Ted Wolff von Selzam
Ted Wolff von Selzam is the most unlikely person to be on the culinary and business cutting
edge of gluten- and wheat-free foods.
Untrained as an allergist or food chemist, during the early 1990s, he nevertheless began
developing foods so that those with a hypersensitivity to wheat and other food intolerances could enjoy baked
goods.
For 3 1/2 years, Wolff von Selzam, a former social worker, operated a health food store in
Stade, Germany (a small town near Hamburg) where he studied cooking. He came to Edmonton in 1986, and enrolled
in a YMCA entrepreneur program, intent on developing a small business.
He chose the niche market of dietetic specialty foods, concentrating on baked goods and cooked
entrees that were free of gluten, wheat, eggs, yeast and other ingredients that wreak havoc on the digestive
systems of the hyper-allergic.
In the early days, Wolff von Selzam developed and prepared his foods at the Queen Alexandra
Community Hall kitchen, spending up to three months developing something as simple as a gluten-free loaf of bread
that tastes like food rather than medicine.
He would then sell the foods at his farmers market booth, as he earned his stripes as a
small businessman and amateur food research scientist.
Since those early farmers market beginnings in 1991, Wolff von Selzam has operated a
500-square-foot street-front shop, a larger shop with a café, and the current 40,000-square-foot development,
production and sales facilities. Wolfs products, marketed under the name Kinnikinnick Foods Inc., are found
in more than 1,200 grocery stores, gourmet food shops and specialty shops catering to those with dietary
concerns. The company also has considerable Internet presence through its website,
www.kinnikinnick.com.
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