Being a Trusted Partner on the Trusted Saskatoon Directory of Excellence comes with a lot of responsibility - no other directory, advertising company, or 'watchdog organization' puts businesses through the ongoing process we do before we promote and endorse them.
Why Choose a Business On the Trusted Saskatoon Directory?
All of the Trusted Saskatoon partners have to pass a unique verification process, they are then annually contracted to uphold our 5 Trusted Guarantees. The partners then become part of a local community of Saskatoon and area businesses that we promote with a strong local marketing campaign. We also have a Trusted MYSTERY SHOPPER PROGRAM. This is where we find and engage with normal everyday people, just like you, who are looking for products and services in Saskatoon and area. We approach individuals we can see are looking for a local business and we ask them to mystery shop Trusted Saskatoon Partners. Those that agree to be Trusted mystery shoppers go about their usual business, except at the end they fill out a report to tell us about the experience. We then share it with you! We are thrilled to share our latest mystery shop.
PickNic's Catering and Fine Foods are Trusted Saskatoon caterers!
Date of Mystery Shop: August 2022
Shopper : Ezna
MYSTERY SHOP CHECKLIST:
1. How was the greeting/ welcome/ call answered? Friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.
2. Appearance of the store/staff and showroom? When I picked up my birthday cake, I was impressed with the elegance of the storefront.
3. If a quote was required, was it well laid out/ clear? I asked for an estimate and it was clear.
4. Overall experience 1-10. 9 out of 10
5. Would you return as a customer/ recommend them to close friends? Yes, already did
6. Did anyone stand out as exceptional? If so who? Why? Owner offered extra finishing touches when I picked up the cake, and carried it to the car.
TRUSTED GUARANTEES
1. Provide the service and quality promised - 10
2. Complete the job on time - 10
3. Charge the price quoted with NO surprises - 10
4. Communicate honestly and be responsive to customer needs - 10
5. Resolve any issues with customer satisfaction in mind - 10
Ezna shared picture of the 2 cakes, and as always, they look amazing!
ANY OTHER COMMENTS?
Everybody absolutely loved the cupcakes and icing !
Unfortunately I never got to taste the large carrot cake birthday cake because my daughter and I gave it away to a gal whose mom couldn’t afford a cake and also celebrated her bday at the party.
Apparently her face lit up when she saw cake So was worth it
It’s my compassionate daughter Alicia who heard about this and came and pitched the idea to me and how could I say no? Made me happy to see my daughter flow like that and to brighten someone else’s day - Ezna ( Mystery Shopper & birthday girl)
WHAT A GREAT GESTURE EZNA & A WONDERFUL MYSTERY SHOP NICOLA & TEAM!!!
Yet again showing you deserve the Thumbs Up from www.TrustedSaskatoon.com
Let Nicola and the team at PickNic's Catering & fine Foods create something special for your next event or special occasion!
"Taste...That Delivers!"
HomeQuarter Coffee House & Bakery offers delicious Saskatoon and area catering services. In addition, they have a great Saskatoon restaurant, coffee house & bakery, as well as a private area to book small local events or meetings. Previously located within the Riversdale Saskatoon Farmer's Market for over 9 years, they opened their new location in 2018 across the street on Ave B. In HomeQuarters latest feature article on Trusted Saskatoon, we find out about their sister business, Riverbend Plantation. HomeQuarter Coffeehouse & Bakery is a Trusted Saskatoon Caterer & Bakery!
Did you know the owners of HomeQuarter also own Riverbend Plantation?
Riverbend Plantation has been growing Saskatoon berries and creating distinctive products since 1981. Grace and Lee Whittington have been the owners of Riverbend Plantation – Saskatchewan’s first commercial Saskatoon berry farm – since 1996. They were newcomers to the province having moved from Ontario in 1992 when Lee took a position in Saskatoon. They saw an opportunity when Riverbend’s first owner retired. Grace and Lee had owned a farm together in Ontario so moving back to the country was a natural choice. Also, Grace was already supplying Riverbend Plantation with Saskatoon berry chocolate (the same signature chocolate they make today).
However, growing a crop they hadn’t heard of four years earlier took some careful planning and a leap of faith. Grace’s skill as a cook and her training in home economics provided a great fit for product development, but the family was still young with a 12, 9 and 6 year old at home and Lee worked full-time. It’s been 24 years now and Lee still says that they learned many lessons on that journey.
