Sweetums Sweet Treats
Introducing, Sweetums Sweet Treats! Elizabeth Case is a local French pastry chef that has been a part of the Lupine Market team since the beginning. Read on to learn about her passion, and flavour-full business came to be!
"If I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet my name is Elizabeth. I’m the pastry behind Sweetums Sweet Treats.
It probably started with an eazy bake oven when I was little, but I can remember being 9 years old and saying that I wanted to become a pastry chef. And Sweetums was inspired by a very large orange tabby cat in a pink tutu believe it or not!
You can say I’ve always loved sweets especially chocolate, my mom would have to bribe me with chocolate when I was younger just to take my medicine when I was sick, so you could say I never had a chance!
As I grew older it was always very clear, people would ask what are you doing after school and I would always say I’m going to the Culinary Institute of Canada to become a pastry chef, and that’s exactly what I did. My first two years were doing the culinary program, and my final year was specializing in pastry arts. I did both to have a better rounding, culinary taught me to get it done no matter what, and the pastry side taught me how to finesse my craft.
I think my love for using local ingredients began when I worked at the college creating menus for the Lucy Maud dining room. Being on the island where the farming community is so tight knit was really inspiring. I’ve always carried that with me as I went on to work at a Relais and Chateau property on the west coast.
I worked in the pastry department there for three years creating menus, tasting menus, chocolate displays, gingerbread displays, wedding cakes, and magical moments. We focused on what Vancouver island had to offer and what we could forage. The island was so bountyful it was amazing being able to work with so many diverse and unique products and flavours. I worked along side not only my mentor, my equal but my friend. I am forever grateful for her.
Being a hands on person really plays into my love for local ingredients, probably because I can touch, smell and eat it when I’m out foraging. I just recently left a job where I used both my culinary and pastry skills together. I cooked, and I was in charge of the entire pastry program. Before work you could always find us in the woods, or on the beach searching for a different element to add to a dish or just being inspired by the natural beauty the island provided.
Coming back east was a coming home for me. My other half and I are both closer to our family’s, and we can focus more on things that matter. Sweetums became reality when we moved back. I believe it’s my duty to showcase all of New Brunswick’s hidden ingredients and introduce them to the community. We live in such a prosperous province it’s a shame not to show it off, and there’s no better way than through sweets and food in general."
Contact them for inquiries and custom orders at sweet.sweetumstreats@gmail.com