Ever since she was 3 years old, junior Bella Hedly has enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen. When she was 12 years old, her family learned that her brother had lactose intolerance. 

Hedly said that after realizing her brother couldn’t enjoy many store-purchased treats, she was inspired to start her own bakery.

“We couldn’t buy him anything anymore, so I decided that I would start to bake things for him, because specialty items usually taste like plastic,” Hedly said.

In 2014, she opened Delicious Dairy Free, an online bakery that caters to those with different food allergies.

“Everything I bake is dairy-free, and a lot of them are gluten-free and egg-free to help meet the special needs around here,” Hedly said.

Through her baking, she said that she hopes to show that dairy-free food can taste just as good as the original version.

According to Hedly, one of the highlights of her business is bringing in cookies, cupcakes and other baked goods to share with her classmates at school.

“The best part was being able to bring in treats for everyone and [seeing] the smiles on their faces,” she said.

Hedly said that she hopes to expand Delicious Dairy Free in the future, especially after she graduates college. Until then, she said she plans to keep baking sweets for people with allergies so that they can continue to enjoy delicious desserts.

“When people get those allergies, it doesn’t have to be end of all taste. You don’t want to lose that part of life.” Hedly said. “Food is what makes a lot of people really happy.”

Hedly’s bakery can be found at either her website, deliciousdairyfree.net, or at her Facebook page, Delicious Dairy Free (@DeliciousDairyFreeBakery).