Unleashing the power of plants: Okja Cafe

Tuck into one of Okja’s brown butter cookies or almond swirls, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was classic French patisserie. But no, these scummy pastries came all the way from Cape Town’s sandy beachfront, where the plant-based bakery took off with such gusto, it landed right here in East London.

But how can they concoct such great pastries without milk, butter and eggs? Why did they decide to be plant-based? And most importantly, how do you pronounce ‘Okja’? Question no more. We sat down with their team to get all the answers…

How do you pronounce Okja?

“Thankfully, there’s no right or wrong way to pronounce the name. In South Africa, “Okay, ya” is a common phrase, so that’s what inspired the name. But lots of people think it’s to do with a film from 2017, which is pronounced, “ock-ja”. The film is actually about animal rights (which works pretty perfectly), so if you use either pronunciation, we’ll get what you mean.”

Why is the brand plant-based?

“The founders wanted to create a really amazing plant-based product that could be ethical, sustainable and delicious. It’s not about suddenly going plant-based, but showing that it’s potentially easier than you thought. You don’t have to miss out on things to protect the planet and support cruelty-free practices.”

How do you achieve such great pastries without any animal products?

“It’s taken a long, long period of research to create reliable plant-based alternatives given that baking is so reliant upon milk, eggs, butter and cream. Butter is the key to everything, so we had food scientists devise the perfect alternative. That’s what really makes Okja stand out – we don’t source those alternatives externally.

It’s also a constant process of refinement, so our products look very different now to just a year ago. We’re lucky to have a former Michelin-starred restaurant pastry chef working on in-house recipe development, and we’re always keen to try a fresh take on what we do.”

Why is everything made in-house?

“It tastes better! All our nut butters, fillings, frangipane, jams and chocolate spreads are made here and you can taste the difference. We can deliver high-quality products from simple ingredients, and that’s important to us. Our bakers get in at 3:30AM to serve such fresh pastries to our customers, and we’re proud to be able to say that we make everything in-house.”

What should a first-time customer order?

“The citrus pistachio swirl is our bestseller, but if you fancy something savoury, our sausage skrol is also out-of-this-world incredible. To be honest though, we recommend people come back and try everything because it’s all so good.”

And finally, how would you describe Okja in three words?

“Fun, gentle and delicious.”