because they are inflammatory, no corn, limited eggs, and meat if it is organic and grass-fed. From that second I walked out of his office, I went cold turkey.”

It took a while for Marilyn and her family to adjust to this new diet. Eventually, she mastered the art of gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free meals and baked goods. Friends and family told her she should start a company, so she sold gluten-free mixes at the Vancouver Farmers Market. She called her company Kember’s — a combination of her daughters’ names, Kate and Ember. The mixes sold out quickly so she expanded her line to six mixes — waffle, brownie, pizza crust, doughnut, pumpkin bread, and crepe. At the farmers market, she met the owners of the Hello Waffle food truck (now a drive-thru window in Camas), C’est La Vie Cafe and Ben’s Bottle Shop, all of whom use her mixes to create gluten-free options for their customers.

Arika White of Hello Waffle told me, “We decided to try Kember’s gluten-free waffle batter after some of our market customers mentioned it. We love that she is local and enjoy supporting another local female-owned business. People really love our gluten-free waffles using the Kember’s mix.”

After her farmers market success, Marilyn decided to bring her mixes to grocery stores — New Seasons Market was very receptive and supportive. All of her gluten-free mixes are available at New Seasons and Kember’s is a brand partner. As part of that partnership, she developed gluten-free pizza dough balls — found in the refrigerator section of prepared food by the front of the store — that have the New Seasons brand on them. They are also available at Chuck’s, labeled as Kember’s. Marilyn said, “I can’t even say enough about New Seasons and how much they have helped me to get on the map, to hire an employee, to gain traction.” Another prepared item will arrive at New Seasons Market in May.

Two years ago, Marilyn decided to launch a second company, Perfect Dish — a prepared food delivery service. She partnered with Shelene Rice. Marilyn said, “The best thing I could have done was bring her on as my 50-50 partner. We have so much fun.” A sample menu that Marilyn gave me included pho noodle bowls (vegan pho or chicken pho), quinoa stuffed poblano peppers with avocado cashew crema, kung pao cauliflower with sauteed broccoli slaw, and shrimp ceviche with homemade tostada chips. The meals are ordered by portions so people with food allergies, gluten-free eaters, vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, carnivores, and whatever-atarians can sit down and eat together.

Looking back on this crazy, scary, tearful, amazing journey, Marilyn wouldn’t change a thing. “I am a different person than I was 10 years ago and I would never go back,” she said. “I had never thought about supplements and whole foods until that diagnosis. Eventually, I will probably be full on vegan, my body prefers that. It’s an adventure.”


Rachel Pinsky can be emailed at couveeats@gmail.com, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @couveeats.

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