Beach Metro Feature
“Julienne’s Patisserie wins top honours at CNE Cake Decorating Competition” Feature in Beach Metro
Held annually for the last 146 years, the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) has become a generational staple for Torontonians and Canadians alike.
In addition to a long list of events and activities, the CNE is also host to a plethora of different competitions – ranging from athletics and the arts to culinary ingenuity.
This year, at the CNE’s first-ever Cake Decorating Competition, local bakery Julienne’s Patisserie (2195 Gerrard St. E.) won first place and the People’s Choice Award for their unique cake design, which was both heartfelt and awe-inspiring.
“The cake’s design was kind of a whole mismatch of things. My grandma worked at the CNE for 21 years and the cafe is named after her – so first and foremost, we wanted to incorporate my grandma, as well as my teammate Rachel’s grandma into the cake design,” said Julienne’s owner and head baker Jessica Lee.
The award-winning cake, which stood four-feet tall, was adorned in ribbons, miniature versions of CNE rides and food vendors, old photos of Jessica and her teammate Rachel’s grandmother, and topped off with a bucket of cake-pop fried chicken to symbolize Rachel’s grandmother’s favourite food.
For this year’s competition theme, “unexpected pairings,” Jessica and Rachel focused on a combination of sweet and savoury ingredients.
“We really went hard with the unexpected pairings,” said Lee. “The second layer, we did a chocolate Coca-Cola, and then we had a corn dog cake, which was a cornbread cake with hotdogs in it and a ketchup buttercream, a honey mustard curd, and then a butter pickle jelly inside.”
Lee found some of the unexpected combinations to be more delicious than she expected, and has since added pairings like the Coca-Cola chocolate cake to the bakery’s selection.
Each layer of the cake was baked at her Gerrard Street East bakery and assembled at the CNE.
The cake was crafted with an overarching mission to celebrate the grandmother who paved the way for Julienne’s Patisserie’s existence.
“It was really a full circle moment to be at the CNE in a place where my grandma worked, and then to win a competition for something that me and her did when I was growing up,” said Lee. “It just goes to show her impact. Even though she’s not here anymore, she still has an impact on people.”
Julienne’s Bakery is named after Lee’s grandmother, whose legacy and love of baking served as the inspiration behind the vibrant pink cafe.
“She taught me how to bake growing up, and it’s been a forever thing. We always dreamed of opening our own bakery together, it just happened later down the line,” said Lee.
Julienne was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2021 and passed away in May of 2022.
In her earlier years, Julienne imparted her wisdom and baking skills to Jessica, who would later go on to open the bakery in her grandmother’s name.
For Lee, winning the CNE cake competition breathes new life into her grandmother’s legacy. “It just goes to show that what you do during the time that you’re here will impact everybody surrounding you – regardless if it’s people that you know or don’t know,” she said.
For more information about Julienne’s Patisserie, please visit the website at https://juliennes.ca/
