GETTING TO KNOW THE
(EAST) VILLAGE BAKER
STORY BY SARAH CROWLEY CHESTNUT
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL YANKOSKI
L
UCIA TAM AND BOBBY CHICK, OWNERS OF THE SMALL
but scrumptious East Village Bakery, like to call their little
storefront a “community bakery.” It’s an apt description.
Just the other day I was taking a walk with my husband and son, and
we stopped to admire a flourishing flower garden in front of a house
down the street. Before we knew it we were making the acquaintance of our neighbour, and quickly moved from chatting about
her rose bush to gushing—and I mean, gushing—about croissants,
challah bread, and pizza dough from our mutually adored neigh-
bourhood bakery. Maybe it’s Lucia’s easygoing welcome; maybe
it’s Bobby’s “light-handed” croissants (as my neighbour described
them). Whatever it is, East Village Bakery has people—at least this
person—making friends with strangers.
I discovered East Village Bakery not long after moving to the north
end of Commercial Drive, and not long after East Village opened its
door in October of 2010. Let me say here that I am an aspiring home
baker, if not a latecomer to the bread renaissance that began sweeping through North America in the 1990s. Inspired by Old World
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techniques and results, numerous bakeries have sprung up across the
continent, dedicating themselves to the artisanal craft of providing
their communities with exquisite daily bread and pastry. I have tried
my hand at making baguette (France), ciabatta (Italy), vollkornbrot
(Germany), and chleb (Czech Republic), and the magic of combining flour, water, yeast, and salt—with the innumerable possible outcomes—continues to thrill me. I mean, have you seen the way a perfectly fermented and well-scored sourdough loaf blooms in a steamy
oven? Some might call it science. I call it magic. Needless to say, I was
more than a little excited when my nose led me down the street and
through the door of one of Vancouver’s newest bakeries.
Bobby Chick is a relative newcomer to the world of artisan baking.
Eight years ago, he and Lucia moved to Vancouver from Calgary,
where Chick had been making his corporate ascent as a computer
engineer. Lucia recalls the day she brought her husband a treat from
Terra Breads, and the words he spoke after eating it: “I want to
learn how to make this.”
Photos: Michael Yankoski, michaelyankoski.com
“It was time for a change,” Lucia remembers. “Time to take a
chance.” Soon after, Bobby found work and the opportunity to
apprentice with Terra Breads, then Capers, and finally, Fratelli’s.
The experience he gained in these well-established Vancouver bakeries, and the couple’s pure and simple passion for eating pastries
led them to open their East Village Bakery on East Hastings Street,
just west of Templeton Street.
A simple sign points you into the picturesque storefront, where you
will find Lucia arranging freshly baked loaves on the shelves of a pine
hutch, or chatting with a regular customer about his recent vacation.
Just beyond the counter, you will see Bobby tending the ovens and
working his—yes—magic. Having lived in the Hastings-Sunrise and
Grandview-Woodlands neighbourhoods for a few years, the couple
knew that Hastings was where they wanted to open their bakery.
“This neighbourhood is as close to an urban village as it gets,” says
Lucia, reflecting on their bakery’s name. “A few days after we opened,
neighbours came to buy and to show their immediate support.” East
Village has won the trust of neighbouring individuals and businesses
alike; they supply long-time Hastings institutions Moccia’s Meat
Market and Ugo & Joe’s with two of the bakery’s specialty loaves:
Italian Baguette and Pecan-Cranberry-Currant Baguette, respectively.
One of Lucia’s great joys is hearing a customer describe a certain dish
his or her family is going to pair with a certain bread from East Village.
“Running an artisan bakery really isn’t glamorous work or anything
original, but we sure take pride in being able to be part of someone’s
daily or weekly routine. We’re catering an everyday essential to our
customers, and yet it’s a personal experience for them and for us.” For
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Lucia and Bobby, knowing that their bread graces a neighbour’s table
feels almost like sitting at the dinner table themselves.
