Love — and the $11.95 Croissant on Vancouver Island

I knew I would adore Freyja before I walked in. What I didn’t know was I would love it so much that I would return again to spend $50 on coffee and croissants, and leave fully pleased with the quality of the food and the value paid.

Metaphorically, I experienced at the little bakery in downtown Campbell River the same sense of satisfaction and belief in the discovery of culinary gold as its owners did in the Vancouver Island outpost they chose for their home. Just as importantly as the products at Freyja: The Croissant Story is the journey its owners undertook to make it a possibility.

Géza Tóth-Harasztos and his wife, Emese (pronounced Amasha), present clear reminders of why Canada is among the finest countries in the world in which to live — and why some long-time residents may do well to complain less. In 2019, the couple began searching for a way out of Hungary, where dictator Viktor Orbán’s anti-democratic policies have fuelled instability and annual inflation rates became sharply higher than the rest of Europe, reaching 14.5% in 2022 compared to the European Union’s 9.5% average.

After the pandemic scuttled their initial emigration plans, the Tóth-Harasztoses recommitted to their search for a new home for themselves and their two infant children. They had decided on Canada but not a specific location, until they learned about the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program’s Regional Pilot. Essentially a visa program for entrepreneurs, the initiative identifies potential immigrants who are keen to move to B.C. to launch a business. It turns out that the only destination that sought to recruit entrepreneurs looking to open a restaurant or food manufacturing operation was Campbell River, which until recently was known for fishing and logging, and not much else.

Most Canadians have never heard of Campbell River, let alone a couple from Budapest. Remarkably, the Tóth-Harasztoses were intrigued, not dissuaded.

“I watched a YouTube video of a taxi driver who was showing scenes around Campbell River. It looked peaceful and pretty beautiful. I said to myself, ‘I could live there,’” Géza Tóth-Harasztos, a former commercial radio station owner in Hungary, told me during my initial visit to his cafe.

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He and his wife — both self-professed foodies — brainstormed about what culinary-related business they could start that would fast track their entry into Canada. They loved Freyja: The Croissant Story, one of their local go-to spots in Hungary, and suggested to the owner the he allow them to open a location 8,600 kilometres (5,340 miles) away in an isolated part of Canada where Tim Horton’s ruled the coffee-shop biz and restaurateurs hadn’t yet managed to build a dining scene (unlike other small destinations on Vancouver Island).

The answer from Campbell River’s municipal government to their business plan was yes and the answer from the founder of Freyja was also an affirmative, “Igen.” While the Tóth-Harasztoses worked on their move, they also mastered the process that made Freyja’s croissants. Each treat takes four days to make and involves techniques that evoke the leading pastry-making destinations in the world: Scandinavia and Vienna.

Which brings me to my high expectations for Freyja: The Campbell River Version. I had tasted the store’s breads at Naturally Pacific Resort, the shining new hospitality jewel in the area, and heard praises for Freyja from the time I checked in. When I entered the white-walled store and saw the options behind the glass case, I felt transported to the Innere Stadt of Vienna — one of my favourite places in the world. It’s where you’ll find Sachertorte in multiple forms and pastries of all kinds, some with flavours beyond the Canadian imagination.

So it is at Freyja, where the $4.95 butter croissant is beautiful and I’m sure delicious. But ordering it would be like walking into a Champagne bar and settling on a glass of Prosecco. Next to the standard croissant are Freyja’s decadent choices, such as a salted caramel cruffin, yuzu and lavender roulé, caramel chocolate and housemade blueberry jam, passionfruit cube, and the one that will haunt my tastebuds until I return to Campbell River: the Persian Love Danish. Baked with pistachio frangipane and filled with two types of ganache: whipped pistachio, and white chocolate with rose water.

Freyja sells it for $11.95. I’d pay twice that.

