Fresh Off the Rack: Delicious Treats from Big Bear Baked Goods

In 2013, American expat Jonathan Ellis won the Cookie Monster Competition, a charity showcase of Beijing’s finest baking hosted by The Hutong. From there, Big Bear Baked Goods was born. Targeting foreigners and affluent Chinese, the company aims to create American baked goods that are different from the baked goods one usually finds in China.

“Baking culture isn’t mature here. You can get some baked stuff, but the idea we have of baked goods in the West isn’t the same thing [as] here,” says Ellis. He started baking for fun after perceiving a lack of quality American-style baked goods, which he cites as the motivation for eventually establishing Big Bear Baked Goods.

For now, Big Bear Baked Goods are available through delivery and at both branches of Palms L.A. Kitchen and Bar. The Mud and Snow cookies are the company’s best-selling products. The mouth-watering creations are made with Ghanaian dark chocolate and Himalayan sea salt. Other popular flavors include Triplets (a mix of hand-chopped milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and dark chocolate chips) and Mind’s Eye (oatmeal, hazelnuts, cranberries, and dollops of white chocolate). Cookies cost RMB 30 for three or RMB 90 for 10. Boxes and larger orders are also available; contact Ellis for the latest flavors.

Big Bear Baked Goods also does catering. For instance, Ellis recently teamed up with Fatface Dining and hotels to provide cookies for dining events.

Big Bear Baked Goods 
Contact Jonathan Ellis by adding “bigbearbeijing” on WeChat, emailing bigbearbakedgoods@gmail.com, or texting 186 0114 4427. For more info, visit www.bigbearbakedgoods.com.

This article originally appeared in our sister magazine beijingkids.

Photos: Christian Neoh