Cool Kanata: Catherine invites you to the ‘burbs for some last-minute winter fun

The Kanata Recreation Complex is a must-visit spot for outdoor winter fun in Kanata.

Catherine Brunelle (website/Twitter) is a freelance writer who recently moved back to Ottawa after an extended adventure abroad. Born and raised in Kanata, she’s always up for exposing her newly immigrated husband to the wonders of Ottawa. Her own blog offers a light approach to life’s many challenges, from breast cancer and immigration, to traveling and job-searching.

With this bizarre winter promising an early spring arrival, it’s easy to look ahead and say: “I’ll go outside when it warms up.” And you might think it becomes doubly easy to make this self-promise when living in a suburb like Kanata, away from the cafes, culture and social excitement of downtown Ottawa. Yeah, we’ve got the Scotiabank Place in our backyard, but when it comes to free, outdoor and active fun – there’s a certain impression that we suburb dwellers are strapped for choice.

Not true.

Kanata has a little secret, much like many other suburbs. While central Ottawa has it’s shows and bars and poetry readings – all so very awesome – suburbs have a different sort of entertainment, and no, I’m not counting trips to Costco or visiting out the newest WalMart installation.

This winter my husband and I moved to Kanata. Before this we lived in Southampton, England, but following a decision to ‘return home to Canada’ we literally returned ‘home’ to my parent’s house in Kanata. And as winter descended upon us, we looked for inexpensive ways to enjoy ourselves and stay fit.

Here’s what we came up with:

Photo credit: Lucia B, via Flickr

The Kanata Recreation Complex (KRC) hill. It’s got to be number one on this list, simply due to its massive size. You’d be hard-pressed to find another sledding hill this huge. But sled with care, because it’s fast, icy and will send you gliding at breakneck speeds. (All this to say, it might injure you, but it’s really good fun. Since we’re not kids anymore, just be smart and avoid the jumps. Some people wear helmets.) The KRC hill is an integral part of Kanata – hosting winter activities (sledding and skating) and the Canada Day events. I can remember when they built this giant hill. That’s right, it’s not a natural phenomenon to have a huge mound of earth on the edge of farmers’ fields. The soil, at least some of it, was taken from another sledding hill that led onto a busy road. We used to call it ‘Death Hill’ before it was dug up by the city. Maybe that’s why the KRC is so wickedly fast in terms of sledding … memories of Death Hill are persevering.

The KRC is free and fun. The workout walking up, coupled with the adrenaline of sliding down, is worthwhile to anyone  of any age who’s hankering for a thrill.

Photo credit: Gen and Ger, via Flickr

Frozen ponds and public rinks. It’s incredible how these have remained prevalent. Tucked between the paths and parks within Kanata (and chances are, all around Ottawa) are small, frozen over, community-tended skating rinks. The Young’s Pond Park rink attracts crowds of kids, adults and families strapping on the skates, playing hockey and shoveling away the snow.  There’s little better on a winter night in the suburbs than going for a skate in the light of the moon. (Plus the light on that pole in the neighbour’s yard – another sign of community involvement when it comes to rinks.)

Get your skates on while it’s still possible. This weirdly warm February is melting away the ice … but keep your fingers crossed for a few more good days. The rinks are free and open to anyone.

Photo credit: m. gifford, via Flickr

The Greenbelt. Ah, the Greenbelt – for those of us in Kanata, it may otherwise be known as ‘that strip of farm land and trees between Kanata and downtown along the 417.’ But for anyone with a love of bird-feeding, cross country skiing or show shoeing … it’s far more than just scenery. Free trails are available all year round, shared with animals like deer and rabbits. If you feel like taking an hour-long holiday from the city, the high tech, or the big box stores … get yourself some snowshoes and escape to nature. On the outskirts of Kanata along March Road, Eagleson Road, Tim Road and the 417, there are paths for exploration. This is my absolutely favourite way to spend a bright Saturday afternoon. Snow or no snow, the Greebelt is a piece of land that we’re lucky to have close.

Again, it’s free and easily accessible. Beautiful in the winter with mounds of snow and ice … and while the cross-country conditions are abysmal at the moment, try using snow shoes instead – they have no problems with patches of ice.

And that is how we’ve spent our winter. Yes the suburbs are different than the city, but there’s a reason people move out here. This winter, it was a delight to escape and have fun. In terms of ‘touring’ Kanata – can’t ask for better than free hills, free rinks, and free paths.

