European pastry shop opens in Penticton
Take your senses on a trip around Europe from the comfort of Penticton’s newest pastry shop, Petrasek Bakery. The bakery officially opens today and is on the corner of Main Street and Nanaimo Street in Nanaimo Square.
Petrasek Bakery is family owned and operated by Jan Petrasek and his wife, Silvia Petraskova. They have three daughters together.
Having grown up in a small town in Slovakia, Petrasek and Petraskova wanted their bakery to encompass a homey, family feel, an element that’s important to them.
“Most European families, their whole life is around the kitchen with their mom cooking. You grow up with that, and it comes naturally to me,” Petrasek explained.
“But it’s an art,” he added. His devotion and passion has him up at 3 a.m. every day to ensure that all items are made fresh for that same day. Everything Petrasek makes is from scratch.
Many of his recipes came from trial and error, and from learning how to work with local ingredients grown in different environments.
Much inspiration, he said, came from his mother and grandmother’s teachings, both of whom learned from their mothers and grandmothers as well.
“I want to offer different things,” Petrasek said. “I don’t want it to be boring.”
The Okanagan in particular, he also said, offers many local ingredients throughout the seasons that he’ll be using in his creations that range from bread to pastries and tarts, all of which come from different European countries.
Petrasek was humble as he said that his cinnamon buns are really good, too.
The bakery offers bread by weight, as well, for customers who don’t require an entire loaf.
Petrasek and Petraskova travelled Europe after marrying in their early 20s and later spent time living in Israel, where Petrasek worked in a bakery. Petraskova worked primarily in the kitchen.
With their experience, they opened a bakery in Calgary and later Cochrane, Alta.
But a family illness had them sell their home and business in 2016, and before they moved back to Europe, they first travelled to the Okanagan. Their intention was to visit Osoyoos, but a stop in Penticton had the family stay for four days instead.
“We stopped by Penticton during Peach Festival,” Petraskova said.
They moved to Europe as planned, but the couple had fallen in love with Penticton.
“When we were in Europe, we looked for a house on the internet,” she said. They bought their Penticton house while still overseas.
Their bakery also offers coffee, freshly made lattes and tea on top of a welcoming atmosphere.