House of Gato – a French-inspired pastry, baked goods, and custom cake shop – officially opened its doors in downtown Fernie on Dec. 10, offering Elk Valley residents the opportunity to indulge in an extensive menu of flaky, doughy perfection.
Catherine Chartrand, a certified pastry chef with over eight years of experience helms the shop alongside her partner, Derek Lim.
“I always wanted to start a little shop, so we found the perfect little space and made it happen,” said Chartrand, who has sold homemade cakes at the Fernie Mountain Market over the past few summers.
“There’s definitely a market for it – I was doing custom cake orders while I was working a full time job, and the demand was there. And when I was doing the market as well I was selling out so quick so I was like, something needs to happen.”
The scent of fresh croissants, baguettes, pies, and sandwiches has drawn a constant line-up of customers over the past three weeks.
“It takes me about three days to prep to be open for three days, and even then I’m selling out in two hours – people are craving it so much,” said Chartrand.
“It’s pretty overwhelming, it’s fantastic, and I’m really grateful. Fernie is really supportive – it’s a dream come true.”
The shop also offers coffee alongside a number of rotating, seasonal options.
House of Gato is located on Sixth Street across from Mugshots Cafe, serving customers through a little window at the front of the shop from Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.
House of Gato is making custom cakes, but is not yet taking custom pastry orders.
To keep up to date with their locally-baked goods, head to House of Gato’s Instagram @housegatO. To reach Chartrand, call 250-430-1315, or email housegatofernie@gmail.com.
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reporter@thefreepress.ca
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