Sweet show is for real
Event-planning duo aims to please — even if that means albino peacocks
Caspar Haydar and Elle Daftarian can’t stop giggling. Or interrupting each other. Or gushing over everything.
Who could blame the best-friend, event-planning duo, who are not only celebrating one-and-a-half years in their quaint Summerhill store, but starring roles in an upcoming Food Network show SugarStars, a behind the scenes look at their event planning and catering business.
Located on a quiet leafy street in the affluent neighbourhood, Haydar and Daftarian said Petite & Sweet started as a haphazard sweets and events business operating out of Daftarian’s basement six years ago.
The pair met through mutual friends in the fashion industry. And after talking about getting into event planning together for some time, Daftarian finally convinced Haydar to jump in.
Since then, employing their fashion sensibilities for colour and style to food and fun has meant securing contracts for some of Toronto’s largest private and corporate events. Their work ranges from catering hot food, to cakes and sweets, and their job is to find the best of everything in town to meet clients’ needs and expectations. The two don’t aim to do everything themselves, instead drawing on the professionals to assist them in making each event a success. One, for example, is Yolanda Gampp, their expert cake-maker and co-star on SugarStars. Working out of Daftarian’s basement for five years initially, the pair set their sights on retail space as clients were asking where they could pick up gifts and sweets last minute. The pair now handle everything under one roof — planning every last detail of the lavish events that include catered food, floral arrangements and ornate sweets tables. “It is an art form for us,” Daftarian said. “It’s like a runway show.” There have been plenty of challenges along the way, from disastrous road trips that saw cakes and treats trashed, a mix-up with a refrigerated truck rental, a fire marshal called in to a big party, and broken dishes at almost every turn. “Something always goes wrong,” Daftarian said. But the two have persevered in their eagerness to please. One time, Daftarian called Haydar requesting — well, demanding — he find a life-size cage with three albino peacocks for a client. “I don’t know. I just found them, honey,” Haydar explained. “You want albino peacocks? Give me 24 hours.” In the show, the stars say you can expect them to be themselves.
If the previews are any indication, the fun-loving banter, bickering over details, and occasional screech, will be featured in the show as they are in real life.
Each episode will find the trio of Haydar, Daftarian, Gampp, and shop assistant Antonella Grillone, baking, planning and presenting two sweet tables at events i Toronto.
Haydar and Daftarian said they will meet any vision a client presents within any budget. “Our clients are loyal. They love what we do,” Haydar said.
They’re looking to delight with big ideas like the “most expensive cake in the city” — $500 to be exact — soaked in vintage Dom Pérignon. They hope the boost will allow them to open up new locations and expand internationally. And despite daily challenges in running their own business, Haydar and Daftarian are still able to go home and enjoy dinner or drinks together — no matter how many disasters.
SugarStars premieres Aug. 27 at 10 p.m. on the Food Network where the team embark on an “Under the Sea” and an African-themed event.