Started in 2005 by the husband & wife team of Philippe (Pipo) Bernard and Kalina (Linka) Ostrowska: Pipolinka Bakery had its humble beginning as a small scale project operating from a rented community kitchen at the Dépanneur Sylvestre in Gatineau Quebec.
With over 12 years of bakery experience and a passion for sourdough bread, Philippe was inspired to create an homage to the breads he experienced on a trip to Poland the year before. Wanting to share a love of fresh ingredients and the ideals of slow food, Kalina created complementary pastry and savoury items. The two began to sell their creations at various farmers markets in the region and Pipolinka Bakery was born.
The amazing public response and the ever increasing demand for their products convinced the two to leave their city jobs and establish a home and store-front in their beloved community of Wakefield, Quebec.
Growing from the original tiny location to their current digs, Pipolinka has blossomed to include 150 different original recipes made entirely on site, and provides jobs to over a dozen members of the local community.
Pipolinka is more than just a bakery, it is the expression of our philosophy.
Think Global & Eat Local
Pipolinka sources as many local ingredients as possible. Our flour is 80% grown and milled in Quebec.
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Our milk, eggs, cheese and honey are all from within a 100km radius. During the growing season we buy vegetables from local farmers and keep our menu seasonally appropriate. This means while we grow, our community grows too! We are committed to spending locally so that our rural community thrives and prospers.
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Every product is made by hand on-site. Nothing is imported, bought pre-made or instant. From soup stock to lemon curd, we can guarantee the quality and purity of every ingredient. This means the customer gets a premium product and the people working with us learn skills and techniques that are keeping important arts and traditions alive.
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You will never find artificial flavours, colours or additives in our products. The food we make is the food we and our families eat. Every product, ingredient and method keeps this in mind: healthy food means healthy families, and healthy communities.
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Ingredients that are not found locally (or no longer grown here) are sourced from organic & fairtrade certified suppliers when possible. This means that somewhere else in the world a farm is being managed for the long term and a worker is receiving a living wage.
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Small steps in a big world do make a difference!
As we grow, we continue to learn and move in this direction. We hope with the support of this wonderful community and abundant land that we can continue to live the dream that was born more than a decade ago.
Thank you for your business.
~ Kalina and Philippe ~