Upscale Bake Sale a Big Success — Nearly $3,000 Raised for the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank

Today’s Upscale Bake Sale was a roaring success, thanks to generous donations from Urban Baker, Brulee Patisserie, Nectar Desserts, Buttercream Bakeshoppe and Decadent Desserts. Between the beautifully presented treats and the steady turnout of shoppers, we raised almost $3,000 for the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank. Considering that each dollar can stretch to about four dollars’ worth of food through the bank’s purchasing power, the impact is close to $12,000 in food assistance — a meaningful contribution to our community.

The tables were crowded with a tempting variety of baked goods: rustic loaves, delicate cookies, chewy fruit-filled pastries and classic shortbread. Despite the abundance, there were (surprisingly) a few leftover loaves from Urban Baker, which tells you how inclined people are to reach for cookies and small treats at holiday sales. I ended up taking home more bread than I probably should have — crusty sourdough, mini baguettes, a seedy multigrain, and their signature apple-flax-rosemary sourdough. That last loaf is made without commercial yeast and is instead leavened with a natural sourdough starter, which gives it a lively tang and lovely open crumb.

Brulee Patisserie contributed a couple of pecan sticky buns that hit the exact note you hope for: doughy and chewy, not overly sweet but gooey enough to be indulgent. They were the kind of sticky buns that make you pause mid-conversation to savor the texture and the caramelized pecan topping. Other tables offered shortbreads, tarts and small pastries — all clearly made with care and skill.

By late afternoon I had been nibbling on cookies, scones, sticky buns and various breads for a solid five hours. The cumulative pleasure of tasting so many treats had me craving something restorative and savory — and something I could dip the crusty bread into. Fortunately I had a pot of homemade stock tucked away in the fridge from the previous night.

Preparing a quick, nourishing meal was straightforward. I skimmed the surface fat from a simmered chicken carcass broth, pulled the remaining meat from the bones, and brought the meaty liquid back to a gentle simmer. A handful of egg noodles went in next; when they were nearly tender I stirred in a packet of Indian-spiced chickpeas that I had on hand (the kind that come seasoned and ready to heat), along with a shake of frozen spinach. A few minutes to warm through and the soup was done — comforting, savory, and a perfect foil for the crusty sourdough.

There’s a practical side to days like this: so much of running or volunteering at a bake sale is tasting, sampling, and making small decisions about what to buy and what to decline. It also means improvising simple meals between shifts. This bowl of curried chicken noodle soup felt like the right balance — a little spicy, a little rich, and very satisfying after hours of sugar and butter.

Today’s Cookie of the Day came from Aunt Nessie — a charming contributor who sent along a hand-typed recipe for shortbread. The name feels perfectly matched to the old-fashioned, homey shortbread that resulted: buttery, crumbly, and unfussy. Shortbread like this is a reminder that sometimes the simplest recipes, made with good butter and patience, are the ones people keep coming back to.

All in all, the bake sale was a wonderful community effort: generous bakers, enthusiastic buyers, and a tangible result for a local food charity. Events like this showcase how much can be accomplished when skill, generosity and neighbourhood goodwill come together — and they leave you with a few great leftovers and a warm feeling of having done some real good.