Ladies, Meet Jackie Kai Ellis: Owner & Founder of Beaucoup Bakery
Written By Ashley Basran and Lorena Laurencelle
Our Pink Tank team recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jackie Kai Ellis, Owner and Founder of Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe to talk business inspiration and chat about her home away from home, Paris, France! Her beautiful 16-seat café creates French-inspired pastries, artistic cakes, seasonal tarts and delicious cookies. What we love most (besides their coffee and treats) is the bakery’s Acts of Kindness program. This is a unique twist on the typical rewards program that lets you choose how to use your points including passing it on to a friend or paying it forward to support a lunch initiative in partnership with www.MoreThanMe.org. This helps get little girls off the street and into school in one of the world’s most dangerous slums. That is our kind of rewards card!
A bit about Jackie…
As we sat down with Jackie, we sipped our teas and began to learn more about how Beaucoup Bakery & Café was created. Jackie explained to us that she once ran her own successful design firm for several years. “I decided to close the company and jet off to study the art of French pastry making at Paris’ École Gastronomique Bellouet Conseil,” says Jackie. After returning to Vancouver with newfound inspiration, knowledge and determination, Jackie opened up Beaucoup Bakery & Café in the winter of 2012!
“Beaucoup is everything that I’ve ever dreamt of and more. I never realized that starting it would allow me to follow some of my other dreams,” explains Jackie. Since the doors of the French inspired bakery have opened, Jackie has created two other careers out of it. The first is The Paris Food Tours (which we explain in more detail below)and she’s since become a Food and Travel Writer as well!
The Paris Tours is something that Jackie is very passionate about. She travels to Paris three to five times a year, a home away from home that she enjoys sharing with others. When in Paris, she meets with groups and leads them to the very best patisseries and chocolate shops with a tasting at the end (something we are determined to take part in one day)! The next time you find yourself packing your bags for Paris, be sure to sign up for The Paris Tours with Jackie!
With the success of Beaucoup Bakery & Café and the expansion of Jackie’s career, we wanted to learn her take on success. “Success changes overtime. Right now, I know that if at the end of my life, I worked as hard as I could to become the best possible version of myself, and I did it with as much bravery as possible, I am successful,” says Jackie.
In addition to defining her own success, we wanted to know how Jackie describes Beaucoup Bakery & Café in 5 words. Here’s how:
- Ladders
- Chairs
- Community
- Passion
- Satisfying
We love the quote that Jackie shared to explain the reasoning behind ladders and chairs: “What are we to each other? I hope that we are ladders and chairs to each other. When you are in need of inspiration, I am your ladder. When you are in need of rest, I am your chair.”
As we finished up the last bit of our teas, we were left feeling fascinated and honoured for the opportunity to learn more about the beauty and brains behind the little slice of Paris that Jackie Kai Ellis has founded in Vancouver.
Be sure to keep up with Jackie on social media:
Instagram: @JackieKaiEllis | @BeaucoupBakery | @TheParisTours
Twitter: @JackieKaiEllis | @BeaucoupBakery | @TheParisTours
www.jackiekaiellis.com | www.beacoupbakery.com | www.theparistours.com
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