Sabletine

It’s ever so hard these days to find a place to have something sweet that’s truly homemade. And by homemade I mean with quality ingredients, elbow grease and TLC. And not from a kit that’s prepared according to corporate standards. Sadly, it’s terribly easy to spend your Saturday morning or your weekday lunch eating franchise fare. Finding someplace to enjoy the opposite is not.

Which is why I was so pleased when I spotted a lovely little patisserie while driving down King Street in Waterloo earlier this winter. There it was, tucked in beside the everlasting chaos of the forthcoming Bauer Lofts. Judging a book by its cover – the flowery, curlicue-written sign, the charming window display – I knew I had to turn around and pop in.

As it turned out, winter hibernation had made me a little slow on the uptake. In chatting with Kate Sauer, the one-woman show behind the shop, I discovered that Sabletine Fine Pastries had been open since October.

The cosy spot has a display case full of tarts, cakes and pastries and scores of ribbon-tied cellophane bags full of all kinds of sweets. I picked up some wee flavoured meringues and lemon-ginger shortbread – the perfect little something to take to my brother and his wife, who were hosting us later that night. I was also tempted by freshly-baked butter croissants, pains aux chocolat and croissants aux amandes.

The three small tables inside – for those who want to enjoy their delectables on-sight – have been happily occupied on the Saturdays that I’ve stopped in since. Sauer serves coffee, tea and espresso and also makes light lunch. There’s a daily savoury tart and sandwich and, on some days, you’ll find soup and pizzettes, too. Sauer says she plans to expand into fresh salads featuring local produce with the warmer weather. She also does custom orders – wedding cakes included. Quality food and ingredients are her cornerstone.

Raised in the K-W area, Sauer trained as a chef at George Brown College before working at the Four Seasons in Toronto, among other places. Coming back to Waterloo to visit often, she saw nothing quite like the kind of pastry shop she’d always hoped to open. When she spotted the location on King Street a year ago, she jumped on it, left her job, and moved back to the area to start things up.

Her goal, she says, is to see the shop grow – but not overly so.

“When things get big, they can get too diversified and have too much going on,” she told me. “I want to try to keep it small. Simple. Good quality.”
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