The day not only reminds us of treating ourselves to a sweet morsel but it also raises awareness and funds for local charities.

We’ve found out that Toronto’s Butter Avenue has partnered up with Chef David Lee of Nota Bene this year to create exclusive flavours to commemorate the day in support of Kids Cook To Care, a charity that brings some of the city’s finest chefs together with volunteer little kid sous chefs. Together they visit local shelters to prepare fresh and nourishing meals to the communities in need. Chefs involved include David Lee, Hidde Zomer, Cory Vitello, Carl Heinrich, Loreno Loseto, Doug McNish, Sarah Sweeney, Rory White, Peter Minaki, Carolyn Drebin, and many more. An upcoming dinner prep will be lead by Lavelle’s Romain Avril at the end of this month.

Last year, Kids Cook To Care received the largest donation from Butter Avenue’s Macaron Day commitment and hopes that this year will be equally as successful. Over $4500 was donated from the day’s sales from the shop’s two locations. That’s a lot of macarons!

“Our customers are very loyal and excited about Macaron Day,” says Calvin Su, Co-owner of Butter Avenue. “We are thrilled to partner with Chef David Lee on this very special day. His involvement with Kids Cook to Care inspired us to take this year’s day to the next level. Our pastry chefs cannot wait to reveal the three exclusive flavours of his along side our other special flavours created for this day.”

So, any hints? You may want to pay attention to Butter Avenue’s social postings. In previous years, they’ve had fun with customers by offering some unique flavours like hot tamale, s’mores, orange spinach, matcha red bean and popcorn. Pushing the imagination of flavour combinations is what most macaron lovers want to try. But we won’t be surprised (okay, and really hoping) if they bring back some of our favourites like Guava Plum and Molten Chocolate Marshmallow? Pleeeeeeease?  I will personally buy a box or two.

Butter Avenue has announced that they will donate 35% of the day’s sales to Kids Cook To Care. Want more info on the charity? Check out our previous posts on them. Parent can sign up their kids (ages 6+) to volunteer at the monthly dinners through Kids Cook To Care. Then registering for the opportunities are first come, first serve with a donation to help offset costs of ingredients.  However, this isn’t the only way for kids to learn about healthy food for everyone. The organization also hosts other events including the popular holiday cookie recipe exchange and corporate events.

Macaron Day is an annual event held on March 20.

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Macaron Day or “Jour du Macaron” first began in Paris in 2005, when La Maison Pierre Herme wanted to celebrate the delicate French cookie while raising money for charity.  You can’t go to Paris without visiting a few shops. Laduree, Pierre Herme are tourist magnets, but Patisserie Aoki Sadaharu should also be on every macaron explorer’s list. Yes, I’m a little obsessed.

We can dig a little deeper to tell you that the history of the macaron dates as far back as the 1500s where it was actually born in Italy. As the story goes, it was the chef of Catherine de Medicis (who was married to Duc d’Orleans King of France) who had first introduced the macaron.

Today, macarons can be found in many cosmopolitan cities and the obsession is strong particularly on Macaron Day where many chefs also will feature “show-stopper” flavours that are often created just for that day. Macaron lovers in our city have been known to map out their travels to include stops at notable patisseries and cafes to discover unique flavours and compare textures.

We’ve discovered several Toronto Patisseries across the city will be participating and supporting a variety of charities:

BUTTER AVENUE: (3467 Yonge Street/477 Queen Street West) last year they sold approximately 10,000 macarons on this day alone. They will unveil over 20 flavours (and some unique ones too!) on this day and will donate 30% of the day’s sales to Kids Cook To Care – a local charity that brings chefs in the city together with volunteer kids to cook nourishing meals at shelters for the needy. www.butteravenue.com

NADEGE PATISSERIE: (1099 Yonge Street/780 Queen St. West/Holt Renfrew Yorkdale) originally brought Macaron Day to Toronto in 2011. This year, they will be supporting SickKids Foundation once again with a percentage of the day’s sales to the charity as well as offering a limited number of SickKids logo’d complimentary samples. They’ve informed us that they will have over 24 flavours that day. www.nadege-patisserie.com 

