Rosa Cirillo

2025 Vaughan Honouree

Community involvement and connection have always been very important to Rosa Cirillo, and over the last thirteen years she has earned the love and trust of Vaughan and well beyond, one delicious nut-free bite at a time.  Nominated by her (now) friend Nadia, Rosa recalls that it was Nadia who got her out into the community early (as a business) for her first event, which was called “The Chocolate Ball”.   She has proudly become the trusted go-to bakery source for many local schools, daycares, businesses, hospices, charities and especially local events in and around Vaughan, Ontario.

Rosa was not born into a baking family, and she didn’t grow up in the kitchen, like most other girls with an Italian last name.  Her mother was born in Canada, and her father came from Italy, on an Engineering scholarship to Guelph University.  Her dad would later pursue a career in real estate and her mother worked in a medical office for several years.  Before she would discover her love of baking and marry her husband Vito (who was a chef earlier on in their relationship), Rosa was an outstanding little fundraiser and organizer who loved rallying for a cause and bringing people together.

As a young girl, Rosa remembers her parents being involved in local fundraisers and especially recalls participating as a family in the Chum City Christmas Wish initiative every year.  She had an empowered and refreshing attitude towards challenges and she wasn’t afraid to step up and fundraise for specific classroom experiences and field trips.  If the kids wanted to do something and “budget” was the issue, Rosa was already figuring out the solution.  She fondly remembers a marketing class project that she turned into sales of Christmas Bears…more than seven hundred of them – the proceeds from which were given to six local families in the community for food and presents.

Care and attention to detail are two of Rosa’s lifelong strengths, and both served her very well in her previous life and career, which was nowhere near an oven.  Rosa had an important and highly responsible position working for the government, focusing on mental health, and oversaw the United Way campaign for the Toronto region.  It was around this time that she started to bake “for fun”, which then turned into “baking parties” where she would help and show kids how to bake at their own birthday parties.  Within 4 years, she got so busy with baking that she and her husband realized she would have to choose one or the other, and baking made her happy. 

In the early days, they did everything themselves.  Rosa credits her husband for literally working 7 days a week to help her make it happen.  “He worked full-time as a high-rise plumber and then came in evenings and weekends and baked in the shop, but we were proud and excited to be working together”.  As they built the business and the team grew, Rosa’s husband was able to leave the kitchen and focus on his own plumbing company.  Rosa’s daughter Isabella who started working in the bakery at thirteen, has grown up in the business and knows it like the back of her hand.  Rosa jokes that her son Domenic is an Olympian cookie scooper, and nobody does it faster than him (yet), but adds, “they have their own interests and pursuits in life now – they help when they’re needed but definitely have dreams of their own”.

Continuing to serve the community of Vaughan (and beyond) with dedicated nut-free desserts of all kinds, Rosa takes great pride in making allergy-safe options for everyone to celebrate, including those with gluten, dairy and egg intolerances.  Rosa has perfected her sfoglia cake, and it is the stuff nut-free dreams are made of.  Make your next special event, or your next bite Oh So Sweet, and support a business that supports the community.