Sounds amazing, Catherine! Have any must-do winter events Ottawans should take in before spring arrives? Leave a suggestion below!

A four diamond green oasis for your wedding – The Brookstreet Hotel

Brookstreet Hotel

LTO’s resident wedding expert, Dr. Alan Viau has been performing weddings and other life celebrations in Ottawa since 2004. On his own blog, he compiles useful tips on what’s gone well and what to watch for based on the hundreds of weddings he’s conducted in the National Capital Region.

Brides and grooms want to have a luxurious wedding and many are wanting to balance luxury with being environmentally responsible or “green”.  Normally you associate a four diamond hotel with luxury and excess. The Brookstreet in Kanata is distinguishing itself by being luxurious and green as well. The Brookstreet provides a superior upscale hotel resort experience while reducing its carbon footprint and impact on the environment. In a sense, the bride and groom can have their cake and eat it while the left overs of the meal are sent to the compost and recycling bins.

I met Caroline Savignac, Communications Manager for the Brookstreet, at the Starbucks outlet in the hotel. While basking in sunlight near a large window, I sipped on my café mocha and I told her of the locations at the hotel where I’ve performed weddings. 

Caroline Savignac and Alan Viau

I’ve conducted ceremonies in their large pavilion, which has a capacity of 300 people, and on the beautifully landscaped grounds. The Brookstreet has several ballrooms and smaller rooms as indoor venues. I had one bride who went the extra distance on ensuring that the room looked like a church. The room included an alter, the slight smell of incense and of course organ music. My favorite is the penthouse lounge that has a great vista of the rural setting surrounding the hotel.

The list of environmental initiatives at the Brookstreet is impressive. In 2007 Brookstreet conducted a waste audit and as a result initiated a comprehensive waste reduction program. For example, they implemented organic waste collection, an extended recycling program, automated climate control systems, a paperless night audit and email receipt of all incoming faxes, and the removal of all high energy use accent lighting. When in October 2010 a second waste audit was conducted, it showed that their monthly diversion rate to landfill was two tones. In addition, all of their power to meeting rooms, ballroom and lobby is supplied by green energy provider, Bullfrog Power, who derives its power from solar and wind sources.  

It certainly proves that the hotel is eco-minded.

Photo credit: http://www.couvrette-photography.on.ca

This attention to the environment goes hand in hand with its reputation as a sensational hotel. Its 276 rooms are well outfitted. The bedding is hypo-allergenic and many rooms are accessible. The hotel displays 1,300 pieces of original art from Ottawa’s Canterbury High School Art Program. They cater to all cultures and ethnic backgrounds. They will work with a couple if special diets are required such as halal or kosher.  The Brookstreet offers a superb spa and golf course for the bride and groom to enjoy.  

As Caroline put it, the Brookstreet is an oasis where the bride and groom can come and feel that their stay was extraordinary and memorable.

Thanks Alan!

What do you mean you’ve never been to a derby bout?

Laura Allardyce is a cultural observer with an overactive imagination, who is always insisting the glass is half full. She has lived in Ottawa her whole life and says she will only leave once she has smelled all the roses.

What do you mean you’ve never been to a derby bout? Have you seen the movie? You know the one with Ellen Page and the roller skates?

If you’ve never witnessed the storm that is a derby bout in Ottawa’s capital then you simply haven’t lived. Don’t pick the cheap seats when you go, sit right up front on the rink. Your next chance is this Saturday August 6!

That’s what I did when I went to my first derby bout the last time the Capital City Derby Dolls’ team The Dolly Rogers faced off against the Durham Region’s Derby Devils on June 4. I sat on the licensed side of the arena (derby bouts are sponsored by Beau’s Beer!) and had a great view of the action as each jam started.

Read up on the derby rules here but the basic gist of it is:

1. Each team gets into jam formation: pivots at the front, followed by the blockers, and the jammers at the back.
2. The referee blows the whistle to start the jam. The pack of pivots and blockers move. Second whistle lets the jammers go.
3. The jammers have to break through the pack. Whoever gets through first is lead jammer and can collect points for passing the other team’s pack members – without getting knocked down or off the track.

