Tastemaker: Lisa Sanguedolce

Want to take a life-altering foodie trip to Paris or learn to bake your future signature cake for special occasions? It’s time you met the woman who will add a spoonful of awesome to your life: Lisa Sanguedolce. The founder and owner of Toronto’s Le Dolci (which can best be described as part-decadent bakery and part-kickass baking class studio), Sanguedolce has literally been making Toronto a sweeter place ever since she moved back home to Canada from the UK to open her unique and yummy business. Le Dolci’s classroom hosts over 10 different classes, including courses on Parisian macarons and croissants, pies, cupcake decorating, cake decorating, chocolate truffle making, and seasonal classes like gingerbread house-making during the holidays. For the true culinary adventurers, Le Dolci also offers foodie trips abroad.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What should people know?
My dad was a butcher and my uncle was a baker, so if I wasn’t going to be a candlestick-maker I thought one of those two would be a fun career path to follow. I run a culinary classroom, host foodie trips, and create custom cakes and sweets for my customers.

What are the biggest challenges and best rewards about what you do?
Biggest challenges are keeping up with the amount of work that needs to be done daily. Running your own biz means you are not just baking; you are doing marketing, sales, accounting, HR, PR – all the while making sure your staff is happy and that your personal life is still fun. The best rewards are seeing customers leave happy after a class, hearing comments about how yummy a cake was, or how their trip to Paris with us was life-changing. It’s sometimes like an Oprah session in here.

What are three things you can’t live without?
My family, popcorn, pineapple, and music. (That’s four!)

Finish this sentence: I love Toronto because…
…we have a very cool food scene and there’s always something new to eat and discover.

What’s your favourite restaurant?
It’s hard to pick one as my old favourites are The Harbord Room and Union, but I just discovered Nove at Yonge and St. Clair. The restaurant is named after the owner’s family of nine brothers and sisters who are slowly migrating from Napoli to Toronto to work in this little family restaurant. The food is like eating at a small trattoria in Italy and the owner and his family make sure every part of your meal is perfect. It’s hard to pick just one but that’s my latest secret spot. (Shh… Don’t tell anyone.)

What’s one of your favourite go-to designers/brands or accessories lines?
I love the handbag designer Rabeanco from Singapore, and I love all of what Stella McCartney does. Luckily I have a friend who works at Stella and a friend from Singapore who brings me handbags!

What products are always in your beauty bag?
My MAC lipsticks and lip gloss.

What style trends are you obsessed with right now?
I love vintage jewelry. I want so many art deco pieces that I see in so many antique shops. I also love high-top trainers. I usually buy a pair in NYC each year for my birthday. I have a closet full of colourful Nike, Adidas, and Puma ones that I adore.

What’s your favourite spa or service?
I love going to Tuina in Chinatown. It is the only intense, deep tissue massage that makes me feel new again, and you can walk in anytime and don’t need an appointment. It’s my saving grace after a long day at the studio.

Let’s get social for a mo’. How can people stay up-to-date with your busy life?
On Twitter at @LeDolci and @FoodieTrips; Instagram at @LeDolci; LeDolci.com and Foodie-Trips.com.