They lined up for upwards of a half an hour to get to the gooey sweet goodness of the tart element, and many stayed for the soulful music.
The second annual Tart & Soul Butter Tart Festival was a hit at Sons of Kent Brewery in Chatham recently.
The free, family-friendly festival attracted visitors from across Southwestern Ontario and beyond to celebrate local bakers, artisans, makers, food vendors, and all things butter tart.
“This festival is about so much more than butter tarts,” festival founder Doug Robbins said in a media release. “It’s about community, supporting small businesses, celebrating Canadian traditions, and creating an event that people genuinely look forward to. Seeing thousands of smiling faces enjoying the day made every minute of planning worthwhile.”
Throughout the afternoon, festival-goers sampled dozens of butter tarts before casting their votes in the People’s Choice Award, while an independent panel of judges conducted blind tastings to determine the best traditional and specialty butter tarts.
Bomb Bish Bakery of Welland won the People’s Choice Award.
The Ten of Tarts from Shelburne took the Best Judged Butter Tart award.
The Best Judged Specialty Butter Tart honour went to Zule Eats of Windsor.
“Congratulations to all of our winners, but honestly, to every tartisan who rolled into Chatham baked their hearts out,” Robbins said. “The quality was simply outstanding. Our judges had an incredibly difficult job, and our guests certainly didn’t have it any easier deciding on the People’s Choice. You could say the competition was anything but half-baked.”
