Interview by Val Vaartnou, with Tara Black and Marion Scott, Co-Owners, Origin Gluten-Free Bakery Ltd, www.originbakery.com November 2019
Tara Black and Marion Scott are super enthusiastic members of our gluten-free (GF) community. They are co-founders and owners of Origin Gluten-Free Bakery Ltd. on Vancouver Island. You might be
surprised to find out that neither are celiac.
Tara was involved in the food industry from the early age of fifteen and handled situations where specialized diets were required. Customers’ specialized needs were being served and it was appreciated; however, Tara saw that supporting specialized diets, including GF, could be cost-prohibitive for the small food business that was not specialized. Tara enrolled in Small Business course, as she and
Marion were looking to start up a business together focusing on local food. The course had 25 participants. Six of the participants just happened to be celiacs and some of the other participants were
gluten sensitive. Tara heard how passionate these individuals were about food. Have you seen this? Have you tried this? They were engaged and cared about their food for good reason.
Tara Black is a talented Red Seal chef and pastry chef. She and Marion had each had several friends over the years who were celiac, and they had experience trying to cater to special diets for friends or
customers with food sensitivities. They understood that the GF population segment was large and in the Victoria market, underserved. Marion has a BA in French Language and Literature, and a certificate in Professional Cook 1 training. She was employed by Westjet at the time, had lived abroad before then, having ample opportunity to travel and try out quality restaurants and bakeries from many places. Tara’s and Marion’s interests were piqued in providing a quality food destination for celiacs.
Origin was born as a market stall in Bastion Square, Victoria in the summer of 2009. Tara had two young
children, and initially she and Marion worked out of her kitchen, preparing the GF goodies for a Saturday
market. This was their “test market”. The operation was very successful but working out of a nondedicated kitchen was not ideal. The success however prompted them to put together a business plan for expansion. There was no time to do a business plan at home with Tara’s two small children under foot, so with Westjet’s employment, Marion secured cheap travel to Maui, where for 5 days, they camped and focused on developing their business plan. The first retail bakery location opened in March 2010, and a second location in 2012. They were surprised that there were few dedicated GF bakeries on Vancouver
Island, and none in Victoria. They were the first in Victoria to do GF baking on a larger scale. They
experimented with how they could duplicate locations without exhausting themselves.
They currently have their original location at 1525 Pandora, Victoria. They closed their Langford store the
end of October 2019, when their lease expired; however, in a couple of months they will be opening a
new espresso bar, bakery and lunch operation in Langford, their Belmont Market Cafe. It will have its
own dedicated kitchen for fresh muffins and lunch items, with specialty GF baking supplied by the
Pandora location and in summer an outdoor patio for patrons to enjoy. The new location will be licensed
and is close to the Galloping Goose trail, so hopefully, traffic to the store will be good.
Origin uses a variety of over 20 GF ingredients to replace wheat flour, and there are different
combinations in each product. Their diverse range of breads will not taste similar because they don't just
use a master blend of a few flours. They hope to change some assumptions about GF baking - everything
does not have to taste like cardboard!
All their locations are 100% GF. It was a priority that as many ingredients as possible for their products
be labelled or certified GF. In situations where this was not possible, they required detailed allergen
statements from their suppliers. They have used Elisa testing at times to ensure the GF status of new
inputs. Most importantly, they retain close working relationships with their vendors. They source some of
their GF grains from a local miller, Millstone Farms and Organics, that is a dedicated GF mill in Saanich.
Millstone Farms supplies GF flours weekly to their bakery. It was difficult but very important to source a
Canadian supplier for their GF grains.
Their stores employ over 25, many who are celiacs or on restricted diets. Growth however brings
challenges as they are continuously refreshing and training staff to have a large knowledge base much
different than at a traditional bakery. Everything is recipe based and done from scratch as they use no
master mixes of flours. As we are aware, GF baking has its challenges. Baking is as much an art as a
science and with staff turn-over (as with all retail businesses), it can be challenging. Staff engagement
and satisfaction is important, and Origin was named the 2015 Best Employer in the Small Business BC
Awards. They provide medical and dental benefits to full-time employees, and contract an employee
assistance program to provide unlimited counselling services to all employees. In 2018 and 2019, they
were named the “Top Bakery in Victoria” in the Top Choice Awards.
Their biggest success is they have remained in business for 10 years. This is no small feat given the
small business failure rate. Although they appreciated the business awards that they have received, they
are consistently surprised by the recognition. Truly they enjoy working with the staff and training. Origin,
under Tara’s expertise provides apprenticeships to Red Seal Bakers. Two graduating apprentices have
started their own boutique bakeries and one is working in a Montreal bakery. It is great to get apprentices
learning in a 100% GF environment.
Returning customers are also greatly appreciated. It sometimes takes time to convince a celiac that the
operation is 100% GF. Rarely in a regular bakery do you have to take the time to let the customer know
everything that is included in your product. Once convinced that absolutely everything is GF, a
few customers have been known to cry, knowing they are safe to eat any product in the store. Origin also
provides information regarding other allergens: wheat, dairy, egg, soy, nut, corn, oat and other. They do
not get tired of happy customers.
