I'm Maria, and The Phoenix Cake Company came about because of something that completely changed my life.

After a traumatic childbirth, I developed coeliac disease.

Suddenly, food became something I had to think about constantly. Checking ingredients, asking questions, worrying about cross-contamination and discovering just how limited the choices could be.

And quite frankly, I got fed up with it.

I love cake. I love good food. And I couldn't understand why being gluten-free meant I was expected to settle for less.

One brownie in a packet, a dry slice of something that tastes like cardboard, or being told there's nothing suitable.

We've all been there.

And I thought, surely we can do better than this?

I started The Phoenix Cake Company.

I wanted to create a bakery where everything was gluten-free. Not just a couple of things on the menu, but absolutely everything.

A place where someone with coeliac disease could look at a whole selection of cakes and actually choose what they wanted.

And I wasn't going to compromise on the taste either.

Because gluten-free cake should be every bit as good as any other cake.

What started in my kitchen has grown into our converted horsebox, travelling to markets, festivals, airshows and events across Essex and beyond.

And I absolutely love it.

Something I never expected was just how much our little business would mean to other people. I've met customers who have travelled miles to find us, families who plan days out around our events and people who tell

me they haven't been able to enjoy cake at a market for years. Those conversations stay with me. Because I know exactly how that feels.

And that's why I'm constantly looking for more events to attend. I want to

get  Phoenix in front of as many people as possible. There simply aren't enough completely gluten-free places out there, and until there are, I'll keep doing my best to reach more of you.