Spoiler alert, this Victoria tour doesnB次元官网网址檛 glaze over any salty details.
Settling in at a table near Empire Donuts, guide Cait Irwin gets down to the business of name tags before embarking on a walking tour of fried sweets.
Underground Donut Tours rose in the U.S. and celebrates a decade in February 2025, but the downtown Victoria tours marked a year in August.
Those American origins explain the spelling of doughnut, but IrwinB次元官网网址檚 hospitality as tour leader has all the Canadian hallmarks.
The sweet walk is a tasty twist on a traditional foodie and history tour. Leaving the B次元官网网址�50s diner-style Empire Donuts after a taste of their best-selling brown butter doughnut, the two-hour walking tour heads for Discovery Coffee, Oso Cafe Desserts at the Bay Centre and finishes with some Chinatown history and snacks at Friend and Family Bake B次元官网网址� known for its Filipino treats.
Irwin knows the ins and outs of the city. During the amble, she shares the history of Richard Blanshard, local First Nations lore, and spills the tea on Francis Rattenbury. Blanshard was the first colonial governor of Vancouver Island B次元官网网址� resigning and leaving the colony after just 18 months.
Sometimes itB次元官网网址檚 a little spicy, such as the case of murdered Rattenbury who is famous B次元官网网址� or some might say infamous B次元官网网址� as the architect of many historic buildings in B.C.B次元官网网址檚 capital city.
At the different shops, aside from filling up with fritters at Discovery, chocolate-topped treats at the mall and traditional sweet bread with ube (purple yam) in Chinatown, Irwin outlines bits of history of the shops, the patrons, or the tasty treats about to be inhaled.
The second stop she explains is the coffee shop named for its first location on Discovery Street. This purpose-built space lies at Broughton and Blanshard streets, and is home to the gluten-free chocolate cruller. With no such limitations on the tour, instead a fritter and cruller are divvied up by sanitized scissors and shared.
Irwin proudly notes Discovery previously hosted the national barista championships. B次元官网网址淎nd I like to say they were kind enough to let somebody else win that year,B次元官网网址� she adds with a laugh.
A looping walk to the waterfront inspires the tale of Rattenbury who was murdered in 1935 after his return to the UK. Twice-divorced, RattenburyB次元官网网址檚 second wifeB次元官网网址檚 lover was jailed for the crime.
A few blocks away the frosted pink paint job on the customs house B次元官网网址� or rather the history held within B次元官网网址� inspires IrwinB次元官网网址檚 tour chatter as the walk continues to Bastion Square where bricks in the ground outline the original fort footprint. There she notes the diversity of names etched in the bricks B次元官网网址� people critical to early formation of the fort B次元官网网址� including several First Nations and Chinese names.
A storefront display inspires Irwin's shift to the history of the woolly dog that played an important and cultural role for Coast Salish people but when colonists moved in the animal became extinct. The animalB次元官网网址檚 thick woollen undercoat was shorn for weaving blankets and textiles, but increasing settler colonialism forced the decline of the tradition in the 19th century and the Indigenous dog population was lost.
As she tells the tale, the trek takes a tour of the fourth-floor food court at the mall downtown. At Oso, the owners themselves B次元官网网址� with bright smiles and cheery conversation B次元官网网址� serve the chocolate-topped doughnuts and a handful of other creations.
The tour cruises down to Chinatown where Friend and Family Bake in Fantan Alley offers a window into its kitchen. There the sweet traditional doughnuts and sweet bread are again, served with a smile, straight from the oven.
Learn more about the tasty tours online at .
