My Dad and Baking

June 19, 2022

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Written by Tracey Muzzolini

June 19, 2022

·

Written by Tracey Muzzolini

Baking obviously runs in the family. Blair and Tracey took over the family business from their parents and have continued the tradition of bringing world class baking to Saskatoon. In honour of Father's Day, Tracey gave a little insight into her father's history with baking. No secret recipes were shared...

My dad emigrated from Italy in the 1950's. He was a baker in his small town of Tarcento before coming to Canada. He left home when he was 16 with just a suitcase in hand and a ticket on a boat to Canada that would take 8 days. He made his way from Halifax to Saskatoon by train.

He worked in many bakeries in Saskatoon before my parents bought Christies Bakery in 1966. He spent most of his life at Christies Bakery making bread, cakes, donuts and, of course, our famous Cinnamon Buns!

To say he worked hard all those years at the bakery is a massive understatement, but I know that my dad loved baking and working with his hands as much as I do! Though he is retired from baking now, his baking legacy in Saskatoon remains strong!

I asked him what his favourite part about being a baker for over 60 years was. His answer, unsurprisingly, was not too different from mine. He said the fact that you get to take some basic ingredients and, from scratch, work with your hands to create something beautiful and delicious gives you a huge sense of accomplishment.

He is right. Working with your hands is an amazing feeling. As bakers, our hands are our tools. My dad is self proclaimed “Manini D’oro”, which translated from Italian is “Golden Hands”. We concede that title to him because he was an amazing baker who was fast as lighting and produced so many amazing things!

He takes great pride in his accomplishments at Christies Bakery. Through hard work, sweat and tears, Ennio and Janet were able to build a successful bakery business with many loyal supporters. To this day, Christies Bakery stands in the same spot as it did in 1932 with so many memories and loaves made with a great deal of heart.