THE ROLLING PIN: (3429 Yonge Street) you can bet on tons fun flavours at this pastry shop that often goes a little retro on their donuts, cupcakes and bars. Part proceeds from Macaron Day sales here will support local charity The Stop Community Food Centre that helps people meet emergency food needs in a dignified and respectful way. Visit www.therollingpin.ca

DELYSEES: (780 King Street West) this French bakery well-loved by the neighbourhood will be donating part proceeds of the day’s sales to SickKids Foundation — a charity that we’re all familiar with. www.delysees.com 

BOBBETTE AND BELLE: (2232 Queen Street East/3347 Yonge Street) has joined in a collective (including Patricia’s Cakes, Rahier, La Bamboche, Dessert Lady, AG Macarons, MoRoCo Chocolat, Ruelo,  and others) to donate 25% of the day’s sales to the Red Door Family Shelter. Traditionally, a limited number of macarons are offered for free (or with a donation) and varies at each location– you may want to call ahead to avoid confusion but bring a pocket full of change and toss in a loonie or two and do your part, okay? www.macarondayto.com

We’ll be updating this list as news comes in. Grab your TTC pass and map out your day to hit up as many as you can. I can’t wait to satisfy my sweet tooth in support of charity!

Follow along #macarondayTO on Twitter and Instagram to get updates and see what’s going on.

The post Macaron Day Toronto Shows Sweet Love for Charities appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

There are desserts and then there are desserts. In this city, and for a year and a half, I’ve been visiting one North Toronto outpost to get my sweet fixings. The Rolling Pin (3429 Yonge Street) is like a comfort zone from years gone, and finding that sweet spot between guilt and pleasure. As winners of the Food Network’s hit TV show Donut Showdown, it’s not only uptown’s favourite gourmet donut destination but a bakery that brings out the kid in many of us.

The pin-up girl logo says it all. It’s fun and definitely an eye-full. Hanging out here on several afternoons made me appreciate more than what the eye can see. When you hear the enthusiasm of customers (newbies and seasoned) it’s pure joy. But what’s exciting for me is to hear the chefs and the owners discuss their next creation or testing out a recipe right in front of my eyes. Part of the working kitchen gives patrons an up close look at what’s happening. On another level of the building is a full-on kitchen that churns out even more sweets everyday fresh from scratch.

Having chatted with co-owners Vanessa and Isabelle on several occasions, they’ve got quite a passion for sweets. They aren’t ones to shy away from experimenting either. Taking sweets to the next level is why they challenge themselves each and every day. Creating exciting new  donut flavours, cakes, cupcakes, pies, cookies and bars is nothing new for them but there have been a few occurrences when they’ve brought out surprises. They were one of the first ones in the city to do gourmet Pop Tarts and Flakies. Both extraordinarily and insanely good.

What makes this bakery different is that there is no shortage of goodness in each pastry they offer. As a home baker myself, I tend to load up on fillings and extra goo since most bakeries will hold back for cost saving measures. Not here. Not the Rolling Pin. They make their desserts full of flavours and bursting with ingredients. Their donut fillings are “jacked up” so at times you could have PB&J oozing down your arm and it’s sooooo good.

And they’re up for any challenge. For my birthday last year, I had visited and chatted with the owners about an Italian Rum filled cake that I had when I was a child. Our family lived on Ossington in my early years and for our birthdays dad would get this special cake. I hadn’t seen it in ages but Isabelle knew exactly what I was talking about. Having worked in Italian bakeries she had offered to make the cake. It brought tears to my eyes as it was exactly how I had remembered it.

I walked in one day and they had mentioned that they were making massive donut cakes. Our next birthday celebration definitely had me ordering not one …but two. A real hit and the photo posted on Instagram went completely viral being reposted over and over again.

The Rolling Pin seems to have a lot of fun with their customers. For those nationally recognized days like Macaron Day, they are usually scheming weeks in advance. A few days ago, I had popped in to order the Campfire cake for a special occasion when I overheard them talking about National Nutella Day. UM, WHAT?! Yep, it’s February 5th and they are gearing up and the line up looks pretty insane! Want a sneak peek? Go to their Instagram page.

