Tart & Soul Festival brings Canada’s butter tart craze to Windsor

If there’s one thing that unites Canadians from coast to coast, it’s a love for butter tarts — and Windsor just got its first festival dedicated entirely to the sticky, flaky treat.

The Tart & Soul Butter Tart Festival made its Windsor debut this weekend, drawing pastry lovers from across the region to sample dozens of variations of Canada’s most iconic dessert.

From classic raisin-filled tarts to bacon-infused creations, the event promised a mix of nostalgia and innovation — and delivered a full house.

“Who doesn’t love butter tarts? So on that premise, I decided I would have a butter tart festival,” said organizer Doug Robbins, also known as Doug the Foodie.

“The first one was in June of this year in Chatham, and it was a sellout event — wall-to-wall people. WindsorEats got a hold of me, and we decided to do it in Windsor.

“Windsor has been a sellout event. It’s been wall-to-wall people. People lined up before the gates opened.”

He said there are many people whose passion for butter tarts runs deep.

“We had one person that ordered ten dozen butter tarts from one of our vendors who came from afar because they wanted to put them in the freezer — so they had them for Thanksgiving and Christmas and into the new year," said Robbins.

“We’re here to celebrate not only butter tarts, but the soul that comes along with it — the love and the care that comes with butter tarts in the way of soul food, soul music and good old butter tarts.”

For Adriano Ciotoli of WindsorEats, the high attendance of the festival Sunday confirmed what he already suspected: Windsor loves its sweets.

“They really love their butter tarts,” he said.

“But I don’t think it’s just Windsor — I just think it’s human beings in general. The fact he brought in butter tart makers and bakers from across the province down here to Windsor for the first butter tart festival, it was something that was pretty fantastic.”

Robbins said that support extended to the vendors, too.

“For both of my events, I’ve had vendors come from Toronto, Etobicoke, Welland, Erin, St. Catharines,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to have people that are galvanized to the butter tart world.”

So what’s the secret to a good butter tart? According to Robbins, it’s all about “balance.”

“It’s complex — it’s really an equation,” he said. “Good crust, plus ooey gooey filling, plus whether you’re team raisins or team nuts — all that makes the equation for the right butter tart for you.”

“I personally love it all, because I’ve not met a butter tart I don’t like. I’m even a fan of bacon in a butter tart, if it’s done right. Some people are 100 percent raisins, others say no to nuts, and some just want the ooey-gooey.”