Standing in the midst of his cozy kitchen, Louie Rochon douses a sticky mixture of focaccia with olive oil.

“This is going to be so tasty,” he remarks.

But this is no ordinary bread. Carefully, he arranges a garden of edible art atop the raw dough, from bell peppers and eggplants cut in the shape of flowers to stalks of asparagus and rosemary fresh from his backyard. Mushrooms, olives and scallions also dimple the surface.

Rochon refers to the creation as “bread art,” a phenomenon that many bakers have experimented with during the past few years, especially during the COVID lockdown when making bread became a popular hobby. Like much of his other artistic ventures – photography and painting, to name a few – Rochon is entirely self-taught, relying on the internet for answers.

“I’ve always loved cooking, not baking,” the 70-year-old said. “It scared me because everyone says, ‘You’ve got to have it exactly right on.’”

A few short months ago, Rochon stumbled on baking when he discovered his wife’s old bread machine. After making a few loaves out of overripe bananas, he realized he could follow the same process but use the oven to bake instead. Approximately 60-some loaves later, he’s got a total of ten books on bread and a sourdough starter in the fridge named Barney.

“There’s something about baking, it’s so relaxing for me to be able to do it,” he said. “My temperament, my personality, I went to this and I stopped painting for a few months.”

His wife reminded him that “creation is creation.” Rochon owns a studio in Clinton where he paints in abstract and expressionist styles. Bread art, he explained, is a similar process in that he begins with a blank canvas. Besides focaccia – which he finds makes an excellent surface for vegetable art – he’s made traditional round loaves with jalapenos and cheese, brown sugar and cinnamon. Every week, he bakes artisan bread for a soup kitchen in Langley.

To avoid carbohydrate overload, he also gives the bread away to friends. Rochon consults a laminated list that is exponentially growing to see who’s next. In return, he asks that the recipient consider making a donation to Good Cheer Food Bank.

For his focaccia bread, he preps the vegetables ahead of time, cutting them into strips and shapes with a paring knife, punching holes here and there with an apple corer. To avoid burning, the vegetables also get a healthy dose of olive oil. The dough is prepared separately and is topped with veggies just before entering the oven. Rochon figures out the artistic arrangement ahead of time, with the help of his cell phone camera to recall the exact placement.

Already, his baking has been slowing down, and he predicts that he will be back to painting more soon enough.

“I’m just creating with food as opposed to paint,” he said.

For more information about his art, visit rochonfineart.com.

Photo by Louie Rochon Focaccia bread adorned with an assortment of vegetable art.

Photo by David Welton Louie Rochon sits on “bread watch” before the oven, keeping a close eye on his focaccia bread to avoid burning.

Painting by Louie Rochon “Ovation” is an acrylic painting by Louie Rochon.