Why these Martha Stewart fans lined up to meet the domestic goddess at The Bay on Queen Street

On Tuesday, Martha Stewart visited Hudson’s Bay on Queen Street to celebrate the launch of her new fall bedding collection with 200 fans—some from as far away as Scotland. Three years since she shocked her Twitter followers with obscenely bad food photographs from King West restaurant Edulis, her empire is only expanding. We asked some of Stewart’s Queen Street admirers what they love most about the 75-year-old.

Simone Tai

HR coordinator

“The last time I stalked Martha was at the 2013 Delicious Food Show. She’s the best teacher—there’s nothing that she doesn’t know and that she won’t share with you. If sociologists looked back, they’ll find that Martha basically started the whole entertaining revolution. She got women in suits caring about family, good food and the domestic arts. I have her first definitive book, Entertaining, from the ’80s.”

Doris Ufoegbune

Host of Flavours of Africa on OMNI Ottawa

“I bought this $100 flamingo four-piece set for my niece. I love Martha because she is very inspirational. She’s done very well for herself. It’s not easy to run your own television show. It’s a tough business to get into. I wanted to meet her for the first time today to say ‘thank you for inspiring me to start my own cooking show.’ If I can create and produce my own show coming from Nigeria, anyone can. When cultures eat together, they form a special bond. When you create a beautiful dish, people stop to admire—cooking is like painting.”

Agnes Kossakowski

Insurance broker

Jeriy Kossakowski

Carpenter

Carmen Kossakowski

Student

AK: “Martha came to visit us at our house in New Jersey when my daughter was just three months old, because my husband was working for her as a carpenter. We lost touch after moving to Canada. When Martha saw us today, she said: ‘I lost you guys! Where were you?’ She gave my daughter, who is now in Grade 7, her current cell phone number. She wanted to meet Martha today because she would like to be just as successful as her, although not in the same field.”
CK: “I want to go to space camp in Florida and be an astronaut, attend Harvard and become president of the U.S., as well as a professional soccer player. I have a lot of dreams.”

Stewart Vettese

Office manager from Scotland

“I’m getting married in Toronto in a few days, and happened to see The Bay’s sign about this event on Sunday, so it’s a happy coincidence. I was too tongue-tied and starstruck to say much when Martha signed my cookbook. It’s my fifth one.”

Ivanka Siolkowsky

Professional organizer

“When she signed my cookbook, she said: ‘I know a different Ivanka. I’m mad at her right now, but not at you.’ I said ‘I’ll take that!’ Martha is real. She doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not—that makes her relatable to a lot of people.”

Jay Loren

Public service officer

“It’s nice to finally meet the person behind the cooking show I used to watch. It’s like when I met Sophia Loren.”

Suria Eicho

Pizza maker from Rexdale

“Martha is very soft-spoken, elegant and graceful. She is a good TV personality. She knows how to conduct her show and herself. I’ve been watching her cooking show for a quarter-century. Today I told Martha I named my 17-year-old daughter after her.”