There's a Brazilian party somewhere in Vancouver this weekend, and at some point in the evening someone will walk in carrying a tray. The foil comes off, and the room reorganizes itself around it — coxinhas, teardrop-shaped, shredded chicken inside, still warm.
If a friend asked us where to get that tray, we'd send them to Gimme Bakery.
Gimme is Lais and Nathalia. Brazilian party food is the whole business — coxinhas, brigadeiros in fluted paper cups, cheese bread, and cake — and most of it is made to travel: to market stalls, to living rooms, to other people's parties.
It started with morango do amor and a scooter
The two of them met almost ten years ago and only got close in the last three. Lais runs a recording studio with her husband and had always wanted a bakery. Nathalia had spent her career in restaurants. Between them, the idea took the shape of a side project: morango do amor — strawberries dipped in a shiny red candy shell that cracks when you bite into it — with Nathalia delivering them herself, by scooter, around downtown.
Then they heard Gimme Coxinhas was for sale, and in their words, "We knew that was it."
The coxinha sits at the centre of everything they've built since — including the logo. Look at the wordmark and you'll see the same teardrop shape as the snack, and once you notice it you start finding it everywhere: the packaging, the bags, the stall. In June, a design magazine that covers branding from all over the world featured the rebrand — a two-person Vancouver bakery, recognized for how it looks as much as for what it sells.
Then the cake took over
Ask what they like making and the answer is everything. Ask what people order and the answer is narrower.
We love making everything. But ever since cake came onto our menu, it's been what people ask for most.
We can vouch for that one. In September we threw a birthday party on Granville Island for sixty people, and the cake came from Gimme. It was beautiful, and it was gone before the party was over.
Ordered at noon, on the table by evening
This is the part worth knowing before you plan anything. Gimme works with freezing techniques, which means most of the menu can be ordered the same day. Their kit festa — the party kit — can be ready in about two hours. The more elaborate cakes need more notice, so ask when you order.
For anyone who has ever realized at lunchtime that thirty people are coming over at seven, that is not a small thing. It also changes how you plan a party that isn't an emergency: tell them the headcount and the hour, and let the kitchen work backwards.
The ones that hit them in the heart
Most of what they make goes to Brazilian parties, and the ones they love most are the chás de revelação — gender reveals — especially when the party belongs to a friend. "It hits us right in the heart," they say.
What comes next they say — "lots of new things on the way, we don't like standing still". In the meantime, there's a party somewhere in Vancouver this weekend, and the tray is already on its way.
Photos: Gimme Bakery.
Gimme Bakery is on Zamala. Their page has the photos, what they make and how to reach them — you can request a quote for your own party right there.
The Spotlight is where the Journal writes about the Vancouver Event Pros we'd send a friend to, like Lais and Nathalia.
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