From Engineering to Sourdough: A Belgian Baker’s Journey to the Bellarine Peninsula
Nestled within a humble corrugated-iron shed on a sprawling acreage on Victoria’s tranquil Bellarine Peninsula, one might not immediately picture a bustling European-style bakery. Yet, for Miek Paulus, the visionary behind Ket Baker, this unconventional setting is precisely where her passion found its perfect home. Miek’s own path to the culinary world was anything but conventional, a testament to her adventurous spirit and unwavering dedication.
Born in Belgium, the 43-year-old Miek’s initial career trajectory led her into the intricate world of electronic engineering. “Finding a job as an electronic engineer in Belgium was incredibly challenging,” Miek reflects. This led her to work within the fractionated gases industry, a sector with significant ties to the food industry. It was during this time, observing the processes and products, that Miek began to feel a disconnect. “I saw things that I didn’t like. Food just wasn’t alive anymore,” she explains, a sentiment that deeply resonated with her upbringing.
Miek grew up immersed in a rich bread culture, where “bread was very nourishing and honest.” She fondly recalls the sensory delights of Belgian bakeries, describing them as places where “you want to live there.” The architecture, the aromas – it was a profound sensory experience that she yearned to recreate.
Driven by this longing for authentic, wholesome food, Miek began dedicating her spare time to baking and chocolatier courses. This ignited a fervent passion for chemical-free ingredients and the art of sourdough fermentation. Her ultimate aspiration was to establish her own bakery. However, it wasn’t until Miek and her Australian husband, Stu Dowell – whom she met while hitting the slopes in the French Alps – made the significant decision to relocate to Victoria, closer to Stu’s family, that Miek truly embraced her lifelong dream.
“Six months before we left Belgium, a friend told me, ‘You need to follow your passion or you’ll never be satisfied,’” Miek recounts. “I had that ambition in me [to be an engineer], but I also wanted to make a difference food-wise.”
While pregnant with their second child and residing with Stu’s parents in Geelong, Miek began meticulously crafting her business plan for Ket Baker. The name itself, “Ket,” is derived from a Belgian word embodying a free-spirited, rebellious attitude, a fitting moniker for her unconventional venture.
Miek envisioned a bakery that would serve as a community nexus, drawing inspiration from her childhood holidays in France. She remembered the vibrant Sunday markets where villagers would converge in the town square. “I knew I wanted to bring together a community and be a light in people’s lives,” she shares.
The defining characteristic of Ket Baker? It’s a 100% sourdough establishment. This means every single item, from delicate croissants to crusty baguettes, is leavened using naturally cultured sourdough starter, eschewing commercial yeast and additives. “It makes things more digestible, and I also believe that it creates more flavour in the pastries,” Miek explains. “You just can’t beat a sourdough croissant when it comes to flavour.”
The journey to mastering sourdough pastry, however, was far from smooth. Crafting sourdough puff pastry is an intricate five-day process from start to finish. “I learned the hard way,” Miek admits. “I’ve got my basic knowledge through the courses I did in Belgium, but there is no sourdough pastry school. It doesn’t exist, because there are only 10 bakeries in the world that do it! So you can’t learn unless you do the hard yards yourself.”
Establishing Ket Baker also demanded immense dedication and hard work. Upon moving with Stu and their two young children to their own home in Leopold, on the fringes of the Bellarine Peninsula, Miek initially set up a micro-bakery in their compact 25-square-metre garage, selling her artisanal breads and pastries at local markets.
In 2020, the family took a significant step, relocating to a picturesque two-hectare property in Wallington, closer to the coast and offering ample space for Miek to expand her micro-bakery into the existing sheds. Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, this move proved to be the magic ingredient. In its new, expansive home, Ket Baker began to truly flourish.
Today, a decade after Miek and Stu’s arrival in Australia, Ket Baker stands as a vibrant community hub, exactly as Miek had envisioned. It’s more than just a place to savour a coffee alongside Miek’s signature lemon chausson (a delightful lemon curd-filled turnover) or a crème koek (the Belgian take on an éclair). It’s an invitation to slow down, explore the flourishing kitchen gardens, greet the resident peacocks and goats, and inhale the refreshing, eucalypt-scented air.
The bakery’s burgeoning success has enabled Stu to transition from his nursing career to fully focus on the wholesale operation and manage the permaculture vegetable gardens that supply fresh produce for the bakery. Furthermore, spurred on by their ambitious and dedicated team, they have recently expanded, opening a second location in Geelong.
Miek’s unwavering commitment to the meticulous craft of producing wholesome bread and exquisitely crisp, flaky pastries remains undiminished. Her team affectionately refers to her as the “croissant engineer.” She attributes their enduring popularity to this steadfast dedication to quality and flavourful food. “I’m constantly asking my bakers and my pastry chefs, ‘How does it eat?’” she states. “It needs to sit good in the mouth, the flavour needs to be there, it needs to be really enjoyable. And on top of that, people are in for a good experience that doesn’t ruin their gut.”
“I think that’s why we were so successful,” she adds with a warm smile. “The community just trusted us. I’m very proud, and I’m just really honoured that I can do this.”
