A bus that carries a city
In Abidjan the Gbaka is not really a bus — it is a small ecosystem on wheels. Painted in vibrant colors, packed with people from every walk of life, the Gbaka carries communities through the city together. It is loud, it is lively, it is essential. It is how people move.
Why a cake studio calls itself Gbaka
When we started this studio we knew we wanted to serve two things: flavor and belonging. West-African diaspora celebrations rarely fit inside a neat template. They braid languages, they braid cuisines, they braid three generations at the same table. We wanted a name that admitted that.
“Zem” is a nod to the moto-taxis of West Africa — the fast, personal transport that gets you the last mile. “Gbaka” is the communal ride. Together, they say: we can take a small idea and grow it into a whole shared journey.
The three commitments the name asks of us
- We show up carrying. A Gbaka does not travel empty. Every cake we make arrives holding a story we were told, a family we learned about, a color we were shown.
- We travel with everyone in. No one is a footnote in their own celebration. Grandmothers, brothers, kids, the friend who is technically the plus-one — they are all part of the ride.
- We arrive on time. The Gbaka has a schedule and it is inflexible. So do we.
We are not the only bakery in Ottawa. We might be the only one that thinks of itself as a bus.