Words Jo Barnes
Photos Sarah Hartley Photography & Alexa Matthews
She was taught by award-winning pastry chefs in France, but she was inspired by her grandmothers.
The Cordon Bleu-trained baker, Alexa Matthews, treasures the times she spent as a child in the family kitchen baking cookies with her grandma. These experiences and the recipes handed down to her through multiple generations prompted a lifelong interest in baking which culminated in the opening of Sidney-based CookieNana’s Bakery earlier this year.
“When I was little, I baked with my grandma, and she taught me a lot. We gave her the name ‘Cookie Nana’,” Alexa shares. “The name of my business is based on my grandma and also my great grandmother; both heavily inspired me. Several of my grandma’s recipes are ones I use now.”
Since launching her business in March 2026, Alexa has definitely moved well beyond the basic cookies of her childhood. Customers can order by phone, through her website, Facebook and Instagram. Alexa markets her cookies through the Root Cellar and Sidney’s Red Barn Market and a dessert line through Refire Kitchen. Her menu features gourmet and hand-designed cookies, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate hazelnut cake, apple crumble, tiramisu, and also custom cakes and cupcakes.
As a young girl, whether it was measuring out ingredients, mixing everything together or seeing the final results come out of the oven, Alexa has always enjoyed the baking process. She continued to do it through her teen years while working in the food and beverage industry. “I got my first job in my teens working at a coffee shop and baking for the kitchen,” relates Alexa. “I gained food industry experience at Bear Mountain Resort, was the Pastry Assistant at Murchie’s and pastry cook for Executive Pastry Chef at Marilena Café in Victoria.”
Alexa’s baked items are earning positive feedback. Customers say they “love the quality” or rave about “the fresh ingredients.”
“One time when I did a children’s party, the kids really loved the treats,” says Alexa. “The parents sent photos of my bakery items I had made. The smiles on the kids’ faces were so great.”
Prior to starting her business, Alexa completed the Bachelor of Commerce program at UVic’s Gustafson School of Business. It was here when working with classmates that she formulated a game plan for her current business. Alexa also decided to do other training to further develop her baking skills. “I attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France. I was one of about 80 students from around the world,” she comments. “It was a nine-month program involving three levels starting with basic tart doughs, then entremets or layered cakes, and finally, art pieces using chocolate and sugar. It was an amazing course.”
The program was demanding, but Alexa discovered that her prior kitchen and restaurant jobs prepared her well for the prestigious program. “I had already worked in the food industry, so I think this really helped me and made the course easier,” she notes.
As someone establishing a baking business, Alexa’s efforts have to not only be enjoyable but efficiently organized. “I start the week by planning orders in advance. Each day I will do a different set of tasks. For instance, one day I focus on cookie dough; another day might be making desserts,” she outlines. “I will use a base recipe with add-ons to create more varieties and to make the process smoother.”
Like any business, there are always challenges. “It’s time consuming with lots of moving parts,” she says. “Often there are situations I can’t control such as the cost of ingredients.”
Alexa’s decorative cakes are all made by hand, each one typically taking over two hours to do. The cakes can often be anything but straightforward to execute as they are frequently “custom built” for patrons. “The most challenging are orders with a design element,” says Alexa. “The customer may have seen a photo of the cake online, so I have to try to match expectations and it’s not always easy.”
Alexa, however, embraces these challenges with enthusiasm and also appreciates those who have supported her in her journey. “My parents always encouraged me, and I’ve had amazing support from family and friends,” she comments. “It is a lot of work and can be stressful, but I get such joy from what I’m doing.”
Alexa enjoys baking, but for her, it is the customer experience that is the focus of her attention. “I like to provide a dessert experience to customers. In France there were beautiful pastry shops, and I would like to bring a version of that here by eventually opening up my own shop.”
Alexa has travelled far from that family kitchen into international culinary settings, but those memories of baking with her grandma have served to inspire. Now she enjoys an opportunity to share that love of baking and bring her own culinary style, a little Parisian flair, and a little of Nana’s sweetness to her customer’s lives.
www.cookienanasbakery.com
