Baked Goods
Bite Me Bakery
Bite Me Bakery pegs itself as "Toronto's first cupcake shop with attitude."
"That's not to say we're like the Soup Nazi or anything," says Dayna Richardson, the woman behind the new St. Clair West bakery. "But there are some cupcake shops for kids — this is a shop for adults."
Not that kids wouldn't like Bite Me Bakery's banana caramel or vanilla bubblegum cupcakes, mind you. But they probably wouldn't need to know that the shop calls them its Bi-Curious George and Blow Me cupcakes. That's alongside its Tight Buns (vanilla cake and cinnamon bun buttercream), Pop My Cherry (chocolate cherry cake with vanilla buttercream), and Blue Balls (blueberry cake with cream cheese frosting) cupcakes. I'm guessing the latter isn't too popular among male customers.
The, uh, "unconventional" names for the shop's 40 or so cupcake flavours are definitely indicative of Dayna's personality. Within a few minutes of chatting, it's clear that Dayna has a mouth that could rival that of Debra Morgan's, coming off as a little eccentric but with a dedicated passion for baking.
"Up until recently, my parents still kept asking me when I was going to get a real job," she says, adding that Bite Me Bakery has been operating out of a catering facility for the last two years. "But my passion has always been food."
With a cupcake tattoo on her calf and "350ยบ" on her wrist, Dayna tells me her baking has been mostly self-taught, though she has undergone a bit of formal training. She grew her catering business mostly though word of mouth and social media, and decided to seize this space when The Cupcakery went out of business.
"One of my big motivations for opening a retail space is education," says Dayna, who notes that she has also worked in the fitness industry. "Education in dessert moderation."
Bite Me Bakery only offers bite-sized cupcakes (AKA mini cupcakes), usually in about six different flavours per day. Cupcakes are priced at $1.50 each and kept wrapped up to preserve freshness (display cupcakes are pretty much just for show).
"What happens when you go into another cupcake shop, and you want to try the red velvet and the chocolate and the peanut butter cupcake?" Dayna says. "Well, you want to satisfy three different palettes, and you end up buying all of them and eating them all. But how many calories did you just consume? There goes your New Year's dress..."
The idea at Bite Me Bakery is to allow customers to indulge in a variety of different cakes, while removing the temptation of a massive cupcake (or three).
"People will ask me, 'Are these cupcakes good for you?' And I'll say, 'No, but dessert in moderation is OK.'"
I take "moderation" to mean I can try the peanut butter (Buttercup), coffee (La Vida Mocha), and chocolate (Flirty Girl) cupcakes, and definitely find the peanut butter to be my favourite. The cake part is gone in a bite or two (making the flavour somewhat tough to discern) but the super-smooth buttercream lingers with peanut butter goodness and just moderate (and thus, appropriate) sweetness. It's clear that buttercream is the stan-out element for these cupcakes.
Dayna says she hopes to expand her daily offerings to include up to a dozen flavours per day sometime in the new year. Which is to say, if you drop by with kids sometime in January, best to prepare an explanation ahead of time for the "Strawberry Striptease" and "Hot Mess Mango" you might find on the menu.
Photos by Hannah Jor
Discussion
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We value your opinion but strongly encourage you to drop by our shoppe- it is our guarantee that nothing this small has ever been so satisfying.
xxx
~Manager of Bite Me Bakery
This is not meant to take a swipe at the owner but everything about her and the branding is just so fake.
And yes, I have tried her cupcakes when she had a Groupon deal and even then they weren't worth the money. All I could taste was the icing which was greasy.
That is all.
Alexander - This is their first brick and mortar location but if you've gone to the Underground Market you would know that this shoppe has been around for awhile. So you're comments about the end of a fad are sadly ignorant.
Bob - all food is erotic when it is presented and enjoyed properly. Lame may be a freudian slip on your part.
777 - clearly you've never bought a macaron from a shoppe before.
Connie - I've had these cupcakes before and I couldn't disagree with you more. The icing is in no way grainy in the slightest nor is it overly sweet. If you've ever tried Loblaws cupcakes then you would know what greasy icing in too great a quantity is on top of a dry cake. They look beautiful on display at the big store in Maple Leaf Gardens but are barely edible. BMB's cupcakes are moist and the flavours are unique. Maybe you shouldn't eat the box next time and think it is a cupcake.
Alicia - you win the comment FAIL of the year. Let's see a picture of you and open it up for general discussion shall we? Your lack of meaningful comment reflects more negatively on you than it does Dayna. Perhaps you should go and work at a foodbank this holiday instead of taking your personal vendetta out on someone who is trying to make something of herself and build something. Your pot shots are a sign of your own failure at life. Good luck to you.
On a positive note, Merry Christmas everyone!! Just wish I had some cupcakes to snack on right now! Yum
Dayna and bite me bakery, I will be visiting you again soon.
xo
P.S Dayna may have gained weight in the past but if you've seen her recently she is back on track and making she'll be making her return to the fitness industry in 2013!
