DelectablyChic! recently had the chance to speak with Verge Manuel of Dlish Cupcakes. Dlish, whose original location is on Queen Street West, opened its second location in Yorkville, on Yonge, just north of Bloor a few weeks ago.
Tell me a little bit about Dlish, its history, etc…
Dlish Cupcakes opened in December 2010 with the first location on Queen St. West.
What makes you different from your competitors?
Not only do we have a “gourmet approach,” but we use to make our cupcakes is what makes us different, such as rich chocolate sprinkles from France and pure vanilla from Madagascar. We don’t take any short-cuts in our baking process which means we don’t use any mixes. Everything is baked from scratch.
Many food trends come and go, this one seems to have been around for at least three or four years. What do you think it is about cupcakes?
A freshly-baked, gourmet dessert made from the finest ingredients never losses its appeal.
Why did you choose Yonge and Bloor for your second location?
I wanted a location that would compliment the first shop, which is located on a upscale stretch of Queen West. Plus most of our corporate clients are located on Bloor Street.
Until you opened, The Dessert Lady was the only true pastry/dessert shop in the area while other parts of the city – Yonge and Eglinton, for example – have several places. Why do you think it took so long another to pop up?
The neighbourhood has changed so much over the last few years, especially with all the new condos it’s no longer just the office worker, now you have residents in the area 24/7. A new modern bakery is what the area needed. It was time.
You have your “standard” flavours that appear daily as well as ones that are only sold on certain days of the week. How do you decide what to sell, when?
We have a flavour schedule, with a rotation of 23 varieties. Unlike other placed we don’t bake vanilla or chocolate cupcakes and just change up the frosting and call it another flavour. Our Coconut Macaroon is a coconut cake, our Salted Caramel is a caramel cake, our Nutella cupcake is a Nutella cake just to name a few. When you have a distinctive cake and each have its own recipe the only possible way to offer 23 flavours is by offering them on a schedule.
What are your top sellers?
Our Red Velvet is by far our best selling cupcake. Where Toronto magazine listed our Red Velvet as “30 Things We Love About Toronto” and it was just named one of Toronto’s 7 tastiest treats by a international travel blog which was featured on CNN Travel.
Who tends to buy cupcakes? Do you think the demographics are different at Yonge and Bloor than at your Queen location?
We get many walks of life who buy our cupcakes. Men and women of all ages and income brackets. I like to think of our cupcakes as an affordable luxury. For $3 you get the best chocolate from Belgium, the best vanilla from Madagascar and the best Caramel from France.
Where do you see Dlish in the next three years? Five? Ten?
I see Dlish opening in other Canadian cities and offering other desserts.
Anything else you’d like to add?
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