Glutastic Post

Buttercream Bake Shoppe Thinks You’re Funny.
January 26th, 2009 | caitlin | Categories: The Dish, Uncategorized
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I don’t normally set out to say bad things about anyone. My goal is to provide you with the most information I can, and maybe help you make informed decisions along the way.

Well, here’s a piece of information for you: Buttercream Bake Shoppe thinks you’re funny.

Back story: I went to the Bridal Fair in Calgary this weekend. Planning a wedding is a big job and I thought it would be a great place to gather ideas and get a look at what options are available. And, one of the things I’m always thinking about is GF cakes. I love wedding cakes. And since it’s MY wedding I WILL have a great cake. It’s not my fault I have a gluten allergy and therefore I will spend the next year looking for the best GF wedding cake around. Case in point – the wedding fair. It gave me access to a number of bakeries in Calgary and allowed me the opportunity to ask if GF is even an option.

This is where Buttercream Bake Shoppe comes into the story. They had a great booth set up and a crowd of people gathered. They were professional looking, interactive and all smiles. AND they were all laughs when I asked if they did GF wedding cakes.

Here’s how the conversation went down:

Cake Lady: Hi ladies, would you like to to try a sample of our chocolate cake?

Me: What are the chances that is gluten free ~smirk and smile~

Cake Lady: (insert laugh out loud) Um, no it’s definitely not.

Me: Do you make gluten free cakes?

Cake Lady: (insert more laughing) Um, NO. You see, our concept is to make cakes out of the freshest ingredients. Fresh creams, organic wheat’s – you know, all the best ingredients. There is no way we would be able to do a gluten free cake and still maintain our quality. So, no we wont do gluten free cakes (insert more laughing)

Me: Oh I guess you’re right. It is a total downer to me. (insert stern look)

Cake Lady: Um…ya.

So the moral of the story: Buttercream Bake Shoppe thinks that being you interferes with their business. So, no, they wont help you. They’ll just laugh at you.

On a surprising and happy note: CO-OP does make GF wedding cakes and so does Nectar Desserts. We do have options and people do recognize us. I’ll be blogging more on that later. It’s not all doom and gloom…at least it’s not if you avoid Buttercream Bake Shop.

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10 Comments to “Buttercream Bake Shoppe Thinks You’re Funny.”

  1. Tender Morsefuls
    January 27th, 2009 at 3:56 pm


    silly buttercream tartlets. they dont know… but karma’s a bitch and it’s not nice to laugh at people. :P

  2. H.Peter
    January 29th, 2009 at 4:17 pm


    Ah. By the time your wedding day comes around, you will get the best, biggest, tastiest wedding cake and you can eat it too!

  3. Caitlin
    January 29th, 2009 at 4:31 pm


    :) I’ve got 1 year and few tricks up my sleeve. I’ll keep you posted how it goes, it should be very interesting.

  4. Pang pang
    January 30th, 2009 at 5:06 pm


    Buttercream Bake Shoppe will be on my boycott list, and I’ll make sure to spread the news…no one LAUGHS at my GF friend! Except me!! LOL

  5. Auntie Lisa
    February 3rd, 2009 at 2:55 pm


    We went to a wedding last summer and there were quite a few gluten-free guests. The entire meal with the exception of the buns was gluten-free. There was a dessert table with both gluten and gluten-free cakes…I was jealous of the gluten-free crowd…their cheesecakes looked absolutely delicious!!! I bet there is some caterer out there that would love to be Gluten-Free God/Goddess of Catering!!
    Another note:
    Your cousin across the sea suggested I read this book-Im one chapter in and totally hooked:
    Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver(she wrote the Poisonwood Bible)
    Its a winner and available in Softcover at Chapters

  6. Brandi
    February 7th, 2009 at 10:45 pm


    Caitlin,

    I am not sure if you would be willing to get your wedding cake from Lethbridge, but Crazy Cakes makes absolutely delicious gluten free cakes! Plus every cake I have seen from them has been marvelously decorated! I know they do wedding cakes, but have no idea what the cost is.

    Just a thought…I hope this might help on the search for the perfect GF cake!

  7. Connor
    February 9th, 2009 at 1:47 pm


    This has to be the best part of the story:

    “You see, our concept is to make cakes out of the freshest ingredients. Fresh creams, organic wheat’s – you know, all the best ingredients.”

    Ummm … Last time I checked most gluten free products were made from the freshest and possibly the least modified ingredients.

  8. Kim
    February 15th, 2009 at 7:18 pm


    Hello! (This isn’t spam and actually contains useful gluten-free cake-related info, I promise.) I ran across your post while googling Buttercream Bakeshoppe to see what people think of it…and I just so happen to have spent the past year eating gluten-free. (I’m not currently gluten-free, but that’s because my doctor’s trying to figure out if I’ve actually got celiac or not…Anyway.) What I was going to say is: there’s a bakery in Cochrane, AB (just 20 min to the west of Calgary), called the “GF Patisserie” (www.gfpatisserie.com, or, for even more delectable pictures and blog posts, http://www.theceliachusband.blogspot.com) and they make the most stunning gluten-free desserts and baked goods that I have ever eaten. No kidding. Their bread tastes like bread. It’s fabulous. Victoria, the owner/baker, also makes these absolutely gorgeous cupcakes (with Italian buttercream), coffee cakes, brownies, cheesecakes, tarts, etc…. I know they do larger sized cakes (i.e. wedding cakes) and I would highly recommend that you look into the GF Patisserie as an option for your wedding. No, I’m not affiliated with the bakery in any way. I’m just one of their customers but I have been amazed again and again by the things I”ve eaten there. The coffee cake, for instance, has the most beautiful cake-like texture. Their bread actually has that bite/bounce that regular bread has. I can’t rave about them enough. Anyway, they’re definitely worth a trip out to Cochrane for a gluten-free treat!

    Have a wonderful wedding!

    - Kim

  9. Don
    April 26th, 2009 at 7:02 pm


    Hi Gluten Free
    I hesitated to write to you as I am sure you will not post it anyway. I have been to Buttercream and want to make sure that people understand I find it hard to believe they would say this. They are very helpful, accomodating and really wouldnt laugh at you …
    I spoke with them just recently and they said they were developing a Gluten free recipe just for people like us. They said they want to give their customers what they want and appreciate that many of their customers have such issues. They have never been abrasive or rude to me or any of my friends. I think maybe you caught a new employee or someone that may have just been caught off guard. I like the internet for info but its sites and comments like the ones you have posted that try to destroy businesses. Be careful.

  10. caitlin
    April 26th, 2009 at 10:11 pm


    Hi Don.

    Thank you for your comments. It is not glutastics policy to filter comments, even the ones that may not completely agree with our own. Information is only helpful if it flows both ways. So for that – thank you for your opinion.

    I’d also like to say that I am happy you have had good experiences with Buttercream Bake Shoppe. And knowing that they recognize the need for GF goods is also something I am happy to hear about. I look forward to seeing what they roll out with.

    On the topic of this site being one that sets out to “try to destroy businesses” I’d like to offer the following. This site is about sharing information and experiences. Not all the information and experiences are going to be great, life simply doesn’t work that way – but wow don’t I wish it did. You may be right, it may have been a new employee or maybe someone was caught off guard, that however is not enough to make the experience I had better. My experience was not one that was good, and as you have a right to share your experience (a good one) I also have the right to share mine. I can assure you that it is NOT our intention to destroy business, it is our intention to pass on our experience to others so that they may choose to use it in whatever way they choose.

    Regards,
    Caitlin

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