New bakery in Lakefield serving up fresh baked goods on Queen Street

News Oct 30, 2018 by Lance Anderson Peterborough This Week

Theresa Kimmerer, owner of the Lakefield Bakery on Queen, has been quite busy since she opened the doors in late July. Kimmerer offers a wide-range of baked goods as well as a catering service and lunch specials. - Lance Anderson/Metroland

A sweet smell greets visitors as soon as they walk through the door of the new Lakefield Bakery on Queen. Owner Theresa Kimmerer is there with her many baked delights from fresh loaves of bread to butter tarts, scones and cookies. “Baking is in my blood,” says Kimmerer.

        She opened the new bakeshop on July 27 after spending the early part of the year renovating the building with her husband Marty. They decided to buy the building after moving to Lakefield from the Oshawa area on New Year’s Day. “We saw the for sale sign (on the building) and my husband said it’s now or never so we bought it,” says Kimmerer.

        She spent much of her career in real estate sales and decided to take a break from the industry about 10 years ago. Kimmerer says she enrolled in a chef’s school in Stratford for a couple of years as she worked at her family’s garment care business in Oshawa. That business is now being operated by Kimmerer’s son, which opened up an opportunity for her and her husband to move. “We used to boat the system and loved Lakefield when we stopped,” says Kimmerer. “So we decided to buy a house here.”

        She had no plans of retiring, which led to the idea of opening a bakery, something her grandfather did in Holland and later in the Whitby area when he immigrated here in 1952.

“I used to ride my tricycle around the table when he worked rolling dough and baking cookies,” recalls Kimmerer. She adds that’s where her love of baking started. Kimmerer says some of the recipes she uses at her bakery come from her grandfather — namely her signature baked goods popular in Holland. Those delights include a Dutch butter cake called boterkoek; a spiced almond square called speculaas; and Dutch raisin bread.

        Rounding out the baked-goods shelf include a variety of bread loaves as well as pies, butter tarts, cookies and other goodies. Kimmerer says the bake shop has been a busy spot ever since she opened. “Thanksgiving was huge with homemade pumpkin pies. By 4:30 a.m. on the Saturday of Thanksgiving I had 50 pies in the oven and that continued all day.”

In addition to keeping the bakeshop shelves filled, Kimmerer and her staff also fill catering orders and offer lunch options with homemade soup and fresh sandwiches. “And great coffee,” Kimmerer stresses. “We’re proud to align with Pilot coffee, a premier coffee roaster in Toronto.”  The Lakefield Bakery on Queen also supports the Lakefield Community Food Bank at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church on Queen Street. Any products left over are donated to the food bank.

        The bake shop is located at 127 Queen St. and is open Tuesday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information call 705-651-2253 or visit www.lakefieldbakery.com.