Indigenous-owned bakery prepares for Valentine's Day

The chocolate has been tempered for milk, dark and white truffles, extra strawberries have been ordered for dipping and praline roses have been shipped from France for a special brioche the bakery prepares only once a year.

The days leading up to Valentine's Day are expected to be busy at Urban Parisian in Port Dover, Ont., roughly 86 kilometres southeast of London.

Pastry chef and co-owner Brad Lewis expects to sell out of everything.

"It's our second Valentine's here at the Urban, so we're ready this year. Our very first one here we didn't have a lot of warm up time," said Lewis.

Lewis co-owns Urban Parisian with his wife Melanie Atkins and Thursday marked their second year in the new shop.

Lewis, who is Seneca, Turtle Clan from Six Nations, always wanted to be a chef. He took culinary classes offered at his high school.

"I always loved helping my mom in the kitchen, baking stuff. She was an awesome cook," said Lewis.

His mom married a non-Indigenous man, so they lived off-reserve. He grew up on the town limits between Six Nations and Hagersville, Ont..

After Lewis apprenticed at Ancaster Mill, a former flour mill turned high-end restaurant and event venue near Hamilton, for nearly a year, he was encouraged by his chef to attend culinary school. 

Lewis attended a culinary institute in Ottawa for two years before starting work as a pastry chef in Norfolk County. He and Atkins "took the plunge" and opened the business roughly 13 years ago.

"[We] try to do as much French baking as we can. But we also have like, the cheesecakes and the things that everyone knows," he said.

Valentine's Day means items like chocolate-dipped strawberries, pink vanilla macarons, homemade chocolate truffles and chocolate molten lava hearts are in high demand.

Lewis said he and his staff dip 20 to 30 dozen strawberries and prepare dozens of other confections in time for Valentine's Day.

Before the pandemic, the couple sold their home and purchased a new building for the shop.