Tasty Treats from Paris, Ontario
by David "Sumoflam" Kravetz
Living in Paris, Ontario has many benefits. It is a beautiful small town that is sliced by a lovely river (actually, two of them). There is a picturesque downtown area with a number of unique shops. One of those shops opens early (6 AM) everyday from Tuesday to Saturday and provides a pleasant aroma to the early morning air. In this day and age of big box grocery stores and fast food chains with their baked goods, a good Mom and Pop type of bakery is getting difficult to find. Back in Lexington our good friends ran the Mondelli Bakery, which had high standards and made wonderful baked treats and fantastic cakes.
Well, Paris as one of these rare members of a dying breed. Early every morning Vickie, Gerry and Ross are up preparing handmade baked goods.
Gerry making specialty bread, Vickie kneading away and Ross making the fresh rolls (taken at 5 AM!)
Unlike the young folks who throw the donuts in the oven at Tim Horton's, Gerry and Ross have been baking for over 100 years combined. Indeed, Gerry has been in the bakery business since he was 12 years old. And like the Mondelli's and many other small bakeries, this is a family affair. Vickie's sister Liz works at the bakery as does Gerry's daughter-in-law Heather. there are a couple of others who are there as well.
Heather shows off the specialty "Eccles cakes"; Liz has the fresh blueberry muffins
and Ivy brings out the yummy apple muffins
I know that I am supposed to avoid these wonderful treats and watch my weight. But the apartment and lonely life without my wife up here is not conducive to an early morning cooking adventure. It is so much easier to head over at 6:30 to see a smiling Vickie and pick up some of the assorted goodies. My favorites are the chocolate chip donuts and the carrot muffins. But everything is good.
Carrot muffins, chocolate dipped shortcake cookies, chocolate chip donuts and butter tarts
The famous specialty of this bakery is the Eccle's cake, which is not a cake at all. According to Wikipedia, an Eccles cake is a small, round cake filled with currants and made with puff pastry, enriched with butter and topped with demerara sugar. Eccles cakes are named after the English town of Eccles, in Salford. It is not known who invented the recipe, but James Birch is credited with being the first person to sell Eccles cakes on a commercial basis, from his shop at the corner of Vicarage Road and St Mary’s Road (now known as Church Street) in the town centre, in 1793. Nicknames for the Eccles cake include Squashed Fly Cake and Fly Cake, owing to the appearance of the currants that it contains. A similar description is often applied to the Eccles cake's smaller, drier cousin, the Garibaldi biscuit.
I am not sure if the Paris Bakery makes them exactly as they did in Eccles, but they are good (though owner Vickie says they are not her favorite thing). These have a flaky outer covering and the currants and apples inside are not too sweet. I took some over to the Irish and Scottish guys I work with at Toyota and they were thrilled. "Perfect for afternoon tea" was a unified comment from them all.
Of course, as a bakery they also make an assortment of cookies, macaroons, lemon tarts, strawberry/rhubarb pies and big cakes.
More goodies from the ovens of Paris Bakery
Another item they are famous for are their Chelseas. These are like a cinnamon bread loaf, except they also cover them with pecans. Naturally, I am drawn to these since I have a daughter named Chelsea. These are apparently a variation on the old English Chelsea bun, an 18th century creation from Chelsea, England. Ironically, I haven't picked one up yet. Bad David!!
Vickie showing off her delectable Chelseas
A tray of goodies and some specialty bread ready for baking
Cheryl serves up some bread to a happy customer
Of course, I am not the only who enjoys the bakery. During his visit in early May, my son Solomon and his friend Andrew made a daily pilgrimage to the bakery.
As consumers we should work to keep Mom and Pop shops such as the Paris Bakery in business. These are hard working people who love what they do and do what we all love...make a yummiferous treat for an early morning pick me up.
The Paris bakery is located in downtown Paris, Ontario at 81 Grand River St., North. Their telephone is (519) 442-6010. Order your birthday cake today or just stop in for a fresh Eccles cake.
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