It is an unmistakable aroma that fills your body with that warm feeling of winter time bliss. You can’t help but pull aside as you skate your way around the Rideau Canal and take a moment to get in line and buy yourself a scrumptious BeaverTail.

The BeaverTail has steadily become an Ottawa tradition to enjoy around downtown and while skating down the canal in the wintertime.

It is hard to describe this Canadian delicacy without trying one yourself: a crisp exterior followed by a soft, warm interior — the best part of the BeaverTail. Even simply dressed with sugar and cinnamon, this treat is hard to pass up.

But how is it that this delectable Canadian indulgence made its way from early beginnings to national success?

The delicious and heart-warming dessert was first marketed and made public by the Grant Hooker family in 1978. Grant and his wife Pam built the first BeaverTail shop right in Ottawa’s own ByWard Market.

The BeaverTail gets its name from its striking similarity to the tail of one of our most iconic national animals, the beaver.

BeaverTails are hand stretched to resemble the tail of the beaver and then fried in canola oil. Following the deep-frying process, they are dressed with butter and made ready for a delicious arrangement of toppings.

In 1981, growing with success, the BeaverTail made the move to the Rideau Canal for winter skaters to enjoy the treat on the ice.

Benjamin Hildebrand is a Carleton university student who worked three consecutive seasons with BeaverTails during Winterlude. “Working there was a great experience, a really social environment where it’s easy to make friends,” says Hildebrand.

“It was an awesome experience as a high school job, especially for the third year when my friend became a manager and some nights we would actually have just me and my friends running the whole place.”

BeaverTail employee Fiona Miller has worked two winter seasons on the canal and is now working at the BeaverTail location in the ByWard Market.

She says that working with BeaverTails is “really different from most jobs. It has more of a team environment. All the staff hang out with each other outside of work and it is a really fast-paced place to work.”

Her favourite thing about working with BeaverTails is the people.

“People are always really happy to come here. People only get BeaverTails if they are in a good mood,” says Miller.

Miller says the most popular BeaverTail is “definitely the cinnamon sugar one. It is the topping that everyone associates a BeaverTail with.”

BeaverTails now come with a variety of toppings including Chocolate Hazelnut, Maple Butter, Apple Cinnamon, Banana Chocolate and many more.

The BeaverTail has been enjoyed by the millions, including U.S. President Barack Obama took part in this traditional Canadian treat when he made his first visit to Ottawa. During his presidential campaign in the States there was even a BeaverTail named after him called the ObamaTail.

Carleton University Students’ Association vice-president (student issues) Nick Bergamini says his favourite thing about BeaverTails is “that sweet taste after a long cold skate on the Rideau Canal. It is a great reward for bearing Ottawa’s frigid winters.”

Julie Voorthuyzen, a first-year University of Ottawa student says she is a fan of the stretched, deep-fried dough.

“[I love] all of the different kinds that they have, it’s fun trying a new one every time.”

First-year Carleton student Meg LaPlante, who has lived in Ottawa all her life, says BeaverTails are a winter staple.

“Delicious, tasty, unhealthy deep fried dough. When you see a BeaverTail you think of winter.”

The BeaverTail love has spread across Ottawa and has made its way to other parts of Canada such as the Halifax Waterfront, Whistler, Mont Tremblant and Old Quebec City.

This tail has a happy Canadian ending. 

 

Fun Facts:

  • Beaver Tails use 21.1 tons of chocolate hazelnut spread per year — the equivalent to the weight of 5 elephants and 12 beavers
  • There are 80 BeaverTail franchises across Canada, with 2 locations in Saudi Arabia and 2 in Colorado’s ski country
  • Since 1981, more than 80,000 young Canadians have worked for the BeaverTails operations in the nation’s capital alone
  • Since BeaverTails’ debut in 1978, enough BeaverTails have been sold to make a straight line of tails, end-to-end, from the store on the boardwalk in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island to the two Whistler Ski Resort stores in British Columbia