There isn’t much notable about the backwater that is Vanderhoof, BC.
It is the geographical centre of BC. Whoop-dee-doo.
There is 4346 people living here according to the 2021 census. But that’s down 88 from 2016. From what I hear the city council is actively anti growth. And doing a great job at it.
I mean if you’re an outdoorsy kind of person I guess there’s stuff to do here. Only problem is it’s winter 9 months of the year.
There’s just not a lot going on here.
But what if I told you there was a fantastic Belgian bakery here?
Go figure. In the middle of absolutely nowhere there’s an excellent bakery.
We ended up being here for about 3 hours so I had lots of time to peruse and sample the offerings.
From what I can buy looking at everything in the case I would say most things are made in house.
There does seem to be some strudel that looks like it’s a commercial product but I also see some strudel that might very well may be made here.
And I highly doubt that they make their own macarons. They look just a little too perfect and I know how difficult they are to make. But you never know they may have a perfectionist in the house.
But I do see a lot of good looking and quality product here.
So let’s get to it.
Long John donut.
Of course the most important thing about donuts is freshness. And this was very fresh. Not the prettiest donut I’ve seen, still very yummy.
8/10
Napoleon
Thin layers of puff pastry, vanilla custard, whipped cream and all ripped off with fondant icing
Do you like them fresh like me, with the layer still crispy? Or a day old one the moisture from the custard and cream soak into the pastry and make the whole thing custardy?
Mine was fresh, perfectly crispy, with great flavour. One of my favorite pastries. Often mediocrely done. This one was great.
9/10
Cinnamon Knot
This is essentially a bite sized cinnamon bun, with a cinnamon sugar glaze. Not something I’ve seen a lot in the last couple of decades. It would be nice to see it make a comeback.
They also had Florentines. No picture, they got a little broken in my pocket. Nice though. A crispy and chewy candied almond and fruit cookie with chocolate. Very nice.
8/10
Fresh Fruit danish
I love a good danish. Put some custard and some fresh fruit it gets even better.
At first I thought they might be brought in. But no they make them in house. Buttery, flakey layers with a delicious custard and fresh berries. Perfect combination.
10/10
So in the end there’s one good thing about Vanderhoof.
This bakery is great.
Actually I guess there is one more good thing about Vanderhoof.
You do get to leave.