British Pride pastries

• Name + address: British Pride Bakery, 1250 Stittsville Main St. N

• Type of food: British sweet and savoury pastries, import goods

• Wheelchair accessibility: Yes

• Website: www.britishpridebakery.com

British Pride Bakery started life in Cambridge, Ontario in 2010. In the last 14 years they’ve had considerable success and now operate seven stores throughout Ontario. The newest opened in Stittsville in November of last year. A word of caution: there is no phone number for this shop.

The bulk of their goods are brought in from their large production facility in Hamilton although there are plans to produce pastries on site as well.

The store is a considerable size with plenty of room for more imported goods from the British Isles and owner Tony Armstrong does have plans for a range of products from the major British retailer Marks & Spencer. 

All the usual favourites such as Walkers crisps (pickled onion please), marmite flavoured Twiglets, boiled sweets from Simpkins (you must try the Mulled Wine flavour), various chutneys, teas and frozen prepared meats are on display. There’s enough here to keep the homesick from breaking out into a fever.

On my trips to England I would indulge in those classics such as sausage rolls or Cornish pasties and British Pride Bakery does a solid job of evoking the memories of those flavours. 

They equally evoke memories of too much stodgy pastry but when it comes to savories that often contain gravy, there’s a reason for the thicker dough. 

I enjoyed both the filling and the pastry of the sausage rolls (I recommend the beef) but ironically it was the beef with mushroom gravy that was the driest of all pies. 

These treats warm through very well at 375 F for just 20 minutes, but please note that if you are getting the pork pies, they are meant to be consumed cold and preferably with Colman’s sharp mustard.

So whether you’re an expat needing a taste of home or a fan of Coronation Street wanting to make your “tea” more authentic, British Pride Bakery has you in mind.