What sets Maker Pizza apart from all the other local pizzerias and restaurants? Our process. From beginning to end. Dough to final bake. Every step requires a laser-like focus. Right down to the finishings.

Do you feel that the combination of toppings that you offer are unique? Yes. Very unique. We offer harmonious flavour  combinations that grab your attention and jolt your tastebuds. The creative mind of Matty Matheson is a beautiful thing.

My favorite crust is the sesame crust. How did you come with that idea? It’s brilliant! That was Matty's idea. And it works exceptionally well with our dough. Something great to look forward to at the end of every slice. 

What inspired the menu at Maker Pizza? Delivery pizza especially has become so redundant. A pizza delivery chain adds Soppressata or thin crust to its menu and that's considered breaking the mold. Our goal was to create a menu that would obliterate the mold. And we have. The Maker menu has something special for every pizza lover.

Are there any future plans in expanding the menu further? Yes. Next week, in fact, we will be adding three new pizzas and one new salad to the menu. We are also making some minor changes to some of our existing menu items. We always strive to be better. There will probably never be Maker menu that is set in stone.

What’s your favorite pizza on the menu? The Siena Margherita. It showcases our dough and sauce. It is the Maker blueprint. Everything starts and ends with the Siena Margherita.


What was the biggest challenge that you faced when creating the pizza menu? Bar none, the biggest challenge was the dough. The goal for Maker from day one was to create a hybrid pizza that is a cross between a delivery pizza baked in an electric oven and a gourmet pizza baked in a wood burning oven. Creating a woodburning texture on what is truly a delivery style pizza.

I have quite a few friends who are home cooks, and they inspired to be in the food industry. What advice would you give to home chefs who are inspired by your style, and your cooking? I'm not a cook by any stretch of the imagination. But if you're passionate about what you're doing, do it more often. Inspiration can come from anything. A classic film. A beautifully crafted cup of coffee. Or a perfectly prepared Maker pizza.

Shopbake.com is Toronto's first online bakery marketplace offering an on-demand service that's solely based on sweets. The premise of the business is that they deliver baked goods from local bakeries or home bakers right to the customer's doors within a 90 minute time frame. 

I received a complimentary gift package this past weekend with some of the baked goods that are available to order online from ShopBake. I absolutely love sweets, and I often crave baked goods randomly throughout the day. So this service is something that definitely appealed to me. My package included chocoberry popcorn from Toronto Popcorn Co, Valentine royal iced cookie from Le Dolci, shortbread cookie from Mary Macleod's Shortbread, Hello Dolly gluten free bar from Sweets from the Earth, conversation heart mini cookie Pack from Branded Bites, and candy sushi from sweet C bakery. The box came with a nice variety of baked goods/treats, and was shared between my fiancé and I. I liked that it was delivered in a prettily-wrapped box (pictured below), so it's great as a gift for any occasion.

Shopbake.com allows customers to order and receive baked goods easily with a click of a button on their website (that is also mobile-friendly). They source baked goods from a variety of local bakeries such as Le Dolci, Toronto Popcorn Company, Jelly Modern Doughnuts, Short & Sweet Cupcakes, and more. There are plenty of other local home bakers available to choose from as well, which you can easily browse through to see on the site. It was pretty easy to browse through the list of baked goods and sweets online, and the search function yield plenty of results for specific items. The home page currently displays sweet treats that are Valentine's Day themed, which you can pre-order.

Personally, I don't have any dietary restrictions, but there is the option to search for baked goods that caters to one's dietary restrictions or specialty goods like nut-free, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, etc ...

ShopBake launched back in September 2014, and has since grown to amass a large number of vendors. Customers have the ability to customize their orders, and there are a variety of treats available from cookies, cupcakes, donuts, cupcakes, and etc ... It's also a great gift option for those who have sweet tooths, or just enjoy the occasional treat. Valentine's Day is coming up this Sunday, and there is still time to send that special someone a sweet treat from Shopbake.com.

 
 

Video

Thanks for making my weekend even sweeter by delivering these baked goods right to my doorstep @shopbake :) // #ShopBake is an online sweets-on-demand delivery service at www.shopbake.com // You can order sweet treats online, and it'll be delivered right to your door within 90 minutes. It's a great gift for those with a sweet tooth or just enjoy the occasional treat 🍪🍩🍿🍮🍰🍭 #shopbakeondemand #thatsdarling #cute

A video posted by Sandi ♡ Foodaholic! (@foodaholicblog_) on Feb 8, 2016 at 9:11am PST

Social Media

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Website: https://www.shopbake.com/

 Maman Toronto is a lovely bakery/cafe located on the mezzanine of First Canadian Place offering a taste of Southern France. It was a little tucked away in First Canadian Place (where the food court is), but it has a very rustic yet inviting ambiance. The entire cafe was adorned with cute bunny ceramics with flowers, wooden communal tables, and mosaic tile flooring, so it was very Instagram-friendly. There are already plenty of Instagram photos of their pretty coffee cups for your perusal online. Their menu also changes daily, and they offer an assortment of baked goods, coffee drinks, sandwiches, salads, and more.



Everything is baked fresh daily, and from locally-sourced ingredients. Maman recently launched tapas dishes on their menu, and I had the pleasure of attending the media preview of Maman's new tapas menu unveiling two weeks ago. The new menu was created by Michelin-starred chef, Armand Arnal, whose dishes are family-inspired recipes. Chef Armand Arnal is the head chef at the acclaimed La Chassagnette in Arles, France, and he has definitely added a lot of French flair to our city with the addition of Maman. As part of their cinq-as-sept bar program (5 pm to 7 pm); they also have a carefully curated wine and cocktail list that perfectly complements the tapas dishes served.

Herbes de Provence - calvados, lillet infused with herbes de provence,lemon juice, sugar & egg whites

Le Vert - blanco tequilla, chartreuse, cucumber, lime & matcha

The new French inspired tapas menu features a selection of small and light sharing plates called "tartinettes" (the French version of tapas). Many of the tapas are served on toasted French baguette topped off with a variety of toppings. What I liked best was that customers are given the opportunity to customize their own tartinette board, and there are a few options available on the daily menu. Each tartinette costs $2.50, and the full menu can be view at http://mamantoronto.com/aperitifs/.

There were several tartinettes available that evening for tasting, and I was delighted that many of the combinations had flavors that worked rather well together. The kitchen produces contemporary French tartinettes dishes such as smoked ham with savora mustard & cornichon, roasted cauliflower with 2 year aged cheddar, smoked salmon with red onions, lemon & dill, and truffle "croque maman". Maman Toronto's new tapas menu caters very well to those who seek to partake in unwinding after work before dinner with their friends or colleagues. Maman Toronto is open Monday through Friday for breakfast, lunch and cinq-á-sept, and Saturday for brunch (closed on Sunday). Check out their website for their daily menu, as it changes everyday.

 Sweets - chouquette, canelé, and cream puff with whipped cream and pineapple

** All photography taken by Joey Salmingo **