Amongst the ordered flavours were, Mint Condition (Mint Chocolate-a classic favourite!), Strawberry Striptease (with Strawberry buttercream & a Fresh sliced strawberry), Canadians do it better (Maple Buttercream with Candied Bacon-oooooh yes!!) & Get Lei'd (Coconut Buttercream-Super Yummy & Tropical!!)
I have been travelling around the world at a very young age & have eaten an assortment of cupcakes & desserts both high end & low end. I LOVE DESSERTS. I also love to cook & often cater as well. I can honestly say that Bite Me Bakery has shockingly proven to me to be one of the best New & Up and Coming bakeries Toronto has to offer. They use real premium quality ingredients that you can actually taste. Up until this bakery opened, I was losing faith in our city as we are chocked full of beautifully, over priced cupcakes that taste, dry, awful, and completely Artificial-not to mention expensive. There is no heart & soul in many of these "Fancy" Bakery establishments. You can actually taste Bite Me Bakery's "Love & Heart" in all their baked goods!
I am completely shocked by what previous people have commented regarding grocery store baked goods being far more superior???!!! This leads me to believe that you all have palates that have been babied and bombarded with artificial flavour enhancers, hydrogenated oils, & chemically produced suger substitutes!! No wonder you all will be picking the cheap mass produced cupcakes that by the way, lasts on the shelf 4 times longer due to all the preservatives they have packed in them!! Unbelievable!
Toronto, give Bite Me Bakery a chance. I sincerely believe in them. As an established actress in the city, I will not think twice about using them in all my catering events both personal & professional.
They are Truly Fun, Beautiful and Utterly Delicious!! :D
Let me dig a little deeper into her dilusional fraud world that she is trying to sell. She is super short and pretty fat yet claims to be a fitness expert and regular fitness competition competitor (are you kidding me, she is in no way shape or form anything close to being not just fit but even normal size). Now lets get to the cup cakes, they are not the worst in the world but there is nothing special about them to justify paying $18 for 12 tiny bite size cupcakes. The margins are high in her business and thats the only way she is still open although I AM willing to bet Dayna or any of her friends that she will be closed before June 2013.
This girl had a bf for a couple of weeks recently folks, and all she was doing was bragging about it all over facebook and abour how strong the love and feelings etc are. They take a trip for the weekend and he ends up dumping her. Dayna's a pathological liar, she can be very successful as a lawyer, sales person or maybe we should find another 10 people like you and make a reality show so the whole country would be onto you instead of just people who have met you.
lastly should we feel bad about all the negative things going on with this person and her so called business??? NO, is the correct answer and I will elaborate on this. Dayna is a small business and new to the game so we should support her right??? NO. This girl has trashed numerous other small businesses with her snobby comments about what is this person or business thinking, they have no marketing sense, they should not be open for business etc. She is known for trashing other small business owners like HERSELF.
The following is right from her Facebook. Now you will be able to see how pathetic this girl is. ( any positive review is from her friends that she asked to say good things about her and her business.) Dayna your business is the same thing as when Dr Phil wrote a weigh loss book. IT'S JUST SIMPLY WRONG.
"Dayna Richardson shared a link.
December 25 near Toronto
Dear God ~ I guess some people don't understand what Christmas spirit is all about !!! Some of the latest comments on my blog are just darn right rude - but I guess that's what you get for trying to make something of yourself! LOL ♥ to all my friends, fans, & family if you LOVE what I do please check out this blog and shed some light to some of these Scrooges !!!
http://www.blogto.com/bakery/bite-me-bakery-toronto
The following below is straight from Dayna's Facebook. "This girl and her business are both a major fraud.
Why would you attack someone in such a manner,is it ignorance or stupidity that drives you to write such trash ? Taking an attack on someones weight or appearance is absurd & Juvenile.You say your "major problem with her is she's fat" is it possible you have Cataracts or some sort of taste disorder ? because none of the things you have thrown out there are remotely true,maybe you should find yourself something constructive to do with your time other than trash people whom have worked very hard to be where they are.
I couldnt have been more happy! ALL the desserts I ordered were AMAZING!! I had sooo many people asking who made these desserts as they LOVED them all!! I will DEFINITELY be getting you to make all the desserts for every special occasion/party I have.
I have to say that even my dad (who does NOT like sugary, sweet desserts.....and he's VERY vocal about it lol) LOVED the cupcakes!!!
Thanks again! You have a GREAT thing going!!
Nina Luchka
ps. I seen a previous comment (Micheal) saying about Dayna's weight and that theres NO way she competes......Then he CLEARLY hasnt known enough competitors in their off-season!!! Everyone is different in their off-season! Dont bother commenting on this issue when you dont know....and if you want to leave a comment regarding this then do so on my FB page!
I clearly explained what my problem was with her and the business. You clearly missed it due to either ignorance or stupidity.
If you are promoting something related to sexy and portion control type of marketing and/or lifestyle and you take pics to project the image of someone who is in shape and all about fitness etc, you have no business being THAT out of shape. I don't want this to come off as an attack, I simply stated facts. You can't get mad at me for that. My question to you Hayes is, would you hire a personal trainer who is overweight? would you go to a lawyer who is not licensed?
