real talk candles

Toronto candle maker says Scarborough candles don't actually smell like beef patties

A new scented candle is making its rounds on Toronto social media, but the creator wants you to know, it doesn't actually smell like subway station beef patties. 

Real Talk Candles, a Toronto candle company that's been blowing up over the last months thanks to some cheeky branding, has just released a candle dedicated to Scarborough. 

The Scarborough Candle, which will be released officially next Tuesday, "smells like Warden station Jamaican patties," says its label. 

But as delicious as Warden station's patties are, don't expect your home to smell like Fahmee Bakery when you light the thing up, says Real Talk owner Rachel-Lea Rickards. 

Nor does her Malton Candle, dedicated to the Mississauga neighbourhood, actually smell like the Westwood Mall Food Court, contrary to what the label says. 

"I don't want people thinking that the candle actually smells like a Jamaican patty,"said Rickards in a video posted to her IG. 

"Does Gwyneth Paltrow's candle smell like her vagina? Pretty sure Drake's probably doesn't smell just like Drake. And the Malton Candle smells like a food court... How am I supposed to get fragrances that smell like a food court?" 

"It's a funny label with a great smelling candle."

Rickards, a business owner and full-time funny person who doesn't take herself too seriously, only started making candles in her kitchen in April.

Since then, she's already expanded to having her own office in downtown Toronto, with three staff and products carried at Indigo's Ajax location. Real Talk candles pours all its own products in-house, and pump out about 600 a week. 

Her candles have been flying off the shelves for months following a series of successful labels, like her PS5 Candle (Smells like you're not getting one) or her Black Girl Magic Candle (Smells like The Audacity) that'll bring some light humour to your candle rituals.  

All her products, including the Scarborough Candle and Malton Candle, come in your choice of nine to 10 scents (Jamaican patties and food court smells not included). So far, eucalyptus mint and vanilla have been the most popular ones. 

"I've always been a bit of a button pusher," said Rickards to blogTO. 

"I was just joking around with a friend and he was so devoted to Malton. I poked fun and it turned into something... I thought to myself, if I can make fun of Malton, why not make fun of the whole GTA." 

She has plans of doing a slew of other GTA spots in the future, including Rexdale, Brampton, Mississauga, and Oshawa (there's a lot to poke fun about Oshawa, she says, so she's apologizing in advance). 

"People love their city," she says. "I tend to touch on a location or a memory that everyone remembers." 

Lead photo by

Real Talk Candles


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