EGGS—The staff at Dessert Sinsations Cafe go through four to six cases of extra large eggs a week. “They are very fresh,” says O’Hara, “much fresher than what you get at the supermarket and you can taste the difference. We use extra large eggs because they have bigger yolks and are better for baking. Home bakers should think about using extra large eggs.

CREAM & BUTTER—About 100 cartons of cream and sticks of butter are used every week.

COOKBOOK—Appetizers, Buffets and Parties, edited by Bridget Jones is just one of the cookbooks O’Hara reads. “I find a recipe I love and totally change it and make it my own,” she says.

OLIVE OIL—Staff here use only Luigi O extra virgin olive oil. Like all good bakers they also use canola oil, Crisco, lard and lots of butter in their baking.

FRESH FRUIT & VEGETABLES—Fresh veggies and fruit are the basis for all dishes here, right up to the garnish. “Whatever is on the plate, you should be eating,” says O’Hara. Freshness is the mantra in this kitchen. “Our big thing here is fresh. We maintain high standards and everything is 100% from scratch, which is very rare.”

COOKIE CUTTERS—“Copper is the Cadillac of cutters,” says O’Hara. “It withstands very high temperatures and doesn’t fall apart easily.”

CHEESE—O’Hara loves the buttery smooth Chevretine Goat Milk Cheese so much she gave it away as Christmas gifts. She also stocks a variety of other cheeses, from smoked gouda to camembert.

WHISK—Among O’Hara’s favourite tools are: whisks (this is a dense whisk for heavy sauces, for lighter sauces she uses a piano wire whisk); knives (she uses a lot of different kinds of knives from Icel, including a cake slicer for cakes and soft breads, a serrated knife for roast beef, and a basic chef’s knife for everything else. As she has small hands, O’Hara also uses a paring knife); and tongs (“Once you start getting used to it you rarely use a flipper. I get frustrated when I don’t have one at home.”)

PLUNGER CUTTERS —These are great for cutting fondant and sugars, but they’re expensive. Each one costs about $85 and has to be ordered from New York or Toronto.

SILVER AND GOLD POWDER—These pots of edible silver and 24 karat gold are $400 each. O’Hara uses them on sugar bows, as a finish on desserts or as decoration on plates.

WINE—“For wine,” says O’Hara, “I go with what I like.” She takes her cues from the experts at De Luca’s Fine Wines.

PIPING BAGS—O’Hara prefers featherweight piping bags by Wilton.