Bella’s Ferment Co.

The craft

Slow food, made the slow way.

Making kimchi properly isn’t quick. Every batch is washed, cut, salted, seasoned and packed by hand, then given the time it needs to ferment.

Bella at work on a batch of napa cabbage kimchi.

Step by step

What goes into every jar.

  1. Bella holding a napa cabbage split in half
    01

    Start with good vegetables

    Fresh napa cabbage, radish, carrots and cucumbers. We buy from Ontario growers wherever we can, salt, carrots and peppers included. Finding Canadian farmers who grow the right varieties at the right time is an ongoing quest, and one worth the effort.

  2. Freshly salted napa cabbage leaves in Bella’s hands
    02

    Cut and salted by hand

    Each cabbage is split and cut by hand, then salted to draw out water and season it all the way through. It’s the step that sets up a good ferment and gives the finished kimchi its snap.

  3. A bowl of Korean red pepper flakes
    03

    Seasoning made from scratch

    Garlic, ginger and onion, peeled and prepared fresh, are ground with Korean red pepper into Bella’s family seasoning paste. No fish sauce, no MSG, no preservatives.

  4. Gloved hands mixing red seasoning into napa cabbage
    04

    Mixed by hand, by feel

    Every leaf is coated by hand. Bella seasons the way she learned from her grandmother: by sight, smell, taste and touch. It’s slow, and there’s no other way to do it right.

  5. Close-up of freshly mixed kimchi with green onion
    05

    Fermented naturally

    Packed into jars, the kimchi ferments on its own, with nothing added to rush it. Each batch is monitored and pH-tested, and moved into refrigeration at the right stages for safety and flavour.

  6. Red seasoning paste on chives and cabbage
    06

    Still alive in the jar

    Kimchi is a living food. It keeps slowly fermenting in your fridge, growing tangier week by week. A popped lid or a little fizz when you open it is a good sign: it’s alive.

Our standards

Quality over quantity.

Bella would rather make less and make it right. These are the promises behind every jar with her name on it.

  • Small batch

    Made in small runs in our London kitchen, never mass-produced.

  • Family recipe

    Passed down through generations of Bella’s family in Korea.

  • Vegan, no fish sauce

    True to the inland tradition of kimchi made without seafood.

  • No preservatives, no MSG

    The flavour comes from fresh ingredients and natural fermentation.

  • HACCP certified

    A full food safety plan with every critical step checked. It took nearly a year to earn.

  • Made in London, Ontario

    Handmade at 630 Dundas Street, in the heart of Old East Village.

Wholesale & partnerships

Put Bella’s on your shelf.

We work with independent grocers, specialty shops, cafés and restaurants across Southwestern Ontario, and we make private label kimchi too.

Wholesale detailsEmail info@bellasfermentco.com