Frittersweet Symphony
CASA London : Why don ’ t you tell us about Fritters ? Explain them for those of us who haven ’ t had the pleasure of trying them yet ! The apple fritter is something that you eat on New Year ’ s Eve in Holland . We start with a ring of real apple , which is then filled with home-made custard . It ’ s wrapped in a pastry dough , coated in a cinnamon sugar , and made fresh every day . They have no additives or preservatives , whereas today most things are mass produced . Our Mantra is back to the basics , an old fashioned way of doing things , in modern times , with a modern brand . It ' s as natural as it gets .
CASA London : Where did your forays into baking begin ? With the baking aspect of it , I have learnt everything from my dad . I always kinda helped out as a kid , but when I was 14 I really started to take it seriously . I always enjoyed it and took it seriously , but I didn ’ t think that was the path I was going to take . Dutch baking is definitely the best in the world , not that I am biased !
CASA London : When did you realized that this was something you wanted to do professionally ? I always knew I wanted to start a business , when I was 17 my dad said to me about the family business , and then I really started to take it seriously . So that ’ s when we started to make all the new flavours . I thought , we make the apple fritter , but what about other flavours ? My Dad didn ’ t really want to do it , so I kept nagging him and nagging him . Eventually he gave in and we made blueberry – it was a big hit ! Now at Kelvin ’ s we make 11 flavours , and I ’ m always trying new things .
CASA London : What have ���� ������� ����� ����� ����� year in business ? I ’ ve learned and grown so much since opening in January . Something I have underestimated a lot , is the amount of work that goes into running your own business , but you just have to organize everything , and get
it done . I have really learned the importance of planning ahead before any type of event . It can get very stressful when something goes wrong . Another thing I ' ve learned is that you can ' t be afraid to ask questions . You have to accept that there are things that you don ' t have the answers to . It is so important to put your ego aside and ask for help . Being willing to do that has saved me a lot of time and stress .
CASA London : Where do you see Kelvin ’ s Fritter Shop going in the next couple of years ? I ’ m thinking of growing it into the manufacturing and wholesale side of things . At the minute we are in Fire Roasted Coffee and we ’ re growing across all of Western University ; it ’ s a great way to spread the product . In the next few years I hope to be all over London and have people everywhere selling my fritters . We are looking at potentially getting into supermarkets but haven ' t put that strategy into action just yet . The issue with supermarkets is that it ’ s such a natural product , it has a really short shelf life , and we want to make sure we don ’ t compromise on the quality !
CASA London : What ’ s your favourite part of running Kelvin ’ s Fritter Shop ? For me it ’ s really the sales , I love being at farmers markets . That ’ s where you get to hear the best feedback on your product , it ’ s the best way to keep in touch with your customers . You can see what ’ s selling the best , what people think . The best part is when people haven ’ t tried the fritters before , they take their first bite and their eyes light up . It ’ s such a unique product , it is a traditional Dutch fritter , but we have our own recipes . It ’ s a hand crafted pastry , half of it is just fruit and then it ’ s wrapped in the fritter dough . One of the big things I like about the market is that it kind of takes you back in time , you can still get everything local and hand crafted .
It ’ s 1989 , you ’ re wandering through the hazy streets of Amsterdam on a crisp November morning . As you wander past Lieuwma Bakery you get a waft of some incredible authentic Dutch pastries . This was a scene that would have been lived a thousand times . Until in 2001 , this particular baker decided he wanted a new challenge . Moving the whole family to St Thomas , Ontario , he carved out a new niche in Canada and laid the foundations for the business that still thrives today . But that is not the story we are here to tell . We are here to talk about the son who spent his childhood making apple fritters and dreaming of how he could do things a little differently . A year after graduating from the business marketing program at Fanshawe he launched Kelvin ’ s Fritter shop , a thriving little bakery that specialises in fresh , delicious , and hand crafted Dutch fritters .
Kelvin ’ s Fritter Shop is an incredibly unique addition to the growing market of local and independently producers in the London area . You can catch Kelvin and his delicious fritters ( including Blueberry , Cherry , Brownie , and even Banana Almond ) at the Western Fair Farmer ’ s Market every weekend or in the Dutch Bakery on Talbot St . in St . Thomas the rest of the week .