-by Anne Käärid
Originally printed in the Owen Sound Downtown Improvement Area Newsletter
Just down the street from the Roxy Theatre is a bakery that is apt to take your taste buds on a trip down memory lane. Walk through the door of MarJennys Cakes + More and you've crossed the threshold of a confectionary taste delight. The atmosphere is welcoming and clean, complete with smells reminiscent of an old-fashioned Grandma's kitchen. Lucky Downtown visitors and passers-by can now satisfy the hankering for nostalgic, made-from-scratch goodness.
Owner/Operator Marg McMillan, and her husband Ernie welcomed me into their kitchen (after donning
the appropriate hairnet), to talk about the journey of MarJennys. Marg reminisced about her experiences with her Mom, her Grandma, and her Great-Grandmother. All of these women were bakers, and being in the kitchen and watching them bake was part of Marg's growing up and her early learning know-how. Baking since she was about nine or ten, Marg began looking more seriously at the practise in her early adult years by taking baking and decorating courses through McCalls Decorating School, and subsequent workshops and courses.
Marg has been baking for all of her life, mostly making celebratory cakes for birthdays and weddings. In 2005
she took her baking business to another level, and moved the cake business into a separate, back room off the house. She was licensed and inspected by the health unit, and began running as a fully functional home bakery.
Ernie retired, and Marg gave in her notice for retirement as well. Ernie had his eye on the location at 275 9th Street East, and after a few visits and meetings, in faith they decided to open up shop in Downtown Owen Sound. They keep the home-bakery exclusively for gluten-free and nut free baking, to assure there isn't any cross- adulteration with non GF or nut ingredients.
Marg is passionate about honouring her family's multi-generational recipe legacy, and has included
recipes passed down from Ernie's family as well. "Many of these old recipes have been written down as a dash of this, or a palm-measure of that. It has taken much research to translate these measurements
into mainstream units to develop the recipes for reproduction in the bakery." Marg and Ernie are proud
to support local producers and companies for as much local produce and fresh ingredients as possible.
Wedding cakes and designed/carved cakes have been a big part of the business. "We like to make
something unique for each order. We encourage people to bring in their ideas, but we never replicate
another design. We will take the essence of the look and add the client's ideas and wants to designing
each cake." But MarJennys is "+ More" as the name indicates. MarJennys also offers baked treats,
pies and tarts. Of course, there is always the option of ordering vegan; gluten, dairy, aluminum and nut
free; diabetic friendly; and the use of alternatives to colouring and dyes to suit any allergy or food
intolerance. "Each mix is made fresh every morning, with at least 85% of the ingredients made-from-
scratch." states Marg. "We like to think outside of the box, and find solutions to each customer's
personal needs. We just need you to tell us what you want."
Daily offerings include scratch-made bread and bagels, cookies and squares, and fresh-frozen pies.
Be sure to check out Facebook or come in to see Thursday's weekly featured treat at the bakery. Puffed pastry apple pie pops, lemon tarts, date squares, chelsea buns, scones and cream puffs with real cream. What a great way to enjoy your afternoon cup of tea!
With Marg and Ernie's welcoming storefront and high quality traditional baked goods, it looks like MarJennys Cakes + More has a recipe for sweet success in downtown Owen Sound!
