It smells like fresh-baked international co-operation and sportsmanship at the Golden Crust Bakery this month.
As news spreads of the authentic Norwegian baked goods coming out of the local business's kitchen, customers are coming from as far away as Vancouver just to have a taste.
Owners Patricia and Wade Yendall said they've enjoyed the camaraderie and the learning experience of opening their kitchen to a squad of Norwegian bakers, who were sent to keep their Olympic team fed on the dense carbohydrate bread they are used to consuming at home and in training.
"It's been great. We've developed a bit of a friendship... It's more like a team effort here. That's what it's developed into. It's what we hoped it would be," Wade said.
"It's helping us get into the Olympic spirit. You really get a sense of the world coming to our town. We're part of that now. We are literally hosting these guys."
Wade, along with Amund Skrutvold and other Norwegian bakers have been spending their days putting out 120 loafs of bread a day, and that's just for Norway's team members.
The conversations over long hours in the bakery, where Wade has a TV tuned to Olympic coverage, tend to be less about bread and tarts and more about Olympic results.
"We are very eager about the Olympics and Wade and I are having daily discussions about Olympic results like yesterday when Canada beat Norway in hockey and curling," Skrutvold said with a laugh. "But we are having a great time."
At press time, Norway was ahead in medal standings with 17 versus Canada's 11. However each country has the same number of gold medals at six a piece.
Jokes aside, Wade said the teamwork in the kitchen has spread to an admiration for Norway's Olympians as well.
"Of course we're jesting each other and the fact that Canada smoked them in hockey but we are cheering for them and we want to see them get some medals," he said.
Aside from some international friendship and a chance to help out another team, both Squamish and Skrutvold's customers in Norway stand to benefit from this mixing of minds.
"We have this agreement," Skrutvold said. "We will leave all our recipes to Wade when we are leaving so he can continue making some of the Norwegian products and I will bring his products back to Norway."
Norwegian baking company Din Baker chose Squamish as an ideal location, being equidistant to Vancouver and Squamish. Wade and Patricia agreed to host Skrutvold in January.
Wade has found the Norwegian's multigrain "grau brød" to be a hit with people just curious to try it out and an even bigger hit with locals of Scandinavian descent.
"We've got a few of those guys coming in daily. It's quite common there. It's a loaf bread a day. They eat a lot of bread - breakfast, lunch and dinner."
Wade said one woman has even driven up from Vancouver after hearing about Skrutvold's skole brød, a type of Norwegian doughnut with custard, coconut and icing.
Skruvold and his grou brød, lange brød and skole brød will be at Golden Crust for the rest of the Games.
