Kateryna Topol –
Tucked away through a narrow passage at 95 King Street East is the neighbourhood’s newest cafe, Chez Odile. Though the shop has only been open for just over four months, it is already the talk of the town.
Hailing from the Bassin D’Arcachon region in the south of France, adjacent to Bordeaux, Justin Borel learned how to bake from her grandmother. A single colourful postcard stands out on the refrigerator behind the counter: a red-and-yellow boat reflected in blue water.
“It’s from my grandmother. I asked her for a recipe, so she sent this,” she flips it around to expose French handwriting. “At the end it says, ‘And now you cook,’” she smiled. Staying with the family, the café is named Odile after Justin’s mother.
On the menu are decadent French pastries, like canelés, almond and chocolate bites, freshly baked gooey cookies, quiches, egg bites, sandwiches and salads. “Canelés are my favourite,” Justin shared, “perhaps because they remind me of home the most. The full name is actually Canelé de Bordeaux.”
Everything is made fresh in-house, including the bread and baguettes used for sandwiches and even the salmon rillette layered in the Atlantic sandwich (brioche, mayo, salmon, cucumber and arugula).
“That’s very impressive,” I exclaim. “Or crazy,” she chuckles. “My regulars will know if it’s not my bread, so I put in the work.”
Preparation is done in the evenings, with baking beginning a few hours before the shop opens in the morning. Biting into a soft, chewy, flavourful cookie, it is hard to imagine that this is Justin’s first baking job.
Justin moved to Toronto a decade ago and spent a few years working in retail. During the pandemic, she moved to LAUFT On-Demand Workspace where she worked on an interior design project for an event space, the same space Chez Odile occupies now.
“Did you know at the start that this is something you were designing for yourself?” I asked. “Not at all … it was done two years ago,” before she even thought of operating a bakery. “But when you design, you do put your own taste in it a little bit.”
At the back of the cafe is an art gallery, free and open to the public. A few bar stools and two small tables are available for dining in and people-watching. A small table is set outside.
The shop exterior is still missing some signage. “I’ve been busy baking, but I will put a couple of signs up,” Justine commented, adding that she was also working with the building on making the entry accessible. “Making sure people in wheelchairs can come into the cafe is top of mind.”
