It was a cold and rainy day in late March when I headed to the Jack Purcell Community Centre to be a taster for CupcakeCamp Ottawa. I thought the weather might keep the crowds back, but I was among 500 tasters who showed up hungry for a sugar high.

Good thing there were so many of us because there were over 3,000 delicious cupcakes to be tasted and I certainly couldn’t have done it alone. They came in all shapes and sizes and were made even more charming with names like stud muffin, nacho libre, and dulce de leche with rum and butter cream. Despite my good intentions to love them all, it only took four cupcakes before my stomach was full.

The bakers brought out trays every fifteen minutes and placed them on long tables before the crowd. Then, it became a feeding frenzy as hungry tasters dove in for a tasty cupcake catch. For 25 cents, you could wash everything down with a shot of milk or coffee. And if things really took a turn for the worst, tasters could recover in the nearby Sugar Coma Lounge.  

Just when my stomach was starting to question my fourth cupcake, I caught sight of the judges, Michael Bhardwaj and Giacomo Panico, both of CBC Radio, Gay Cook, the Ottawa Citizen’s food columnist, and China Doll, MC at Shanghai Restaurant’s karaoke night. They had to taste all of the cupcakes and were definitely showing signs of sugar overload after only the first hour.

Luckily they persevered, and these are the results of their deliberations:

•    Best in Show: Red Velvet Purse by Michelle Morrison
•    Best Chocolate: Before 9 Minipops by L’Oven
•    Best Decorated: Oreo Sunrise by Kristen LaFrance
•    Most Unique: Irish Car Bomb by Anne Patenaude
•    Honourable Mention for Tastiness: Lemony Lemon by Colleen Forer

The organizers raised $2,000 for Ottawa’s Woman Alive/Femme Active Program.