From a small town in northeastern Iran to a Saturday stall at the UBC Farm Market, Ensi has built her bakery on the flavours she grew up with, and on a story that stretches back generations.
“My grandmother, who baked New Year’s sweets for the whole neighbourhood, is a huge part of my memories,” Ensi says. “She used to say that children learn flavours just like they learn a language, and a child who knows the flavours has found a key to happiness.”
That key shaped Ensi’s life. She trained as an archaeologist, then went to Italy to study, where her love for history and her love for food became inseparable. When she landed in Canada, she felt something was missing.
“I noticed a deep void,” she says. “In modern societies, authentic tastes and culinary roots are often sacrificed for mass production and industrial food. This shift has not only cost us our traditions, but has affected our health.”
Her answer was to bake.
Simplicity as a Discipline
Ensi’s mother was famous in her community for her sweets. Ingredients were limited, so she leaned on spices and natural flavors to make her work unforgettable. Ensi learned that lesson young.
“What I learned from her is to remain loyal to simplicity, raw ingredients, and to trust nature to drive innovation,” she says. “Ingredients like almond flour, walnuts, pistachio, and traditional spices such as saffron, cardamom, and turmeric allowed bakers to be creative, making flavors that were diverse and memorable and colourful.”
The biggest barrier she faces is cost. Real ingredients are expensive, and Ensi refuses the usual workaround.
“Often, to lower costs, you must sacrifice flavour, and I refuse to do that,” she says. “Many treats here taste mostly of pure sugar rather than real ingredients. This is especially frustrating for those on restricted diets, where the options get even worse.”
So she keeps the saffron real, the almond flour true, and the colours natural. Her cookies are made for people who want flavour without compromise, including those navigating dietary restrictions.
A Community of Bakers
Ask Ensi what community means to her, and she returns to her grandmother’s kitchen.
“All the women in the neighborhood would gather to bake New Year’s sweets,” she remembers. “Everyone brought what ingredients they could, and everyone took a share of the sweets home. There were no written rules, just a shared effort to create something beautiful together.”
Becoming a farmers’ market vendor felt like a continuation of that tradition.
“It brings back that same spirit of connection, where people meet to appreciate authentic food and support one another,” she says. “I deeply believe that working together to create lost flavours is the foundation of any community.”
Popcorn, Soccer, and Belonging
With Iran preparing to take the pitch at the FIFA World Cup, Ensi’s tournament memories come rushing back. “I remember all neighbours gathered to watch the game together, and of course, it wasn’t complete without food,” she says. “Homemade popcorn was always the key, a simple, international snack that brought everyone together. Just like my grandma’s pastries, it shows how food is the essential companion to our shared cultural experiences.”
This season, Ensi wants her customers to discover what she calls “the true language of flavour.”
“A baker’s job is to create more than just a sweet,” she says. “It’s about sharing the joy of a memory.”
Find Ensi at UBC Farm Market every Saturday through September 19, 2026, or order online at ensibakery.com.