We came across an article on The Globe and Mail mentioning Loblaws’ decision to remove artificial colours and flavours from their President’s Choice line of products. We were very pleased indeed!

The public has become more concerned about the use of artificial colours and flavours, and Loblaws believes addressing this concern is the right thing to do. Consumers are now more educated about the health-related issues due to recent studies that link hyperactivity, cancer, etc. to the consumption of artificial colours/flavours.

According to the article, “by the end of this year, all artificial colours in the PC line (which includes Blue Menu, Organics and Green branded products) will be removed; by the end of 2013, all artificial flavours will be removed.”

All this is good news for Canadians and the general public as it’s a sign that we’re moving toward the right direction. At Le Dolci, we also support the use of natural ingredients where no artificial flavours or colours are added to our baked goods (our icing is the only thing we use a teeny bit of color for but we’re working on that too!).

With these initiatives in place, people can make healthier food choices & realize the benefits of real food!

We love chocolate here at Le Dolci, so whenever we find a place that carries unique flavours, we can go a little crazy. We’ve recently discovered The Mercantile in Roncesvalles. The Mercantile sells organic food, teas, and let’s not forget, chocolate! We were in heaven after spotting so many different brands of organic and fair trade chocolate that we purchased maybe a little too many

Besides a taste that is nothing short of divine, it’s also good to know where and what type of chocolate we’re buying. Due to the recent studies on organic and natural food, it’s nice to know that we can make the right choices when it comes to even sweet treats!

So what is Fair Trade? Fair Trade Canada describes it as being a different way of doing business – it’s about making principles of fairness and decency mean something in the marketplace. Fair trade allows farmers and artisans to get a better deal for their products. This is usually understood to mean better prices for producers, but it often means longer-term and more meaningful trading relationships too. Fair Trade is a way for us to identify products that meet our values so we can make choices that have a positive impact on the world.

We’ll be carrying delicious Ice Pops at our new store from Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops! They’re all handmade and only fresh, natural ingredients are used. The flavours are very unique and fun, so we can’t wait for you to try them.

Janet Dimond, the owner of Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops, launched the company last year on the long weekend in May. At the Roncesvalles Area Yard Sale, there were a couple hundred of her gourmet Ice Pops being sold. Due to the tremendous success, Janet decided to make her Ice Pops available to the masses. The combination of good timing, help from friends, and a bit of good luck, Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops received a lot of exposure and caught the attention of many food lovers and the media! Toronto Star featured an article on Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops and Salad King is currently offering these Ice Pops at their restaurant!

Janet blends freshly squeezed juices, citrus and herbs to create fruit-bomb Ice Pops that attract a crowd from every walk of life. She emphasizes on the use of fresh, local, seasonal products as often as possible and buys from the farmers at the Markets where she sells her Ice Pops. Oh and if you’re wondering about the “Augie” in “Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pops”, it’s actually the name of Janet’s golden retriever

We’ve already taste-tested a variety of flavours and decided on ones that we think you’d love! We won’t tell you which particular flavours we’ll have at our store yet, but these are just some mouth-watering flavours that Augie’s Gourmet Ice Pop carries:

- Grapefruit, Lime + Ginger
- Pineapple, Ginger + Lime with Coconut Milk and Kaffir Lime leaf
- Watermelon, Lemon + Mint
- Raspberry with maple syrup + lime
- Blueberry Lemonade + mint

Don’t they all sound very interesting and delish? As summer is approaching, they’ll be a delightful treat for the warm, summer days and not to mention, oh-so-refreshing!

Saturday 26 May

Madre. Maman. Mãe. Oma. Inay. Mutter. Mum. Mor. Mama.However you say it, in whatever language, the word for “mother” has a thousand and one subtle variations, most of which usually translate, at one time or another, into something like: “Thanks for everything, mom.”

To all of the wonderful Mothers who have come to a class to have some me time, brought their daughter to a class for a special surprise treat, Mums who have organized parties for their children’s birthday parties and for so may of the Mother’s who have supported our little business along the way we send you big icing sugar hugs today and always! You have a tough, yet rewarding job and we love you dearly.

