Carolie Schink, a 20-year-old entrepreneur from Ormstown, is pursuing her childhood dream of owning her own bakery.
“As far back as I can remember, my passion for baking began in the third grade,” says Schink. “Then, in sixth grade, I chose to research the pastry-making business for a class project, and that’s I when I first started to dream of opening my own pastry shop.”
As her love of baking continued to grow, Schink participated in a brief stage in the field during Grade 10. As she was preparing to graduate from high school, she was faced with a dilemma: becoming a pastry chef was not a very lucrative occupation. She chose instead to enroll in a CEGEP-level natural sciences program to become a food engineer, with the goal of saving enough money to one day own her own business.
After a year, she realized the program wasn’t for her. She enrolled instead at the Institut de tourisme et hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) and completed her courses in December 2022. She officially launched her business, Les Délices à Caro, on March 1.
Creating a company
“I had savings from student jobs that really helped me,” says Schink, who was able to buy all the material she would need to start her business herself. She was also able to count on help from her family. Her father, who works in construction, converted a shed on their property into a fully functional kitchen with the help of her uncle, who is an electrician and plumber.
For the moment, Schink does not have an official storefront. She is focusing instead on marketing and selling her products at local public markets. She also recently joined the Association des Gens d’Affaires de Ormstown et les environs (AGAO+). She suggests a recent post on her business, that was published on social media by the AGAO+, gave her a big boost.
The good stuff
Mousses, cakes, cookies, fruit squares …. These are just some of the many delights that Schink has to offer. Her line of baked goods now features three kinds of chocolate mousse, strawberry, almond and vanilla entremets, cookies, brownies, brioche buns, personalized cakes and cupcakes, and fruit squares. “For the moment, I’m still on my own to do everything from scratch, but fortunately I can count on my mother to help me at farmers’ markets,” she says. Schink admits that some of her baked goods can take several days to prepare, but she doesn’t mind and loves what she does.
“Within five years, I want to have my own bakery,” she shares. For now, she is not sure whether her dream includes owning a chain of bakeries, but she is certain her dream of owning at least one bakery under her name will come true.
