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Construction Video Blog #5

July 14, 2011 | Posted in:  bakery, construction, update

 Welcome to the latest construction update on the bakery!

It's starting to come together (albeit later than expected, but better late than never!) and we're all really excited for the opening. Until then, indulge your bellies in some Cake & Loaf goods at the Ancaster Farmers' Market on Wednesdays or the Ottawa St. Farmers' Market Saturdays, and feast your eyes on the wonderful greens and blues on the walls of the bakery! 

Enjoy!

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May I introduce...

July 01, 2011 | Posted in:  bakery, interns, bio

 

The Cake & Loaf Interns!

From left to right; Stefani, Julia, Lindsay, Suzanne

 

Stefani - Marketing Machine (and newest C+L blogger)

Stefani grew up in Mississauga, and after studying music in B.C., came to McMaster to complete her undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Classics. It was after living in downtown Hamilton that she realized her love for its culture, local businesses, and people. Stefani also has a deep love for dogs and rats, though these are best kept out of the bakery!

Despite her "machine" status, Stefani is very excited to sample the treats that will emerge from the Cake & Loaf kitchen and can't wait to work with all these lovely ladies. This is an amazing opportunity to learn and meet people and she is taking every bit of it in. If you hear her humming around the store, listen closely as she may be writing Cake & Loaf's new hit jingle!


Julia - Badass Baker in Training

Julia (McIntosh) has been living in Hamilton for four years, and currently calls the Jamesville neighbourhood home. A country girl from the Stratford area, she came to the city to study Communications and Cultural Studies at McMaster. Julia has grown to really love Hamilton and, having recently graduated, has decided to stay and build community in this wonderful place!

Julia loves to bake and cook, and scope out delicious local foods as much as possible. She is very excited to be learning more about baking techniques with the experienced guidance of Josie and Nickey, and helping Cake + Loaf to blossom and grow. Julia also enjoys biking around the city and local trails, gardening, hiking, yoga, and road trips.


Lindsay - Part Food-loving Enthusiast, Part Marketing Machine

After spending time in St. Catharines and Toronto for school and work, I've found that my true passion lies in Hamilton and it's small business community. I love meeting new people and feeling like a part of the amazing downtown community. I hope one day to be a proud business owner myself.

I love to meet new people, so if you see me around please come and say hello! In my spare time I love reading, testing out my cooking skills on my boyfriend, walking my dog, sandwiches, tweeting and margaritas.In the mean time I divide my time between White Elephant Vintage, Slainte Irish Pub and Cake+Loaf.

 
 Suzanne - Local Food-loving Enthusiast

With a passion for all things delicious, I am thrilled to be joining the Cake+Loaf crew for a most exciting summer! An enthusiastic amateur baker and gardener with a love of learning, sweet peas and raspberries, I look forward to broadening my horizons and sharing the bountiful harvest of the Cake+Loaf gardens!

A native Hamiltonian, I share my own little backyard garden with my amazing husband, five beautiful children and two sweet feline friends. Hope to see you at the Market!

 

(Stay tuned for more about each intern and what they're doing at the bakery!) 

 

 

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Meet Josie!

February 22, 2011 | Posted in:  josie, owner, bakery, bio

 

Welcome back! This week’s blog post is going to focus on the other half of Cake and Loaf, Josie Rudderham. Finding time in her busy schedule to sit down for an interview, we find out a few things about this intrepid entrepreneur, including the challenges of motherhood and a love of gardening. Enjoy the interview, and if you have any suggestions for future blog posts, feel free to leave a comment or email us- we’d love to hear from you!
 
 
What's your role within Cake and Loaf?
 
I focus more on the savoury baked goods and bread baking. I’ve also taken on the role of Cake and Loaf’s social media mouthpiece.
 
 
How would you describe your partnership with Nickey?
 
