CHESTERMERE – Wave the white flag, we give in. Kevin Donovan is the proud owner and proprietor of Bonaparte Pastries and Sweets. They are located in the Chestermere Towne Square Shopping Mall on East Chestermere Drive between the Bargain Store and the dental office. Just by chance I was walking by and saying, hey where did the dog salon go?…..and what is that wonderful aroma coming from behind the door. It seems the dog salon moved out and Bonaparte moved in. Donovan trained as a chef while he was in the Canadian Army for several years and perfected his skills while he operated a cafeteria in Summerland, British Columbia. Coffee breaks were a big part of the facility where he operated his cafeteria and he focused a lot of his attention baking delicacies for the staff. He ran the cafeteria for 16 years and after his wife’s employment situation changed, they decided to move back to Calgary where their children had a better opportunity for post-secondary education. His severely homesick wife was overjoyed to know she’d be moving back home.
Next Donovan worked as a baker and eventually became the head baker at the gluten free location of the Lakeview Bakery. Ten years passed and Donovan decided to move on and put his talent to work in his own establishment. He saw a growing community in Chestermere and saw the opportunity to begin working for himself.
The store front counter of Bonaparte is rather small compared to his “ginormous storage room”, that’s because at first, he thought he might want to open up a small café for customers to come in and enjoy a coffee or a tea and some of the unique treats and sweet he offers. However, the building regulations would only allow a very small seating space of 7 people without some major renovations. Not to be discouraged he knows the value of having to start off small and working your way to the top.
Bonaparte has some standard items: such as cheesy buns, tarts, cookies and of course Napoleons but Donovan loves to mix it up with daily specials on some of his specialties which include French bread – Brioche à tête, and German Cinnamon Buns. Yum! I surrender! Many of his customers have been asking if he will be making bread and he says “It’s hard to compete with the giant companies on selling the white and whole wheat daily breads but I may be baking some specialty breads in the future”. They serve coffee and tea by Tazo and your coffee is free with any purchase of $6.00 or more of baked goods.
Bonaparte Pastries and Sweets is open Monday to Saturday 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
