The Queen of Tarts

Facts

2012-01-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

I opened the Queenof Tarts on Valentine’s Day, 1998. It was a tiny, self-run location, in fact a very poor retail locationdue to a lack of parking, and so I supplemented my sales with wholesale toPusateri’s and other fine food shops. I attracted the notice of top food reviewers in Toronto, and moved to anup & coming neighbourhood in the west end, and even hired staff. We were highly acclaimed by all of thelocal food press and local television shows, as well as by customers. We have never spent any money onadvertising; all of our business was built by word of mouth. In 2005 I was a guest on the secondepisode of Martha Stewart’s new show, which of course spurred a mediarollercoaster. I have appeared indozens of magazines, and newspapers, and on numerous national television shows(both before and after the Martha Stewart appearance). My business was in constant growth,with my sales solidly increasing every year; I was successful and profitable.

In 2009 I made thedecision to shut down temporarily and move outside of Toronto to take a bit oftime off and start a family. Unfortunately, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung and braincancer, had cranial surgery, rounds of radiation and chemo, and I have beentaking care of her and her affairs (moving her, selling her home, car,business, etc, taking her to I don’t know how many doctor’s appointments andtherapies). Therefore I am a bitbehind schedule in re-entering the pastry world. I do still have all of my equipment ready to go, waiting forme in a storage facility nearby. My decision to close temporarily was a personal one, and I made it clearon my website that it was a temporary closure.

Ms Kearney’scurrent plight is entirely her own doing. She would have one believe that we opened our businesses within days ofeach other in March 2005. In fact,my trademark application was filed in May of 2004, approved thatSeptember. It was then advertised nationally for the prescribed period of time, there were no objections, and it was registered in March2005, showing use of the name from 1998, when I opened my business. If she had initially done a propersearch, she should have avoided using the name altogether.

We became aware ofher store in November 2010. Ceaseand desist letters were sent to her by registered mail in December 2010 andJanuary 2011, which she ignored. Her claim that she knew nothing of the matter before the Statement ofClaim was served in May is false. She was given until June 16, 2011 to respond or file a statement ofdefense. On June 15, Paul (herhusband?) contacted my attorneys asking for advice regarding filing for anextension of time, and about default judgments. My attorney advised him to retain his own counsel, as hecould not advise hime, and offered consent to the 15 day extension that Paulasked for. Paul advised that hewould contact the Federal Court to determine how to do this (file forextension). They never did filefor this extension, but my attorneys granted them 45 days anyways, as MsKearney was unrepresented, and they wanted to grant her some leeway.

Over and overshe was granted time and opportunity to negotiate a licensing agreement. She is painting me as a litigiouscorporate monster, when in fact my business began and grew in the samegrass-roots, community-based manner as her own. From the beginning my attorneys advised, and I agreed, thata licensing agreement for Alberta or the western provinces would be the idealsolution. Litigation is extremelyexpensive and time-consuming, and is a last resort. She never responded to any of my lawyers’ letters, and toclaim that she called them with an offer and was rebuffed is a completeuntruth.

In early August(exact date to be confirmed by my attorney) we filed the motion for the defaultjudgment, in Federal Court in Ottawa. She implies that we went behind her back in Ontario to do so. Federal court is in Ottawa because itis the capital of our country and happens to be in Ontario. We got the judgment on August 23,2011. On September 20 a lawyerfrom Gowlings in Toronto contacted my attorneys regarding the matter. On September 27 we were informed thatMs Kearney had in fact not retained his services. On September 28 she was sent the judgment and the reasonsfor judgment. Her claim thatit was “too late to appeal” is not true. It is extremely likely that the two lawyers that she did hire and obtainadvice from counseled her that it would be a futile endeavor after theyreviewed the facts.

Ms Kearney claimsthat she tried to negotiate a payment plan, which is also untrue. She retained another lawyer inEdmonton, who offered a settlement of $1,500 total, which was inappropriate,considering the fact that her neglect of the situation had forced me spendmany, many, many times that amount in legal fees. The very same day, she boasted in Alberta Venture magazinethat she had no debt at all, as well as that she had “put money aside for acontingency fund”. If this is thecase, there is no reason why she could not and cannot take a loan or line ofcredit to pay me the moneys that the Federal Court of Canada orders herto.