Not being a “sports fan” myself, I was a little embarrassed to find myself almost involuntarily yelling at the Dolls like a hockey mom to “hustle.” It’s also hard to keep the profanities in check. Yes, you’re watching a team with a pirate-themed name kick major @$$ but that’s no excuse to talk like a pirate. There are kids around. That’s right, it’s good old fashioned family fun. If your family is into competitive rough-housing women showing no mercy while demonstrating excellent sportsmanship and skill.

Here are the details of this weekend’s bout against the Toronto Rollergettes. I’m told this team is fierce and will definitely give our Dolls a run for it. We’re talking triple overtime, only the strong survive. Don’t miss it!

Roller Derby Bout – The Dolly Rogers vs. The Toronto Rollergettes

The details:

• Saturday 6 August ·  Doors open at 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Jack Charron Arena, 10 McKitrick Drive, in Kanata
• Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, $5 if you’re under 12 in advance, $6 at the door, FREE if you’re five or under in advance…and because you’re cute and little, it’s still free at the door.
• FREE PARKING.
• There’ll be a DJ playing sweet, sweet tunes.
• DECYPHER Clothing will be selling awesome derby stuff.
• Food, drinks, baked goods and CCDD merch

BAKED GOODS you say? Well it just so happens that I, your lovely guest blogger, will be selling said baked goods in support of my Cycle for CARE Vietnam 2011 fundraising. I’m cycling across Vietnam in September to raise money for CARE Canada. Come out for some wicked derby and show CARE some love with a donation for a sweet tax receipt or help yourself to a sweet treat to help CARE.

You can learn more about my ride and donate online here.

How Anand Chinnasamy found home in Ottawa

Anand Chinnasamy is a computer systems analyst (he affectionately calls himself a button pusher/chair breaker) who was a mechanical engineer, fixing German CNC machines before immigrating to Canada in 1997. He moved to Ottawa on a stormy winter evening in 1999 and has been a happy camper ever since.

Anand Chinnasamy

I was born and brought up in a small South Indian town that had two colleges, seven high schools and a population of 150,000 during the sixties. My uncles and my father lived together in a 900 square foot mud wall and thatched roof house (three families, a total of 14 people under one roof) along with couple of cows for milk.

We had only three seasons: hot, hotter and hottest – so I never had to buy a sweater or jacket. Education was free up to high school, but my parents made lot of sacrifices to give me a decent engineering education so that I could have a better life.

The farther I moved away from my home town, the longer I kept my jobs. First I moved to Madras (present day Chennai), second to Calcutta, then to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

I worked and lived (if it can be called living) in Riyadh for 15 long years. ID cards were issued in white and brown colours to distinguish the guest workers of the official religion from other religions. Businesses had to close during prayer times (five times a day). Eating and drinking (water and soft drinks) in public was not allowed during the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset and restaurants did not serve food during those times. Women had to wear burqas and they could not drive.

Two successive events brought down the proverbial last straw for me: my employer’s refusal to acknowledge my contributions, and the closure of our children’s school by the religious police on the grounds that co-education violated the local religious laws. They let the schools operate again only after another school was built for girls, five kilometres away from the boys’ school.

Then in 1996 I came across an article published by the United Nations Development Programme about Canada being voted as the best country to live based on many indicators like human rights and the environment. Moreover, Canada had a fair, point-based immigration system that granted permanent residence based on qualifications, professional experience and the ability to pay the immigration and application processing fees of about $1,475 per person.

We applied, paid the required fees and and moved to Toronto in 1997.

Like every other new immigrant, I too went through initial struggle of settling down in a new country. With my 18 years of solid experience in procurement, installation, maintenance, dismantling and scrapping of machines, I thought getting a job in Canada would be a piece of pudding. But I could not even rent an apartment since most rental companies asked for pay slip copies as proof of employment. I moved in with one of my friends who was kind enough to give me shelter and free food until I found my own place and job. Eventually, I found an apartment by giving post-dated cheques for six months. Lack of Canadian experience and accreditation were cited as reasons for not giving me a job, so at last I had to switch my profession from engineering to IT consulting.

The next year I moved to New Jersey, but moved back to Canada (Ottawa) on a snowy January evening in 1999 to work as a consultant for Mitel. Now that I have the necessary Canadian experience, life is always on fast lane.

Anand and his sister in front of Ottawa's Parliament Hill

Kanata welcomed me with open arms.

