Bagel bonanza for Yukon start-up

Bannock may be the traditional go-to in the Yukon, but it seems there's a growing love for Montreal-style bagels.

Bullet Hole Bagels,a new start-up company, has been consistently sellingout all summer.

"We had a conversation last year and it was like:'oh man, nobody's doing this and bagels are awesome, they're like the holy grail of bread products,'" said Adrian Burrill.

Together with business partnerAlena Puskas, Burrill started Bullet Hole Bagels, selling this summer in Whitehorse at the Fireweed Community Market.

"It's really takenoff," he said.

Burrill said at first, they made 300 bagels for the Thursday market but sold out in under 10 minutes a sign of the summer ahead.

"That's when we realized this is real.Whitehorse is serious about their love of bagels."

Learning the ropes

Both Burrill and Puskas are unlikely bakers, he said.

"She's an artist and I'm a musician.We kinda just pounced on this idea."

Burrill has a masterof science, a love for the trumpet, and no previous baking experience, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"Turns out it's pretty hard but we practiced a lot and people love 'em, " he said. "I thought, worse case scenario, I'm just going to be really good at making bagels for my friends and family."

Over the last few months the pair have improved their bagel-making techniques. Burrill said it took about four months to get it right. The pair rent the industrial kitchen at the Association franco-yukonnaise one day a week where they start their baking day at 4:30 a.m.

They've increased their output. Now, instead of 300 bagels for the weekly market, they spend about 12 hours baking and have closer to 1,200 every week.A bag of six bagels sells for $7.

"They usually sellout in an hour or so," said Burrill.

Looking to expand

Bullet Hole Bagels have two more weeks at the community market before it wraps for the season, but Burrill hopes customers will soon be able to buy his product year-round.

He said they've met with a local grocer and are working on a deal to have the bagels on Whitehorse shelves soon. And in the longrun, he said, hopefully there will be a storefront for Bullet Hole Bagels.

"I never fancied myself a business person," he said."Funny how life works out."