Ms Kearney claimsthat we demanded the money “yesterday” and we did not “give her time andeconomic room to make the transition”. In fact, when the judgment was delivered we gave her several months tochange the name and pay the monies. She has ignored the situation for so long that is now has become“yesterday”. Again and again, myattorneys have granted her more time, because she has elected to not retaincounsel. She has ignored multitudesof letters from us, did not appear for a scheduled debtor judgment examination,and ignored more correspondence asking her to name a date convenient toherself. She is contempt of courtfor this, for non-payment, and if we had not forced her through Facebook andTwitter to change her name, (a process which is not in any way complete, as“Queen of Tarts” still reads on her front window), she would still be using itin contempt of the court’s decision. She held a “promotion” on Twitter in October, askingcustomers to come into the store with name suggestions, but no winner was everannounced, and no attempt to actually change the name was made until we forcedher to. This promotion was in facta stalling tactic to make us think that she was complying with the court’sdecision, as well as a marketing strategy for her. In reality, she has had half a year to use up stickers,business cards, and other marketing materials, and her store signage isactually simply vinyl lettering which could be replaced for a few hundreddollars.

It should be notedthat even if she had filed a Statement of Defense, she would not have had anysuccess. A default judgment is notgranted simply because one party does not show up. Just as if she had filed a Statement of Defense, we had toprove our case with a huge amount of documentation and case law. As I had used the name since 1998 andhad begun the trademark process in 2004, I would have prevailed. The fact that it was a defaultjudgment is a moot point. Herclaim that it was “too late to appeal” is not true. It is extremely likely that the two lawyers that she didhire and obtain advice from counseled her that it would be a futile endeavorafter they reviewed the facts.

Ms Kearney’sdefense that I was not using the name because I had closed my store isweak. I hold the rights to thename in Canada whether or not I am in operation. I am taking a personal hiatus, all of my equipment is instorage, and my website states that I plan to re-open. This in no way indicates abandonmentof the name. Using a trademark ongrounds of abandonment is a very complex matter in itself, which requires alengthy legal process, as I understand. (I cannot go into your house while you are on vacation and say, “hey,you’re not watching that tv, I’m going to take it for myself” and after beingcharged with theft complain that it would be too expensive to buy a new one.)

Ms Kearney hasput herself in this position. She was given time and many opportunities to negotiate, or change hername. She has been in contempt ofthe Federal Court’s decision for many months now. She has no respect for the court’s decision, nor for thetrademark itself. In fact, hernew trade name “Dauphine” is also trademarked. This fact is easily discoverable online in the trademarkdatabase, which is free, does not require a lawyer, and takes less than 5minutes.

http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/vwTrdmrk.do?lang=eng&status=&fileNumber=1021113&extension=0&startingDocumentIndexOnPage=1

Her refusal to followstandard name-searching procedures is not my fault. Registering a name is standard business procedure, and whilemany small businesses do not elect to trademark their names, it is theirresponsibility to discover if the name that they propose to use is. Even if my trademark registration wasstill pending at the time of Ms Kearney’s beginnings at the farmer’s market, aproper name search would have shown it.

If I allowed MsKearney to use my mark without a licensing agreement, my mark would be weakened. The fact that she is in Alberta ismoot. Someone could then open abusiness in Toronto using my mark, and claim that I was already allowing it tohappen elsewhere. This is howtrademarks work. A Canada-widetrademark means that I own the rights to the mark across Canada. Period.

Ms Kearney istrying to elicit public sympathy (and business) in the guise of being attackedby the “big corporation” (which I am not). In fact, I am the one whose rights are being infringed upon,whose property has been taken. Ihave only attempted to defend my rights, and the implication that I amlitigating out of greed is ludicrous. Anyone who has hired legal counsel will know the pain of the monthlybill, and I can attest that the settlement that the court has ordered from MsKearney will in no way come close to covering my legal costs. Her stalling tactics have cost me afortune in legal bills. If she haddealt with the situation in the beginning, instead of ignoring our letters, shewould not be in this position.