We share really complimentary skill sets. Nickey is artistic, has quite developed skills with sugar work and her strengths lie in the realm of refined patisserie. I trained as a chef, and therefore tend to strive for flavour first which, in turn, has helped Nickey. We share similar personalities, and both abide by similar philosophies of going with the flow and taking things one step at a time. I feel that I’m more of a long term planner, whereas Nickey can focus well on short term organization and planning, due to her experience as a bakery manager. Our friendship really flowered after the decision was made to run a business together, which has been a wonderful benefit. With honest, clear goals in mind, we are working really well together towards something we both really want.
 
 
What's the best part about opening your own bakery?
 
I think the idea of contributing a landmark to the community is probably the best part of opening our business. I love the idea of being that neighbourhood bakery. I grew up with one, and I think it's a solid cornerstone of a good community. I also love the idea of building a family business at some point; hopefully one day our children will take the reins and continue on with our vision.
 
 
What prompted your gluten-free and local ingredient decisions?
 
Gluten-free was decided primarily because of my sister and a friend, both of whom had gone gluten-free and couldn't find good products. I'm flavour obsessed, so I saw it as a challenge to make gluten-free products with that in mind. I just couldn’t see why it would be difficult for us to make these products with the best flavours possible. As for local ingredients, it’s something I’ve always lived with, something that started with my family, and has always been a natural way of life for me. Therefore, I wanted to continue that through our business. The more we get into sourcing these ingredients and meeting the families producing them, the more passionate we get about it. We want to support these people because we like them.
 
 
How long have you been gardening for? Do you plan on incorporating home grown into the bakery?
 
I’ve been gardening my whole life; it’s a family thing. To be honest, though, it’s my husban, Luke, who has the real green thumb. I pick the produce and he grows it. We want to try as much as possible to incorporate our own gardening into our products. We have a large urban garden a few houses down from the bakery and we’re planning to incorporate a rooftop garden above the bakery itself.
 
 
What's been your biggest challenge so far?
 
I have to say that balancing family life with business can be really difficult. Making sure you're being fair for everyone is important. It's one thing to make time for your child, but another to make time for your husband, family, friends, etc. It's easy to work a hundred hours a week, so it's important to take a step back and draw the line somewhere.
 
 
Tell me about your daughter and the impact she's had on this business.
 
Lily is 18 months old and already showing a strong interest in gardening and baking, so I have hopes that she will be part of the bakery one day. Like any parent, you think twice about everything you put into your child's body and what they're surrounded by, so it's important for me to know she's eating healthy food and to know where her food is coming from. She helps reinforce the family-oriented aspect of our business. Once you have a child, you look at the world differently, and now I have a better understanding of consequences for my actions because I have to think for her and make sure my choices benefit her life.
 
 
What about Hamilton really appeals to you as business owner?
 
I just love Hamilton- the green spaces, the eclectic atmosphere, its multiculturalism, the burgeoning art scene. There’s a real renaissance happening in Hamilton, due in large part to a dramatic shift from manufacturing to education and health care. Because of that, we’re seeing a real shift towards more cultural activities, more art and more opportunity for a business like ours.
 
 
Are there any changes you'd like to see (or make) in your field?
 
There’s been a big shift towards convenience and frozen foods lately. Bakeries are purchasing pre-prepared dough and reducing labour for higher profit margins. This is something we’d like to see change in the industry and we want to move away from convenience ourselves by showing the public where their food is coming from and why it's important for their health and our economy. We'd also like to see the culinary field appreciated as a trade (including the skill sets involved).
 
 
Tell me about the fundraiser you've got coming up. What can people expect?
 
We’re really excited for this. It’s going to be a fundraiser to help cover the cost for opening the bakery. It’s going to take place on Saturday, March 19th at Fenian Films on Locke St. from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. It will be free admission during the day, and $10 for the evening concert. Daytime festivities will include a bake sale, acoustic live music, face painting, children’s activities and an amateur cake decorating competition. There will be lots of baked goods for sale and we’ll be having a raffle (with local businesses donating prizes). The evening will have more of a concert atmosphere, and will include local bands, alcohol and more food. It’s going to be a great party, 50% of our profits will be going towards a local cancer charity (the Juravinski Cancer Centre), and we encourage everyone to come down and check it out!
 
