By Sean Delaney
The Emery Village Voice recently dropped in to chat with Joseph Montinero, owner of West Finch Bakery and Dolicini by Joseph.
EVV: Okay, Joseph, it’s springtime. Easter is on the way. It’s a time for renewal. So tell our readers a bit about what’s going on at Dolicini by Joseph at West Finch Bakery.
Joseph: Many new innovative products… a lot of new ideas. We’re fresh out of covid, and I know that through covid, everybody had a covid coma. Now, it’s just a breath of fresh air… a new leaf…what do we say?… a new way of looking at the business, and things are good. Things are very promising. We are coming out with many new products, new desserts, new styles of eggs, and many innovative products.
EVV: Tell me about your easter products because that’s coming up in the next few weeks, so tell me what customers can expect?
Joseph: Many wonderful Easter breads, different types of Easter eggs, little chicks, and little chocolate pieces; looking at creating many new and innovative products. New ideas and flavour profiles for little-filled chocolates (bonbons), pastries, and cakes. Fresh products and a fresh taste.
EVV: I mean, you’re a chef first, for the West Finch Bakery side of it, but you’re also a designer of cakes and chocolates and things like that. You possess an incredible artistic flare where you combine design with all those delightful flavours.
Joseph: Yes, absolutely. People eat with their eyes first, so you give them a visual aspect of things and make them eat with their eyes. They appreciate the look of the dessert and/or the cake or the egg, for example, and then afterward, you give them the other 50 percent, which is the flavour profile, and you give them something unique and different. People sometimes want traditional but with a little bit of a new flare. And if not, it’s something new and different they have never experienced. It’s giving a client or a guest an experience. A good experience. A positive experience.
EVV: Yeah, and on the West Finch bakery side, you’ve got daily luncheon specials, all that kind of stuff which is spectacular. It’s a great reason to come in and shop for others.
Joseph: Thank you.
EVV: Tell me a little about your thoughts on lunches and how you come up with virtually anything?
Joseph: So, our lunches are basically, we try to keep some staples, you know, daily specials, some staples of products, but then we always like to introduce new products because it keeps the guest interacting with yourself. It keeps the guest looking and seeing, what are they making today? What am I going to have today? What are they concocting today? What new recipe does he want to create and let us try? You know, it could be something of an Asian background and/or Arabic background, or Italian. I mean, we don’t have to pick Italian, let’s look at different flavours of the world. There are so many, and it’s so beautiful out there, so why not experience it and have your guests experience those ideas and those flavours?
EVV: Yes, and at the same time, they can either dine in, take out, or you have catering available?
Joseph: Absolutely. Catering for family events, baptisms, weddings, communions, and birthdays. Whatever it is we can create so many different things, be it on the dessert side or the savoury side.
So do yourself a favour and celebrate Spring’s arrival. Easter is just around the corner. Drop by West Finch Bakery and Dolicini by Joseph and be dazzled.
You can find West Finch Bakery and Dolcini by Joseph at 1107 Barmac Drive, North York.
Feel free to drop in, or phone the bakery at:
(416) 743-2661