My team lead at Mitel taught me the two most powerful words in English: “Please and Thanks.” And my colleagues quickly brought me up to speed both professionally and culturally.  First impressions of this great city are still the best even today after 12 years – it is clean, quiet, friendy, colourful, cheerful and always wonderful. Compared to New York, Mumbai, Chennai and Toronto, commuting time here in Ottawa is much less, and drivers are more polite. For those of you who appreciate the long term benefits of Yoga, Ottawa also offers many choices.

Ottawa always has something to make me happy on any day. I like to drive along the Ottawa River Parkway, stop at every lookout and enjoy the views, walk along the Rideau Canal, view the Hog’s Back Falls, roam around all the beautiful parks, taste a BeaverTail, poutine, or Ottawa’s best dessert: sticky toffee pudding from Moxie’s. Gatineau Hills is another one of my favourite spots.

Even better, ethnic community functions and festivals happen all through the year, bringing all Canadians closer and makes them more familiar with each other’s food, dress, custom and habits.

I owe my thanks to Ottawa and its great people who were very instrumental in transforming my life from uncertainty to one that is filled with humour and happiness. My sons are in university, and my wife wouldn’t trade Ottawa for any other city in North America for one single reason.

I am happy because my family is happy here in Ottawa.

Thank you so much for sharing your story Anand!

Agonizing and celebrating every close call, every hit, and every goal: Jeremy Milks talks Ottawa Senators

 

Chris Neil #25 of the Ottawa Senators stands outside the dressing room. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

Jeremy Milks is the writer/editor of the blog Black Aces which covers the Ottawa Senators on a day to day basis. He is also the author of a book of short stories, “A Sane Man vs. The Thing From The Woods.”

It’s not the only game in town, but for many, it’s the only one that matters.

That’s life in a hockey-mad city, and the local NHL team, the Ottawa Senators, have given local fans a roller coaster ride ever since returning in 1992, marking an absence of nearly 60 years after the original franchise moved to St. Louis in 1934 to become known as the Eagles (who ceased operations shortly after).

To say the city has embraced the new Senators in their near 20 years of existence is an understatement, although the success of the team on the ice has not always been what everyone expected.

Fans from all sections of the Ottawa Valley make the pilgrimage to Kanata where an arena many thought would never be built now stands in what was once an undeveloped area of farmland. Taking a look around the area now, you can see the accelerated development that the Senators helped to bring to Kanata, thanks in part to the Senators original founders who, quite naturally, came up with the idea to bring a team to town in a dimly lit locker room after a game of shinny.

As author Roy MacGregor recounts in his book “Road Games” about the Senators eventful first year back in town, local businessmen Bruce Firestone, Randy Sexton and Cyril Leeder set out with a vision to bring the Senators back to Ottawa even though everyone who heard their idea thought they were crazy.

Resilient to the end, they overcame both perceptional and financial odds to beat out rival bids, one in particular by the city of Hamilton, to finally bring back NHL hockey to Canada’s capital city.

Spartacat, the Ottawa Senators' Official Mascot, made his first home game debut on October 8th, 1992 against the Montreal Canadiens at the Ottawa Civic Centre.

People were stunned at their success but quickly jumped on board. The Senators began play out of the comfy confines of Ottawa Civic Centre at Lansdowne Park (now the site of a major redevelopment slated to begin in the next few years) while they built their more permanent home in Kanata and suddenly the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Mario Lemieux were coming to town to play four or five times a year, being spotted dining out at Hy’s Steakhouse on Queen Street and adding a bit of star power to what many mistakenly thought was a sleepy government town.

The first season was a huge success off the ice, but an unmitigated disaster on it. A then somewhat unknown local singer Alanis Morissette sang the first national anthem at the premier game, which the Senators won against the Stanley Cup bound Montreal Canadiens, but they didn’t win many after that.

Most fans were just happy to have a team back in town and the expected losses of a young team didn’t seem to bother them so long as the entertainment was there. As expected, with the city in the middle of Montreal and Toronto on the Canadian map, both with traditional “Original Six” NHL teams,  Ottawa was filled with either Leafs or Canadiens fans for many years prior to the Senators reappearing on the scene.

