Mississauga man carries on daughter’s legacy with chocolate

MISSISSAUGA–Local Baker Mike Shapiro loves chocolate, but even more, he loved his daughter Michelle.  Having passed suddenly in her early 20’s, Michelle’s memory lives on through Mike’s chocolate bakery shop named “Sweet Angel Chocolate.”

“You know the name “Sweet Angel Chocolates” bring back memories,” Shapiro said.  “Everyday I come in here, I have angel on some of the boxes, the girls make angels out of chocolates, her picture’s on the wall, people ask me stories about her, it makes me feel better.”

Shapiro opened his store in 2010 and combined the love for his daughter and chocolates into an opportunity to support charities in the community.  Volleyball Coach with the Peel Selects Volleyball Club Glen Gardner is one of the receivers of Shapiro’s philanthropic efforts.

“I’m a coach for a local volleyball team, and we run fundraisers and Mike invites us in, he gives us everything we need,” Shapiro said.  “We’re baking 2,000 lava cakes in six/seven hours, we go out and sell those cakes and we’ve raised at least $15,000.”

Shapiro’s chocolate lava flourless cake is among his best sellers. It was also, coincidentally, once his daughter’s favourite too.

“Right now, it’s the flourless chocolate lava flourless cake.  We do approximately 70,000 per year,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro is always sure to decorate his dishes with a symbol of her, his angel.

“He puts angels on everything to represent his daughter,” Baker Piera Alduino said.  “So it’s special.”

In the meantime, Shapiro will continue preserving his daughter’s legacy and contributing to his community in the sweetest way possible, through chocolate.

“It hurts, for the last six years, it hurts” Shapiro said.  “But, you know, life still goes on and I still love her.”