Allyson Bobbitt - Bobbette & Belle: Classic Recipes from the Celebrated Pastry Shop

We came to our career and passion for pastry in very different ways. Sarah experienced little baking in her home when she was growing up, but her interest was sparked early on by television baking shows and cookbooks. By the end of high school she was convinced that pastry was the only occupation for her. She enrolled in the baking program at George Brown College and from there went on to a pastry job at a high-end restaurant.

In contrast, Allysons journey to a career in pastry was a bit lengthier. Allyson grew up in a household filled with baking, where her grandmother passed on her skills and knowledge throughout her childhood. Baking was such a part of Allysons daily life that she never really saw it as a career. All through high school she channelled her creativity into designing, illustrating, sewing or building at every opportunity, but ended up following a more business-minded path and eventually settling into a teaching career. Several years later and still dreaming of being a creative entrepreneur, she stumbled upon an article about the artistry of wedding cakes, and it was a true epiphany. She knew with complete certainty that this was the creative path she was always meant to take.

As it happened, Sarah was experiencing an epiphany of her own. Being the nose-to-the-grindstone person that she is, Sarah had quickly moved from a pastry cook to pastry chef at one of Torontos top restaurants. It was a wonderful achievement for someone so young, and in many ways it was a dream job. After a couple of years she was at the top of her career, but she was also feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and a bit disillusioned about her future in pastry. She gave her notice and took two jobs, one at a confectionery arts school and another as a chocolatier, while she tried to figure out her next step.

We both attended a class at that school and became casual friends, and we eventually became teachers there too. Allyson spent the next four years building a business designing and making wedding and special-occasion cakes, while Sarah worked and taught at the shop. Once Allysons business was well established and she was on a high from winning an industry award for top cake designer in Canada, the timing seemed right to expand the business. She had been experimenting with French macarons, then scarcely known in Canada. She knew she would need a partner and immediately thought of Sarah. As it turned out, Sarah had also been experimenting with the macaron in her free time! Our business was born.

We often joke that we are two parts of the same brain, or say that in our case, one plus one equals three. We think of Bobbette & Belle as an extension of ourselves. Every detailfrom the tartness of the lemon curd to the texture of a cake to the paint colour, furnishings and decorations in our shopshas been conceived, created or approved by us. We want customers to love our cakes and pastries, of course, but we also want them to love the feeling they get when they come into the shop.