Special thanks goes out to our own Mum extraordinaire Momma Dolce, you are tops! We love you.

Passionate about real food?

On May 19th, join global ambassadors as they help people learn how to make small changes in their food choices on an everyday basis. These choices will ultimately help to improve their lives as well as their families. It all comes back down to the basics; we must remember to think about where our food comes from and how it can be prepared using better cooking methods. Food Revolution Day will teach those who are passionate about food and those looking to make changes in their lives, the skills needed to make better food choices.

Le Dolci has always been passionate about food and we support the use of all-natural ingredients with no additives nor preservatives. We always bake from scratch so that we know exactly what  goes into our cakes and cupcakes.

Our marvelous macaron teacher, Mardi Michels, is a Food Revolution Ambassador for Toronto. She will be hosting a special Petits Chefs class to educate and inspire others about Food Revolution Day and to support real food. She has invited the Petits Chefs’ families into the school one night in the week leading up to the Day, where a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution recipe will be used. The fun part is that the boys will be teaching their parents and siblings instead! Once cooking is done, everyone will be sitting down together for the meal, which is another important focus in the Food Revolution. To find out more about Mardi’s contribution to Food Revolution Day, check out her article here!

So along with the Jamie Oliver Foundation, Le Dolci, Mardi, and the thousands of people around the world, will you be participating in Food Revolution Day?

For more information about FRD, go to foodrevolutionday.com

We’re going to definitely check this place out again as we host 10 lucky guests on our first FOODIE TRIP to Paris this July.

Entranced by the delicate and robust scents that make up your favourite perfume? The history of perfume making is probably one of the most fascinating processes that began centuries ago! That bottle of Chanel No5 that you spritz on yourself each morning has quite a history.

One of our favourite places in the romantic city of Paris is the Fragonard Parfumeur Museum and shop.  Located in a beautiful Napoleon style townhouse built in 1860 by a student of the Opera Garnier, which is actually just foot steps away; the museum houses all the secrets to French perfume making.

The museum is open Monday through to Sunday and offers free guided tours that are designed to take you back in time to when perfume was made by hand and each scent added to a bottle was carefully chosen to create a unique musk for the individual. The museum is full of historic equipment that was used to produce these scents, by the end of the tour you will test your nose to see just how good you are at identify scents without actually having the ingredient visible to you.

After testing your nose, you can also visit the Fragonard store which is also located in the building. There you will find beautifully packaged bottles of perfume that contain scents you would never find back here in North America. Although the store may seem quite girly, they do also carry a very nice range of men`s colognes for all those significant others out there.

If you decide to venture out of the city of Paris, a trip to the actual Fragonard perfume factory in the Old Town of Grasse would certainly be a memorable experience. This factory is one of the oldest in the town of Grasse.

If you love smelling sweet, on your next trip to Paris (or if you join us this July) be sure to drop by this stunning museum to pick out your individual scent.

Sunday 27 May

Sunday 3 June

Spain is known for their many markets, including traditional fish markets, food markets, flea markets and flower markets. In these markets, you can find specialized food items that are unavailable elsewhere. Very lively and bustling all the time, the food market is a fun and exhilarating experience for both locals and visitors.

La Boqueria Market is one of the largest markets in Barcelona and one of the most-visited. Famous for its large selection of fresh fish and seafood, vegetables, fruit, cheeses, ham, chocolate, nuts and just about any other food Spain is famous for. We always make sure to make a visit to La Boqueria when we spend time in Spain!

Mercat Del Ninot is also a great market to check out and it’s local. Here, you’ll discover the freshest food, from fish stalls, to butchers, to cheese shops. Oh, and let’s not forget the Spanish jamon! The prices are affordable and the food is always so fresh and good quality.

So if you love food markets and plan on visiting Spain in the near future, keep these food markets in mind! We may even be doing a FOODIE TRIP there soon!