A tiny south Nanaimo bakery is about to make its debut on Food Netwwork Canada.
Hailey Mannyvali, aka the Pastry Geek and Paul Aboud, the Bread Head, owners of Hearthstone Artisan Bakery will join Rachel Smith and Jean Parker on an early episode of their new TV series The Baker Sisters.
The first episode of the series, which sets the sisters on a quest to find North America’s most scrumptious baked goodies, airs Friday (Oct. 20). The Hearthstone episode airs Nov. 3.
Hearthstone Artisan Bakery in Southgate Shopping Centre opened just after Christmas 2015 and has made a name for itself by nailing the popular vote in the Best of the City 2017 Best Desserts category, earned its place on Tourism Nanaimo’s Nanaimo Bar Trail and has been featured on YTV.
The Baker Sisters taped the Hearthstone segment last spring.
The show’s research team sources out the bakeries showcased, but it’s the stars of the show who choose the treats featured in the series, which Smith said, is intended to highlight bakers and their hard work.
“We come into a bakery, a deli, a restaurant, whatever it is, and we talk to their patrons and they’re the ones who are kind of like, ‘this is the best, you have to learn all about this’ and then eventually we pick one,” Smith said. “We get in the back with the baker and they show us how to make it, which is pretty awesome because Jean and I, being self-taught bakers, you know, we didn’t go to pastry school, but they’re teaching us tips and then, vice versa, we can kind of share a little of our tips with them.”
Parker said the show’s first season episodes focus on the “mom and pop shops” and she found the stories behind how the businesses got started fascinating.
“Paul … I think he actually calls himself the Bread Head and then Hailey is the Pastry Geek and it’s really cool to see how these two people who have a passion for baking and age doesn’t matter,” Parker said. “It’s all about the product and what they’re producing and the two of them coming together to showcase their amazing talents.”
Mannyvali said recording the episode was like nothing she could have expected.
“The girls were so friendly and the crew was too … and the energy was great,” Mannyvali said. “The girls were just so excited to try our product and it was really fun to work with them and show them how we make it and it was whirlwind of excitement. It took me a couple days to process it … both my parents are our biggest supporters and our biggest advertisers … they told me when I was a teenager that I was going to be on Food Network one day, so it was a dream come true for me and it was a dream come true for them too to finally have that happen and both my parents got pretty choked up about it.”
During their stay, The Baker Sisters discovered another favourite spot when they dined out downtown at the Firehouse Grill, recommended to them by local production assistants.
“Don’t tell Vancouver, but Rachel and I had the best sushi of lives in Nanaimo … It was unbelievable. We really should’ve been introducing ourselves,” Parker said. “It was incredible.”
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