Some switched their allegiances to the Senators right away, particularly the younger fans who didn’t have longstanding attachments to the other clubs, but many found old habits hard to break. To this day you still see many Canadiens and Maple Leafs sweaters in the crowd at Scotiabank Place but as the years go on (the Senators will be celebrating their 20^th anniversary next season) and the younger fans grow up and start to have kids of their own, we are starting to see that deep, ingrained fan base that is loyal to the core that other, more traditional clubs have enjoyed for generations.

In particular, the Senators run to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final seemed to convert many disbelievers who were disappointed in some of the team’s playoff failures up to that point, many of them against Toronto, their biggest rival in the league.

Although they didn’t beat Toronto on the way to the championship series (there are actually fans who would view beating the Maple Leafs in a playoff series just as satisfying as winning the Stanley Cup!), they were led by captain Daniel Alfredsson who cemented himself as a hero in this town by scoring the overtime goal against the Buffalo Sabres to send them to the final round.

Matt Carkner and Chris Phillips (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)

After that franchise defining game, Ottawa erupted like never before. Fans flocked to downtown Elgin Street, now known as “Sens Mile” since that historic run, shutting down traffic and many even marched to Parliament Hill, holding an impromptu rally on the ground usually used for political demonstrations or more serious purposes.  The original Senators had won 11 Stanley Cups between 1903 and 1927 (4 of them under the name of the Silver Seven) but most modern fans didn’t even have grandparents who remembered those games.

The final series against the Anaheim Ducks did not go in Ottawa’s favour but for many fans it was well worth the excitement and the team was expected to  challenge for the Cup for the next handful of years.

All the best laid plans went awry and the Senators began to struggle shortly after, resulting in this season’s edition where the organization has decided to rebuild with younger players, trading away local favourites like Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly for draft picks and futures.

About 400 children from 25 "priority neighbourhoods" in Ottawa were invited to Scotiabank Place for the season finale of the I Love To Skate presented by Canadian Tire Jumpstart program (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/OSHC).

But not all is gloomy. The arena is filled to capacity most nights, even though a lot of fans have to travel quite a distance from downtown or other areas to catch the games. Daniel Alfredsson remains on this team and vows to be part of the rebuild and stay in his adopted home city. He even hints that Ottawa will be his permanent home after he is retired instead of returning to his home country of Sweden as maybe he once expected.

Over the years, a lot of players have come to Ottawa from other parts of the country (and the world) and have made it their home after they have retired. This city remains a priority destination for a lot of NHL free agents who enjoy the community for its high standard of living, its green space and the rabid hockey fan base that lives and dies with the team year after year.

Going to a Senators game in Kanata is an experience not many should miss if they happen to be in town during the winter months.  Win or lose, most come away feeling they’ve experienced an event, not just a hockey game. There is a certain community spirit in the rink that perhaps gets lost in translation in other big cities and the players themselves are some of the most accessible in the NHL as far as getting out into the community to meet the fans.

Just a quick look around the arena on game nights gives you one clue to the future success of the Senators in this city – the sea of kids wearing Senators jerseys.

When they grow up into adults and remain Senators fans, the franchise will take their place among the most traditional and storied  clubs in the entire NHL.

Until then, there’s a lot of hockey to be played. And an entire city will continue to agonize and celebrate every close call, every post hit, and every goal scored.

All we can say is ‘wow’ – big thanks to Jeremy for providing this great snapshot of the Sens!

Ottawa’s Amazing Race: Q&A with Urban Quest’s Anthony Woods

Anthony Woods, emceeing at the Sears Great Canadian Chill

Anthony Woods is a consultant and entrepreneur who has lived in Ottawa his whole life. In his spare time, Tony enjoys paintballing, musicals, and participating in City Chases.

So, tell me about the history and premise of Urban Quest.

The founders of UrbanQuest love reality TV shows like the Amazing Race that combine challenges and travel, and require resourcefulness. The idea was to recreate a smaller scale version of the experience that’s available to the average person and isn’t hugely expensive.

What led you to start such a unique business?

There was a long time that we couldn’t figure out how to make the model work.  We could build a huge experience that had a secret ending – but the costs involved meant we’d need to charge hundreds of dollars per experience.  And we felt sure that immediately after we had finished all the answers would be posted on the Internet. The breakthrough for the company was actually the release of the newest Zelda game. The day the game was released, you could pick up a full walk through at EB Games. It made us realize that it was the user’s experience. Give them the answers and if they want to use them, it is their choice. It allowed us to build something cost-effective because we didn’t need to keep everything a secret.

Who is your target audience? Locals or out-of-towners?

The original thinking behind UQ was that it would be a fun activity for locals. In particular, we thought it was going to be “the greatest date night ever.” What we’ve found is another market that loves Quests which we didn’t see coming: families.  Parents started telling us stories about how they loved doing it with their kids and how their kids loved the “treasure hunt.” We are working now to build more family oriented events – we have three museum Quests in queue.

How do you write the quiz questions?

Writing the Quest clues isn’t exactly a science but we do have a methodology worked out.  We always try to design the clues more around shapes, colours and numbers rather than making them trivia based.  We also do a lot of puzzles, books, games, etc. We also read a lot of tour books, surf the web, and a few late night brainstorming sessions over some beers and a game of settlers never hurt either!

Bryan McKenzie running at the launch of Urban Quest's Museum of Nature Quest

What kind of reaction are you receiving from people?

We have actually been receiving an overall positive response to the company’s idea and to the Quests themselves. The vast majority of people are up to the challenge and absolutely love the idea.  We’ve had second hand stories come back from people we know that had friends telling them about this “great puzzle, Amazing Race” thing they did and how they have to try it.  It’s interesting to create that kind of buzz.  There are a few people that have come back without enjoying the experience, but in those cases we have found that we didn’t manage customer experience well enough.  For example, a grandfather did it with his grandson and came back saying that it was way too much walking – so we now post on each quest how much walking you can expect to do.  We listen to our customers and work to improve the product with every response.

Do you have goals for expanding your business in the future?

We recently launched our first Quest in Toronto, with more to come. We’ll also be moving to Kingston soon. We will continue to work the east coast from there.  We also recognize that we will have to move past our small crew writing all the clues and are working on a writing contest to try to get others involved in the process.  Becoming mobile is also key for us – both Blackberry and iPhone versions of the product are in development.

What do you think is the number one misconception about Ottawa?

Ottawa’s painted with the stigma that we are a boring government town!  There are two things I have against this. First, Ottawa is one of the most diverse and beautiful cities out there.  We cover the range of winter sports like skiing to summer activities like white water rafting.  The second is as a government town, Ottawa isn’t without entrepreneurialism.  If you look to some of the historic companies that have come out of the Ottawa area, especially Kanata, it is tough to say we are without business innovation.  We’re hoping that UrbanQuest can be just another one out of this great city.

Can you describe your perfect day in the city?

Of course my first natural answer is “spend my day doing an Urban Quest”.  That aside – it depends on the season.  In the winter, a day snowboarding.  In the summer, that’s a tough one but I’d probably say a day on the Ottawa River.  Either way – this is a city that requires going outside!

Why do you think it is important for people to get out, pound the pavement a little bit, and explore this city?

This city is filled with hidden spots and neat areas.  How many people drive to work every day passing the Parliament buildings but have never heard of the cat sanctuary or the whispering wall?  People spend lots of money to go visit foreign places but especially in a tough economy, one of the cheapest things people can do is visit their own city!  Urban Quest just makes doing so a lot more fun!

Thanks for dropping by Tony!

Also: this just in — LTOttawa will be doing an Urban Quest and writing about it (as soon as the weather and our schedule clears up!). If you’d like to tell us about your Urban Quest, send us a note and we’ll bring you in on the fun.

The hunt for Ottawa’s perfect cupcake – Part IV: Little Cakes

A brownie cupcake with marshmallow buttercream from Little Cakes

Hilary Duff (blog/Twitter) is a quirky 20-year-old who loves multimedia journalism, cycling, food blogging, and churning massive amounts of baked goods out of her cramped student kitchen. She is currently writing an LTOttawa series on her hunt for Ottawa’s perfect cupcake.

Two weeks ago I received a lovely Twitter message from Shakira Whitton at Little Cakes asking when I would like to sample their cupcakes.

Shakira Whitton of Little Cakes

I was immediately excited, since Don from Ottawa food blog foodiePrints said I needed to include this very talented baking duo (co-owners Shakira and Colleen Rhedey both bake out of their homes) in my hunt.   This was my first “no storefront” sampling, so Shakira and I settled on meeting at the Bridgehead by my house.  Now, since I can’t ramble on about store décor and atmosphere as I usually do, let me instead tell you a bit more about Little Cakes.

