Peterborough Woman Aiming To Claim Title of Greatest Baker With Votes In Online Competition

What started as a fun hobby has become a possible title of Greatest Baker for Peterborough woman Jamie Troke, who is competing in the online contest and seeking the public’s assistance for votes.

Photo courtesy of Jamie Troke.

Bakers advance to the next rounds based on an online voting system and Troke is currently a quarterfinalist and in third place at publication of this article. She must be in first place by Thursday at 10 p.m. to advance to the semifinals.

Anyone can vote for free with a Facebook account or a credit card once every 24 hours. More votes can be purchased.

Troke graduated from Kenner CVI in 2016 and attended George Brown College to hone her baking skills further. She started at a young age for fun and it grew to be her outlet to express herself, according to her voting profile page.

‘Greatest Baker,’ is an annual online baking contest run by Colossal.org. that supports the Andrew McDonough B+ (Be Positive) Foundation. They help families deal with pediatric cancer.

The winner receives $10,000, has their work featured in Bake from Scratch Magazine and meets ‘Cake Boss’ star Buddy Valastro.

Voting for Troke can be cast online.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Dooher’s Bakery Raises Over $5,500 for Four-Year-Old Hit By Vehicle While Leaving Norwood Fair

Dooher’s Bakery’s “Sophie Day” fundraiser, selling pink and purple sprinkle doughnuts, raises $5,567 for young Sophie Foley who suffered life-threatening injuries from a tragic accident in Norwood.

Foley suffered a fractured skull, extensive brain injuries and a laceration on her liver as a result of her injuries. Photos courtesy of Daniel Steven Foley and Dooher’s Bakery.

After being hit by a vehicle while leaving the Norwood Fair Thanksgiving Monday (Oct. 10), the Campbellford bakery contacted the girl’s family and organized the fundraiser for Oct. 18, rallying the community to support the four-year-old as she continues to fight for her life in Sick Kids Hospital.

Within a day of announcing the fundraiser, the bakery already had 100 dozen preorders. By Oct. 17 the bakery had “well over” 200 preorders, according to a Facebook post.

“We are blown away by all of the support of Sophie Day at the bakery,” Dooher’s Bakery said on Facebook. “This wouldn’t be possible without all of the amazing customers, donators and our great team here at the bakery!”

In total Dooher’s Bakery made and sold 3,540, or 290 dozen, pink and purple doughnuts (Sophie’s favourite colours) for Sophie Day.

Another 20 dozen have been ordered by the Peterborough Police Service for Thursday.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Peterborough is About to Get a Whole Lot Sweeter With New Kawartha Butter Tart Factory Location

The Kawartha Butter Tart Factory will be opening a new location on Lansdowne Street in January 2022.

Smith hard at work at the Douro location. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

The Butter Tart Factory prides itself on making everything that leaves their doors from scratch.

“We don’t use pails of filling or bags of mixes that are pre-mixed. Everything’s flour, sugar, baking powder - we are making everything from scratch and I think that you can really tell that,” said Cathy Smith, owner. “We get a lot of compliments on our pies that they’re so fresh - that’s because we’re making that dough every morning, we don’t buy anything.”

Since 2015 Smith has been providing locals and cottagers with sweet treats from her bakery. What started in the restaurant attached to her home in Warsaw grew into The Butter Tart Factory now located at 17 Indacom Dr.

Now, almost two years after opening the new location, they are bursting at the seams with butter tarts.

“During the summer there’s just not enough room here to do all of the things we do, so we went looking for a new location,” said Smith.

Located just off Hwy. 28, during the summer months cottagers and locals line the outside of the Butter Tart Factory in hopes to get a sweet treat.

“The Peterborough location will be much bigger so hopefully that cuts down on the line-ups, they can be so daunting,” she said. “It might ease up on this location but that’s ok, there’s always lots to do. In the summer it was nuts trying to work side by side every day and it was just crazy all day, so it will be nice to ease up on the pressure.”

“It’s all thanks to a great team, it’s awesome to have a business like that. I’m really proud of everyone that’s worked here, even if it was just a stepping stone for them. If I didn’t have great people like that we wouldn’t have been able to keep growing.”

Smith is aiming to have the new location have the same ‘look and feel’ as the Douro location.

Renovations at the new location are currently underway and set to be complete in January.

For updates visit their Facebook and Instagram page.

As they gear up for this new venture The Butter Tart Factory will be hiring bakers for both locations. Experience is not necessary, though it is required that successful applicants are dependable, kind and respectful to co-workers.

To apply send a resume with references to thebuttertartfactory@gmail.com.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

A Dash of Denney Invites Locals to Doodle Dash Around The Kawarthas

A Lindsay in-home bakery, Dash of Denney, is inviting locals to explore the Kawarthas with Doodle Dash - a scavenger hunt celebrating local businesses.

Photo Courtesy of A Dash of Denney

Bakery owner Leaha Denney is a mental health nurse who organized the event.

“When I started my own business a few months ago I started to connect with all these people and find out about all of these businesses around me and I thought ‘how did I not know about all of these?’" she said.

Denney decided something needed to be done to bring more attention to the businesses operating in the area.

Along with The Lunch Box, a food truck located in Rosedale, A Dash of Denney has planned “Doodle Dash.” It is a scavenger hunt-style game that will lead players to different store fronts in the Kawarthas.

Participants must order a Doodle Dash Kit and map for $50 from A Dash of Denny on Instagram. The map will act as a ‘key’ for participants to show at stops along the way. It will earn them discounts or free stuff at certain locations.

“This scavenger hunt is our way to share all of these businesses we have found and hopefully people will find ways to connect to their community that they didn’t even know existed before,” said Denney.

Prizes will be awarded based on a point system.

Participants can earn points by ‘checking in’ at participating locations on Instagram. There will also be riddles and games along the way to earn extra points.

10 per cent of proceeds will be donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kawartha Lakes, Kawartha Lakes Food Source, Womens Resources and Community Care Hospice.

Participants are also encouraged to bring physical donations with them on the scavenger hunt to leave at designated locations. A list of preferred items can be found on Dash of Denney’s Instagram.

Those wanting to participate in a 19+ version of Doodle Dash will add a $5 donation to the cost of their kit and map.

Doodle Dash will begin on Thursday and end on Sunday.

Prizes can be viewed at the ‘hub’ of Doodle Dash, Strike Point Bowling in Lindsay.

“You get to explore and reconnect,” said Denney. “People are reopening again so it’s just nice to remember where these locations are and go see what they have to offer.”

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Enticing Cakes Celebrates Their New Location

Enticing Cakes has opened their doors at their brand new location. They didn't have far to go, as they moved across the road in East City to a bigger spot that better suited their growing bakery. You'll now find them at 57 Hunter Street East. Every little detail was taken into consideration as they renovated their new space, including using wood from the family farm as they worked towards their new look. They've also added a wedding consultation room to plan and book your wedding treats. Owner Sabrina Rowles and the rest of the Enticing Cakes team will be celebrating their two year anniversary in East City next month. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter or give them a call at 705.775.2253. 

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

Tip us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook.