olympic chocolate muffin toronto

Toronto bakery making their own version of the viral Olympic chocolate muffin

The Olympic Games are on the tip of everyone's tongue at all times these days, but for many — including one Toronto bakery — it's a particular menu item served at the Olympic Village that's stealing the show.

Ever since the games kicked off on July 24, the athletes performances on the mat, diving board, field (and so on) have been actively competing with those on social media, highlighting the antics behind the scenes at the Olympic Village.

No athlete has felt this more strongly than Norwegian swimmer, Henrik Christiansen, who has quickly become known as the Olympic Muffin Man, thanks to a series of viral TikToks documenting the athlete's adoration for a particular chocolate muffin served in the village's cafeteria.

@henrikchristians1 Olympic Village food review! A little surprise at the end too! Smash like and subscribe for part 2✌🏻 #fyp #olympics #paris2024 #olympictiktok #olympicvillage #foodreview @Olympics @paris2024 @Mr.Nicho ♬ original sound - Z7duckx_Music

What began innocently enough, with a ranking of everything Christiansen had eaten that day at the games quickly began spiralling into a meme and viral sensation, with Christiansen documenting his descent into muffin-based madness on a daily basis.

@henrikchristians1 We have chocolate muffin before GTA 6 #fyp #olympics #paris2024 #olympictiktok #olympicvillage #muffins #gta #gta6 ♬ GTA San Andreas Theme (Remake) - Ben Morfitt (SquidPhysics)

Suffice it to say, the internet has become utterly obsessed not only with Christiansen, but with the muffin that started it all — an ooey-gooey chocolate lava muffin topped with chocolate chunks. Who wouldn't be obsessed?

The people behind Toronto's Short & Sweet Bakeshop are no exception to the social media phenomenon and, equipped with more than a decade of baking experience, they decided to test once and for all whether the muffins were actually that good.

"We were doing a bit of after-hours [recipe and development]," Ness Levy, the bakery's owner, tells blogTO, "and since they had gone viral, we thought 'let's see if these things are as hype as the athletes are making them.'"

The verdict? "We came up with our own recipe, and they were [mindblowing]," Ness tells blogTO.

Armed with a handful of extras (after the staff present had consumed as many as their bodies would allow,) Ness decided to launch a giveaway for the most dedicated chocolate muffin devotees, posting photos on the shop's Instagram story and announcing that the first six people to arrive would get a free "Gold Medal" muffin.

"[The] response was insane!" Ness tells blogTO. 

"Everyone went elbow-deep into their muffins on the spot," she says. "Like, no 'oh, I'll have it when I get home' nonsense. Hands and faces covered in chocolate, and it was glorious."

If you, like myself and much of the internet, have too been obsessing over the mystique of the Olympic Village chocolate muffin, you still have the chance to try Short & Sweet's version.

"We will be selling them [Friday, Aug 9] and Saturday [Aug 10]," Ness tells blogTO.

Beyond the immediate future, the bakeshop is considering offering them every Saturday morning, fresh out of the oven for the early risers.

You can visit Short & Sweet Bakeshop to try not only their chocolate muffins, but their entire catalogue of nut-free baked goodies by visiting them at 1945 Avenue Road.

Lead photo by

Ness Levy/Short & Sweet Bakeshop


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