 

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Though the Tóth-Harasztoses have opened a second business in Campbell River, called Meraki, it is a departure from Freyja. The new enterprise, launched in June, focuses on wedding and event catering and vendor services, with plans for a plant-based restaurant in the works. While they envision another Freyja franchise, the couple both say it is unlikely it will be located outside of Vancouver Island. And the debut of that additional spot, likely to be in Victoria, isn’t imminent. For now, the only place to enjoy Freyja is to make the journey up island. In an excellently written article for Collective Magazines, Emese Tóth-Harasztos explains her and her husband’s vision for their enterprise.

“We want people to visit Campbell River because of Freyja. That’s the quality we’re aiming for, a special experience that stays with someone long past a visit,” she writes.

For me, the delightful new additions to Canada have delivered on that promise.

MORE ABOUT VISITING FREYJA: THE CROISSANT STORY

Location: 1080 Shoppers Row, Campbell River, British Columbia (see map below)
Website: www.freyjacroissant.ca
Menu Price Range: Croissants and pastries start at $4.95; and coffees start at $2.85, with a variety of flavours available.

BRITISH COLUMBIA RESTAURANT BUZZ

A First for Hawksworth in Whistler

Talk about a peak dining experience! David Hawksworth takes his superb west-coast cuisine (and key members of his Vancouver team) to the top of the summit for a four-course dinner on August 8. While Whistler Blackcomb has hosted summer mountain-top barbecues for years, the Hawksworth Restaurant collaboration is the first outdoor dining pop-up event for the venue.

Welcome cocktails, wine pairings from Tantalus Vineyards, and live music are part of the four-hour alpine experience (4-8 p.m.). The pop-up will be held at Whistler’s Roundhouse Lodge on the Valley View patio.

“Our team is excited to share this opportunity and to create a truly sensational mountain-top dining event,” Hawksworth says in a press release. “We are committed to delivering an exceptional menu packed with creativity and flavour that reflects the magnificence of the setting and Whistler’s reputation as a world-class destination.”

 Tickets for the dinner cost $199 per person (plus tax and gratuity), and include a full-day, unlimited-use scenic access pass to the Summer Alpine Experience (a $99 value). With the pass, guests can ride the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, explore hiking trails, or mount the Peak Chair to the summit to access the Cloudraker Skybridge and the Raven’s Eye.

Refreshed Bacchus Shines with Stefan Hartmann

When Stefan Hartmann arrived in Vancouver from Germany eight years ago it was to head one of the city’s most ambitious new restaurants. Bauhaus won over many fans, but eventually shuttered during the pandemic after Hartmann had departed. He has since been part of various projects in the city and last year landed at Bacchus, one of Vancouver’s fine-dining mainstays. With Hartmann’s experience and expertise, Bacchus has elevated its cuisine, making it among the very best places to dine on the west coast. His contemporary cuisine carries Bacchus beyond its stately old-school setting of dark wood and 20th-century parlour ambience. The dishes manage to taste light and uplifting with colours that brighten the plate. They include crispy dry-aged duck, served with chanterelle mushrooms, carrot puree, and fava beans, and Haida Gwaii halibut with zucchini and asparagus. If you’ve never been to Bacchus, or haven’t been for a while, check it out, because it’s a star worthy of even more buzz than it usual gets.

Ombré Debuts in Tofino

The highly anticipated opening of the newest restaurant on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island arrived on Tuesday. Ombré is led by staff members who were formerly at globally acclaimed Wolf in the Fog. Located in the middle of Tofino’s village centre, in the former location of beloved SoBo, the kitchen is headed by David Provencal, who was sous chef at Wolf in the Fog. The menu pays homage to the natural environment and unique bounty of Tofino. Ombré has 70 seats indoors and an additional patio spots for the warmer months. There’s a chef’s table as well as a communal dining space for up to 12 guests.

MORE CAMPBELL RIVER COVERAGE

Naturally Pacific Resort Debuts in Grand Style: “The sighting of orcas underscored what everyone at Naturally Pacific Resort believes: That the best of Vancouver Island — from its seafood and produce to Indigenous history and exhilarating wildlife viewing — can be found in its location three hours north of Victoria by car or 45 minutes by  plane from Vancouver.”