Hundreds of doughnut-crazed Torontonians turned up on June 25 for the first Toronto Life Doughnut Festival presented by Dufferin Mall. The event featured wall-to-wall treats along the corridors of the downtown mall, all from Toronto Life’s recent ranking of the city’s best doughnuts. It was like a sugar-dusted scavenger hunt with sweet-toothed snackers eagerly sampling the goods.
The first 200 people got to try Toronto Life’s top-ranked doughnut—the Crunchie-inspired chocolate-dipped concoction from Emma’s Country Kitchen. Sorelle and Co. offered up gluten-free, vegan goodness with its orange-blueberry and chocolate-raspberry doughnuts. Caplansky’s provided a salty-sweet boost with its maple-bacon buttermilk doughnut holes. The s’mores doughnut from Jelly Modern was a huge hit, as was Glory Hole’s toast-and-butter creation. White Lily Diner went old-school with a classic chocolate dip, Von delighted samplers with its blueberry-lime streusel doughnut, and Janchenko’s served up its famous plum-filled ponchiki.
David’s Tea and Tim Hortons provided the liquid refreshment, while Auntie Anne’s doled out pretzel bites and Starbucks brought good-old apple fritters.
Guests took selfies in front of a huge doughnut wall and Instagramed specialty doughnuts created in honour of Dufferin Mall’s fashion retailers. Kids decorated their own doughnuts at a DIY doughnut station, and a portion of the afternoon’s proceeds was donated to Community Food Centres Canada.
For a sweet ending, some attendees were able to bring home their own six-pack of doughnuts. Here’s a look at some of the sugar-jacked revelry.
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for Table Talk, our free newsletter with essential food and drink stories.