Vegans Mean Business at The Bleeding Heart Bakery
By bakeanddestroy on April 13th, 2009 . Filed under: Interviews, Vegan .Chicago vegans know where to go when they need some sugar – take the Damen bus to Belmont and stop when you see the giant neon sign: The Bleeding Heart Bakery. Since 2005, owner and executive pastry chef Michelle Garcia, along with her husband Vinnie and a staff of punky young bakers have been baking up local, sustainable and organic treats for vegans and dairy-eaters alike. I asked Michelle about her experiences both as a former vegan and as a professional chef catering to vegan customers. Her answers proved a point I already knew was true in my heart- vegans are hungry, they have money, and they want to buy your delicious vegan treats. So bakery owners, listen up: get yourself a great vegan recipe book pronto.
Do you remember the first vegan dessert you ever tasted?
That would be the German chocolate cake from Chicago Diner.
If so, what did you think about it?
At the time, I was so excited to be able to have a birthday cake that I didn’t care about how it tasted, so I guess I don’t even remember.
If not, do you think it’s better that you don’t remember it?
*I’m pretty sure the answer is yes, definitely.
Your original location on Chicago Ave was a hit with vegans from day one- what made you decide to offer vegan treats right off the bat?
I had spent half of my life at that point as a vegan, and I knew that the type of bakery we were would attract a lot of vegans. Also, I know that a lot of children are born with egg and milk allergies; I wanted to be sure that all children could have an amazing birthday cake no matter what.
Have you ever had a vegan baker working in one of your shops?
I’ve had several vegan bakers. However, I feel as though most of them were inhibited by old school beliefs about baking vegan.
Did mainly work on your vegan goods, or were they OK with making your non-vegan stuff as well?
Most seemed to turn there noses up at non-vegan goods, which was really frustrating as I was vegan for so long and saw everything as education and knowledge whether I personally believed in it or not.
Would it be difficult for a vegan to properly prepare your other treats without tasting them?
Our basic recipes are very simple and east to follow, if you understand the basic principles behind baking techniques, you should be able to make anything. Also, no one at the bakery minds tasting anything, so there are no excuses.
What do you think the biggest misconception about vegan desserts is?
Most people automatically think vegan means dry, flavorless cardboard and granola-ish.
What do you do with your vegan yummies to de-bunk the misconceptions?
I believe our approach is much different than most. All vegan recipes start as conventional and get tweeked to be vegan. We try very hard not to use traditional flavorless substitutes. When we have to make a substitute, we want it to add something- like bananas.
Is it any more difficult to find vegan organic ingredients than it is to find non-vegan organic ingredients?
Honestly, now a days, it is much easier. But when we first started we had to buy everything retail.
What’s your most popular vegan dessert?
That would be between the banana fudge brownie and the Slash Cupcake. (Devils food cupcake, chocolate frosting and curly chocolate shavings)
Does it seem like the demand for vegan baked goods has increased over the years?
For sure, mostly with little children.
I always hear people say that vegan cakes are dry, what are people doing wrong when they bake?
They are using substitutes such as Ener-G that act as a drying agent. Any kind of starch will do that. Try using a banana or possibly just leaving out the substitutes all together! You could also substitute oil for margarine or Earth Balance.
If Joe Blow off the street were blindfolded and asked to taste two of your chocolate cupcakes- one vegan and one conventional, do you think he could tell the difference?
I know he wouldn’t. We’ve actually done this! The vegan cupcake won every time, so now that’s all we offer!
Do you find that non-vegans are open to trying vegan desserts, or are they scared?
Most seemed to be scared, but love them when they try them accidentally, that happens almost every day – especially with the cupcake.
Do you think it’s important for a modern bakery to offer at least one vegan option?
It’s incredibly important, why alienate people? Were always trying to offer product that spans the board for allergies, we just started offering vegan sugar free options and believe it is so important.
Have you thought about making vegan versions of any of your famous bacon-infused treats, with vegan bacon?
We tried; it’s just not the same. As a vegan I never enjoyed fake meat and I guess that just followed me.
What’s the hardest thing about baking without dairy?
Running out of soymilk! It happens all the time! Even when I double the order. I think we have little vegan gnomes drinking it all.
What about pastry- can you make a vegan croissant?
You can, but margarine gets soft really fast and all the fat leaks out. We did, however, just start making vegan brioche, which rocks!
Is it harder to make dairy-free pastry than it is to bake vegan cakes and cookies?
Not really harder physically- harder mentally, it requires a lot of thought.
Were you ever vegan?
Yes, 7 years straight ad a few others here and there.
What made you go vegan?
I was raised vegetarian for the most part and became an extremist at a very young age. I don’t believe in doing something half way.
Finally, how many vegan cupcakes do you think you sell in a week?
Well, we have recently counted this, it’s 800 I’m the shop and another 200-300 in special orders.
Photos by Bill Lambert
*For the record, Chicago Diner did used to have kind of a gnarly vegan bakery- it has since improved by leaps and bounds.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:48 am
What a great interview! I hope I can visit Michelle’s bakery some time.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:56 am
What an awesome interview! It made me want to travel to Chicago to visit the bakery. Love it.
April 13th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Looks like I need to make a trip to Chicago!
April 13th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Heh. I love the total lack of self-awareness between the responses “everyone should have vegan cupcake selections, so as not to alienate people” and “we don’t make non-vegan cupcakes”.
April 13th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Actually, what it says is that they only make vegan chocolate cupcakes because it repeatedly won taste-tests over the conventional recipe. TBHB continues to offer several began and non-vegan cupcake flavors- even some with real bacon on top.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Hi all! Natalie is correct. We did taste tests on the chocolate cupcakes only, for fun, the vegan cupcake won hands down every time. That does not mean that the fillings and frostings are always vegan. In fact, did you know that most grocery store chocolate cupcakes are vegan by default? Anyhow, we make 13 types of cupcakes daily, 6 vegan,most of which are peanut free, 6 conventional, 1 gluten free and ocasionally sugar free…..offering every type under the sun. Please tell me how that would alienate someone?
April 13th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Natalie, I’m not surprised that Bleeding Heart’s vegan chocolate cupcake won the taste-test; the major focus of the bakery is to make tasty vegan desserts. (Neither would I be surprised to find that, in a traditional bakery, the conventional selection would be preferred — if only because that’s where the baker’s expertise/preference lies.)
Nonetheless, if one believes a lack of a vegan selection is an alienating choice to vegans, then a lack of a conventional selection must be similarly alienating to everyone else. Alternately, if one holds that the best tasting items are the ones a bakery owner should give preference to, then a lack of vegan selections at non-vegan bakeries is optimal (presuming the above experience/preference observation above). Holding out for both is wanting to have a cupcake, and eat it, too ;-)
April 13th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Michelle, I doubt your actual selection would alienate anyone, now that I know its scope — which wasn’t made clear in the interview.
April 13th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Wow. Guess I won’t be winning any Bert Greene awards for this post I put together at 6am for the cupcake blog I contribute to for free. Back to journalism school for me!