Midland's First Annual Butter Tart Festival: A Tribute to Canada's Iconic Dessert (Rerun)

Sittin' in the Kitchen

Every June, right around Father's Day, thousands of people descend on the small town of Midland, Ontario, to eat thousands of butter tarts. The oldest documented butter tart recipe comes from the Barrie Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook published in 1900. There is a hot debate about the butter tart’s origins but this much is clear - butter tarts are a truly Canadian confection. Covid has deferred Midland's next butter tart festival until June 11, 2022. Meanwhile, please listen to my podcast from the very first Midland butter tart festival in 2013. It was a rollicking event where I sleuthed out the secrets to baking the best butter tarts. I interviewed contestants, organizers, the town's mayor, artist and butter tart judge Charles Pachter and the festival's ambassador – a drag queen who was dubbed "Queen of Tarts."