Meet Saint John’s Vegan Baker
SAINT JOHN — When Jennifer Baldassarro first became vegan in 2014, one of the biggest challenges was satisfying her sweet tooth.
With the new diet, all of the sweets and treats she once enjoyed were no longer on the menu.
“It’s always been a little bit tricky getting the things that you crave. Growing up, I got to eat whatever I wanted because I wasn’t vegan and my family wasn’t vegan,” says Baldassarro.
“You get accustomed to having these things and then you make this lifestyle shift and all of sudden you don’t have them anymore.”
But it was after a trip to Paris with her husband where she decided to try and create vegan-friendly versions of her favourite treats herself.
“When he took me to Paris we were vegan at the time and I remember being there and there were not any vegan options. I felt like, ‘I’m on vacation, all I want to do is indulge!’ she says.
“I came back and I just started creating. Just substituting things that I knew would replace things like egg and dairy in these baked goods, but still taste the same.”
That was the beginning of Riverview Bake Shop, an online shop that sells a large variety of vegan sweets and baked goods to Greater Saint John.
The shop carries everything from scones, granola bars, cookies, banana loaves, cupcakes ice cream sandwiches, brownies, fudge, cake pops, peanut butter cups, whole cakes, and much more.
Though there are vegan baked goods and sweets on the market, they’re often hit or miss when it comes to taste. But Baldassarro makes it her mission to create products that taste as close to non-vegan recipes as possible.
“A lot of the things the stores were coming out with, the substitution just didn’t taste good. I really just decided to take that on and it’s kind of become a therapy for me with baking,” she says.
“I have really severe PTSD and baking and transforming all my favourite treats into something I can eat now is not a job to me, it’s something fun.”
Through developing her own recipes, Baldassarro has come up with substitutes she says provide similar taste and texture as the non-vegan versions.
“A lot of people use things like soy to substitute, but soy has a very strong flavour,” she says. “I try to pick things that aren’t as strong flavour wise that will maintain the textures and things like that. A lot of binding agents can actually be fruit-based.”
But Riverview Bake Shop’s customers aren’t just vegans. Some people buy the products because they align with certain diets and health restrictions.
“I actually get a lot of people who have dairy and egg allergies as well. In about two weeks I am going to be coming out with some gluten-free and sugar-free options too,” says Baldassarro. “The vegan option goes along with the different specialty diets, they often meld all together.”
Though Riverview Bake Shop is currently online-only, Baldassarro says she’d eventually like to have a physical location.
“It’s called Riverview Bake Shop for a reason. My home actually overlooks the St. John River and we have nice big property here. I do plan on one-day having an actual physical location here,” she says.
“Even this summer, we’re going to put some picnic benches out there. I make ice cream sandwiches and stuff like that and just down the street is a beach. People can just pop by, grab a few treats and go hang out at the for a little bit.”
She also plans to have some of the products carried at local retailers soon.
“I’ve reached out to a few other businesses in the area to sell in-store with them as well, just to make it more convenient for people,” says Baldassarro. “I do see growth happening with this business in the future.”