They have always made open and thorough communication a priority with customers, and Marion has
built their websites to include a wealth of information. Customers perusing Origin’s site can access
information about ingredients for every product, prices, bread production schedule, nutrition information
for breads, wholesale locations, a page about allergen friendly products, a page explaining what each
ingredient is (not everyone is familiar with amaranth, for example), and a page about a Community Health
Network. Given the number of people who came to their counter and asked questions regarding their
health issues, Marion and Tara saw the need for this kind of community resource. They could not profess
to be medical experts but could find a way to give information to the community.
Customers will also be able to keep updated online with information on current special features, links to seasonal items, newsletter and a blog. Origin’s second website, their online store, was launched in spring 2018 and uses a Shopify platform to offer online shopping for customers wanting GF goods to come to them! Origin developed cake and cupcake Kits to ship cake in the mail, and this site includes handy links for assembling your own cake.
Origin will ship Canada-wide and has direct delivery on Vancouver Island. Shipping charges are
dependent on weight/dimensions, and orders are limited to 1-2 day courier options (because of the short
shelf-life of their products), so order enough to make it worth the $25+ in shipping costs. Shipping is
expensive in Canada, but if you’re lucky enough to live on Vancouver Island, they offer a good deal in flat rate delivery through eco-courier Geazone instead. Deliveries in Victoria/Westshore are only $8, and
deliveries as far north as Campbell River and far west as Ucluelet/Tofino are $12. Stay tuned to their
social media for updates on delivery possibilities to Vancouver! All food offered for delivery/shipping
freezes well.
Origin believes in giving back to the community, and regularly donates to groups such as the CCA,
Mealshare, and Island Chefs’ Collaborative. Each month they also donate goods to various applicants
from community events as they have room. They also participate in several annual community fundraisers
such as Culinaire, Brewery & The Beast, and Fernwood Bites.
“We had been accustomed to catering to special diets, and the idea of creating better products for the
celiac community was exciting! Most of all, we just love food and wanted to help celiacs love food too. Is
it a lot of work? Yes. Sourcing a large range of safe ingredients isn't always easy. But it's worth it to
know we're making you happy, and you never have to ask us "what's GF?"”
LOCATIONS
VICTORIA, 1525 Pandora Ave. Phone: 250-590-4149
Hours: Mon - Thurs & Sat, 7:30am - 5:30pm, Fridays, 7:30am - 6:30pm, closed Sundays & stat holidays
WESTSHORE, Belmont Market cafe location coming soon! 250-590-8948
surprised to find out that neither are celiac.
Tara was involved in the food industry from the early age of fifteen and handled situations where specialized diets were required. Customers’ specialized needs were being served and it was appreciated; however, Tara saw that supporting specialized diets, including GF, could be cost-prohibitive for the small food business that was not specialized. Tara enrolled in Small Business course, as she and
Marion were looking to start up a business together focusing on local food. The course had 25 participants. Six of the participants just happened to be celiacs and some of the other participants were
gluten sensitive. Tara heard how passionate these individuals were about food. Have you seen this? Have you tried this? They were engaged and cared about their food for good reason.
Tara Black is a talented Red Seal chef and pastry chef. She and Marion had each had several friends over the years who were celiac, and they had experience trying to cater to special diets for friends or
customers with food sensitivities. They understood that the GF population segment was large and in the Victoria market, underserved. Marion has a BA in French Language and Literature, and a certificate in Professional Cook 1 training. She was employed by Westjet at the time, had lived abroad before then, having ample opportunity to travel and try out quality restaurants and bakeries from many places. Tara’s and Marion’s interests were piqued in providing a quality food destination for celiacs.
Origin was born as a market stall in Bastion Square, Victoria in the summer of 2009. Tara had two young
children, and initially she and Marion worked out of her kitchen, preparing the GF goodies for a Saturday
market. This was their “test market”. The operation was very successful but working out of a nondedicated kitchen was not ideal. The success however prompted them to put together a business plan for expansion. There was no time to do a business plan at home with Tara’s two small children under foot, so with Westjet’s employment, Marion secured cheap travel to Maui, where for 5 days, they camped and focused on developing their business plan. The first retail bakery location opened in March 2010, and a second location in 2012. They were surprised that there were few dedicated GF bakeries on Vancouver
Island, and none in Victoria. They were the first in Victoria to do GF baking on a larger scale. They
experimented with how they could duplicate locations without exhausting themselves.
They currently have their original location at 1525 Pandora, Victoria. They closed their Langford store the
end of October 2019, when their lease expired; however, in a couple of months they will be opening a
new espresso bar, bakery and lunch operation in Langford, their Belmont Market Cafe. It will have its
own dedicated kitchen for fresh muffins and lunch items, with specialty GF baking supplied by the
Pandora location and in summer an outdoor patio for patrons to enjoy. The new location will be licensed
and is close to the Galloping Goose trail, so hopefully, traffic to the store will be good.
