By: Rebecca Feigelsohn
Danielle Oron of Moo Milk Bar
Danielle Oron is the new chef on her Queen Street East block, having recently opened Moo Milk Bar, the homemade milk and cookie joint she runs with her husband, Tas Melas. Oron is a jack-of-all-trades; she is a classically trained chef from the French Culinary Institute in New York City, a cake decorator who studied at Bonnie Gordon College of Confectionary Arts, as well as a photographer and fashion designer.
Oatmeal raisin cookies
Oron’s love of pastry began when she was an undergraduate student equipped with a only a Fine Cooking Magazine and a tiny oven in her dorm room – her goal was to create an ambitious three-layered cake with buttercream icing. After gaining a culinary education, Oron worked in New York on the dessert line at Pure Food and Wine, at Japonais, and then at the pastry shop, We Bake in Heels in Vaughan.
Made-to-order cake
As a native New Yorker who moved to Toronto for her husband, Oron was inspired by feelings of homesickness to open a welcoming and relaxed pastry shop that went back to the basics: milk and cookies, served just like her own mother would. Centered in a family-oriented neighbourhood, The Beach, Moo Milk Bar offers cookies that are the perfect combination of gooey and crunchy, naturally flavoured local milk from Hewitt’s (option of 2% or almond milk), homemade ice cream sandwiches, cookie pies, and cupcakes and cakes made-to-order.
Assorted cookies
Oron’s visual studies background influences all of her work, from the design of store to her cake decorating concepts. She is also a self-proclaimed cookbook junkie and magazine hoarder, and is inspired by recipes and ideas from magazines such as Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Delicious, and Donna Hay – to name a few. Oron comes by her love of food honestly. She has been blessed with Moroccan and Israeli grandmothers, who also happen to be fantastic cooks and bakers and have inspired Middle Eastern influence in her baking by providing her with recipes like a tahini and date cookies, which she is saving to introduce at Moo Milk Bar in the future.
Milk fridge
For now, Oron is looking forward to the back-to-school season and luring hungry students to Moo Milk Bar with affordable and homey treats. In the future, Oron hopes to sell her gourmet cookie dough to customers in vacuum-sealed packages and team up with catering companies and restaurants in the city to make her outstanding cookies accessible to more Torontonians.
Rustic decor
Moo Milk Bar is located at 1918A Queen St. E, moomilkbar.ca
This is Rebecca Feigelsohn’s last article as the editorial intern for Good Food Revolution. She has had an amazing time profiling Toronto pastry chefs and tasting their delicious treats!
