food making healthier options and I got a lot of requests for gluten free products. To avoid any mishaps I made everything gluten and wheat free, and then I had vegans asking for products, and so it’s gone from just healthier options, to specialised products as well. I often have people ask for tailor made cakes with lots of specifications and I really like the challenge of getting creative and trying new things.’ Protein bar hysteria Now offering an exclusive range of unique products, Elke claims to have begun with firm customer favourite, the Nuttylicious, a wholesome dupe for the Snickers bar, made using natural “I can make up to five sweeteners and proteins, and dairy hundred bars free dark chocolate. ‘From there I got to work on making what is now in a week.” the Mighty Bar, a healthy version of the Mars Bar. I then I worked my way through other popular recreations, these are also the products with the longest shelf life and therefore what I can offer to places, to sell.’ The Muscle Malt, Elke’s Maltersers alternative has been in huge demand. ‘These sell out every week. It’s crazy! I can make up to five hundred bars in a week. I do everything from managing social media, to taking photos of all the products and creating the recipes.’ She draws inspiration from other bloggers and Instagramers, cakes she might come across in magazines that spur an urge to recreate a healthy version, and requests for tailor made products, sent in by clients. Elke gives me an insight into the ingredients she often uses, including brown rice, cashews, agarve nectar and ground oats. The pantry list on her website delves further into lesser known healthy ingredients, many of which I came across at the Health Store, during my research for the healthy eating
fad piece published in the September 2015 issue of the magazine. ‘Bringing out the book also allowed me to raise awareness, giving people an insight into what goes into all the recipes.’ She flips lightly through the Muscle Baking Volume 1 edition sat in front of her. The design mirrors her product packaging and website style; clean, attractive and very professional. ‘I did it all myself, it’s self-published and self-designed. I’m a graphic designer, and I knew exactly how I wanted to put it across. It was a lot more work doing it by myself, but the finished product is so satisfying.’ The book offers much more than just recipes for Elke’s sweet treats, it also outlines breakfasts, lunches and desserts. Her savoury recipes also offer healthy duplicates to favoured junk food, like onion rings and pizza, and low carb and fat meals that are still wholesome and satisfying. The book was launched during a workshop she was asked to host in London, in conjunction with Gym Versus and Bulk Powders. It is now on sale both on the Muscle Bakery Website, and in local sportswear boutique, Shorji. Fitness fiend Elke’s brand is heavily influenced by her love of fitness. ‘I got serious about it around three or four years ago. I was always active and a keen runner, but I’ve never been passionate about it. When I started implementing all these changes in my diet, I got more interested in weight training and learning about it. I started out small, attending circuits, and from there I ventured into the man “My friends cave that is the weights area. Last suggested that year I was ready to enter a fitness I started to sell competition but I realised you can only focus on a certain number of some of it.”
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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2016