The orchard is my primary responsibility, and much has changed from the early days. I remember our first harvest (coincidently the largest the farm had produced to date), working long hours, 7 days a week, week after week with a crew of more than 160 people. We ran out of everything: time, boxes, bags, pallets and patience! After years of renewing the orchard, we can now harvest the crop by machine. Improvements like this have greatly improved the quality of our key ingredient.- Lee Whittington.
Wonderful products and gifts
After harvest, Grace managed everything from product development to marketing. The early days took the family to fourteen trade shows a year from October to December. These days the marketing focus has moved away from direct selling at trade shows to a distribution system of independent retailers (Including at HomeQuarter Coffee House & Bakery- in the picture to the right).
"Great products come from quality ingredients, beginning with the fruit we grow, great recipes and dedicated staff. With all the changes we’ve experienced, this philosophy still holds true.” - Grace Whittington
In 2010 they added a café at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. Now they are a beloved place In Riversdale where friends and neighbours gather to eat, drink and enjoy live music. Share in the seasonal delicacies from the Western Canadian Prairies, including their own orchards, with main dishes, delectable desserts, and fine coffees that are plentiful to eat in or take home.
Home Quarter Menus:
HomeQuarter is a place that feels like home, with an amazing atmosphere, wonderful coffee and great food you are sure to love. They look forward to sharing their farmhouse kitchen atmosphere with you, their friends.
'A place that feels like home...From the first bite to the last drop.'
HomeQuarter Coffeehouse & Bakery is a Trusted Saskatoon Caterer & Bakery!
HomeQuarters's Award Wining Design
HomeQuarter Coffeehouse and
Bakery, a Trusted Saskatoon Caterer and Bakery were recently been recognized with 2019
MASI Design Award in the Hospitality Restaurant Category in addition to an Honourable Mention at The Design Council Of 2019 Saskatchewan Premier’s Awards!
The MASI Awards celebrate the best of interior design throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, recognizing design excellence and contributions to the built environment. The HomeQuarter project Interior Designer Renea Cave, attended the award gala held at the Canadian Museum Of Human Rights in Winnipeg on October 17th, 2019.
Premier’s Awards Of Excellence in Design
Held in conjunction with Saskatchewan Design Week, the 2019 Premier's Awards of Excellence in Design recognized the great applied design work being done right here in Saskatchewan. HomeQuarter was thrilled to be recognized with an honourable mention.
A Partnership built on Trust
The fantastic partnership between HomeQuarter and their developer created the space has resulted in many compliments from guests, They comment on the ‘vibe’ and they love the combination of modern touches, bright natural light, and variety of seating options whilst enjoying the wonderful coffee, live music and food that is on offer!
Interior Designer said, “HomeQuarter is an interior that showcases how a successful space functions both physically and atmospherically”.
Providing a community meeting area in the "Hayloft" provides a unique role for HomeQuarter in Riversdale. We are very pleased to have our designer, our builder, and the cafe recognized for excellence in these provincial and regional design competitions.” said Lee & Grace Whittington, Owners Of HomeQuarter
HomeQuarter is a locally owned family business that takes pride in their products. They offer catering services for 10-150 people, in addition to their restaurant, coffee house and bakery. So, what are you waiting for? Go visit HomeQuarter Coffeehouse & Bakery to see what all the fuss is about!
In the Trusted Saskatoon community, we all have our parts to play to ensure we maintain the standards and high level of integrity we promote. To ensure that our partners are upholding these guarantees, we have a MYSTERY SHOPPER PROGRAM, where we ask people in Saskatoon to share their experience by filling out a report to tell us about their experience with a Trusted Saskatoon Partner! Our latest business to be mystery shopped was HomeQuarter Coffeehouse & Bakery Trusted Saskatoon Caterer & Bakery. This particular mystery shop was conducted by twin 11year olds Eden & Esmé who took the mission very seriously! Enjoy!
TRUSTED PARTNER: HomeQuarter
Name of Shoppers: Eden & Esmé T- Aged 11yrs
MYSTERY SHOP CHECKLIST
- How was the greeting/ welcome/ call answered? The man at the counter was very nice and helpful
- Product/industry knowledge of staff? The offered Mom lots of different coffee options, she likes coffee and said it was really good coffee.
- If a quote is required is the quote well laid out/ clear? All the prices were on the menu board above the counter
- Did they ask where you found them? No
- Was the place well presented? clean and tidy? The cafe is very nice inside - they have lots of glass and many different places to sit. There is a place for little kids to play, booths to sit in and even an upstairs part which was more private. They also had lots of places to plug in our chargers so we could use our phone and they had free wifi. It was very clean.
Overall experience 1-10. 9.5
- Would you return as a customer/ recommend them to close friends? Yes, we have been back and want to go again as there are lots of nice things in the bakery cabinet we would like to try.
- Did anyone stand out as exceptional? If so who? Why – The person that makes the cakes and pastries as they are very very good and the man that made Mom's coffee and our chai lattes is very talented at making nice patterns on top of the drinks. Our Step-Dad tries to do them at home but don't look as nice as the ones at HomeQuarter.
Refer to the Trusted Guarantees- Did they live up to expectations?
TRUSTED GUARANTEES
- Provide the service and quality promised. - YES
- Complete the job on time. – YES
- Charge the price quoted with NO surprises- YES
- Communicate honestly and be responsive to customer needs- YES
- Resolve any issues with customer satisfaction in mind – Nothing went wrong
Please share any other comments relating to your experience with the company.
"The scone, the cinnamon bun and Mom's sandwhich were all very tasty - the cinnamon bun was the best though, it was perfect. The Chai Latte was the 2nd best we have ever had. My Mom asked what the best was and we told her it was from a little place inside the Farmers Market a while ago . Mom started laughing because this was the place that used to be inside the Farmers Market - so really they have done the 1st and 2nd best chai lattes ever!
HomeQuarter also offer catering - based on what you have tasted would you like HomeQuarter to cater an event for you?
If we had a birthday party that was catered or if we could order from HomeQuarter on Health Hunger at school we would be really excited! We are sure the catering is as good as the food and drink we have had. They are very good at everything they do.
Congratulation Lee, Grace and the team at HomeQuarter! and you have proved once more that you deserve the PROMOTION, ENDORSEMENT and KUDOS that we love to heap upon you. Great Saskatoon and area businesses like yours deserve the promotion
MOST importantly the public in Saskatoon can feel confident that when they choose a Trusted business from The
Saskatoon Directory of experts they will be glad they did!! No risk..no stress...just Trusted businesses at their fingertips waiting to serve them!
At PickNic's Catering and Fine Foods, they understand you need more from your caterer than culinary expertise; you need peace of mind that someone you TRUST will take care of every detail. That’s why they have been serving more than just excellent food to Saskatoon and area for 15 years— they are here to serve you. From stress-free planning services to a sounding board for all of your catering ideas, everything they provide will make your event unforgettable and uniquely yours! In their latest tip, they talk wedding cake trends!
Oh wedding cake, we will never stop loving you! But whether we’re talking about the fillings and frostings or gorgeous decorations, this spring’s trends are going to make it mighty hard to say “I Do” to just one.
Foliage Fun
Take those show-stopping sugar blooms one step farther with extra foliage! Be on the lookout this spring for cakes with heavy foliage accents, fresh green palettes, or leafy designs.
You might even spot some fresh herb-inspired decorations. Rosemary is one of our favourites because of its feathery, plume-like appearance.
Shine with Sequins.
More and more brides are using silver and gold accents to add some sparkle to their big day, and the cake is no exception.
Edible sequins are the way to go here and don't be scared to go bold, coating an entire tier in a layer of twinkly bits. Another option: create custom shaped sequins by painting slivered almonds or small fondant cutouts with lustre dust.
Sealed With A Kiss
A cake that matches your invites?
Why not!
Edible wax seals (made out of candy melts!) are the prettiest little accents hidden among sugar flowers. Just keep ‘em simple — the bride and groom’s initial works well — to make sure the effect is clear.
Bigger Isn’t Better
Whether you’re having a small reception or just want to save some money, a petite cake may be just the ticket. More brides are opting to show off their cake style without three tiers or lots of fuss. We love a small, semi-naked cake piled with fresh flowers and maybe even a personalized topper.
Watercolour Wonders
The soft and romantic strokes of watercolour paint are perfect for weddings. And brides are taking note: This artistic style is showing up on invites, signage and, yes, cakes. Watercolour washes on a cake can be as bold or as subtle as you want, and also make a beautiful backdrop to other decorations like vibrant flowers, fruits and foliage.
Bold Florals
Dramatic floral arrangements are perfect for wedding cakes, and they feel even fresher when the cake underneath is left semi-naked. One thing you’re gonna see everywhere: Large, cascading roses sweeping down and around a tower of tiers. That’s a lot to love!