Nom Nom Craft Bakery has been in the making for a long time. Since Althea was living in Argentina, then in Ireland and, finally, in Mallorca, the idea had been floating around in her head. However, it was here, on the island, where something happened, one of those events that, without expecting it, became catalysts for this dream to finally become a reality.
Althea was working in a restaurant on Calle Fábrica in Palma, back in 2016, when, one day, a customer wrote a harsh review on the internet. In it, the diner complained about the whole experience. About the cuisine being too salty, about the lack of vegan or gluten-free desserts, and even about the napkins. So the chef asked Althea to create a vegan, a gluten-free and a lactose-free option to include on the menu, but the pastry chef, as she confesses, didn't know where to start. "When I studied cooking, I never delved into vegan cuisine or celiac disease, so I started researching. That comment was a before and after in her way of understanding baking and with it opened new avenues of experimentation and learning that would mark the future of Althea and, of course, that of Nom Nom Craft Bakery.
In 2017, again, another fact, apparently anecdotal, meant a new impulse. "Our boss came in one day and informed us that he was closing the restaurant, not to come back the next day. On the way home, I forgot my knife kit on the bus and took it as a sign. I was really tired of what I was doing and figured things happen for a reason." So, Althea took that time to discover pastry recipes that dispensed with refined ingredients, got hold of numerous books and experimented with new ideas in her kitchen.
She would not abandon this path. Although she went back to working for others, when confinement came, she began to develop more recipes, buy supplies and books, browse webinars and, like many at the time, "obsessively bake bread." Althea spent her days in the kitchen and started uploading photos of her sweet creations on her Instagram account. Her alternative approach, complemented by the quality of her photographs, caught the attention of many people who, when the confinement ended, began to place orders with her. She then prepared cakes for friends, family and the first customers that came through word of mouth and social networks. The confinement ended and we returned to the street, but Althea continued in ERTE and decided to bet, once and for all, on Nom Nom Craft Bakery. It was a "now or never" kind of thing, as she tells us. A brave and winning bet.
But what is so special about Nom Nom's bakery? We would dare to say that the ingredients, the process, the concept... or rather, everything. The ingredients are mostly organic and from small producers on the island, such as Vadebio, flour from Manacor and figs from her in-laws' house. In addition, she does not buy processed products, such as margarine or cashew cream, because she makes them herself.
"It's a satisfaction to know that people have broken a myth about plant-based food."
The process is also atypical because it requires a lot of research. As she explains, baking is very precise, so when substituting classic ingredients for vegan alternatives, she has to study what function each one fulfills. For example, Althea tells us, eggs retain air and at the same time bind, so she had to try substitutes, such as ground flax, which, when hydrated, fulfills this binding function, and aquafaba (the liquid resulting from cooking legumes), which, when reduced, has the same consistency as egg white, which helps to retain air. New knowledge that, as she explains with a smile, she learned "with a lot of trial and error".
The concept is also key. Althea makes sweets with nutritional value, without refined ingredients and always keeping sustainability in mind. To reduce the impact on the environment, in addition to vegan ingredients, she chooses local suppliers and has studied its packaging, which is biodegradable, recyclable and soy-based ink. If being sustainable is a path that is traced by weighing each choice, Althea's intention is to walk it and, as she tells us, to do her bit.
As we talk, we understand that, in fact, there is a lot of awareness and reflection in Nom Nom Craft Bakery. Because if there is a purpose here, it is to demystify that what is vegan and healthy is, by antonomasia, ugly, bland and difficult to cook. In the retreats in which she cooks, as she explains to us, the feedback always attests to this change of mentality. "In the last retreat 19 people participated and only one was a vegetarian. They ate vegan food for four days and everyone was surprised by the variety and by how the food felt in their bodies. It's a satisfaction to know that these people have broken a myth about plant based food."
"I'm more attracted to the idea of the workshop because it gives me freedom and I want to be the owner and mistress of my time".
Nom Nom Craft Bakery also succeeds among younger diners and that part motivates Althea - and a lot. "When a mother writes to tell me that the children have loved a cake, I feel great satisfaction. I consider it important that a child's birthday cake is homemade and has nutritional value, and at the same time, it allows me to be part of special moments."
As for the future, Althea recognizes that the project is always changing. First the offer was exclusively sweet, then she introduced bread, then came the retreats and private events... and now, sometimes, she dreams of having a plant based studio, a workshop school that allows her to cook and give workshops, but with flexibility if she wants to participate in an event. What is clear to her is that, for the time being, she will continue to work based on orders and without a physical store, at least not a conventional store with a strict schedule: "I am more attracted to the idea of the workshop because it gives me freedom, and I want to be the owner and mistress of my time".
