Our office co-op student Olivia wrote us this lovely letter with the help of Stephanie, our co-op student in the kitchen.  Thanks so much to both of you for all of your hard work!

Co-op Experience at With the Grain

When Stephanie and I went into co-op we had no idea what kind of placement we would end up with. We didn’t know what kind of people we would work with, if they would be nice, or what jobs we would be doing, and if this experience would be worth while. Coming from different classes ( Stephanie from guidance co-op and me from subject specific co-op ) we were both looking for different experiences. I wanted office experience, and Stephanie was heading for culinary experience. When we were both chosen to work at WtG, we were both equally satisfied and excited that this business offered both pathways.

Our first day at co-op was an exciting experience. Stephanie got a tour of both the cafe and bakery, she was taught knife skills and was even allowed to make egg salad to her surprise. I got a tour of both the cafe and bakery as well, and I got taught how to update the website and entered some data. From the moment we walked through the door we were greeted with smiles and hellos which made us feel more comfortable. The staff at WtG are some of the best people you will ever meet. They are helpful, patient, funny, charming, and never get mad when you ask questions. Working with them has been a great pleasure not just because of those reasons but because they are appreciative of our work here. They never made us feel like just co-op students, but true employees.

Everyday was a different task. For Stephanie it was prep work, learning how to cut properly, and cooking meals such as chili or egg salad. Stephanie was very proud to say she also cleaned her first toilet and garbage here. Well done Stephanie! I had many different tasks such as making envelopes, stapling invoices, filing, updating the website, and much more.

This experience was life changing. What we are able to take away from our time here is more than we could ever give back. They taught us how to be independent in the work field by progressing our tasks to more challenging ones. Also helping us progress as an adult by giving us responsibilities we had to complete, and earning their trust.

However all these things aside we CANNOT forget the food! Stephanie and I had the opportunity to try some of the delicious foods here at WtG. We tried the BATH ( Bacon Avocado Tomato Havarti ) sandwich, pumpkin swirl bread, almond wreath, truffle brownies, and the red velvet cupcake. Our personal favourites are the BATH sandwich, pumpkin swirl, and almond wreath bread.

Overall we would like to thank everyone here at WtG for being so outstanding to work with, and for being so caring. Our big thanks goes out to Ann-Marie, Jocelyn, Sheri and Andrea for supporting us at the co-op breakfast, seeing you all there made us feel so happy that you took the time to come and support us. We will miss you all very much and we will be back for lunch for sure.

Thank you.

Olivia & Stephanie

The bakers have been busy planning out what we’re going to be offering this Valentine’s Day!  We’ll have our usual favourites like our hand-decorated shortbread hearts, and some new treats like red velvet cupcakes.  Last year we sold out quickly so we’ll be making more for this year, but we encourage pre-ordering if you have something particular in mind!  Our Valentine’s day specials will be available starting on Friday February 3rd at both our bakery and café in Guelph, as well as Shaw’s Creek Café in Alton.  If you would like to pre-order please give us a call at 519 827-0008 x 4.

This year we will have:

• Red Velvet Cakes and Cupcakes
• Hand Decorated Heart Shaped Cookies
• Two Hearts Beat As One Cookies
• Cinnamon Heart Shortbread Cookies
• Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Squares
• Cherry Pies and Tarts
• Chocolate Cinnamon Bark
• Smoochin’ S’mores
• Buttercrunch Chocolate Toffee

This year’s Fire & Ice Winter Festival at the Historic Alton Mill was a great success!  At Shaw’s Creek Café we made handmade marshmallows and sold s’mores kits outside by the fire as well as hot cider.  There was also skating and curling on the pond, demonstrations in the artists studios, ice sculpting, and story telling by the fire.  Here are some pictures in case you missed it!