Finally, I amsurprised that this is even newsworthy. It is a simple matter of infringement, which should have been resolvedmonths ago, and Ms Kearney’s avoidance tactics have put her in this situation. She should have owned her mistake and corrected it immediately.

I have availablehundreds of emails and other documentation to support the facts as statedabove.

Stephanie Pick

New Plans and a New Locale

2011-04-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been waiting (im)patiently for the end of my hiatus, wondering where I've been and when you'll get your treats again. Many of you do know what has been going on in my world, and I thank you all for your support.

I've spent the better part of the past year caring for my mother who suddenly fell seriously ill, and at the same time we've uprooted and moved. We've finally bought our dream farm and have been happily renovating our new home in the Peterborough area. If you can believe it, we have our own private valley!

Despite all of this distracting beauty and new lifestyle, I've been itching to get back into the pastry kitchen, and have been revisiting old favourites, tinkering, and working on new recipes. I plan to continue to do so for the next little while, until the house and other things in my life settle down a bit. I hope to be able to start working on plans to restart The Queen of Tarts before the year is up. Don't despair: the treats are on their way, so stay tuned!

Thank you and Happy Holidays

2009-12-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

After 10 great years, The Queen of Tarts will cease retail operations on Roncesvalles Avenue in order to take some time, re-assess, and pursue other interests.

We will be open regular hours until Sunday December 20

Monday December 21 10-6

Tuesday December 22 10-7

Wednesday December 23 10-7

Thursday December 24 9-4

Thank you, everyone, for your support over the years, and your appreciation and enthusiasm for my work. Please subscribe by email or RSS to receive updates.

Happy Hanukkah

2009-12-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

Delicious, beautifully decorated sugar cookies, complete with geld.

Christmas Cookies

2009-11-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

How quickly November speeds by, and suddenly it's Christmas. We have so many lovely Christmas cookies; they are out on the shelves already, but here's a sneak peek at a few. Boxed sets of snowflakes and ornaments make a great hostess gift, and you know that there's something here for every kid on your list! Stay tuned for more photos in the next few days.

Gingerbread Houses!!!

2009-11-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

I thought that I'd share a random sampling of our gingerbread houses. Some were corporate custom orders, some done for a Canadian Tire Christmas commercial, and the castle was commissioned by the California Almond Growers Association for a media event. It was decorated entirely with almonds, 9 different kinds! Gingerbread houses are so much fun to decorate - one of our most popular items this time of year is our gingerbread house kit. It contains all the pieces, meringue powder, and enough candy for the house and to keep you going while decorating.

Two New Cookies for Two Huge Openings

2009-11-22T12:36:00.000-08:00

Thirty years ago, I went to see the King Tut exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario. I was sooooo excited, and I'm just as jazzed to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity again!

Others are even more excited about this opening:

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-11-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

How awesome are these guys?!!!!

Fun Gingerbread Cookies

2009-11-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

Some more of our great gingerbread cookies .....

Hallowe'en - The Winners!

2009-11-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

This sister and brother team wowed us with their act. She was the pusher of toxic candies, tempting us with her wares, while her brother warned us to keep away from her poisonous treats. They played their parts perfectly, and we hope they enjoyed their (non-toxic) gingerbread house!

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-10-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

Costume Contest!!!!

On Friday October 30, the customer with the best costume (as determined by the Queen of Tarts staff) will win one of these fabulous haunted gingerbread houses. All ages are welcome (10am-7pm), and there will be treats for everyone. The winner will be contacted Saturday morning and may pick it up at any time (that we are open, of course).

My family, my guineapigs

2009-10-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

I love all my family for many reasons. We are a very generous, loving family full of wit, intelligence, and good taste. For every and any occasion I bring dessert, of course. And my wonderful family members always give me free reign - does that not prove their intelligence and good taste? So I happily oblige and create something special for each occasion.

