Jacob Bertrand, a die-hard hockey fan, will be heading to Toronto in February to see his favorite team in action — the Maple Leafs.
It’s a belated birthday gift from Maple Leaf Foods for the now eight-year-old, who lives in Mascouche, a suburb northeast of Montreal.
But Jacob, won’t be going alone. The company is gifting tickets to the whole family, as well as $300 worth of coupons for Maple Leaf bacon.
And it all stems from a birthday cake mishap.
Jacob celebrated his birthday over the weekend, and despite having his cake, he didn’t eat it too.
“It wasn’t the right kind of cake,” he said. “I was sad.”
That’s because the bakery printed the wrong logo on his cake. Instead of the Toronto Maple Leafs logo, the cake was decorated with the Maple Leaf Foods logo.
Jacob’s Dad, Mathieu Bertrand, says it was an honest mistake.
The baker asked for the logo beforehand, but not anticipating any problems, Bertrand asked her to Google it.
“She tried her best, because we asked her to Google it,” he said. “If you Google it, the first maple leaf sign that comes out is the logo for Maple Leaf Foods.”
The story of the botched birthday cake quickly went viral after a photo was posted online. From there, it wasn’t long before it caught the attention of Maple Leaf Foods in Toronto.
Chief operating officer Curtis Frank, for his part, was rather impressed with the artistry involved in the baked cake.
“Wow, I think that’s a pretty good-looking Maple Leaf logo,” he said, but admitted it wasn’t about the cake.
“At the end of the day, no one wants to see a young man disappointed on his birthday.”
That’s when the company decided to step in and right a wrong.
“We had an opportunity to stand up and do what was right to help him out,” he said.
Jacob told Global News he’s excited about his upcoming trip and is eager to cheer his team on.
But for Jacob, the icing on the cake would be to meet his favourite player, John Tavares.