New Kuujjuaq bake shop is Nunavik man’s bread and butter

You can stop by Watt’s Baking Shop at the Kuujjuaq Forum any weekday for a scone and a latté. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Robbie Watt left his political aspirations aside to open a bakery in the Kuujjuaq Forum — the only one in the region. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Mini arpik berry pies wait to be covered at Watt’s Bake Shop, which opened in Kuujjuaq this past summer. (PHOTO BY ROBBIE WATT)

KUUJJUAQ — Depending on how you look at it, it could either be a good thing or bad thing that Kuujjuaq’s new bakery is located in the same building as its gym.

As soon as you open the front doors of the Kuujjuaq Forum, the scent of cinnamon buns, fresh from the oven, stops you in your tracks.

That might be a distraction for some, but for Robbie Watt, the baker, it’s brought a welcome routine.

Watt, who launched Watt’s Baking Shop this past summer, starts his day at the crack of dawn. He begins preparing loaves of bread — white and whole wheat — before whipping up big batches of chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies, scones, cinnamon buns and bread sticks.

By the time the work day begins for the rest of the community, Watt is often ready for a break, hitting the gym downstairs for a workout. Somewhere between all the sugar and dough he surrounds himself with each day, Watt has lost 30 pounds since the start of summer.

“I started baking to survive,” he says, seriously, serving up a scone speckled with current berries.

“I’m taking care of myself and trying to live a healthy lifestyle,” he said. “It’s also in my nature to do and make things for others, so this is my way of helping right now.”

Although he’s always enjoyed working in the kitchen, Watt started baking on a daily basis in the weeks after the last Makivik Corp. election, where he ran and lost a bid to serve as its president.

After years in Montreal, Watt was back home in Kuujjuaq, without work, and caring for his mother.

Baking gave him time to unwind and reflect on his next steps in life, all the while preparing food for his family.

He started posting his creations on social media and quickly drew customers looking for fresh bread, a rarity anywhere in the North.

Watt soon realized there was money to be made, and signed a six-month contract for the kitchen space at the Forum.

“Inuit have a very big thing for food,” Watt says while pouring a latté, the only place in town you can buy such a coffee.

“I think people are happy having an Inuk doing this. I bake what I like to eat, what tastes good.”

On an usually warm September afternoon, it’s a tray of mini blueberry pies — blueberries have been big and plentiful this year. Once Watt posts a photo of the tarts-in-the-making on Facebook, customers quickly reserve their pies to pick up later.

As his business grows, Watt says he’s getting orders from communities around Nunavik, as well as Iqaluit.

“I know people who no longer buy bread from the stores here,” he said. “Once you go fresh, it’s hard to go back.”

For all the praise Watt’s baking may have earned him, he gets a lot of questions and even criticism from people who can’t understand how someone who’s held senior positions with regional organizations could opt to bake for a living.

“I laugh at myself sometimes too,” he said. “I have a degree and a master’s program in management.

“I’ve had to adjust how I can help,” he said. “But something feels right about this. It’s been a fun journey.”

Some of those doubters have since become loyal customers, Watt said. Just the other day, a local man approached Watt and asked him for advice on how to lose weight.

Watt offered him support and encouragement, suggesting he start with walking, drinking lots of water and eventually, visits to the gym.

He just forgot to warn him about the smell of cinnamon buns.

Watt’s Baking Shop is open through the week from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and in the evening from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.