Telling stories at Vancouver Bakery Showcase

Vancouver – At the heart of Bakery Showcase 2023 is the hardworking, multitasking, community-loving independent bakery. We draw your attention to two very special sessions led by Mark Dyck who uses his baking, business and communication skills to assist and lift up the artisan bakery.

Bakery Showcase is all about working on (not just in) your bakery business. May 14-15 in Vancouver, the Baking Association of Canada will bring together baking professionals and business experts from across Canada and beyond to learn, shop and connect at this very special annual baking industry event.

Mark Dyck has people on his mind. He usually has flour on his shirt too. After a successful corporate career, Mark took a big leap with his wife Cindy and opened Orange Boot Bakery in Regina, Sask. Their small, traditional bread bakery was known as much for its generosity, humanity and devoted customers as for its delicious bread and pastries. The bakery was a natural extension of Mark’s people-first approach to his work.

He is also the creator and host of Rise Up! The Baker Podcast, featuring conversations with professional bakers and bakery owners from around the world. He is the founder of Bakers4Bakers.org, a global community of bakery owners working together to build successful, sustainable bakeries. Mark is also a coach, helping people tell better stories and leaders make meaningful change.

Telling the Story of Your Bakery

On Sunday, May 14, at 10 a.m., be inspired by Mark’s keynote talk. In Mark’s words: “You opened your bakery or pizzeria because you wanted to build something special. Something different. Something that is uniquely your own.

“But telling your story so it stands out from the crowd often seems impossible. We get caught up in the noise and the chatter, trying to figure out the next platform, trying to beat The Algorithm, and working on our dance moves rather than our products, our team or our customers. In all that striving and chasing, we lose sight of the people we want to reach and the actual story we want to tell.

“There is a better way. A way to get your message out to the people who are desperate to hear it. We’ll get there by telling better stories.

“In this session, you will learn key techniques that will help you tell better stories about your bakery and more. You will learn a simple framework for finding the best stories to tell and the best place to tell them, without worrying about The Algorithm. And you won’t have to learn how to dance (unless you really want to)!”

Up-and-Comers: Baking Businesses to Watch

On Monday, May 15, at 9 a.m., join Mark for rich, thought-provoking conversation with up-and-comers in the world of baking and food service. With his engaging style, Mark will explore how these entrepreneurs got started, their priorities and their biggest challenges and triumphs. It’s a chance for aspiring bakery owners to get a sense of what really goes into opening “for real” and for the old guard to get a reminder of what it’s like to be starting out fresh!

Panellists are Cass Helps and Dayle Kennedy, Tall Shadow Breads, Vancouver, and Adam Christie, Co-Owner, Working Culture Bread, Victoria.

Cass and Dayle, co-founders of Tall Shadow Breads, specialize in sourdough breads, using organic grains and a slow fermentation process. They say making sourdough is a physical and humbling process that requires time, patience and a sense of humour. These passionate entrepreneurs are transitioning the business from commissary kitchen to storefront, partnering with Miki Ellis and Stephen Whiteside to open Tall Shadow Bakery in East Vancouver early this summer.

Adam Christie owns and operates with partner Jess Working Culture Bread, a neighbourhood bread and coffee shop in Rock Bay, Victoria, B.C., founded in fall 2020 after years of dreaming, planning and test baking. They bake organic sourdough bread from scratch and all of their products are handmade with a focus on local sourcing and seasonality. We are committed to being active members in our neighbourhood and local community.

Don’t miss this rare chance to hear and be inspired by bakers’ stories, make connections and just maybe share your own baking journey!

Join us on May 14-15 at the Vancouver Convention Centre!

Register now!