Renfrew Butter Tart Festival draws 1,500 guests for a sweet experience

The second annual Renfrew County Butter Tart Festival held at the Renfrew Armouries drew more than 1,500 visitors this past Sunday. 

While many entries were from Renfrew County and other Ottawa Valley towns, some travelled from Oshawa, Ottawa and other centres for the chance to walk away with a small prize, bragging rights and the coveted red ribbon.

The festival was organized by Tracy Keller and Shelley England, the new owners of the Flamingo Restaurant and Two Fat Tarts based out of Eganville.  

It was a picture-perfect day as the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and when guests entered the Armouries, they were met with the incredible aroma of freshly cooked butter tarts and other hand-made goodies.

Among those assisting the two organizers were some members of the Renfrew Agricultural Society and it was hard for them to contain their excitement.

Although they were coming off a scaled down version of the Renfrew Fair held a few weeks earlier, they were thrilled a baking contest was taking place. The members were unable to host the fair in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and this year’s version did not hold a large-scale baking competition, one of the highlights of the annual fall classic, dating back 168 years.  

“This is such as great event, and we are always happy to host these types of types of festivals” Mrs. Dobec said. “When the two ladies approached me about holding the festival here, I said it would be a great way to promote the county and the Renfrew Fair. Everyone knows the Renfrew Fair had a tough couple of years so if it butter tarts attract out-of-town visitors to the area, I say why not.”

Keller and England organized the first Renfrew County Butter Tart Festival in 2019 in Petawawa and close to 5,500 visitors descended to the town and some went shopping or ate in a restaurant or some other activity. 

England explained, the classic butter tart can really draw a crowd.

“It sounds funny, but the butter tart is one of those desserts that pretty much anyone can eat and bake on their own,” she said. “There are festivals held all over Ontario and in 2013 we entered a contest as Two Fat Tarts and we won first place. Ever since then Tracy and I had wanted to organize one. We hosted the 2019 Petawawa one and we knew we had to host another one. We took on the Petawawa event and it was incredible and successful. So today, we find ourselves hosting another and we have to thank all the participants who came to Renfrew to take part. Who knows, someday we may be as popular as Midland.”

She was referring to the Midland Butter Tart Festival. Every year, more than 60,000 people visit the small town north of Toronto and more than 200,000 tarts of all shapes and sizes are consumed during festivities.

Judging The Best

Organizers called on a few local politicians and community leaders to decide who had the best tarts.

The organizers used the Midland model and had various levels, including amateurs who could enter into sub-categories of traditional, Valley Style and Specialty. The 'professional' level featured the same categories but were judged more critically because the bakers usually have more experience and are often the vendors found at any Farmers’ Markets.

There were entries from 31 participants and although the vast majority of entries were traditional butter tarts, some with raisins and some without, but there were some unique samples available for judging including.

These included some with pecans and others with butterscotch or peanut butter. It is a sign of the times as some vendors prepared Keto butter tarts, a tart made specifically for people using the Keto method to reduce body weight and they contain no sugar.

Once the scores were tallied up Dobec announced that Kevin Gagnon of White Lake was the winner in the amateur class.

With his first-place red ribbon in one hand and a small prize in the other, the first-time entry could not contain his excitement.

“I jokingly told anyone who would listen that I made the Valley’s best butter tarts, hands down,” he said trying to contain his laughter. “I just love butter tarts and I just do this as a hobby and since I won today, I may spend a little more time exploring other flavours.”

When asked to share the name of the ingredient that brought him the red ribbon, he just laughed and said, “not a chance.”

The professional category red ribbon was awarded to Linda McKee of Grandma Garrett’s Kitchen from Ottawa.

“I wouldn’t really call me a professional as it is more of a fun hobby for me although I do have a booth in a few Farmers’ Markets around the area,” she said. “For a first-time event in Renfrew I was impressed on not only the high level of pride the ladies running it show, but I met a lot of friendly people today. I will certainly love to come back if invited.”

When the time came to pack up the hall, both Keller and England said it had been a wild week. They also agreed that next year’s edition of the Renfrew County Butter Tart Festival will be back, and it will be bigger