By: Neda Pirouzmand
Abeer Siddiqui, McMaster’s librarian and adjunct lecturer for the school of interdisciplinary science, partnered with Steel City Stories to create “Science: an evening of true, personal stories about science,” an event held on March 12 featuring personal stories told by STEM professionals to community members.
Hamilton storyteller Lisa Hunt, a member of the Steel City Stories Planning Committee, met Siddiqui through the LIFESCI 4L03 course. This new course was designed and implemented just this past fall by Siddiqui and her co-instructor.
Hunt introduced students to the art of oral storytelling through a guest lecture and provided feedback to students in the class.
Speakers at the story-telling event last week included Roopali Chaudhary, the owner of a cake business called (C6H12O6)^3. Her first order came from the McMaster’s biology department. Chaudhary made them a Madagascar hissing cockroach cake for a retiring entomologist who supposedly loved the insect.
The department of biology now commonly orders cakes from her online business.
Chaudhary promotes her creations by bringing awareness to the importance of communication in science. Her passion is driven by a goal to combine art and science in an edible form.
The story she shared revealed the path that led her to where she is today.
“My story was inspired by a critical moment in my life as a post-doc that completely changed how I viewed science as a whole,” said Chaudhary. “It led me to quit my research position, but also allowed me continue doing everything I loved about science without organizational constraints that had been holding me back. Now I get to bake cakes too, and I am happy.”
Rodrigo Narro Perez shared his story of immigrating to Canada at a young age. He highlighted the first decade of his rocky journey to learn English and integrate with Canadian culture.
“My first day of school is vivid in my mind. My parents decided to enroll me in primary school just three days after arriving in the frigid cold of Canada’s November,” said Perez. “When they introduced me to my teacher Ms. Smith, I did what every good Peruvian boy would do and I tried to kiss her on the cheek. I will never forgive my parents.”
As a sessional instructor for McMaster’s school of geography and earth sciences, Perez piloted a field course to bring 10 McMaster students to his home of Peru. As the liaison between two countries, he is responsible for the translation of documents and conversations crucial to his research on the retreat of South American glaciers.
“The fact that my two homes are collaborating in the pursuit of greater knowledge is extremely meaningful to me. I have fully embraced that Peru and Canada are a part of me, not one is more and not one is less,” he said.
McMaster university librarians built on their momentum from the story-telling event and continued to celebrate contributions to STEM by by giving away about 3,000 pies in H.G. Thode Library, Hamilton Hall and Mills Memorial Library for Pi day.
On April 24, an open house will give students a first-hand look at iconic scientific texts, dating from the 12th century to present day.
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By: Andrew Mrozowski
Tucked away on Barton Street East is an unexpected pop of colour that catches the eye when passing by the old grey brick buildings. Immediately when you walk through the door you are greeted by the smell of succulent cake. On your left is a vibrant mural created by Hamilton-artist Trinity Bolduc, capturing the very essence of Crumbled. Owner Dom Pugliese is likely to be mad at work trying to fill walk-in and online orders, but he is always willing to stop and chat.
Gaining experience working on the corporate side of baking in Toronto, Pugliese found himself yearning for a change of pace. Pugliese decided to leave Toronto and move to Hamilton with the hopes of creating something new for himself.
“I wanted to open a bakery for like eight years, but only thought of a traditional bakery — breads and breakfast things, or just dessert. I had a vision of even doing a café with all the cakes made in-store and do coffee,” said Pugliese.
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While working at Cake and Loaf Bakery, Pugliese started to learn about how Hamilton operates and meet with locals. On the side, he would make cakes for family and friends at home. He then would put all the scraps into a bowl and toss them in the fridge only to consistently come home to find his boyfriend eating the crumbled bits. Suddenly, an idea sparked in Pugliese’s mind. This was the inspiration for Crumbled.
In June 2018, Pugliese actively searched for the perfect location. He knew he wanted a bakery on Barton Street East.
“Everyone is doing their own thing [on Barton Street East] and it’s unique. To open now, when it’s starting, but not there yet, to be a part of that is huge,” said Pugliese.
