Bench Talk

If you live in Saskatoon, you’ve likely heard of Christies Mayfair Bakery. If you haven’t, you’re missing out on some of the best bread and pastries in Saskatchewan. Christies is a Saskatoon institution, making bread, cinnamon buns, and artisan sourdoughs for nearly a century. We had a chance to talk with one of the co-owners, Tracey Muzzolini, during a break while she was making fruit cake during the Christmas season. We talked about family recipes and what it’s like running a family business and what goes into working alongside your family for so long.

A lot of times, it’s easy to guess what someone might be passionate about: an athlete pursuing a professional sports career or an artist travelling the world to find inspiration for their next project. Other times, someone might be doing what they love in a field you might not expect. For Steven Hawrishock, owner and proprietor of Kitako Lake Honey, it’s definitely the latter.

He comes from a family of beekeepers, and while many of us might run away at the first sight of those little striped stingers, he couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing. We recently had a (virtual) chat with Steven to learn about life as a beekeeper and producer of honey. Within a few minutes of talking, it became crystal clear just how much he loves what he’s doing, so I had to find out how someone becomes as big of a lover of bees and honey as he is.