Have you tried the sweet treats at this rising Kelowna bakery?
A Kelowna baker and entrepreneur is whipping up more creative cakes, expanding her menu and hiring staff to keep up with demand for her sweet treats.
Janelle Walker is “blown away” by the growth of Flour&Cake, and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, things are busier than ever.
“This is the time of year things really kick off and I’m feeling ready for it… I think,” she said.
Walker’s baking career started as a creative hobby when she was on maternity leave from her job as a preschool teacher in 2019. Eventually she created an online presence and received so many orders it became a full-time job.
Things really stirred up after she opened a storefront venue last summer.
“More people were reached through the walk-in traffic because up until then I was doing all of my advertising on Instagram and people who don’t use it were unable to see me,” she said.
Walker said she loves decorating cakes, focussing on both tastes and artistic design. She brings her goodies to local markets and makes custom cakes for big events.
“My favourite cake to make is buttercream with fresh flowers,” she said. “I don’t use fondant, it is all butter cream for the best taste. Dried flowers are popular right now, the boho look is popular for weddings. I like to add white chocolate drip, fruit, macarons and lots of sprinkles. I love sprinkles.”
Up until recently, Walker was running the bakery by herself, but brought on two staff members in the past month to help her keep up. She is expanding her offerings to include iced lattes, scones, muffins and loaves.
Her biggest challenges along the way were taking on administrative duties, marketing, shopping and accounting. Working at the store was an adjustment at first, as she also has a young son to care for.
“At first I thought I would just be decorating cakes but there is so much more to it than that,” she said. “I used to work on my own time, but with the store there is a schedule.”
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Finding the name, Flour&Cake took some brainstorming.
“Initially I had a different name but I couldn’t visualize it on a sign and then I wanted something that no one else had,” she said. “My partner helped me come up with it.”
Walker said she is excited about what she is doing, and feels energized for the year ahead.
“I love that every day I get to create something different and share ideas with customers,” she said. “Sometimes they have a particular idea in mind and other times I’m free to just create freely. I enjoy both.”
The cakes can be ordered online or at the storefront located at 1695 Birch Road off of Harvey Avenue. The store is open Tuesday to Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. or Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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