Nina,
I do know that competitors and many other athletes gain a lot of weight in the off season. I have seen Dayna competition time ans she still looks like off season. Sorry, I am just stating the truth. You think your helping her by blowing smoke up her ass? Where will you be when she is out of business in a few months? Oh that's right, you will order some for your daughters 4th birthday.
Oh and about commenting on your facebook? Why do you need friends? What could you possibly do? That comment showed the maturity level of a grade 6.
Lastly SSJ,
It's over priced based on the quality of the product. You can get a slice of cheesecake at store A for $10 but if its rich and tastes good then it's not overpriced. You can also buy a slice at store B for $4 but it might still be overprices based on the quality of the product. You want facts, take the cupcakes from the businesses you mentioned and do a taste test.
The only people who said anything positive about this business are her friends or people who have some invested interest in the business or people who just feel sorry for her. I didn't intend for my review to be insulting, I was simply stating the facts and the obvious, if that makes me a bad guy then it also makes you s liar.
P.S. Dayna you're welcome for the sympathy orders.
Regarding your comment "You have to be one of the most idiotic people I've met. "
We have never met, it just goes to show your credibility about the things you talk about.
Regarding your comment "IF you had a business and wanted those who supported it to know there's a blog on it, then you would have posted too."
I own 4 tattoo studios in the GTA, I have also never asked any of my friends or family to respond to a negative review from "Scrooges? regarding any of my shops. Oh btw the people Dayna is calling stooges are HER OWN CUSTOMERS who simply did not enjoy the PRODUCT.
What we do is if we receive negative feedback we address it and resolve it to keep our customers who pay our bills happy, hence all 4 shops are doing well and I have been in business over 9 years now. So before you make empty statements about people whom you have never met, you should think again.
Regarding your comment "This blog is supposed to be reviews on the product"
SSJ, you must not read well, if you actually read the reviews, instead of being a paid puppet and just yapping, you would notice plenty of reviews regarding the product. Also when reviewing a business you're supposed to look at a business as a whole to get the full clear picture. Bottom line the product, owner, lack of qualified bakers on staff, etc have all been reviewed poorly by not just me but by everyone who has experienced it with the exception of her friends, family and people on her payroll. If you can't see the problem with that then your clueless.
Regarding your comment "do you know what a clinically overweight person looks like? Or an obese person? Dayna is a healthy weight, she's even on the smaller size of a healthy weight."
Listen, two questions for you.
1) Have you seen the heavily photoshopped photo's of her to promote the business?
2) Have you seen her in person?
If so then you would never make that comment or maybe your larger then her and got offended, either way it screams out fake and false image. In many professions one may be sued for such misrepresentation. I suggest you go take some classes or read some books and further educate and develop yourself. If she were 300 pounds ands selling cupcakes no one would have a problem with it, if she was in shape or not overweight and marketing the product the way she is; we would have NO problem with it. The problem is she is not either of these two stating circumstances, she is overweight and promoting sex, and portion control. If you cant see the problem with that then you should never open a business.
This is my last comment on her and her business. I stand by what I have stated, I do believe that potential customers in the market place have a right to know how this business is reviewed, however the best way to find out sometimes is to simply go yourself and try it out.
And to all those who are writing bad reviews..... any press is good press!!
What about about a restaurant which you visited in the past and the food and service were just horrible, and you told your friends and family about the negative experience there. Is that something you would consider good press?
Any press is good press is a thing of the past and applies to certain businesses. I will go to a movie which has received bad press, but i will not go to a restaurant, Hair Dresser, Doctor, Dentist, lawyer, Sushi restaurant etc which has received an overwhelming amount of bad press. There usually is a reason for it.
Based on these photos, I have no idea what category she would have competed in, to be honest. She's not nearly lean enough to step on stage!
Here's her modeling 'portfolio' -http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/1197796/viewall
IMHO, she's tasteless and TACKY.
I have had a few encounters with Bite Me Bakery and in regards to the hurtful comments above my experience was complete cupcake bliss! I'm almost thinking that some of the comments above are not actual comments but a personal beef?
Whatever the case, the first time I sampled these lovely cupcakes was in the summer at a girlfriends beauty launch party and they were AMAZING. So, I got wind last week that Dayna had opened shop so I headed down and bought a couple of trays for a family event and they were a BIG hit! They weren't dry but moist and they were just the right amount of sweet.
I'm so happy with the service and I will definitely use BMB again, it was fantastic.
Dayna and the Bite Me Bakery team I'm sending you good vibe and all the best wishes moving forward you're doing a fabulous job!!
Keep up the good work ;)
Listen, I stopped by the shop last week and the girl behind the counter was painting her nails. That turned me right off. Sure hope she washed her hands while handling the cupcakes.
"LOL some older gentleman walked into Bite Me Bakery - saw all the girls wearing lingerie for our 'Get Intimate with Bite Me Bakery day' turned to our door and suggested we rename our store to HEAVEN"
Reminds me of Hooters because people go for the amazing food.