Testimonials and Press
"I first tried Taste Buds Cookies after golfing at UT Golf Club in Austin. They were so tasty that I decided to have them for sale at my convenience store."
Gale Gilbert, Former NFL QB.
"Taste Buds Walnut Flax Seed Granola Cookies are the tastiest and healthiest cookies we sell at T.F.N. Nutrition Center"
Yvonne and Winthrop Graham
two-time Olympic medalist 400m H(Winthrop), World championship, European cup, World cup medalist and top tree ranking 1500m (Yvonne).
"We chose Taste Buds Granola cookies as the healthy snack for our sailors to sustain their energy for the 4-5 hours of dealing with the elements during the event."
B. Rochard
Chairman 2007 Roadrunner Youth Regatta, Austin, TX
SMART COOKIE
"WHEN MARGOT TRIPIER, a native of France, moved to Walnut Creek eight years ago, there was one thing about American food that bothered her: the cookies.
"I couldn't understand half of the words on the back of a package," says Tripier.
And the problem wasn't one of translation. Chances are you can't identify most of the ingredients in the average store-bought cookie either.
Luckily, Tripier was better equipped than most people to tackle the problem. She's a professional pastry chef, and her nighttime reading consists of cookbooks, not novels. She began to devolop her own cookie recipe, free of preservatives and trans fat. She wanted to make the cookies healthy, so she used organic oatmeal as a base for each recipe.
The wheat bran and organic ingredients in Tripier's "granola" cookies caught the attention of local Whole Foods employees.
"I got to know the people at Whole Foods in Walnut Creek," says Tripier. "After they tried my cookies, they wanted to sell them. At first, I brought the cookies in cellophane bags."
She soon left her job at Feel Good Bakery and created Taste Buds, her own brand of granola cookies loaded with nutritious ingredients, such as organic flour and flax seed, and California nuts. Currently, Tripier makes four kinds: walnut and flax seed, almond and dark chocolate chip, peanut butter and milk-chocolate chip (made with Valencia peanuts, a special variety), and almond and golden raisin.
Taste Buds cookies are generous in size - four and a half inches in diameter - and they have a crumbly texture and a buttery, satisfying flavor. Because they are so dense, the best way to enjoy them is with a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of iced tea or milk.
Taste Buds cookies are sold at Whole Foods stores in Walnut Creek, Berkeley, and San Ramon; at Pacific Bay Coffee shop in Walnut Creek; at Gold's Gym in Oakland; and at the Brenden Theatre in concord. www.fortastebuds.com.
Jennifer Grass
Diablo Magazine, June 2007
