Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Take a team of dedicated employees, some good old-fashioned Saskatchewan ingredients, a little Ukrainian cooking know-how, plus a commitment to the handmade touch, and you end up with a place called Baba’s Homestyle Perogies.
There is actually no other place like this 18-year-old business, located in Saskatoon’s industrial district at 720 51st Street East. Baba’s is a processing plant, an eatery and a drive-in, all in one location. Ron Bodnar is Baba’s Sales Manager.
“We have regulars who come in for lunch,” Bodnar says. “Our drive-in is unique in Saskatchewan, serving perogies and an extensive selection of homestyle foods. At the same time, we are the largest privately owned distributor of handmade perogies in Canada.”
According to Bodnar, the only way to make sure the dough, and every perogie, is done to perfection is to feel it and make the perogie by hand.
“Because each perogie is hand-pinched, our employees carry out the ultimate quality control. A mechanically pinched process would never compare. Each potato is visually inspected because they are all quartered by hand. And only the ones that pass the test are used. As a result, our perogies taste exactly as if they’d been made at home.”
Baba’s makes six different types of perogies and three types of cabbage rolls, as well as borscht and homemade pies.
“All the flour we use is milled locally; we use canola oil that is crushed locally. We go through about 7,500 pounds of potatoes a week. They all come from Saskatchewan suppliers, as does the cabbage we use in cabbage rolls and our sauerkraut, and the beets for borscht.”
Bodnar is particularly proud of the fact Baba’s uses no food additives of any kind. He has actually compiled a list of 34 different additives found on competitors’ product labels that he produces upon request.
“Quality and authenticity is what Baba’s Homestyle Perogies is all about,” Bodnar says proudly.
“We live in a changing age when it comes to food processing. Perogies have been a staple food around our province since the days of the first homesteaders. People have been making them in church basements, in schools, garages and private kitchens as fundraising activities for nearly a century,” Bodnar says.
“The perogies we make at our plant are produced in a highly controlled environment, in facilities inspected by food safety professionals, working closely with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre, because we believe consumers deserve the highest standard. That is why we welcome inspections with open arms.”
There is something else in the back of Bodnar’s mind: franchises.
“Baba’s does catering; our products are in constant demand with orders to be filled. We’ve got licensing, zoning and regions available with procured trademarks. We’re ready for the next step.”
For more information, contact:
Ron Bodnar
Sales Manager
Baba’s Homestyle Perogies
(306) 933-4280
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