{"id":1641,"date":"2016-11-15T13:51:34","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T13:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.porticomagazine.ca\/?p=1641"},"modified":"2020-10-28T14:40:26","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:40:26","slug":"serving-delicious-dishes-from-unique-locations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2016\/11\/serving-delicious-dishes-from-unique-locations\/","title":{"rendered":"Serving delicious dishes from unique locations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greek yogurt is a blank canvas for Emily Wight. The former Gryphon varsity basketball player was travelling in Australia and New Zealand when she fell in love with the luxurious product that tasted delicious with any fresh topping.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was geared towards getting yogurt,\u201d says Wight, B.Comm. \u201907, of the trip with her now husband. \u201cI cried my last day because we couldn\u2019t get any.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her new love of Greek yogurt gave Wight the idea to open a similar business in Toronto. With high storefront rents and a specialized menu, finding a location was the first hurdle. She needed foot traffic, and after many walks along the PATH, a 30-kilometre pedestrian walkway beneath the Financial District, Wight saw the potential of going underground. In 2013, she launched Astart\u00e9 Fresh Yogurt Bar \u2014 the first of its kind in Canada \u2014 under King Street West.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the perfect spot for my business,\u201d Wight says of the PATH, which is used by 200,000 people daily. \u201cI\u2019m more morning focused. To get people comfortable with my concept, I had to be in front of them early and thinking of yogurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wight\u2019s quick grab-and-go yogurt bowls have hit a mark with her largely corporate clientele who are rushing to work and need a quick, healthy breakfast. \u201cI\u2019ve converted tons of people into yogurt believers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Wight, 30, says she\u2019s an \u201coutdoorsy\u201d person, so the idea of working underground was an adjustment. And the venture was risky \u2014 she quit her corporate job as a national account manager to start her business.<\/p>\n

Astart\u00e9 now serves about 160 customers a day, offering up flavourful yogurt parfaits such as key lime, blueberry lavender, peanut butter and strawberry balsamic, and seasonal options like maple pumpkin. She sources the Greek yogurt from Shepherd Gourmet Dairy in St. Marys, Ont., and makes her own granola and preserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling reflective approaching my three-year anniversary,\u201d says Wight, who is expecting her second child. \u201cI\u2019ve walked the PATH and have seen a lot of places that have gone out of business. I\u2019m proud I stuck it out.\u201d\u2013DAVID DICENZO<\/p>\n

\n

ALSO TRY:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

James Carnevale\u2019s \u201cfood truck\u201d isn\u2019t really a truck at all. He scoots around Toronto and serves delicious handmade frozen treats from a tiny, three-wheeled Piaggio Ape (pronounced \u201cah-pay\u201d). Bar Ape is the city\u2019s first mobile gelato shop, and although it\u2019s only 40 square feet in size, it\u2019s made a big mark on the city\u2019s food scene \u2014 Carnevale\u2019s lemon gelato bar was named one of the best frozen treats on a stick by Taste Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked on it constantly and customized it,\u201d says Carnevale of the blue 1982 Ape, which he worked on for four years before taking it to the streets in 2014.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Photo: Toronto Food Trucks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ape\u2019s size presented a few challenges: it\u2019s actually classified as a motorcycle, so getting a permit was difficult, and because there\u2019s no room to prepare classic gelato, Carnevale had to get creative \u2014 he decided to make the gelato in advance and form it into quick-serve bars. The vehicle\u2019s battery-powered freezer holds a few hundred of the hand-moulded, chocolate-dipped creations, which come in unique flavours such as saffron, pistachio and chocolate hazelnut.<\/p>\n

With the crowds clamouring for his gelato, Carnevale, who completed U of G\u2019s ice cream technology short course and honed his skills in popular Toronto gelato shops, recently opened a walk-up storefront.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked it and I always made it at home,\u201d he says of gelato. \u201cI knew it was something I always wanted to do.\u201d\u2013DAVID DICENZO<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greek yogurt is a blank canvas for Emily Wight. 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