From Easy-Bake Oven to Michelin star kitchen: How a 28-year-old launched an online bakery in Toronto
When Marchelle Mckenzie was five, her parents gifted her an Easy-Bake Oven.
“I’ve been baking ever since,” Mckenzie told CTV News Toronto.
At 28, Mckenzie already has numerous Michelin star restaurants stacked under her apron of experience. Yet still, she glances at that Easy-Bake Oven as she folds tahini and maldon sea salt into enough batter to make 900 brownies every week for her online bakery, Butter and Spice.
“I look at it every day for inspiration,” she said.
Photo credit by Tamar Yashooa
While her baked goods business officially launched in 2020, in truth, the bakery’s roots date back far before the pandemic to when she was a 13-year-old growing up in Mississauga.
When Mckenzie was entering grade eight, she launched M.A.M bakery, an abbreviation of her initials. She baked six-packs of cupcakes for the reasonable price of $2.75 and her brother delivered them. They even created posters on Microsoft Paint to advertise their business.
In high school, the bakery evolved into Mckenzie slipping packages of Betty Crocker sugar cookies into classmates' hands in exchange for cash in the hallway.
“My parents said, ‘You need to stop, you’re making too much money,’” Mckenzie said.
For a number of years, the bakery came to a halt while Mckenzie worked as a pastry chef in world-renowned kitchens like Eleven Madison Park in New York and Restaurant Story in London.
Photo credit by Tamar Yashooa
After her stint in England, Mckenzie planned a trip to Malaysia to visit her parents for a few months. But, while she was set to leave in March 2020, the world had other plans. She was stuck for four months.
When Mckenzie finally made it back to Toronto in June 2020, she found a part-time job at the Rolling Pin, a creative donuts shop in North York.
“I needed something else to compensate for my income,” Mckenzie said. “I was like, I need to do Butter and Spice, again, for real.”
Six months into the official launch of Butter and Spice, Mckenzie curtailed her business into a full-time operation, struggling to keep up with the pace of her top seller, cornflake and OG fudgy dark chocolate brownies.
For the holidays, Mckenzie says she’s been hustling to create Christmas-themed cookie boxes filled with lemon thyme, chai and ginger cookies, along with seasonal brownies like her ginger cookie dough topped with espresso glaze.
Photo credit by Tamar Yashooa
Back in the summer, Mckenzie started developing these holiday assortments. In that same nature, she’s already looking two to three years ahead at potentially moving her online bakery into a physical shop.
One of her first orders of business will be hanging the poster she created with her brother for M.A.M. bakery in Butter and Spice.
“When I actually have a storefront, I’ll put that up to show where I’ve come from,” she said.
Background
Table Talk is a weekly CTV News Toronto series that explores the people who shape Toronto’s food scene, published every Friday at CTVNewsToronto.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Overwhelmed families surrendering custody of their children to CAS
Last week, Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas told the Ontario Legislature about a mother in her riding who gave up guardianship of her eight-year-old, high-needs daughter to the Children’s Aid Society (CAS).
Trump's defence choice stuns the Pentagon and raises questions about the Fox News host's experience
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world's largest and most powerful military.
W5 investigation How did thieves steal your car? Maybe with a device they ordered online
Digital devices that a Toronto-area police department warns are used in the most common method of stealing cars are for sale online for anyone to buy, a W5 investigation has found.
Trump's appointees have criticized Trudeau, warned of border issues with Canada
Donald Trump's second administration is filling up with some of his most loyal supporters and many of the people landing top jobs have been critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and security at Canada's border.
Japanese owner of 7-Eleven receives another offer to rival Couche-Tard bid
The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven says it has received a new management buyout proposal from a member of the family that helped found the company.
Loblaw Companies reports Q3 profit up from year ago, revenue also higher
Loblaw Companies Ltd. reported its third-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago, boosted by the reversal of a charge at its President's Choice Bank after a Federal Court of Appeal decision.
Nearly 80 per cent of Canadians use winter tires: survey
Almost four out of five Canadian drivers switch to winter tires when the weather calls for them, according to a new survey.
South Korean actor Song Jae-lim found dead at 39
Song Jae-lim, a South Korean actor known for his roles in K-dramas 'Moon Embracing the Sun' and 'Queen Woo,' was found dead at his home in capital Seoul. He was 39.
John Krasinski named People magazine's 2024 Sexiest Man Alive
John Krasinski is People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024.