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Did one bad butter tart just change everything for London?

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Your buddy just found out about a bad butter tart

Good morning from the Forest City — yes, the other London. The one that actually matters to us. Let's get into it.

You know, I've seen a lot of things come through this city, good and bad, in my time covering London. But I'm not sure anything has ever resonated quite like one man's personal crusade to protect the Canadian butter tart. John Meissner, a Guelph man who's been judging these glorious treats at festivals, had what he called an "offensively bad" butter tart back in February. And look, I've been covering this city for a decade; I understand the passion. That one bad tart was enough to spark a mission: he wants to establish a national butter tart standard to make sure this never happens again.

This isn't just about a sweet treat, folks. This is about civic pride, about our culinary heritage, and frankly, about preventing future heartbreak. We're talking about a man who cares so much about quality control, he's taking it upon himself to protect us from subpar pastry experiences. Think about the implications for our local bakeries, the ones at Covent Garden Market, or that little spot in Old East Village. Their reputation is on the line, and frankly, so is ours.

* **A Call for Consistency:** Meissner's efforts highlight the need for a recognized standard. No more guessing if your butter tart will be runny, firm, or just plain wrong.

* **Local Impact:** Imagine a "London Standard" butter tart. What would that look like? Would it be plain, raisin, pecan? This could spark a delightful debate in our city.

* **Protecting Our Palates:** Ultimately, this is about ensuring every bite is a good one. No one deserves an "offensively bad" butter tart, especially not after a long walk along the Thames Valley Parkway.

This whole thing just makes you wonder what other local delights are out there, waiting for their champion. Maybe someone needs to step up for the perfect poutine, or the ideal chip truck fries. But for now, John Meissner is leading the charge for the butter tart, and honestly, we should all be a little bit grateful.

You can hear more of this kind of London talk with Andrew and the team every weekday morning — catch it live at mornings.live.

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More from Brendan Fanshawe-Okafor

The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →