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Hamilton is no stranger to high-quality bakers. Locally-sourced ingredients, vegan options and small batch from scratch preparation has become the standard for any new small business looking to start up in the local food industry. Yet, there is still something incredibly novel about taking these standards, adding a bit of creativity and applying it to the beloved donut. Donut Monster is one of the most creative and delicious new offerings in the city. You haven’t had a donut until you’ve tried one.
Donut Monster made its debut in July of this year, and since then has offered its expanding line of goods through a variety of local retailers. New flavours are announced every week via Instagram, often incorporating unorthodox pairings or drawing inspiration from other popular sweets. Notable favourites have included double chocolate brownie, mango cacao, blueberry basil, fig and brandy, honey mustard and rosemary, watermelon lavender, roasted plum and cranberry.
The dynamic menu and unique pairings of different ingredients are thanks to the innovative and culinary mind of Reuban Vanderkwaak. Vanderkwaak took inspiration from some of the many quality donut shops he encountered in his American travels, and began developing his own recipes. Despite the donut service being his first venture into professional baking and small business, Vanderkwaak was able to make experimentation and collaboration a fundamental part of his work.
The difficulties associated with finding affordable and sufficient space brought Vanderkwaak together with the owners of Willard’s Ice Cream, Hero Coffee Roasters, Sweet & Simple Candies and Real Food Kitchens to start the Kitchen Collective.
The Kitchen Collective is a co-op, non-profit, and state of the art commercial kitchen that offers members and the public access to a significantly more affordable means to start a small business. The kitchen was funded via Kickstarter last year, and is home to a total of 34 permanent, professional members.
The extra set of taste buds naturally lends itself to some great collaboration. Espresso Chocolate donuts made with Relay Coffee roasts, an Oatmeal Stout donut using Brimstone Brewery’s own Midnight Mass, as well as several other ingredients from fellow Kitchen Collective members have been used to create some fantastic collaborative flavours. “Part of what I love about Hamilton is the community aspect and the collaboration behind small businesses. It happens in other communities but it feels really strong in Hamilton,” says Vanderkwaak.
“A lot of people, they have an idea, and they wanna try it out . . . it’s a space to experiment. It’s a space to really see if you can take your dream to the next level and you can do that in a safe way and not have to invest a lot of money into it.”
While Vanderkwaak and other small businesses involved in the local food industry are excited by its rapid growth, the barrier of entry and competition has also predictably grown.
“It starts to price people out of the game and that’s what the Kitchen Collective is trying to combat as well,” says Vanderkwaak. “Let’s keep an opening for people that are not necessarily millionaires or have access to a large amount of funds or have such a history in the industry that they can easily find access to those funds. Keeping it experimental, keeping on a smaller level, keeping it fun. That’s what we’re doing.”
Donut Monster is carried by The Canon, Pinecone Coffee Company and the Relay Coffee stand at Hamilton Farmers’ Market from Thursday to Saturday. Butcher and the Vegan, The Mustard Seed Coop and Cafe Oranje provide donuts on Saturdays. Announcements and other news can be found via Donut Monster’s social media. For more information about the Kitchen Collective and its members, visit their website at www.kitchencollective.ca.
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The Hamilton Bike Share Program has begun rolling out test phase bicycle stations around the McMaster campus and is already offering early membership access before the official bike program launch in March.
The bicycle stations are being managed and installed by the non-profit organization SoBi Hamilton, and uses fourth generation “smart bikes” provided by the New York-based organization. The bicycles have Global System for Mobile connectivity and GPS capabilities that gather anonymous data on bicycle usage such as which stations are most frequently used, which stations need to be restocked, and even alert SoBi services when a bicycle is in need of repair. By the end of the program’s full launch, 700 stations will have been installed around the city.
There are currently five stations located around campus, including two by the Health Sciences Centre, various residences and the Arthur Bourns Building. A sixth station by Mills Library is to be installed in the near future, and bike racks may be expanded according to demand.
Any level of membership can be purchased online, at a kiosk, or at the SoBi Hamilton office. This includes a discounted $70 annual fee for McMaster students, faculty and staff. A $149 founding membership is also available, which includes ninety minutes of daily ride time, a t-shirt and the ability to name a bike. The pay-as-you-go option will become available after the program’s official spring launch.
The program is also planning to implement the Everyone Rides initiative that will try to give access to people who can’t afford a membership so they can utilize the system as well.
“With the Everyone Rides initiative we’re just basically trying to get grants in different sources of funding so there’s no barrier for anyone to use the system,” said Chelsea Cox, Sobi Community Manager. “We are working on a few partnerships right now to secure that funding and we’re telling anyone who doesn’t want to join who can’t afford it to get in touch with us so we can work with them to find a solution and get them on the bikes if they need to.”
While the bike share program will by no means replace the need for busing, even in warmer temperatures, Cox describes the Social Bikes as a compliment to the current public transit offerings.
“The bus system is great and I also encourage people to use that. I think Bike Share is just really helpful in providing another option for people and more options for getting around the city are always better. This is something that’s healthy and sustainable and often times more efficient…instead of waiting for the bus for ten minutes, you can make that bus ride turn into a short bike ride. They are really convenient and fill the gaps in transit.”
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