 Photo by Laurie Anne King
Melissa Smeets Melly Rolls |
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Author: Susan Pomfret
Photos: As credited, Melissa Smeets February 2019 |
Melissa Smeets' step-father has his doctorate in Psychology and, way back when, he gave her one of those standard aptitude tests. The results confirmed that her strength was in bringing joy to others.
This quite aligned with her personal philosophy. Her passion was food, and what better way to share joy with others than through the senses? Melissa has become a citizen of the world by following this path. She grew up in Toronto and lived in Australia, France and Japan before settling in Campbellford.
She knew Campbellford well due to deep family roots here. Melissa spent most of her summers in the area, cottaging on Lake Seymour and working at her grandfather’s grocery store, MacMillan’s. She chose to complete her high school education in Campbellford when the time came.
While working at an artisanal ice cream and pastry shop in Australia, she decided that she wanted to pursue a career as a pastry chef. Upon returning to Canada, she took a course at George Brown College before attending Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa. She then decided to finish the pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. “I was a student and I was broke,” she laughs. “I couldn’t afford to do anything in Paris.”
While working at an artisanal ice cream and pastry shop in Australia, she decided that she wanted to pursue a career as a pastry chef. Upon returning to Canada, she took a course at George Brown College before attending Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa. She then decided to finish the pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. “I was a student and I was broke,” she laughs. “I couldn’t afford to do anything in Paris.”
After a short hiatus in Toronto, Melissa moved to Japan in 1995, where she lived for 16 years. She made her home in Nagano, known for its breathtaking scenery and first-class skiing as well as the home of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. She opened a bar called Oh Canada and hosted many athletes and media people during the Olympics. A few years later, she opened the Green Gerbera Cafe, a renowned destination for both food and live music. Not long after experiencing the huge earthquake in March 2011, she and her husband Keisuke headed back to Canada. After three weeks, Keisuke returned to Japan before permanently joining Melissa in Canada a year later.
Melissa’s mom is a realtor in Toronto. At her suggestion, Melissa obtained her real estate licence and set up shop through the Toronto Real Estate Board. She now works with Realty Executives and transferred her licence to the Peterborough board last year.
Her relocation to Campbellford in 2017 was born of an unexpected but welcome opportunity to perform an invaluable service to her family. She and Keisuke moved into an apartment in the home of her aging but sprightly grandmother who needed a helping hand.
Photo by Montse Alvarado
Her first commercial enterprise was a partnership with Special Effects Decorating in Brighton. The shop has an on-site kitchen and owner Sheryl Delorme asked her to teach some cooking demos. One of those classes was a sushi class and it was very successful. A few days later in Campbellford, she was asked by a local café owner to create something unique to serve to her patrons. Melissa suggested sushi, and Melly Rolls was born. Special Effects Decorating hosts Melly Rolls Day, a pop-up shop, a few times each month. Her fare now includes soups and pies as well as “anything that’s rolled” from spanakopita to baklava.
Melissa and team at The Incredible Edibles Festival, July 2018
Melly Rolls developed its reputation through the Campbellford Farmers Market, the Warkworth Market At The Mews and the Incredible Edibles Festival. Her catering business serves a weekly meal to the Rotary Club and provides lunch on workshop days at The Branch Ranch in Warkworth. She has recently partnered with Campbellford photographer Laurie Anne King to cater her client photo shoots.
Melly Rolls celebrates its first anniversary on February 13th, and Melissa is excited about the company's direction in 2019. As well as catering events at the Westben Festival Theatre, she will join the Incredible Doctor’s Cook-Off for the first time this year. The cook-off is a renowned local event raising funds for the Campbellford Memorial Hospital and kicking off the Incredible Edibles Festival. She is also partnering with Ron Cesnar, formerly of Capers Restaurant, on a project or two.
Melissa also brings joy through music. A talented jazz singer, she hopes to finalize the formation of a band shortly. She appeared last year with Warkworth’s Howard Baer at the Victoria Hall in Port Hope as part of Bruce McGregor’s Jazz In the Afternoon series.
She has been on a “weight loss journey”, she says, and has been successful on what she refers to as the “Melly Plan”. The plan is less about consumption and more about mindfulness, about eating with enjoyment and focus.
Melissa’s vision for the future involves her own cafe with space to feature live jazz music. This is a woman who finds herself in the right place at the right time, and for all the right reasons.