First Bites: August 2021 - Portable Pies

All in the family
“There were seven of us at home, so one would roll the dough, one would chop the onions, and so on. It has a lot of meaning and memory for us,” says Leslie R. Cáceres, explaining how her family would make empanadas together after immigrating to Canada from Chile in 1996. “It was a lot of work so we would really only have them for special events like birthdays or for Dieciocho (the Chilean National Day).”

Today, along with her parents, Aida and José Riquelme, Cáceres runs Panaderia Latina Bakery, started by her parents in 2004.

Located just east of Boundary Road, in the Joyce-Collingwood neighbourhood, Panaderia Latina Bakery’s signature item is the Chilean Empanada, a turnover characterized by a thin crispy dough and a filling of beef, onion, chopped eggs and a whole olive. Traditionally, raisins are also used, however the bakery omits them from their recipe. “Raisins can be controversial. Not everyone likes them,” Cáceres says, “but we do get requests.”

Comparing it to varieties of empanada originating from other Latin American countries, Cáceres explains, “It’s more juicy. It has more onion, which makes it moist.”

Over the years, the whole family has been involved in the business. Her two brothers worked there during their university studies and Cáceres worked in the bakery during her high school years. In 2008, she left a planned path in nursing to complete a baking and pastry arts certificate at Vancouver Community College. “My parents wanted me to have a fallback, but I always wanted to bake,” she says.

Dieciocho is on Sept. 18. Every year except 2020, the bakery has been the focal point for a huge party, bringing together Chilean Canadians as well as other locals who live in the Joyce-Collingwood area and beyond. “We start to prepare in July,” says Cáceres, explaining that her siblings, who now have their own careers, come back to help with the preparations as do her nieces and nephews. So just like those early days, once again, the whole family is making empanadas.

Panaderia Latina Bakery
4906 Joyce St., Vancouver
@panaderialatinabakery | 604.439.1414

The Real Deal
Casey and Nicholas Simon of The Real Patty Co. recount how in the spring of 2020, they decided to make and sell a few Jamaican patties using Nicholas’ mother Maureen’s recipe to make a bit of extra money.

“We put it out on Facebook and got 216 orders of a dozen patties. It was two weeks of non-stop patties,” says Casey, explaining that they turned to using the ovens of friends and family to help bake the pies.

One of the key challenges, Nicholas says, was figuring out Maureen’s recipe. “We were literally following her around and making her use measuring spoons,” he laughs, explaining that the pies, which contain which contain Scotch Bonnet peppers, green onion and cilantro are “Jamaican, but with a Trinidadian twist. The crust is more like pastry and we use egg wash instead of turmeric to colour it.”

Demand for the patties didn’t slow down and now the company operates from a commercial kitchen in Surrey with an oven that allows them to bake 300 patties at a time. Maureen supervises, and Casey’s sister and husband and Nicholas and Casey’s daughter, Halle take care of the patty-rolling operations.

They also have forged an important partnership with RocketShip Couriers, which allows them to offer convenient next-day delivery from Abbotsford to West Vancouver in coolers that keep their frozen products frozen.

The Real Patty Co.
eattherealpatty.com | @therealpattyco | 604.373.6717

Pies From Down Under
After eight years of operation, Aussie Pie Guy is shifting away from the food truck-based business with which many will be familiar, to offering the product through grocery stores and direct at-home delivery. “In the early days, it was our business,” owner Kiowa Martin says, “but our product is perfect for grocery stores.” Since 2020, he has been the sole owner, having worked as the company’s chef from Day 1 and gradually working his way into ownership as the original partners divested.

For an Australian classic, Martin suggests the Aussie Pie, made with free range beef and onion in a black pepper beef gravy. But Martin has developed what he calls more “Canadian” influenced versions such as the Trifecta, a version made with minced beef, smoked bacon and cheddar. “It’s sort of a bacon cheeseburger in a pie,” Martin says.

Direct delivery has become a bigger part of the business since the onset of the pandemic and Martin says he enjoys the direct contact with his customers. “It allows me to get to know people.” He is working on an online sales platform, but for now, ordering is as simple as sending him a note on Facebook, Instagram or by email.

Aussie Pie Guy
aussiepieguy.com | @aussiepieguy | 778.991.7437

Find it at: Choices Markets, The Fish Counter, Nesters, Windsor Quality Meats (Vancouver), Foxy Farm Mar Vancouver), Granville Island Public Market and online