Interview with Chae Kim, Owner and Founder of Earthling Bakery and Foods by Julie Clement, CCABC President - September 2022
What is your work background?
I was a home baker, my work background is actually not related to anything culinary/pastries. I had taken baking classes in Korea before, which were very helpful and motivating. Before I opened up my business, I was working part time and studying at UBC in environmental resource management. My brother was working a corporate job, having put aside his passion for the culinary arts. He quit his job when the pandemic hit, and worked on this business full-time with me.
What prompted you to start your gluten free business?
My interest in baking with rice flour and other wheat-free ingredients started from going to one bakery in Korea that had the most amazing desserts that were entirely gluten free. In Korea, there are lots of bakeries that do not use wheat flour and use rice flour instead, because so many people have sensitivities to wheat. There, not a lot of people are diagnosed celiac, but they live their entire lives not knowing they might be allergic or have sensitivities to gluten because the disease is not as well known as it is in North America.
We opened our bakery in July 2021, after working at a commissary kitchen for almost a year since the pandemic. My brother who had more experience than I did at a kitchen having a culinary background, actually quit his corporate job at the time and worked full-time. In July of 2020 we hand-delivered our pastries to people's homes during lockdown, then to local cafes, then to local stores and groceries. A year later we were able to move into our own space in Port Coquitlam.
Do you have celiac staff on your team?
Our team is very small - just five people. We used to have a celiac member on our team, but now none of us actually are - some of us are vegan, some of us have sensitivities.
Where are your products produced? Is the facility dedicated gluten free?
Our bakery is dedicated gluten free, and we have a big sign outside the door that says no gluten allowed in the facility :)
We also work closely with our suppliers to make sure the ingredients are free from cross-contamination.
What is your bakery known for?
Our specialty is the dacquoise - a nut-meringue & buttercream French pastry that is traditionally made with wheat flour and nut flour, it could be hazelnuts/almonds/pistachios/ etc. We use almond flour, substitute the wheat for rice flour, and increase the percentage of almond flour so it is more protein rich and more flavourful. The texture is slightly crispy on the outside and very soft and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. We make all of the buttercreams with in-house ingredients - including our own jams/purees, using no artificial colours or flavours.
What have been the main challenges you have faced?
Currently the most challenging thing is keeping up with production as, like many other businesses, we are short-staffed; as well as making sure ingredient cost is stable during these very unstable times! For example, the price of our gluten free oats has almost doubled since the beginning of the year. It is a continuous learning process of balancing cost, labour, and at the same time maintaining quality of our goods and business relationships.
How did you adapt during the pandemic?
We actually started during the pandemic - we saw it as an opportunity rather than a challenge. We began with e-commerce, delivering to peoples' homes during the lockdown. Our pastries’ reputation spread through word of mouth and eventually became noticed by local cafes, which prompted us to focus on wholesale and collaborating with other local businesses, event companies, and farmers' markets!
If you were starting over, would you do things differently? Is there any help or support that you wish had been available?
Since my brother and I are still young entrepreneurs, it would have been helpful to learn more about grants and what was available to us out there. We missed many deadlines because we thought we were ineligible as a business that started during the pandemic while many other businesses were able to take advantage of them. We only recently found out about the BuyBC grant and we missed the deadline for this year but we were approved to use the logo, as most of our ingredients are locally produced in BC (eggs, cream, etc). We are hoping to apply for it in the next intake.
What is your work background?
I was a home baker, my work background is actually not related to anything culinary/pastries. I had taken baking classes in Korea before, which were very helpful and motivating. Before I opened up my business, I was working part time and studying at UBC in environmental resource management. My brother was working a corporate job, having put aside his passion for the culinary arts. He quit his job when the pandemic hit, and worked on this business full-time with me.
What prompted you to start your gluten free business?
My interest in baking with rice flour and other wheat-free ingredients started from going to one bakery in Korea that had the most amazing desserts that were entirely gluten free. In Korea, there are lots of bakeries that do not use wheat flour and use rice flour instead, because so many people have sensitivities to wheat. There, not a lot of people are diagnosed celiac, but they live their entire lives not knowing they might be allergic or have sensitivities to gluten because the disease is not as well known as it is in North America.
We opened our bakery in July 2021, after working at a commissary kitchen for almost a year since the pandemic. My brother who had more experience than I did at a kitchen having a culinary background, actually quit his corporate job at the time and worked full-time. In July of 2020 we hand-delivered our pastries to people's homes during lockdown, then to local cafes, then to local stores and groceries. A year later we were able to move into our own space in Port Coquitlam.
Do you have celiac staff on your team?
Our team is very small - just five people. We used to have a celiac member on our team, but now none of us actually are - some of us are vegan, some of us have sensitivities.
Where are your products produced? Is the facility dedicated gluten free?
Our bakery is dedicated gluten free, and we have a big sign outside the door that says no gluten allowed in the facility :)
We also work closely with our suppliers to make sure the ingredients are free from cross-contamination.
What is your bakery known for?
Our specialty is the dacquoise - a nut-meringue & buttercream French pastry that is traditionally made with wheat flour and nut flour, it could be hazelnuts/almonds/pistachios/ etc. We use almond flour, substitute the wheat for rice flour, and increase the percentage of almond flour so it is more protein rich and more flavourful. The texture is slightly crispy on the outside and very soft and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. We make all of the buttercreams with in-house ingredients - including our own jams/purees, using no artificial colours or flavours.
What have been the main challenges you have faced?
Currently the most challenging thing is keeping up with production as, like many other businesses, we are short-staffed; as well as making sure ingredient cost is stable during these very unstable times! For example, the price of our gluten free oats has almost doubled since the beginning of the year. It is a continuous learning process of balancing cost, labour, and at the same time maintaining quality of our goods and business relationships.
How did you adapt during the pandemic?
We actually started during the pandemic - we saw it as an opportunity rather than a challenge. We began with e-commerce, delivering to peoples' homes during the lockdown. Our pastries’ reputation spread through word of mouth and eventually became noticed by local cafes, which prompted us to focus on wholesale and collaborating with other local businesses, event companies, and farmers' markets!
If you were starting over, would you do things differently? Is there any help or support that you wish had been available?
Since my brother and I are still young entrepreneurs, it would have been helpful to learn more about grants and what was available to us out there. We missed many deadlines because we thought we were ineligible as a business that started during the pandemic while many other businesses were able to take advantage of them. We only recently found out about the BuyBC grant and we missed the deadline for this year but we were approved to use the logo, as most of our ingredients are locally produced in BC (eggs, cream, etc). We are hoping to apply for it in the next intake.
Earthling Foods can be found on Seaborne Avenue, behind Canadian Tire, in Port Coquitlam, with their products available in T&T and H-Mart across the province and in many cafes and other stores around the Lower Mainland.
Unit #2150 - 950 Seaborne Avenue
Port Coquitlam BC
V3E 3G7
Unit #2150 - 950 Seaborne Avenue
Port Coquitlam BC
V3E 3G7