 
An easy final question: What's your favourite Cake and Loaf menu item?
 
Croissants, hands down. We make them with French style cultured butter, with a whole wheat starter (which gives it a touch of whole wheat flavour). Flaky, buttery and delicious; can't get much better.

 

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Meet Nickey!

February 11, 2011 | Posted in:  Nickey, bio, owner, bakery, cake

Hi Everyone! In an effort to maintain a connection with all you fine folks who check out our website, we
are going to be making a concerted effort to keep our blog regularly updated. This way, you’ll be able
to see what we’re up to, the things/people/food we enjoy, and get a glimpse behind the scenes of Cake
and Loaf while we gear up for opening in the spring.

Our first post is an interview I did, talking about my decision to become an entrepreneur and how things
first got started with Josie and I. It’s been a long journey so far, but the best is yet to come! Enjoy the
interview, and if you’d like to request any topics for us to cover in our blog, we encourage you to leave a
comment or email us and let us know- we’d be happy to fulfill your request!

-Nickey

What prompted your first thought about running your own business and being your own boss?

I’ve always thought about it, ever since I was young. I always knew I wanted to work for myself. Back in grade six, I sold dream-catchers and beaded and hemp necklaces to friends and family. I was so into it, I would make pamphlets and order sheets to advertise my wares! When I got into baking in high school and realized I had a knack for it, it wasn’t long before I entertained thoughts of running my own business.

How did you and Josie meet? How long after meeting did you first discuss opening your own
business?

We met at Niagara College, in the patisserie apprentice program. We were in the same class, which was rather small (around a dozen people). Given our similar personalities, we grew close early on. After school, we lost touch for a few years, and then connected again on Facebook. We went for coffee one night and I mentioned opening a bakery, Josie said same thing, and we spent the rest of the evening talking about opening one together.

What steps did you take in the beginning that really made you think this could be possible?

Securing clientele prior to working together, and having a solid customer base. I knew there was a market, so I pursued it further while continuing to work a regular job at Sweet Paradise bakery. I think purchasing the house with Josie (the future site of Cake and Loaf bakery) was a big step.

What was the turning point in your decision? The point of no return, where you committed yourself to
this endeavour?

At first I thought it was the house, but when the recession hit, thoughts of just renting it out were being brought to the table. Josie having a baby also put a hold on things for a while, while I continued to do cakes for clients as i had been in the past. The point of no return ended up being our website (cakeandloaf.ca) going live, and everything kind of falling into place after that.

Do you feel that you still would have made the same decision without Josie?

I think so, but it probably would have been home based, through my own kitchen, and possibly growing to some point from there.

What were/are your biggest fears with opening a business?

Financial fears were probably my biggest fear at first; now it’s more a matter of not meeting goals or expectations within the business, or finding the right ingredients and maintaining local and responsible operations. Although I know we’ll do our best at making sure those goals are realized, it’s always something that will be on my mind.

Do you think Hamilton will be a good place for your business? Why/Why not?

Yes, I think Hamilton has undergone a lot of change in recent years that will be conducive to the type of business we’d like to run. The revitalization of the bakery’s surrounding areas and the emergence of local and sustainable eating habits within Hamilton definitely show promise. A burgeoning community attitude, the popularity of our farmer’s markets (including the new and improved market downtown), and being right next door to a large elementary school are all great reasons to think Hamilton will be a good place for our business.

Looking forward, what do you hope to accomplish within the next year?

We want to be a solid part of the surrounding community. We want to reach more people with alternative baking and gluten free options, giving them more choice than they currently have. Being able to source all our ingredients from local farms or wholesalers is really important to us and I want to make sure that will continue as we continue our business.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur, or someone who wants to change their life?

Don't give up, no matter how hard it seems. I know it’s cliché, but it really is true. Make lots of mistakes, because you'll always learn something from them.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our next post: an interview with Josie!
 

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