The chocolate mocha truffle cake I created for my cousin and her husband (two exceptionally witty and intelligent and tasteful people who designed and created this lovely site for me) for their wedding last fall:

And now they are expecting! So for a combo baby shower / birthday party, another special cake. I know that they both love my snickers tart, so I built it into a cake; dark, rich chocolate cake, filled with chopped toasted peanuts, buttery caramel, and peanut butter mousse, then masked with a light chocolate buttercream (it was an afternoon party, after all, have to keep it light). Divine.

Great Grapes!

2009-10-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Cheese, grapes, and nuts - what could be better?
Our short crust filled with a vanilla bean and mascarpone filling, then

Concord grapes - yum.
Sweet and green inside, tart and dusky black-purple skin, tasting like the perfect sour candy.

Lightly mashed to release their juice, add a touch of honey, then simmered briefly....

A few chopped toasted walnuts on top for texture.

This topping would make an amazing peanut butter and jelly tart. Hmmm.....

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-10-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

We will be open Tuesday - Friday 10-7

Saturday 9-5

We will be closed Sunday and Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gianduja

2009-10-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Gianduja (pronounced John-doo-ya) is a preparation of chocolate and hazelnut paste (think Nutella on steroids), originating in the Piedmont region of Italy, and named after a marionette character representing the Piedmontese. I have a personal weakness for gianduja and all things hazelnut, so the first chocolate tart of fall is always gianduja. We use the milk chocolate version from Callebaut to make a ganache to fill the chocolate shell, then finish it with a layer of dark chocolate ganache. Velvety, voluptuous, decadent. Pure heaven.

Pumpkin Pie

2009-09-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, pumpkin pie may not the prettiest girl at the dance, but she certainly makes up for it in personality. Plenty of spices:

Plenty of cream:

Plenty of fans. Our pie was featured in Toronto Life magazine.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

2009-09-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

A lovely moist cake, fragrant with spices, topped with a cinnamon struesel and toasted pumpkin seeds, absolutely a perfect choice for a fall afternoon cup of tea...

Maple Spiced Pecans

2009-09-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

How could anyone not love a pecan? Especially when they are bathed in super-fragrant dark maple syrup, then dressed in sugar and spices, and toasted to a perfect crunch.

These nuts are workhorses, equally good as a straight-up snack, sprinkled on ice cream, chopped up in a cake, magnificent in a salad (especially with arugula, apples, and blue cheese, yum!)

Cranberry Almond and Caramel Tart

2009-09-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

Come September, many impatiently await the arrival of this tart. Sliced almonds, cranberries, and an orange-scented creamy caramel, mixed together and baked in the crust until the cranberries pop and release their juice, which mingles with the caramel to make a most harmonious blend of sweet and tart.

This lovely tart was celebrated in the Autumn 2005 edition of the LCBO Food and Drink Magazine.

the only brownie you ever need to eat

2009-09-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

I make a lot of treats. I eat/sample a lot of treats. One of the things that I will never get tired of is my brownies. I have made thousands of these brownies. I still LOVE them. I will ALWAYS LOVE THEM. Try them, you'll understand. Darkly chocolate-y and buttery, with toasted pecans and chunks of Belgian chocolate, amazing texture contrast, and a super-dark chocolate glaze....

Photo of course by the amazingly talented Andre.

Snickers

2009-09-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

While I'm on the subject, chocolate and caramel, I thought I'd give you a peek at the Snicker Tart - the most over-the-top, decadent creation...

Chocolate crust, roasted peanuts, caramel, peanut butter mousse, and a generous layer of chocolate ganache. Woweee!!

The gorgeous cutting board was made by my father from walnut from his farm, cherry from my uncle's farm, and maple from their original homestead. Woweee!

ooooh, I love turtles

2009-09-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

While we're on the subject of autumn treats, I thought I'd share another fabulous shot by Andre. The Turtle Tart is one of my families' favourites; my aunt's sister and brother-in-law (in Montreal) even order large ones by the half-dozen when they're in town to keep them going until the next visit!

