it's the icing on the cake bakery toronto

Toronto bakery investigated for putting alcohol in holiday cake

A Leslieville bakery might need to get a liquor licence to sell boozy desserts following an anonymous complaint.  

According to Beach Metro News, It's the Icing on the Cake owner Lynda Paul was visited by a Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) officer last Thursday. 

"He said they had received a complaint by a person that I was selling alcohol illegally," Paul told Beach Metro News in an interview on Friday, Dec. 18. 

"The AGCO received an anonymous complaint about a business selling alcohol without a licence and concerns about the products being accessed by minors," Raymond Kahnert, an AGCO spokesperson told blogTO.  

"Due to the allegation concerning minors, in the public interest, the AGCO acted on the complaint and a Compliance Official visited the location and spoke with the owner about the complaint."

Paul did not respond to blogTO's requests for comment.

However, she has been operating the Leslieville bakery for 16 years and told Beach Metro News this was the first time she has ever been visited by the AGCO regarding the use of alcohol in her products, such as her bourbon-peach cheesecake, Khalua brownies, and her Cointreau fruitcake. 

While provincial or federal rules on needing a liquor licence to sell booze-infused baked goods are unclear, according to the Liquor Licence Act (LLA), you need a licence if you want to sell liquor, which is defined as "spirits, wine and beer or any combination thereof and includes any alcohol in a form appropriate for human consumption as a beverage, alone or in combination with any other matter." 

However, Kahnert did say there were some exceptions. For example, he said "a product capable of human consumption that contains 0.4 of 1 per cent or less of alcohol by weight" is exempt. 

Despite what the LLA rules and the anonymous complainer say, most people seem to be on the bakery's side. 

"Omg! THE PETTYNESS of some people. Just the sheer lack of humanity. It is so very obvious this complaint was made by someone who didn't like this lady standing up for herself. I'm very disappointed that the system can be used like this," wrote one Reddit user

"So we're complaining about alcohol in our pastries? God, people are such miserable boors," wrote another user. 

The AGCO told blogTO it is reviewing the details of Paul's recipe and will provide information about the application of the LLA to the product.

This is the second time in a few weeks Paul has had to deal with controversy.

Recently, she took to Instagram to tell customers to hold off on the unnecessary criticism after someone made a snarky comment when they learned they couldn't make an in-store purchase. 

"For those of you who are supporting small business, we are so very grateful, and thank you," says Paul. "To the others, let me assure you, that every small business owner, including myself, have never tried harder at anything." 

Lead photo by

It's the Icing on the Cake Bakery


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