The owners of Whisk Cake Company are building on a family legacy and offering up specialty donuts every Saturday.
Jon and Tanya Garratt have owned Whisk Cake Company on Rutland Road North for the past seven years. About a year and a half ago, they expanded the company to include a cafe, which offers treats of all kinds, as well as ice cream, geo bean coffee and an array of donuts.
The building which houses the company’s cafe and bakery has been family-owned for 30 years. Tanya and her mother had a ceramics store prior to the cake company, which allowed Tanya to develop a skill set she brought to her cake creations with her steady hand and attention to detail.
Jon said his mother-in-law still paints all the sugar flowers for the business.
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“We’re sitting at 4,000 square feet right now and business keeps doubling,” Jon said, adding they have plans to add a patio outside once spring has arrived.
The gourmet donut Saturdays started as a way for brides to offer their guests a different type of wedding treat.
“We were looking for hand-held single desserts basically,” Jon said, and the store offers a donut wall that can be rented to eager brides looking for something new.
With a strong social media following, once the retail arm opened, people have been requesting the donut outside of wedding events, he said.
Every weekend, the cake company can sell anywhere between four dozen to 480 gourmet donuts, depending on the interest.
Jon recommends the chocolate, bacon and popcorn one.
“You can’t go anywhere else in the city right now to get that donut,” he said. “We try to have fun and make it approachable… We want it to look good but we want it to taste good too.”
The fruit for all the cake fillings is homegrown in a 1,500 square foot garden.
“When you’re here, enjoying some of our treats at our retail store to experience the Okanagan and taste the Okanagan,” he said. “There’s nothing better than a fresh strawberry or peach off a tree.”
Both certified Red Seal chefs, the pair decided to open the shop as Tanya had to take a step back from cooking with some health concerns.
“It just came naturally,” Jon said.
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