Crumbled Bakery serves gourmet deconstructed cake in a cup. Starting with their core menu, Pugliese has developed a different take on classic flavours with the “I Dream of Vanilla Bean”, “Chocolate Chaos” and “Red, White and Velvet” cake bowls.
Each month, a small number of specialty seasonal offerings get added to the menu. For March, customers are able to get lemon meringue cake, a vegan Snickers cake and a cream egg brownie cake. If you want a little more diversity, Crumbled also offers a make your own bowl where you can choose two cake bases, frosting and any toppings. The bakery also offers full-sized cakes made to order.
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“We’re doing something different that nobody has done,” said Pugliese. “It’s cool because it’s like a sundae bar but with cake. You can choose your own toppings, you can make it your own and it’s great for customers who want variety.”
Currently, Pugliese is the only worker at Crumbled and does all the baking and assembly himself. He uses fresh ingredients and makes his cake creations from scratch every day.
“That’s where the corporate side helped me. I’ve learned how to use both my hands at the same time. It can be hard with planning and production but that’s where Cake and Loaf refined me. Now, I’m able to bake while the day goes on, the frostings don’t take long to make. You have a recipe for a simple buttercream and you can add different flavours to it. It’s like repurposing,” explained Pugliese.
“I want people to know what real baking is. We use real ingredients and it’s all made from scratch every day. That’s what’s great about Hamilton. That’s everywhere. Everybody is doing things from scratch and doing things differently. You’re getting something unique wherever you’re going,” Pugliese added.
Crumbled bakery is the first of its kind and momentum only seems to be growing more and more. With a great atmosphere, delicious cake and a great host, Crumbled is part of a community working to add something special and sweet to Barton Street East.
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By: Bina Patel
Living in Hamilton comes with many perks. Last month, having a delicious piece of cake delivered right to your door became one of them. Calvin Smith, a computer engineering student from the University of Sheffield in England, began delivering slices of cake to doorsteps all over the McMaster Area. “I only launched a week ago so if you can imagine me cycling around in my bike in minus 20 degrees, delivering cake to peoples door. That’s kind of how it all started,” he said.
The idea was born out of a conversation between Smith and his friends about circulating baked goods to students around McMaster University. Among the many options were brownies and cookies, but they ultimately agreed on a slice of cake.
“There’s not that many things around the Mac area that do this kind of thing so it would be great to offer it,” he explained.
The process is incredibly simple. A customer texts the phone number found on their website, between the hours of 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturdays and describe which slice of cake they want along with an address for delivery. Within a half hour, a slice of apple pie with cream, chocolate truffle or red velvet cake provided by a local bakery, will be delivered outside of your home.
The time range in which to place an order is small at the moment, but Smith hopes to expand to Thursdays and Fridays and to improve the efficiency of the service. “There are loads more things we want to put on the menu, with the amount of requests we’ve had for gluten-free cakes and vegan cakes and maybe even things like brownies.”
The personal touch of hand-delivered dessert has certainly had an effect, as the response from the public has been positive. Last week, Smith found himself biking around for four hours in the bitter cold delivering cakes, and business is expected to pick up as word continues to spread. Over 300 people have already shown interest on Facebook.
“There are loads more things we want to put on the menu, with the amount of requests we’ve had for gluten-free cakes and vegan cakes and maybe even things like brownies."
It remains to be seen whether expanding the service will be a piece of cake after all.
Photo Credit: Kareem Baassiri/ Photo Contributor
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Ingredients What You’ll Need
4 tablespoons flour Large Microwavable Mug
4 tablespoons sugar Measuring Spoons
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
1 dash vanilla extract
Instructions
Add dry ingredients to a large, microwave-safe mug and mix well.
Add the egg, milk and oil. Mix well.
Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
Review
This quick and easy dessert will be ready to eat in less than five minutes! With simple ingredients and a short cooking time, this is the perfect treat for anyone with a microwave (or residence kitchen). The delicious aroma of soft, warm cake will have people falling into your kitchen. It can be split between two people, but that’s up to your generosity.
For a touch of decadence, drizzle with caramel sauce or whipped cream.
