“I’ll probably focus on the crust”: What this Toronto chef will be looking for as a judge at Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival

In a lot of ways, Romain Avril is an odd choice for a judge at this year’s Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival, taking place in Midland on June 14. It’s the world’s largest ode to our province’s most beloved confection, featuring over 200 different butter tarts. The French-born chef (who was working at a Michelin-starred restaurant by age 17) bit into his first butter tart a decade ago—and he wasn’t exactly a fan. “It was just so sweet,” he says of his inaugural taste. Fast forward to late last year when he offended butter tart purists by creating a version with…honey mustard. Here, he talks to Toronto Life about what he’s looking for in a blue-ribbon contender and why a judge must transcend their personal palate.

Related: “We don’t have to bow to Big Raisin”—This Toronto bakery took the top prize at Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival

Toronto foodies are familiar with your viral croissant reviews—but what do you know about butter tarts? Growing up in France, I knew nothing about butter tarts. I always loved pastry, but when I went to culinary school, I felt like focusing on savoury food was the more practical career choice. This was in 2000, when pastry was not what it is today. So I focused on savoury dishes and taught myself how to make pastry on the side. The croissant reviews were something I started in 2022, when I went home to France. I was already creating a lot of content on Instagram, but there wasn’t much to cover at my parents’ home, so I started reviewing croissants at all the bakeries I was visiting. It blew up. I tend to post way more pastry videos on my channels because they’ve been so popular. Then, a few months ago, the people from Maille mustard reached out to see if I would be interested in a collaboration. I created a version of a butter tart that had honey mustard in it. It was really good—very balanced, not as sweet. A lot of people got upset because, you know: small brains, small minds. But I think the festival organizers must have seen it and liked it, because they reached out, and that’s how I became a judge.

Just to be clear: there are no butter tarts in France? No, it’s a real Canadian thing. I think part of the reason Canadians are so passionate about butter tarts is because there aren’t a lot of dessert staples that were invented here. Quebec has tart au sucre, and Ontario has butter tarts, but that’s about it.

You’re forgetting about BC’s Nanaimo bars. For a long time I had an aversion to coconut, and even now that I’m okay with it, I still find Nanaimo bars a bit too sweet. That was my problem with butter tarts too. I think I first tried one in 2012. I was still new to the country, and I was working at Colborne Lane. I took a bite and made a face. It was just so sweet and rich, with a lot of the same notes. For me, the perfect pastry has to have balance. I will say that my opinion has changed quite a bit since then—perhaps I have adjusted to the Canadian palate over the years. After the honey mustard incident, other local bakeries started sending me their tarts, and I realized that there were some really great versions out there.

You still don’t sound like a die-hard butter tart guy. I think judging is more about understanding what is good versus whatever you may have a personal preference for. For example, I don’t like olives, but I can make an excellent dish with olives and know how it should taste.

What are you looking for in a winning tart? I’ll probably focus on the crust. Is it flaky but not too flaky? With a lot of pastries, there is so much emphasis on the filling, but if you don’t have the crust right, it’s not going to be great. It’s the same reason I don’t like a lot of pizzas—they haven’t gotten the crust right, so it doesn’t matter what it’s topped with.

And is there a secret to grade-A tart pastry? The quality of ingredients that go into the dough, like high-quality butter. To make the pastry flaky, you have to use fat. Some people use lard instead of butter. Who knows, maybe someone wants to try using duck fat…

Duck fat? In a butter tart? Where should the purists direct their hate mail? Ha! As a French chef, I’m very used to being criticized for updating the classics. Even if something isn’t broken, it’s still fun to try something new. Look at what’s happening with croissants right now, where people are almost torturing the original recipe. But, if it tastes great, I say go for it.

At the risk of diverting from butter tarts, is there a croissant bastardization that you find particularly heinous? That’s a whole separate conversation, but I guess I would say that the flat croissant is a completely counter-productive application. That’s the nicest way I can say it.

You have been a judge on Top Chef Canada and other reality cooking shows. I feel like you’re probably the mean judge—is that safe to say? I think my place of birth makes me a bit scary. Often I get told that I’m harsh as a judge, but I think as long as it’s consistent, it’s okay. I know it hurts, but I’m not here to save feelings.

Related: The top 10 butter tarts in Ontario, according to two Torontonians who are on a mission to try every one

Any strategies for sampling dozens of butter tarts without going into a sugar coma? I’m planning to try a very small amount of each tart. I know that might not be easy. The contest takes place in the morning, so I’m going to be hungry and everything will look so good. But I learned my lesson as a judge at a croissant competition in Quebec. It was the middle of July—so hot—and I ate way too much. Taking a drink in between bites is a good palate cleanser, but it also fills your stomach. I stick with bubbly water because it helps with digestion.

Are there points awarded for tart appearance? Appearance definitely matters—we eat with our eyes first. But there is nothing worse than a beautiful-looking pastry that tastes meh. Taste is obviously more important than appearance, but I guess if you had two tarts that were both the same level of excellence in taste and one was prettier than the other, that might give it an edge.

Anything that contestants should avoid? Well, I’m judging in the classic category, so I think I’d say to avoid straying too far from tradition. It needs to taste like a butter tart.

Says the guy advocating for mustard and duck fat. That’s the challenge! How can you innovate while staying true to what makes something great?

I can’t let you go without asking about raisins: are you pro or con? I don’t typically like raisins, but I’m a fan of them in certain pastries. I love a pain au raisin, and I did include raisins in my mustard butter tart. I think it adds an extra dimension. But, wow, people definitely had opinions on social media—there was raisin hate for days! It really doesn’t make sense to me. If you don’t like raisins in your butter tarts, buy the ones that don’t have any.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.