CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Jordan Cameron always had a passion for baking.
It’s what brought him to Holland College’s Culinary Institute of Canada pastry arts program.
Cameron graduated in 2008 and did some pastry work, but less than a year later he was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity.
“I had to drastically change my diet, bread was like 90 per cent of what I ate,” he said.
The dietary issue took a lot his passion out of baking.
For a few years he did odd jobs until he started selling real estate.
Still, the kitchen called.
Cameron found himself working for the Merchantman restaurant’s sandwich shop in the fall of 2014.
In the winter, with the real estate market slowing down, Cameron wracked his brain trying to think of a small business. He asked himself, “What would be a cool little business that revolved around baking?”
There were already companies on P.E.I. doing other things very well, like cupcakes and macaroons.
“We didn’t want to take away from that market,” Cameron said. “We wanted to do a new product. So we came up with the idea of just doing cookie sandwiches.”
When he graduated from the pastry arts program he was told there was no jobs on the Island.
“You have to create the work you want to do at a certain point. The Island is starting to be run by young entrepreneurs.”
-Jordan Cameron
“You have to create the work you want to do at a certain point. The Island is starting to be run by young entrepreneurs.”
Cameron had a soft spot for cookies. Having to cut gluten from his diet, they were the perfect snack.
So, along with his wife, graphic designer Ashley Cameron, Next Level Cookie was born.
“People think the baking is the hardest part, but she has really got the word out with our branding,” Cameron said of Ashley. “We do really good gourmet cookies, unique flavors with really high-quality buttercream and then roll them in crumble and try to do really good flavor parings. We hoped it would be a product people get excited about.”
People have been excited about Next Level Cookie — Cameron has received orders for as many as 300 and he sells out early at every pop-up shop he’s opened so far.
Cameron likes the pop-up style because it works for his busy schedule, while people can get out to a business they may have never been to before.
The cookie business isn’t the only thing keeping Cameron busy. He still works as a real estate agent and has two young boys at home.
His biggest challenge is not having his own kitchen space. He uses the Merchantman’s prep kitchen when it’s available, but making these cookies takes time.
“It is a multi-stage process. I put the dough in the fridge overnight, bake off all the cookies. Then make buttercreams, make crumbles and assemble them all. It takes three to four days.”
The Camerons want Next Level Cookies to use the best quality ingredients.
“They are not good for you at all,” he said. “It is all real butter, real extracts, we try to avoid food coloring.”
While Cameron has a gluten sensitivity, he said people with celiac disease shouldn’t consume the cookie sandwiches he makes.
“We strive to have a gluten free and vegan option at all of our pop-ups, but they are still made in the same location,” he said. “I wouldn’t recommend them for someone with full-blown celiac.”
Both Jordan and Ashley grew up in Summerside, but have only produced pop-up shops in Charlottetown.
“We hope to have some in Summerside soon and all over the Island. We are trying to do pop-ups every two to three weeks.”
People are coming to the pop-us and Cameron hopes to grow with the business, because “with cookies there is an infinite amount of options.”
Cookies can be specially ordered at nextlevelcookie.com. Orders start at a dozen and cost $42 to $62.
