WATCH ABOVE: Part donut, part waffle, all decadence. Peter Kim reports.
Torontonians obsessed with culinary mash-up “Frankenfood” will have another offering to sink their teeth into this weekend: The Wonut is set to make its debut at Canada’s Baking and Sweets Show at the Toronto Congress Centre.
Part waffle, part doughnut, all decadence, this import from Chicago based Waffles Cafe is not for the calorie conscious. It’s unclear what flavours they’ll be unveiling here, but a cursory glance at their menu reveals an eclectic spread: Mexican Chocolate, White Ganache, Birthday Cake and even Peppered Bacon.
For those looking for the illusion of health, there’s the Blueberry (it’s a fruit!) and Green Tea (polyphenols!).
Much of this is all about clever marketing according to Jen Chan, a food blogger with Food Pr0n: “It becomes a ‘thing to do.’ You’ve lined up for an hour to get this thing that everyone is talking about; and you can say, ‘I’ve had it’ and take your selfie. It produces a lot of popularity for that chef, restaurant or bakery, which is ultimately what I think they’re looking for.”
“Is it a trend? I think so, I think now we’re seeing a real push toward comfort food that’s fun,” says Jason Inniss, who teaches culinary arts at the George Brown Chef School. He says he’d love to try one.
“Is it food? Yes, it is food. Would it fit on a classic high-end menu? Probably not,” says Inniss.
Toronto already has plenty of mash-up breakfast fare however. I mid-town mecca for comfort food, Uncle Betty’s, serves the Breakwhich – basically a breakfast sandwich using donuts instead of bread.
Surprisingly, owner Samara Melanson says the undressed donuts are only 150 calories each – pretty reasonable all things considered.
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