Our faces were met with a light mist of rain as we stepped out of our car and onto the quiet, residential neighbourhood street. Ah, there it is - a warmly-lit space with large-format windows beckoned us to draw closer.

Stepping inside Flourist, the earthy floral decor, light-coloured wooden tables and off-white walls decorated with soothing artwork give the space a warm and approachable yet functional space, exactly the way Co-Owners Janna Bishop and Shira McDermott envisioned it. In fact, they admit to having given limited design direction to Craig Stanghetta of Ste Marie Art + Design, who had designed the interiors to capture the feelings the co-owners conveyed to him; the resulting space has been featured in renowned architectural and design publications.

“My favourite thing is the colour palette, it’s like a wheat field on a sunny day. Or a dish of butter. Both wonderful and completely on-brand for us. ”

— Janna Bishop, Co-Owner

*All the flour in the shop is made from a flour mill ordered from Austria.*

THE STORY

Prior to rebranding as Flourist in February of 2019, Co-Owners Janna and Shira had started the company as GRAIN. “We started GRAIN to offer a higher quality, traceable option for whole grains, legumes and freshly milled flour. Canada grows so much of these products but rarely are they found in local grocery stores.” Janna shared. “We rebranded from GRAIN to Flourist in February 2019. We had signed the lease to build the bakery and we couldn't decide what we wanted to call it. GRAIN on its own didn't feel right for this new part of our business, but we wanted to make sure the brand story could be told across all areas of the business. Also, we couldn't protect GRAIN from a trademarking perspective. So we chose a new name altogether, Flourist, and rebranded the entire company.”

Talk about making the leap. The rebranded bakery allowed the team to realize their dream of opening a store and a bakery, something that has been part of their vision for the brand since very early on. The duo spent a year searching for the right location with no specific area in mind, except for the goal to find a neighborhood full of families. The current shop space on Commercial Street in Cedar Cottage was exactly what they were looking for.

THE CONCEPT

We wanted to learn more about the team’s vision and mission behind Flourist, and posed the question: “How will supporting 100% traceable grains, beans, and freshly milled flours benefit everyone in the community?”, to which Janna responded, “The answer to this is really deep and nuanced. On the surface, incorporating whole grains and beans into our diets is good for our health and better for the planet. Scratch a little bit deeper and choose Canadian grown options. Canada has some of the strictest agricultural regulations in the world. That means you can eat with the assurance that your food is safe and ethical. When you add in the element of transparency you now know who is growing your food, which is the complete antithesis of the industrialized commodity world that we have grown accustomed to. Family farmers grow food for us the same way they grow it for themselves. Their land is their livelihood, they take care of it accordingly. Excess chemicals are a hazard to themselves, their families, their land and it’s not good for their bottom line.”

Pastries Flourist Vancouver by Florence Leung

THE TEAM

Though it’s their first time opening and running a bakery cafe, and it’s been a very steep learning curve, Janna and Shira worked hard to surround themselves with industry pros that have been instrumental in the success of their first location.

“Our concept relies heavily on bread and therefore our Baking and Kitchen team are the heart of our operation. Our Head Baker Alessandra Percival has been instrumental in developing and perfecting every one of our breads, along with all of the items in our pastry case.” Janna explained, “Alessandra leads her team of bakers which include Junior Baker Stephanie Keeling and our in-store Miller / Baker Campbell Hart. Our Kitchen Manager Cheryl runs all aspects of our food program and is responsible for all of the stunning bowls and salads we produce every day.”

In addition to building a strong and supportive team in-store, Janna and Shira have also developed robust relationships within the community, working closely with farmers. Of course, the two have many great things to say about these community partners.

“The first one that comes to mind is Marc Loiselle. Marc is so passionate about organic farming for the maintenance of proper soil health and better quality food systems. He has travelled the world advocating for organic farmers and organic farming practices. When we started working with him a few years ago he actually sent me his farming manifesto, a quote from that that stands out to me is this: “The Loiselles are long time National Farmers Union members; and in supporting the United Nations’ International Year of the Family Farm (2014) agree wholeheartedly with the NFU President Joan Brady ‘…that family farms should be the primary unit of food production. It is the commitment of those families to both their communities and their environments that are necessary to provide Canadians and the rest of the world with safe, nutritious food.’”

It’s evident that Flourist aligns its brand with suppliers who share the same values of providing safe, nutritious food.

THE PROCESS

Knowing that the Flourist team makes all of its flour and bread in-house, of course, we were curious as to the process and inquired about this and the origin of the milling machine that is prominently featured as a centerpiece in the space. Janna shares the milling process below.