It's hard to believe, but it is possible to top the original. Packed with toasted pecans, filled with creamy, buttery caramel, topped with a dark chocolate ganache, this tart has it all. Turtles, turtles, rah rah rah....

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

2009-09-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

First thing in the fall, I like to share one of my favourite cookies (I love love love cookies) with our customers. These molasses cookies are my dearly beloved and missed Gram's recipe. They are darkly molasses-y, tangy with buttermilk, with a perfect balance of spices. Deee-lish.

Glass of milk totally necessary.

And an awesome photo by the super-talented Andre the Giant of Giantvision.

Apples!

2009-09-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited apples have arrived. Some people refuse to believe that apple season ends at all and beg us all summer long for apple tarts and pies. We believe that the hard-working apple needs a rest like all of us, so give it a summer vacation and let the rest of Ontario's bounty do the work. Alas, the peaches, plums, and berries are on their way out and now is the time for apples to shine again!

The first of the spies, beautifully striated golden green and red......

Crispy, juicy, and the purest white flesh inside ......

Brown sugar, cinnamon, apple cider, and vanilla beans......

simmered for an hour and a half.....

spooned into our butter short crust......

topped with the oatiest, butteriest crumble topping.....

Peach Melba

2009-09-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

There is no no arguing with a Niagara peach. Only a Georgia peach can come close, and California wouldn't stand a chance in a peach-off (I lived in California for 3 years - I am NOT biased).

Peach Melba was created in 1893 by the venerated chef Auguste Escoffier for the opera soprano Dame Nellie Melba (also of Melba Toast fame). The original dessert starred an ice sculpture swan filled with vanilla ice cream and peaches, topped with spun sugar. He added raspberry sauce in a later version.

Our peach melba honours these flavours in tart form. A thin layer of raspberry sauce on the bottom, filled with the richest vanilla bean pastry cream, topped with a fresh poached perfect Ontario peach. Heaven.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2009-09-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Crazy as it might seem, it's time to start planning for Christmas, and the first order of business is fruitcake.

Step 1:The Fruit

Dried apricots and cranberries, currants, raisins, candied ginger, candied fruit.......

And then the rum ....... lots

We soak the fruit for about a week, mixing it up every couple of days and adding yet more rum as the fruit absorbs it.

Plum and Hazelnut Frangipane

2009-09-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

I love love love the sweet/sour of plums. When they're baked with their skins on they soften and the flesh sweetens just enough to be the perfect foil to the tartness of the skin.

Combined with a minimally-sweetened hazelnut frangipane, they represent to me the pinnacle of fall desserts, before we settle into the long stretch of pear and apple.

Figgy Pudding

2009-09-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Lovely lovely figs. So perfect right now, baked as a clafoutis with bursting-with juice raspberries, their tiny seeds providing that delicate crunch. The ultimate Indian Summer tart.

Contact Us

2006-06-23T12:18:00.001-07:00

tartmonger@gmail.com

The Queen of Tarts is on hiatus.

2006-06-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

Watch for us in the new year!

About

2006-06-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Queen of Tarts pastry shop is owned and operated by pastry chef Stephanie Pick in Toronto’s Roncesvalles Village. Since 1998, The Queen of Tarts has become renowned for our superb tarts and cakes, as well as our au courant hand-decorated gingerbread cookies. Queen of Tarts’ pastries are handmade works of art created with pure ingredients: butter, cream, Bourbon vanilla, and Belgian chocolate. No emulsifiers or preservatives are ever used.

The Queen, Chef Stephanie Pick, completed her schooling at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and continued to train at several noted San Francisco restaurants. An awareness of the importance of quality and seasonal ingredients and a passion for perfection, combined with her artistic aesthetic, have yielded one of this city’s most original and whimsical pastry shops.

The Queen of Tarts has been featured on Martha Stewart and CBC Television as well as in Toronto Life Magazine and NOW Magazine