After opening their (oven) doors in March 2009, it seems like Shakira and Colleen have experienced a sugary success story.

The two take orders from their website and bake out of their individual kitchens.  Just earlier that week they miraculously baked 48 dozen (that’s 576!!) cupcakes to fill Valentine’s Day orders.  Simply put:  these women must be magic, because to me that seems like an impossible, insanity-inducing feat.  While Shakira says they aren’t planning on opening a storefront anytime soon, Little Cakes’ signature baking can sometimes be found at the Timothy’s in Bayshore.

To learn more about Little Cakes visit http://www.littlecakes.ca

They’re also looking to mobilize their business, and are thinking of buying a special cupcake-friendly van to drive around Ottawa like a modern day ice cream truck.  Until this van does come rolling into a neighbourhood near you, Little Cakes offers monthly cupcake sampling events so that brides or cupcake lovers alike can try out their different flavours.

But on to the cupcakes themselves.  I was truly spoiled with this week’s sampling.  Not only did Shakira drive in from Kanata to deliver these treats, but her and Colleen put their heads together and decided on three different flavours for me to try: a cherry cupcake with cherry buttercream, a spiced cupcake with cinnamon buttercream, and a brownie cupcake with marshmallow buttercream.  As you can imagine, I was in cupcake paradise and experienced my earliest sugar coma yet, thanks to a three-course cupcake breakfast at 10:30 a.m.

Little Cakes cupcakes: a cherry cupcake with cherry buttercream, a spiced cupcake with cinnamon buttercream, and a brownie cupcake with marshmallow buttercream.

Like I said, I’m dreadfully spoiled.

To somehow justify me eating cupcakes for breakfast, I decided to eat the cherry one first.  The fact that there was a fruit mentioned in the name of the cupcake made me feel slightly better and shamefully healthier.

Please don’t judge me too harshly.

Also, have you ever heard of a cherry cupcake? Cherry is a flavour that I more often associate with pies or cheesecakes, so I was absolutely delighted to hear that it was now in cupcake form.  Overall, it was really quite yummy, with little cherry bits scattered throughout the cake, giving you a surprise blast of flavour when you were least expecting it.  The one downfall, I thought, was the inconsistency of cherry flavour.  Since the name of the cupcake did have cherry in it twice, I was expecting a little more of a fruity punch.  Nonetheless, it was nice and light, and the cake was fresh and moist.

Walking home after meeting Shakira, I shared the other five cupcakes with my roommates, carefully staking claim to half a spiced and chocolate brownie cupcake for my own tasting purposes.  As a side note, it’s kind of funny how critically we’re all eating cupcakes now – since my roommates are often included on my missions, they too are starting to pick out things they like and dislike.  We ended up having a mini cupcake forum around the kitchen table that morning.

Like the cherry cupcake, the spiced cupcake was good overall, but lacked the punch I was expecting from something boasting the word “spice” in its name.  The icing was smooth and subtly cinnamon-flavoured, which was a lovely contrast to the occasional gingerbread hint of the cake.

A spiced cupcake with cinnamon buttercream from Little Cakes

As for the brownie cupcake, this one was made for chocoholics.  Not just your everyday chocolate cupcake, I peeled back the liner to find the most dense, moist, and rich brownie I’ve ever tasted.  I have this weird reaction where I sneeze whenever I eat really rich chocolate, and this cupcake set me off like it was allergy season.  With the chocolate brownie cupcake you need to know what you’re getting into.  If you’re looking for an actual fluffy cake base, then you’ll be out of luck, but if you want something to please the chocolate-obsessed family member, friend, of class of kindergarteners, then this is the thing for you.  The icing was again sugary smooth, but any slight marshmallow taste was overwhelmed by the taste of the brownie itself.

The cupcakes themselves were all modestly decorated, with small garnishes topping the point of the perfectly swirled icing. At the end of the day I was so pleased to try out my first home bakery-baked cupcakes, and hope to try out many more private bakers in the upcoming weeks.

Keep an eye on your inbox, dear bakers of Ottawa; you may just be getting an e-mail sometime soon.

Cupcake personality: ***

Cake: ***½

Icing: ***

Cupcake overall: ****

For more information about Little Cakes, please check out their website or Twitter. Do you want to chat with Hilary about her adventure? Please leave a comment below!