Origin uses a variety of over 20 GF ingredients to replace wheat flour, and there are different
combinations in each product. Their diverse range of breads will not taste similar because they don't just
use a master blend of a few flours. They hope to change some assumptions about GF baking - everything
does not have to taste like cardboard!
All their locations are 100% GF. It was a priority that as many ingredients as possible for their products
be labelled or certified GF. In situations where this was not possible, they required detailed allergen
statements from their suppliers. They have used Elisa testing at times to ensure the GF status of new
inputs. Most importantly, they retain close working relationships with their vendors. They source some of
their GF grains from a local miller, Millstone Farms and Organics, that is a dedicated GF mill in Saanich.
Millstone Farms supplies GF flours weekly to their bakery. It was difficult but very important to source a
Canadian supplier for their GF grains.
Their stores employ over 25, many who are celiacs or on restricted diets. Growth however brings
challenges as they are continuously refreshing and training staff to have a large knowledge base much
different than at a traditional bakery. Everything is recipe based and done from scratch as they use no
master mixes of flours. As we are aware, GF baking has its challenges. Baking is as much an art as a
science and with staff turn-over (as with all retail businesses), it can be challenging. Staff engagement
and satisfaction is important, and Origin was named the 2015 Best Employer in the Small Business BC
Awards. They provide medical and dental benefits to full-time employees, and contract an employee
assistance program to provide unlimited counselling services to all employees. In 2018 and 2019, they
were named the “Top Bakery in Victoria” in the Top Choice Awards.
Their biggest success is they have remained in business for 10 years. This is no small feat given the
small business failure rate. Although they appreciated the business awards that they have received, they
are consistently surprised by the recognition. Truly they enjoy working with the staff and training. Origin,
under Tara’s expertise provides apprenticeships to Red Seal Bakers. Two graduating apprentices have
started their own boutique bakeries and one is working in a Montreal bakery. It is great to get apprentices
learning in a 100% GF environment.
Returning customers are also greatly appreciated. It sometimes takes time to convince a celiac that the
operation is 100% GF. Rarely in a regular bakery do you have to take the time to let the customer know
everything that is included in your product. Once convinced that absolutely everything is GF, a
few customers have been known to cry, knowing they are safe to eat any product in the store. Origin also
provides information regarding other allergens: wheat, dairy, egg, soy, nut, corn, oat and other. They do
not get tired of happy customers.
They have always made open and thorough communication a priority with customers, and Marion has
built their websites to include a wealth of information. Customers perusing Origin’s site can access
information about ingredients for every product, prices, bread production schedule, nutrition information
for breads, wholesale locations, a page about allergen friendly products, a page explaining what each
ingredient is (not everyone is familiar with amaranth, for example), and a page about a Community Health
Network. Given the number of people who came to their counter and asked questions regarding their
health issues, Marion and Tara saw the need for this kind of community resource. They could not profess
to be medical experts but could find a way to give information to the community.
Customers will also be able to keep updated online with information on current special features, links to seasonal items, newsletter and a blog. Origin’s second website, their online store, was launched in spring 2018 and uses a Shopify platform to offer online shopping for customers wanting GF goods to come to them! Origin developed cake and cupcake Kits to ship cake in the mail, and this site includes handy links for assembling your own cake.
Origin will ship Canada-wide and has direct delivery on Vancouver Island. Shipping charges are
dependent on weight/dimensions, and orders are limited to 1-2 day courier options (because of the short
shelf-life of their products), so order enough to make it worth the $25+ in shipping costs. Shipping is
expensive in Canada, but if you’re lucky enough to live on Vancouver Island, they offer a good deal in flat rate delivery through eco-courier Geazone instead. Deliveries in Victoria/Westshore are only $8, and
deliveries as far north as Campbell River and far west as Ucluelet/Tofino are $12. Stay tuned to their
social media for updates on delivery possibilities to Vancouver! All food offered for delivery/shipping
freezes well.
Origin believes in giving back to the community, and regularly donates to groups such as the CCA,
Mealshare, and Island Chefs’ Collaborative. Each month they also donate goods to various applicants
from community events as they have room. They also participate in several annual community fundraisers
such as Culinaire, Brewery & The Beast, and Fernwood Bites.
“We had been accustomed to catering to special diets, and the idea of creating better products for the
celiac community was exciting! Most of all, we just love food and wanted to help celiacs love food too. Is
it a lot of work? Yes. Sourcing a large range of safe ingredients isn't always easy. But it's worth it to
know we're making you happy, and you never have to ask us "what's GF?"”
LOCATIONS
VICTORIA, 1525 Pandora Ave. Phone: 250-590-4149
Hours: Mon - Thurs & Sat, 7:30am - 5:30pm, Fridays, 7:30am - 6:30pm, closed Sundays & stat holidays
WESTSHORE, Belmont Market cafe location coming soon! 250-590-8948
