The current COVID-19 crisis is having devastating consequences on our economy which can be felt by all businesses in every industry, and especially small businesses. Part of Bagsort’s mission is to help stimulate local economies by helping small businesses increase their income. With the tourism industry to a standstill, we want to shed light on the stories of a couple of our partners as without them we would not exist. Many of them are local businesses filled with history and culture. In this article we will tell you more about a partner from Bagsort’s hometown Ottawa.
Quelque Chose Pâtisserie is a staple in Canada’s capital. In all their three locations, they have managed to create a colourful and happy space full of delicious aromas and tastes. It’s the perfect place to go to feel like you’re in Paris, eating macarons and sipping a cappuccino. The owners and head chefs are passionate about serving the best for their customers and creating the perfect Patisserie experience.
Is your mouth watering already? Live your best life during this quarantine and order some delectable macarons at Quelque Chose Pâtisserie. They still deliver! You can order some delicious pastries here.
Quelque chose is a family business. The co-owner, David, founded the business with his wife Julia as the executive pastry chef and her sister Michelle joined in as head pastry chef. When they first moved to Ottawa, they realized that they couldn’t find any shops that specialized in macarons. They saw an opportunity to start their own business with David’s wife having an extensive background in French pastry. Quelque Chose Pâtisserie is a nice, eye-catching pastry shop. It’s a place to go to have fun, relax and enjoy a nice cup of coffee, macarons or high tea.
The culinary arts have always been a passion of David’s. David’s first background is in mechanical engineering. Even while working for an oil company, he tells me he would take culinary classes every weekend and developed a special interest in desserts. Having worked on multiple projects planning and execution as a mechanical engineer, he decided to make a career of his side passion and finally open the pastry shop.
I have always wondered, how do macaron shops come up with all these new and creative flavours? David explained to me that Quelque Chose always has some new seasonal flavours every two or three months which creates excitement for customers to come and try these new temporary flavours. Customers are actually a big part of Quelque Chose’s creative process in inventing new flavours. According to David, they currently have lots of products that they never would have had if it weren’t for customers’ suggestions. The owner and the pastry chefs usually sit together and come up with new flavours based on the feedback or special request from their customers. Julia and Michelle are very passionate about pastries, they always make sure to stay up to date with trends and come up with new ideas. They can draw inspiration from everything that is going on in the pastry world, from what is going on in Paris to the big New York pastry shops.
I wanted to know a little bit more about the entrepreneur behind Quelque Chose Pâtisserie. Below are his answers to a few of our questions.
Q: What is your greatest accomplishment?
Answer: I always wanted to have my own business, more than working for someone else. Being able to create new products, adapting and adjusting to the changes are an achievement. It’s not a job where you do the same thing every day so we try to do something new and reinvent ourselves every time so, it’s a fun ride.
Q: What do you think is the best part of your job?
Answer: I love my customers. I love to talk to them. Our macarons are so colourful they are fun to look at. Whenever I see customers walking in and they see the macaroons and they say WOW, it’s so beautiful! They get excited and we have a very wide selection of flavours and colours. People that go for the first time are usually impressed and I would say that it is the best part of my job.
Q: What is your Winning formula for your business to have success?
Answer: We have only one production centre so we make all the goodies there (Vanier location). That helps us to keep quality and standard that would be hard to accomplish with three different kitchens. We discovered that if we have one strong production centre we can open stores in different parts of the city.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone who wants to get started in the baking industry?
Answer: You have to love it. If you do it because you think it’s a good way to make money, it’s going to be hard because you have to work day and night, you have to. But if you love what you do, it’s a pleasure. I love what I do, I don’t mind working, if I have to stay up late at night it’s fine! I do it because I love my job, really. If you want to open a bakery business, you have to expect the hard work that is coming and embrace it. You are going to be working very hard and if you don’t love it it’s going to be painful but if you do, everything is going to be fine. For new entrepreneurs, one thing you have in mind that will be successful might not be the reality. You might think for example that you want to sell chocolate cupcakes. But you see that customers don’t really like the chocolate cupcakes they like vegan cupcakes, for example. Sometimes you are not right and you have to adjust to what the customer is telling you. You have to be flexible, you can’t stick to the idea and keep the same because it might never work.
Quelque Chose Pâtisserie is literally a dream store. It’s pink decor and colourful macarons are to die for and you absolutely have to try them out if you have never been there. Spend the perfect Sunday afternoon tasting succulent pastries between friends in Canada’s Capital! Also, as a Bagsort partner, they will be more than happy to offer space within the pastry shop to store your bags. So next time you are looking for luggage storage in Ottawa, drop your bags at Quelque Chose Pâtisserie. You can book storage with them here!
In these uncertain times, it is extremely important to support and encourage small businesses during and after the COVID-19 crisis. This will greatly help these entrepreneurs who are the pulse of our Canadian economy.