“We use our stone mill to produce all the flour we use in the bakery. We don’t purchase flour from anyone, for any purpose ever. Our miller at the store is Campbell Hart. He started in the industry as a chef, but quickly developed a passion for sourdough bread baking, using freshly milled flour. We trained him to become our miller at the store. He is also one of our bakers. The milling process is quite simple. The grain is loaded into the hopper of the mill and then slowly fed into the stones, where the grains are crushed. Our mill produces two types of flour, 100% whole grain flour, or sifted flour. The whole grain flours are crushed by the stones, as finely as possible and that’s it. The sifted flours are the same, but after passing through the stones they are diverted through a series of screens that sift out the largest pieces of bran. Our sifted flours more closely resemble white flour, but they are far more nutritious and flavourful.

We sourced our mill from a very small company in Austria that has been making flour mills the same way for over 75 years.”

It’s admirable to see a bakery utilize such discipline in creating flour to a higher standard, establishing clear rules and guidelines on how to make the product ‘just right’; though the process is simple, few invest the time to figure out what their brand and company stands for, which is something Janna and Shira have clearly spent a considerable amount of time gaining clarity on.

Asides from reading about the Flourist brand here and in various publications, another way to experience the brand is through its hands-on classes. The team has always provided a lot of recipe content for their customers online, so the store naturally included a space for teaching classes. Flourist offers sourdough bread and pasta making classes; both classes included 3.5 hours of instructions and hands-on learning so students can engage in the whole process from start to finish, and leave with a loaf ready to bake at home or pasta ready to be cooked. The team shares that the classes have become really popular gift, especially with the rise of experience-based gift giving.

There are other ways to bring a piece of the Flourist brand home; pick up one of the many baking, cooking and lifestyle book volumes on display on their shelves, a bag of their sifted flour, or pick amongst the variety of baking utensils and canned ingredients. Whether it’s a freshly-baked cookie, pastry, or signature loaf of bread, you will not leave empty-handed from this cozy bakery.

We would recommend the Heritage Loaf or the Baguette. The Baguette available at Flourist is the only baguette in Vancouver with no white flour; it is made with 100% Sifted Red Spring Wheat Flour. From the slices we tried in the Farro Bowl, the crust is firm and chewy, while the inside is light, dense yet fluffy.

The Heritage Loaf is made with 70% Sifted Red Spring Flour and 30% Whole Grain Red Fife, the team describes it as “a hearty loaf with tons of flavour and caramelization on the crust coming from the Whole Grain Red Fife.”

With these healthy, tasty and nutritious options, we feel that the team’s decision to situate its first location within a community full of families is a very smart strategic move - what could be better to eating freshly-baked, nutritious bread for breakfast around the table?

THE FOOD

Asides from serving up delicious loaves of bread, Flourist also serves tasty, healthy meals and indulgent cookies and pastries. We settled in and tried some of the team’s recommendations as we watched the regulars visiting the shop come and by, and took photos of a couple walking their cute dog past the window.

Brownie

Made with Einkorn flour grown in Manitoba, a custom blend of East Van Roasters chocolate, and hazelnuts grown in the Fraser Valley, this brownie carries more of a nutty flavour and is crumbly and slightly chewy. It would be an indulgent midday sweet to enjoy with tea or coffee.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

A classic choice, yet this rendition is made with Sifted Red Fife Flour and East Van Roasters Chocolate. Moist and chewy at the centre and crisp at the edges, it’s a perfect blend of textures (and we all know how important texture is to a chocolate chip cookie!)

Farro Bowl

Farro sourced from Monty Sandor in southern Saskatchewan, cooked in a rich tomato sauce. Salad made with greens from Cropthorne Farms, house made pickles. A buttered slice of toasted baguette and a hearty slab of Feta Cheese. The bowl presents a great blend of healthy ingredients and the Feta Cheese is a wonderful source of flavour; whether you mix it with the Farro, the greens or even slather it onto baguette, each pairing brings out a unique, tasty flavour.

Nothing beats milk and cookies, though pairing a Cappuccino made with 49th Parallel Old School Espresso and full-fat milk is even better than this classic combination.

*Cappucino - 49th Parallel Old School Espresso and full fat milk.*

*Try your hand baking at home with the beautiful handmade tools available at Flourist.*

Both the Flourist’s choice of location and its unique product offerings separate the brand from other bakeries in the city, offering real value (and nutrition!) to people in the community. It’s the bakery a mom runs to in the morning to grab a fresh loaf of bread and her morning coffee with the kids in tow, kicking the puddles in their rain boots. We foresee the Flourist brand opening more locations where they build and strengthen similar community relationships to share their knowledge on the importance and benefits of consuming Canadian, family farmer-grown options.