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Fresh Start
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A former interior designer's heartfelt new venture takes the cake
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By Kyle Ellen Gordon; Photography by Janis Nicolay
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"When I walk into a house, I know in a second if it's right for what I want to achieve. It was that way with Butter," says designer-turned- bakery-owner Rosie Daykin. And stepping into Rosie's newest venture on Vancouver's west side, it's easy to see the successful entrepreneur has hit the sweet spot once again. Butter Baked Goods is a delightful throwback to a time before packaged muffin mixes and frozen cookie dough, appropriately housed in a vintage building that has operated as a bakery for more than 85 years.
With its pistachio green cupboards, whimsical floral wallpaper and cake stands filled with freshly baked cookies, cakes, bars and muffins, one can't help but think of country bake sales and childhood visits to Grandma's kitchen. And that's just the way Rosie likes it.
The former owner of Ta Da! Home Furnishings, as well as her own interior decorating company, Rosie may have traded in her paint decks for aprons a year ago, but it wasn't a totally new experience for the little girl who used to make a six-minute cake every day. "I've dreamed of having my very own bakeshop ever since. When this opportunity came up it was just perfect timing. I didn't want to sit on the idea anymore, I wanted to give it a whirl," she says, then adds with a smile. "Fortunately, my family is super-supportive of all my crazy ideas."
In fact, the family loved the idea so much that they rolled up their sleeves and got to work, too. Rosie's brother, Ray Porcellato - "the cookie guy" - is at the shop by 5 a.m. every morning, and her mother, Pixie Porcellato, is the resident queen of tarts. Even Rosie's 15-year-old daughter, India, helps out at the front counter when she's not at school.
Rosie, meanwhile, has seamlessly made the move back to her childhood passion, looking after cakes, custom orders and new products. Her latest creation: s'mores made from homemade graham crackers, toasted coconut marshmallows and bittersweet chocolate. Yum.
"All our baked goods are homemade," says Rosie. "And there's nothing in our kitchen that isn't in yours." It's precisely that unpretentious attitude that has locals reminiscing about mouth-watering goodies enjoyed as children years ago in the very same spot. "We have adults who say they used to come here when they were little and now we've got kids coming in who will one day say the very same thing," she says.
And Rosie's design skills still serve her in good stead. Although the design of the shop has changed, she made sure to preserve the warm and inviting vintage atmosphere, and carry on the tradition of simple, nostalgic baking that began there almost a century ago.
Visit www.butterbakedgoods.com for more information.
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