Bobby’s baking is home-style baking at its best. He takes no short
cuts, and everything is made in small batches, starting at around
five o’clock in the morning, with slow-rising sourdough bread that
is leavened with starters—one rye and one white, cultured from
ale—that he cultivates himself. The rest of the day’s baking is prioritized according to special orders, daily features, and regular menu
items. Then it’s non-stop baking until closing, loaf after crostata after
cake after cookie after croissant, sliding into the oven, then out onto
cooling racks. This small-batch approach means that intoxicating
wheaty-buttery-yeasty aromas waft out the door and down the sidewalk to envelope (and lure!) unsuspecting passersby all day long. So
if you’re having trouble deciding which treat to purchase, take your
cue from one East Village frequenter who asks not what’s fresh, but
“What’s warm?” Or, as I was pleased to learn from a fellow customer
as I stood in line to purchase my Saturday morning loaf of challah,
“Try the pain au chocolat,” he said to me in an authoritative French
accent. Or if you’re looking for something savoury, try the cheddar
cheese sticks, which, I am told by yet another bakery regular, are
downright addictive and “should have a warning sign on them!” My
personal favourite is that sweet, crisp labour of love: the palmier.
Indeed, there are many things to love about East Village Bakery.
Whether it’s a still-warm loaf of Green Olive and Cracked Pepper
Sourdough, or Lucia’s attentive display of breads and pastries, the
couple’s commitment to home-style, Old World artistry is evident.
East Village Bakery, 2166 East Hastings Street, Vancouver.
604-568-5600. eastvillagebakery.com
Sarah Crowley Chestnut is a freelance writer and poet, a hopeful gardener,
and an aspiring bread magician. She is documenting a year of Italian
cooking (among other food fancies) at cucinacasalinga.wordpress.com
She is yet to name her pet sourdough starter.
Michael Yankoski is a wedding photographer, writer, and aspiring
urban gardener. MichaelYankoski.com
BRANDY-SPIKED AND BAKED CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST
by Sarah Crowley Chestnut
This dish is perfect for a weekend brunch, and is straight-up
comfort food. The French call this traditional use of stale bread
pain perdue—“lost bread.” If, somehow, you manage to let a
loaf of East Village challah go stale (and it is unlikely that you
will be able to restrain yourself long enough to do so), all is not
lost. And even if the loaf isn’t stale, what could be better than
an even eggier, egg-enriched—not to mention tipsy—bread?
For an over-the-top holiday treat, substitute eggnog for the
cream in the recipe.
NOTE: Prepare this dish the night before (or in the morning—
just give the bread at least 30 minutes to soak in the egg
mixture before baking).
½–¾ of a loaf of East Village challah
5 eggs
¾ cup (175mL) milk
½ cup (125mL) cream, half-and-half, or eggnog
2–4 Tbsp (30–60mL) brandy, depending on how boozy you
like your toast
1 Tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
¼ cup (60mL) dark brown sugar, plus some for sprinkling on
top before baking
¼ tsp (1mL) sea salt
1 tsp (5mL) cinnamon
½ tsp (2mL) nutmeg
Enough butter to liberally grease an 8 x 8-inch pan, and
more to dot the bread
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Liberally grease your baking dish with butter and set aside. Slice
the challah, thickly, at a diagonal. Place in a large bowl and set
aside. Whisk together all other ingredients. Pour the mixture
over the challah, tossing to coat well. Allow the bread to soak
up the egg mixture for a few minutes. Then fit the slices into the
bottom of your pan, dotting with butter and tearing or cutting
the somewhat soggy slices to best fit the pan. Add a second
layer of bread on top of the first. Pour any remaining egg mixture
over the bread. Cover and refrigerate.
Remove from the fridge to take the chill off while you heat your
oven to 350ºF. Lightly sprinkle with dark brown sugar. Bake,
uncovered, for 30–40 minutes, or until all the liquid is set. The
result will be a crispy top layer and edges, and a soft, spiked,
eggy bottom layer—delightful. Serve with maple syrup, whipped
cream, and/or powdered sugar to top.
Photo: Sarah Crowley Chestnut
Serves 3–4