Donut ’state secrets’

It wasn’t so long ago that every donut store fried or baked its treats in the back of the shop, usually bringing a baker in overnight. In the morning, customers would stop by to grab some donuts and breathe in that fresh bakery smell. But times have changed: Tim Hortons is embroiled in a legal battle over its Always Fresh system which, according to a recent affidavit, sees donuts and other goods baked or fried at a facility in Brantford, Ont., then frozen, boxed, and shipped to the stores. Only then are they baked to completion, glazed and filled.

Country Style says it makes donuts on site at most of its 120 full-service locations. Smaller Country Style kiosks, which can be found in gas stations or other host facilities, might ship in donuts from a nearby baking location, says Rita McParland, vice-president of marketing. They’re also experimenting with partly baked donuts that are finished in-store, or frozen donuts that are thawed and served, she says.

Other donuts chains are less forthcoming, treating their process akin to a state secret. Andrew Mastrangelo, a spokesperson for Dunkin’ Donuts, declined to give details of how the chain’s donuts are baked, calling it a “proprietary process.” He did say that donuts are either baked and finished in-store, or in a central kitchen from which they’re delivered, noting that one kitchen might support “a couple hundred stores.” When asked if donuts are frozen, Mastrangelo replied that they are “typically fresh every day.” A spokesperson for Chairman’s Brands, which owns both Coffee Time and Robin’s Donuts, was not available for comment.