Gold Winner Sweet Hereafter Cheesecakery

Silver Winner The Middle Spoon Desserterie & Bar

Bronze Winner Little Red Kitsch’n, Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market

Let them eat cake, at Sweet Hereafter. The Quinpool cheesecakery has 121 cheesecakes in its repertoire. There are always nine cakes ready for consumption, including vegan and gluten-free options (peanut butter chocolate and cookies and cream are crowd favourites). Pair these artisan slices with the shops punk-rock-princess-meets-Victorian decor for an experience that is definitely a cake walk. Sweet Hereafter cakes are best because “they’re made fresh every day and never frozen,” says co-owner Joanne MacDougall. All cakes are made by her husband Colin, a business type turned self-taught cheesecake making genius. The couple are “extremely flattered” to have won the award yet again. “The city has been so welcoming and supportive of a small, independent business,” says Joanne. That’s because supporting Sweet Hereafter is a piece of cake.