Meet Barbara Vaigauskaite | Owner/Baker at Flour & Berry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barbara Vaigauskaite and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
During quarantine, I found myself baking more than I usually did. My kids couldn’t deal with COVID, so as to help everyone out with the quick transition, I started baking more breads to cheer them up. They became my bread-testers, and in time forgot to worry. I’ve been baking for almost 15 years, and I’ve dedicated my life to make sure people can eat amazing tasting things without all the unhealthy strings attached. I know more than anyone how unhealthy food and treats can be, so after training and getting my official nutritionist certificate, I decided to start a business to help others; because aren’t we just what we eat?

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think baking is science and art at the same time. With experience, you just get the feel of how it should look, smell, taste, texture. Baking to me was always easy. I know a recipe is no good if I cannot make it from the first try. My first attempt to baking was when I was 5 or 6. I decided to make a blueberry rice pie. Not sure where I got the idea, but it was actually pretty good. With time, i bounced between cooking and baking, both being very different. With cooking, you can have a latitude of exploration, where as with baking, everything needs to be super price. It is more science. but that said, you can always take a base and build on it. For me that base is my bread pudding. I started with just chocolate chip. And oneday decided to test a white chocolate raspberry, which immediately became a hit. Building upon flavors, and trying out new spices is what is so exciting about baking.
I never knew that my baking will take off online with Etsy being the main driver. Holidays this year were super busy, and taught me how to get organized around my time and supplies. I learned that packaging matters, pretty sells, but people will be back for flavor.
Flour & Berry is all about flavor, and being good to your body and the world. I am very set on my ways as a Health coach to only use simple, real ingredients: no synthetic colors, preservatives, stabilizers, fillers, bleached flours, etc. Berry – its there because I love to incorporate fruit into rustic art of dough.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love market halls. For sure Stanley Marketplace and Denver central Market. The ability to choose different things from different vendors, and then finish it with a drink from a bar and locally made ice cream or dessert, its just cannot be topped. A lot of those vendors spend most of their lives trying to perfect recipes like drinks, cakes, breads, and other dishes, making them great homemade foods and beverages to try with your friends and family. The Stanley Marketplace also has a lot of amazing shops and vendors with handmade items, so it’s a great place to go with your friends to shop for new clothes or try on accessories from vendors on that day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am so glad a book is on the list. Definitely Joanne Chang. It all started with me watching a Youtube show on sugar reactions, and Joanne was explaining different states of sugar incorporation. After that, I purchased every book, and diligently reviewed all her recipes during Thanksgiving camping trip. It was very annoying to my parents, but she and her story telling got me so excited that I enrolled into a local farmer’s market.

Website: www.flourandberry.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flourandberry_/

Linkedin: barbaravaigauskaite

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flourandberry