PANAMA CITY — The miniature cupcakes were fluffy, golden pillows, flecked with orange. Another baked snack is the “cheesy bacon bite.”
How does that sound?
Melony White’s designated taste testers were frantic with excitement — jumping up and down — waiting to try the most recent batch Thursday. They are her beloved Pekinese dogs, Chloe and Chewy. She guessed they might be the most spoiled dogs in America.
In the first two months of White’s business, Gourmet Chews, White has had other satisfied customers. Her brother’s cats and dogs tag teamed to devour a bag of chicken liver chews — the cats knocked the bag on the floor while the dogs ripped open the packaging.
--- GOURMET CHEWS ON THE WEB»»
White makes 10 different varieties of snacks for her canine customers, usually taking about 30 minutes to bake a batch at her 1227 Grace Ave. home. The most popular are the cupcakes made with chicken and carrots, the cheesy bacon bites including oats, and the apple cinnamon chews, which include cornmeal, eggs and vegetable oil along with the requisite apple and cinnamon.
Thus far the only snack she can get her cat to eat are the chicken livers. She has been experimenting with different recipes but has yet to crack the mysterious feline appetite.
“They’re finicky,” she said.
Necessity was the mother of invention for Gourmet Chews. Chloe and Chewy would suffer itchy allergic reactions to mass-produced treats. White started baking her own treats and with a little research has found a market for gourmet dog treats. Some dog owners do not leave the diet of their favorite companions to chance, sampling the treats themselves.
“It’s everything you eat,” White said.
She also is working with carob, a liquefied bean that can be coated on treats and resembles chocolate, and she can make the snacks gluten free for dogs with wheat allergies. She sells the treats on her website ranging from 79 cents for a mini apple cinnamon chew, to $7.79 for chicken liver chews and she also offers cakes in $20 and $30 varieties.
White has a contract with a Colorado bakery for baked-style treats, which last much longer. The snacks White bakes herself last two weeks in the refrigerator and a year in the freezer.
--- GOURMET CHEWS ON THE WEB»»
She has decided to take a semester off school at Gulf Coast State College and put her business degree to work. So far, White is selling the treats online, but she will have a booth at The Fest event on Feb. 27 in the Panama City Mall Parking lot and at Springfield Founders’ Day.
Part of White’s motivation is her father, Maj. Carl Washington. He died in May and grief led White to slow down her studies and pursue a different dream.
But she also loves animals, and Gourmet Chews is another way to continue that love while her education is on hold.