Nov. 18, 2009 - Issue #735: Parkland Conference 2009
Garner Beggs
All about the excess: The patisserie at Duchess Bake Shop is both elegant and extravagent
"I'm pretty blown away by it," says Beggs. "I read one of the blogs and I got a chuckle—somebody said something like, 'Their PR guys are doing a great job.' But literally, when I went to unlock the door on opening day, I had not done a single bit of advertising."
With an unabashed love of food, it's no surprise that Beggs ended up in the business, even if the path he chose was an indirect one. "My initial plan was to be a teacher," shares Beggs. "My whole family were teachers. But food just always kept coming up. And my wife Giselle, she always wanted to do something to do with food, whether it was a little bakery or a café."
His Arts degree specializing in Japanese history eventually led them to Tokyo, where both he and Giselle worked as teachers. Their jobs provided them with some flexibility, however, and they seized the opportunity to explore French pastries and experiment with their own techniques. "Giselle did formal training, attending some courses with a French patisserie," says Beggs. "I spent at least a couple years in Tokyo with a tiny little oven figuring out how to do croissant."
The sheer variety of raw materials available to them encouraged their baking trials. "Any ingredient there was at your fingertips," informs Beggs. "They had amazing butter, any type of flour—over 72 varieties of flour to choose from. It was very different than in Canada."
Living in Japan also influenced them in other ways. "We fell in love with the esthetic of everything," conveys Beggs. "The design, the decor, the ambiance, the actual product, the packaging of the product." Moreover, Beggs realized he wanted to pay special attention to the experience in his shop. "The customer service there is just second to none, so it was a huge culture shock coming back to Canada when we were confronted with some of the most atrocious customer service I ever had in my life. So that is something I am adamant about doing right."
While Duchess specializes in a variety of French treats, including croissants and madelines, their signature item is undoubtedly the macaron, a small cookie made of two meringue halves with a ganache filling in between. Beggs affectionately calls them "little devils," and fondly recounts his first macaron encounter, initiated by Giselle, who had tried them in Paris. "We get there, and the macaron are $3.50 Canadian. I said, 'You're kidding me.' She told me I had to get one. And after one bite, I was like, 'What is this? It's heaven!'"
Beggs says he and Giselle did their best to try macarons produced by distinct bakeries in an effort to find their favourite. "We would go on macaron tours and go to seven different shops, get three or four macarons from each shop, and sample and dissect each of them," tells Beggs. "Every place has their own way of doing it. We've talked to so many pastry chefs all over the place; it's really esoteric." The taste tests paid off in the end, with Giselle since mastering the macaron, a recipe three years in the making.
Although Beggs warns that food preferences are subjective, he doesn't hesitate to provide some guidance of what to look for in a well-made macaron. "It has to have a shell because it's a meringue," says Beggs. "And if you push it, it shouldn't give or crumble." Biting into it, one is met with some unexpected resistance. "There is an ever so slight bit of crunch on the outside—I like a bit of that firmness, or tooth to it, which is a lot more substantial than you would think by looking at it." Last but not least, the ganache. "I think it should be balanced: not too overpowering, but with a substantial flavour. Because that's what they're about—an intense moment of savouring."
Like everything else at the bakery, the macarons are made with premium ingredients such as pure extracts and Valrhona chocolate. And while some may flinch at the pricing, Beggs imparts that it's related to the quality of their products and the time they take to make. He also points out the psychological aspect of pricing. "If something costs more, you slow down and you appreciate it," he says. "But ultimately, I think it's a good price and it makes it accessible to people that wouldn't normally venture out and try something like that—and I really want people to experience it."
So beyond filling a patisserie void in the city, Beggs has taken on the role of an educator as well. He is passionate about ensuring that patrons are keenly aware of the products. "I want people to know why it's a croissant," he explains. "It's not just a funny-shaped white bun that you get out of a bin. There's a culture behind it, a history and a technique, and a reason behind the technique." It seems like Beggs never really did leave his educational tendencies behind. "I absolutely want to teach people about it," he laughs, "because I guess I'm still a teacher." V
Garner Beggs
Duchess Bake Shop
10720 - 124 St, 780.488.4999
More info about Duchess Bake Shop →
New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.