Story: Mike Hector
Photography: Heidi Csernak and Suzy Lamont
Steve McIntosh has had a passion for food and baking ever since his student days at Queen’s University. What began as a series of social dinner parties with roommates, later became more elaborate and launched his storied career as owner of The Wolfe Island Bakery.
Now semi-retired, but always busy - Steve was kind enough to sit down with us and reflect on his career, success and the island community he calls home.
Before even setting foot inside The Wolfe Island Bakery the senses are instantly met with a chorus of pleasant aromas that lead countless customers as they follow their nose down Main Street. The scent of freshly baked bread, pastries and other delights is almost overwhelming upon walking through the door - and you quickly realize that leaving the store empty-handed is impossible.
The bakery is only open seasonally from May until the end of October. During peak season Steve and his team rise with the sun to begin their workday. Most of the items available in the shop are derived from Steve’s own recipes, each of them the delicious culmination of a dedicated 38-year career - and a level of quality that only a baker of his experience can produce.
The Wolfe Island Bakery is famous for its butter tarts, scrumptious pastries and tantalizing sweets. On a good weekend, Steve will sell upwards of 25 dozen cinnamon buns alone. While desserts are a hot seller, Steve isn’t much of a sweet tooth himself, despite what you might think.
“I love bread. Believe it or not, I am not a sweets person. Give me a bag of salt & vinegar chips when it comes to my midnight snack! But, I love my piece of bread in the morning. Our Red River Bread is how I started, it’s the very first thing I made. It’s an old Scottish recipe that comes from the Red River Valley. It does not, contrary to popular belief, contain Red River cereal. It’s a secret list of ingredients that all come from Tara Natural Foods (Kingston, ON). Our philosophy is that we never use chemicals or preservatives.”
Steve’s simple approach to ingredients and the delicious nature of the products made at The Wolfe Island Bakery, speak volumes about the popularity and triumphant success of its brand. It is the perfect marriage of experience and dedication to quality.
Over the course of his career, Steve also owned and operated a second location on Queen Street in Kingston. This popular downtown cafe and bakery was bustling with business and easily ranked among Kingston’s top bakeries. After two decades of running the fast-paced downtown location, Steve decided that it was time to slow things down, spend time with family, and enjoy a more relaxed work-life balance.
“I used to have a bakery and restaurant in Kingston, with 43 employees. I never got to bake. All I did was manage. Which was not really the reason I got into the business. I’m now semi-retired. Two years ago, we closed the store in Kingston. I still get people coming in that are mad at me for closing it. I’m 66. We had that (location) for over twenty years. Twenty years in the restaurant business is a long time. I decided that I want to spend time with my grandkids.”
While Steve has certainly enjoyed a long and hard working career, many of his current staff have been working with him for decades. It speaks volumes about the camaraderie of his team and the sense of community that surrounds the Bakery itself.
“This is Karen’s 28th year, and Roxanne has been with us for 10 or 15. A lot of the people who have worked for me have worked here for years. I’ll be walking down the street and someone that worked here as a kid will come up to me and say ‘hey Steve, this is my daughter.’ I have pictures of this person from when they were in here baking cookies in kindergarten. For a lot of the kids on Wolfe Island, their first job is right here in the bakery. Every summer. And don’t kid yourself it’s hard work. Hot and hard. But it’s rewarding.”
It’s now that the close-knit relationship between The Wolfe Island Bakery and the island’s community becomes abundantly clear. Through his love of baking and business savvy, Steve has taken a small bakery he purchased in 1989 and does more than just bake bread and sell pastries. What began as a hobby nearly 40 years ago has had a profoundly positive impact on countless lives.
The Community is an elemental part of what makes Wolfe Island so unique and such a sought-after destination for travellers. Everybody knows one another, and there is a less complicated and less disrupted atmosphere at work on the island.
“Everyone knows everybody. Everybody is friendly and helps one another. I have two daughters that grew up here. Kids who grow up on the island have a chance to be kids. My kids did things like go skating on the pond, they all hung out at one another’s house and played outside. Now, kids will sit there with their iPad. With my grandkids, I’ll just go upstairs and turn off the internet.” *laughs*
As Steve enjoys his semi-retired lifestyle and travels to warmer climates during the off-season, his bakery’s reputation has at times preceded him on an international level. As we wrapped up our conversation he told us about the time he ran into a pair of regular customers in Key West, Florida.
“For years I would go Key West, and I would drive there in the bakery’s delivery van. So, one day, I’m pulling out from my house - and these people start yelling at me all frantic. I’m thinking: did I just run over something?
They said: where’s the bakery!? We go to the one on Wolfe Island, and we want to know where the one in Key West is!
I said, “I’m on holidays!” *laughs*
That following summer they came back to the bakery here. They said: remember us? When are you opening one in Key West?
We meet a lot of people. Many times they come in and tell us that they come to Wolfe Island just for the bakery.”
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