From humble beginnings in a shared kitchen to now more than 70 wholesale and two retail locations across and around the Greater Toronto Area, Blackbird Baking Co. has risen to become a bread and pastry giant in Toronto in its 13 years.
You might recognize the Blackbird Baking Co. name from its locations in Kensington (172 Baldwin St.) and Riverside (635 Queen St. E.), or from your favourite breads and pastries at coffee shops, including Wallace Espresso; restaurants, like Café Boulud; or grocery stories, such as Fiesta Farms and Pusateri's. Now a household name, the business began with one loaf of bread, an oven, and a shared kitchen.
The human behind the loaves is and has always been baker extraordinaire, Simon Blackwell. With extensive experience in food, Blackwell trained as a chef in B.C. before working for 25 years as a cook in Vancouver, Montreal, London, and Toronto. His inspiration for a bakery began with the quality of food he encountered in his travels, especially the sourdough bread in the U.K. Blackwell then decided he wanted to bring that quality of bread to his own community.
"Blackbird began in 2010 as an idea that grew into a business plan, with help from my partner and friends," says Blackwell.
"In April 2011, I baked the first loaf of bread – it was just myself, a deck oven in a shared kitchen, and a lot of hard work! Three years later, in 2014, we opened our first location in Kensington."
Blackwell himself comes from a family of bakers. He notes that his parents met at a baking college in England, and Blackbird Baking Co. marks the fourth generation of bakers in his lineage. The bakery's name is also steeped in family history, as Blackbird was a term of endearment from Simon's grandfather, Harry Blackwell.
Now, Blackbird Baking Co.'s baguettes, ryes, buns, croissants, danishes, galettes, cookies, and more can be found in all their carb glory from Etobicoke, to Bolton, to Ajax, and a range of Toronto bread havens in between. Blackbird has over 70 members on its team, including bakers, front staff, management, and drivers, working to ensure its customers have quality products available every day.
"The lights are always on at Blackbird – literally," says Blackwell. "It is the people that make the product great."
Blackwell started Blackbird Baking Co. with wholesale clients, building relationships with restaurant colleagues and small neighbourhood suppliers to test recipes and work out products in advance of taking on the overhead of retail. Today, wholesale represents 60 per cent of the business, with multiple vans on the road seven days a week across the GTA.
"We want to help build communities that include great food, and will continue to look for more opportunities for retail and wholesale alike align with these values," he says.
"Our focus is on producing as much product as we can, at the level of quality we expect. More is not more if the end product is not excellent."
While daily production stats depend on such factors as the day of the week, the season, wholesale orders, staffing during COVID-19, and even the weather, for relativity, Blackbird Baking Co. averaged some 1200 baguettes and 1000 pastries on a long weekend Saturday in September 2022.
The baking magic happens in two parts: Blackwell and his team separate production at their retail facilities in Kensington and Riverside.
"Bread is the focus at Riverside, where we have a larger production space with larger Heuft thermal oil ovens that have the capacity to produce large quantities at high quality," he states.
"The laminated doughs we produce for our pastry require a cooler bakery temperature and smaller convection ovens, which is a perfect fit for our original Kensington location."
This is all well and good, but it's worth noting that of all its breads and pastries, Blackbird Baking Co. has a special interest in the long ferment sourdough process.
"In addition to being more digestible, the resulting longer gluten strands create a beautiful, open texture and distinctive taste," Blackwell describes.
Blackbird Baking Co.'s sourdough breads began with its levain starter named Murray, which was cultured from organic flour from K2 Milling, and organic Niagara grapes. Murray actually rose to its own fame in 2018, when it was the first Canadian inductee to the Puratos International Sourdough Library in Belgium. Murray is #105 of the over 100 sourdough cultures housed within the Puratos library.
As for Blackwell's favourite Blackbird Baking Co. item, he notes that he loves everything!
"And although every customer has personal favourites, we most often sell out of baguettes," he says. "One of my favourite things is to see someone walking away from the bakery, tearing into a baguette end poking out of a Blackbird bag."
Through Blackwell's many years in business, the rise of Blackbird Baking Co. in Toronto has not been without its changes, challenges, and lessons, particularly over the past few years. But Blackwell and his team's persistence and passion continue to be a cornerstone in how this successful bakery operates.
"While consistency is key to success in baking, the challenges we have faced through last couple of years have taught me about change, and the value of persistence," says Blackwell.
"I am extremely grateful for the hard work and commitment our team has shown in the face of adversity – it is our people who show up every day that make Blackbird what it is."
Blackbird Baking Co. is open in Kensington Market at 172 Baldwin St. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The Riverside location at 635 Queen St. E. is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