To learn more, visit their website.

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Last week, Torontonians adopted the intriguing je-ne-sais-quoi attitude of the French and indulge in Macaron Day or Jour Du Macaron.  Toronto first introduced Macaron Day 5 years ago and it has since been recognized as our favourite excuse to treat ourselves to the Parisian delicacy.

A crowd favourite location for this special day is Nadège Patisserie. Nadège offers five different locations across Toronto, along with an endless selection of macarons and various other pastries. Some particularly original flavours include Bacon Maple, Grapefuit-Cayenne Chilli, Olive Huile, and Mojito.

Nadège Patisserie once again partnered with SickKids Foundation and kindly donated 50% of all in-store macaron purchases towards those treated at SickKids. Chef Nadège Nourian warmly hosted a SickKids Foundation ambassador, Natalie, and her family to experience the macaron creation process in the kitchen of the Nadège Queen West location.

Along with Natalie, we had the pleasure of attending the Queen West location on Macaron Day to capture the beautiful moments held for a great cause.

We watched the talented ambassador learn how to bake macarons for her family and friends and practice her passion for baking. Chef Nadège worked alongside Natalie while baking Blackberry Chocolate macarons. The two naturals laughed and enjoyed themselves while expressing their enthusiasm for gourmet baking.

The open-kitchen concept on the ‘Jour Du Macaron’ is a great concept to demonstrate the friendly nature offered at Nadège. The staff welcomes everyone from across the city with a heartening smile and offers a wide variety depending on your specific taste. The positive culture offered at Nadège makes it a delightful place to visit any day of the year.

For more information on Nadège and to get your hands on some delectable goodies, go here. Macaron Day may be over, but who’s to judge?

Article by Nuria Madrenas

The post Nadège Patisserie Treats Sick Kids on Jour Du Macaron appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Over 17 shops across the city will partake in “Jour du Macaron” in supporting various charities.  Butter Avenue has chosen North York General Hospital Foundation for this year’s donation’s recipients with a commitment of 35% of their day’s macaron sales.  Nadège is once again donating 50% of their sales to Sick Kids’ Hospital and many others including The Rolling Pin, La Bamboche, Petit Thuet and others have dedicated a percentage of their sales to the Red Door Shelter.

In addition to their efforts, a few of the macaron shops will unveil limited edition unique flavours to the public — macaron lovers know that shops like Butter Avenue and Nadège will surely bring forward their most inventive flavours on this day and they both do macarons extremely well! I can tell you that I’m an official addict since my first visit to the famed Ladurée in Paris many years ago. These two shops in particular are comparable to those found in France and trust me  have room for all of them in this big city!

Some interesting flavours for this day that I’ve already had a sneak preview at Butter Avenue include a surprising delicious Orange Spinach and other outstanding flavours include guava plum, molten chocolate marshmallow, coconut pineapple and several others exclusive for this day. Nadège has informed me that they will have bacon maple, olive huile, and grapefruit-cayenne chilli amongst their featured flavours. The Rolling Pin has hinted something about banana and Nutella (OMG!) and a few others but we’ll have to wait and see.

So, how did it all start? Macaron Day or ‘Jour du Macaron’ began in Paris at Pierre Herme in 2005 and has since spread to cities globally including Tokyo, New York, London, Belgium, Budapest, Vancouver as well as Toronto.  It was all in the spirit of supporting local charities.  Some shops include samples that day but the focus is now on the creative and innovative flavour offerings and charities.

But let’s not mistake macarons for macaroons. Totally different. We’re talking macarons on this day – the light airy french style sweet with fillings that make my heart sing. Macaroons are different – they are the coconut clumps.

As mentioned there are many shops in the city that will participate in Macaron Day and best to map out your route and get to as many as you can!  Take the day off and do something sweet for charity.

Keep up with the shops on their social media pages as they are all dropping hints about what they are doing on this day.  I’ll also be updating my social feeds as we get closer to the date as well.

Do you love macarons? Where will you be going?

You can visit the many shops that are celebrating Macaron Day in Toronto.  Visit their websites for more details as they all vary.

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