Helen’s Child Bakes and Brews is a family affair, and Kavita wants you to know that from the start.
“I, Kavita, mom and child of Helen, do all the baking,” she says. “Rishi, dad, helps with packaging, cashing, driving, and all other muscle required work. Yasoda, our daughter, handles the Instagram and is the face everyone sees when they try our product samples. Our elder son helps with other muscle related work and folding boxes, while our youngest is the brave one greeting everyone who walks into market with a dog, offering treats.”
Before moving to Canada in 2024, the family spent their whole lives in Trinidad and Tobago. And when they arrived in BC, something was missing.
“We suddenly had a longing for the flavours of home,” Kavita says. “Trinidadian restaurants are very rare in Metro Vancouver and to be honest, we found a lot of the flavours we love were missing from the foods available here. So we decided that we would bring a bit of our flavour to BC.”
Watching Artists in the Kitchen
The name Helen’s Child is a tribute. Helen is Kavita’s mother, and it was from her grandmothers and aunts that Kavita learned everything she knows about cooking and baking.
“Watching these ladies in the kitchen was like watching an artist paint a masterpiece,” she says. “They took such care in all that they did, and unlike me, did it all without most of the appliances that we have today. Spices were ground between stones or in a mortar and pestle, and cake batters were mixed by hand.”
That reverence for tradition shapes everything Kavita puts on her farmers’ market table.
A Melting Pot on Every Plate
To understand what Helen’s Child sells, Kavita says, you have to understand where Trinidad comes from.
“Trinidad is a melting pot of cultures from all over the world: Spanish, Portuguese, French, British, Irish, African, Chinese, Indians, Syrian, Lebanese, South and North Americans, just to name a few,” she says. “They all brought their own recipes, their own flavours, blended and shared them, and so created foods unique to Trinidad.”
One product sits at the heart of it all: Cocoa Tea.
“This is a humble drink, usually associated with the rural areas of Trinidad, the remnants of the cocoa and cacao plantations scattered throughout the island,” Kavita says. “This simple drink is like sipping history, and the warm spices in it are like the people of these areas. Historically made from what was usually available in every rural household, the cheap basics: cocoa grown in the plantation, spices that were a part of everyday cooking, sugar from the plantations, and milk from the neighbour’s cow. This is a drink that truly warms the soul.”
Cocoa Tea is served at the farmers’ market and has been woven into their cupcakes as well.
“The nostalgia of being in the kitchen, learning from the ancestors, the flavours that we can enjoy because of their sacrifices,” Kavita says. “That is what is at the heart of our products, what fuels us to share Trinidad through food.”
Finding Community in a New Country
Moving to a new country is not without its fears, and Kavita is refreshingly honest about them.
“I often worry that maybe our customers would not like what we offer, maybe they would think our products are overpriced, maybe the cakes aren’t pretty enough, maybe they would not appreciate our efforts,” she says.
But the reception at the UBC Farm Saturday Farmers’ Market has quieted those doubts.
“The reception that we have gotten from all our patrons, customers and admirers alike, has allayed our fears,” she says. “It encourages us to keep trying, to stay true to what we know and, like our ancestors who found themselves in a new land, learn from others, share what we have, and persevere despite the challenges that may arise.”
The farmers’ market has become more than a place to sell.
“Community is not just the place where you live, but rather a place where you build and share life,” Kavita says. “Becoming vendors at the UBC Farmers’ Market has allowed us to meet people from parts of the world that seemed like distant lands, to hear their stories and to share ours. The market has strengthened our appreciation of community, in a place where we were afraid we would not find one.”
Where to Find Helen’s Child Bakes and Brews
Helen’s Child Bakes and Brews is currently exclusive to the UBC Farm Saturday Farmers’ Market. Follow along on Instagram to stay up to date on new flavours and farmers’ market dates.