When Candace Gellert attended the University of Saskatchewan as a mechanical engineering student, she never thought that she would own a business one day. Nonetheless, Gellert now operates Candy’s Stix, a baking and catering business that has recently become a vendor at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market.

While attending the U of S, Gellert taught figure skating on the side in addition to her university courses. After graduating in 2012, however, Gellert grew bored without creativity in her life.

Gellert’s interests growing up included baking and cooking. These skills proved useful in 2012 when she came across an Internet posting about cheesecake cubes served on a stick. The idea appealed to both her creative side and sweet tooth. Gellert thought it would be an interesting hobby to play around with and began creating her own varieties of chocolate-covered cheesecake flavours.

“It’s my own thing, I make them for fun,” Gellert said.

Friends, family and co-workers supported Gellert’s tasty innovations. Every so often, Gellert would fill the freezer at her workplace with a box of cheesecakes and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Gellert recalled how her boss loved them so much, he would inform her the moment the freezer was empty.

A friend of Gellert’s convinced her that there was potential commercial appeal in her popular treats.

“He said, ‘These are like heaven on a stick,’” Gellert said, reminiscing fondly about the early days of her success.

Gellert’s boyfriend also loved the treats, which was unusual for him — his nut allergy prevented him from enjoying many baked goods, but most of Gellert’s treats are nut-free as well as gluten-free. In January 2015, Gellert named her company “Candy’s Stix” and started a website for catering orders.

There was a lot of trial-and-error. Gellert laughed as she shared a story of an early baking mishap when she added too much fruit juice to a mixture, meaning the cheesecake came out of the oven far too jiggly for use on a stick.

Nowadays, her process is much more streamlined and she has a solid base of flavour options for her cheesecakes that customers can choose from on her website. Gellert offers customizable options — chocolate filling, flavoured drizzles and discounts on bulk orders. She currently rents a commercial kitchen and bakes every order herself, but she would love to see Candy’s Stix become a stand-alone company someday.

“I always secretly wanted to be my own boss,” Gellert said. “I’d like to tell my younger self: keep your options open.”

Gellert’s most recent success is becoming a vendor at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, which will give Gellert an opportunity to showcase her brand to a wide audience of shoppers, with the added bonus of having samples available to woo new customers.

Twelve different flavours of cheesecake sticks are currently available for order on Gellert’s website and she is constantly innovating new additions. Her current favourite flavour is caramel brownie, which can be specially requested on her order form.

I was able to taste some customer favourites. Raspberry, which Gellert described as elegant and decadent, did not disappoint. It came with a perfectly complimentary dark chocolate coating — if you like sweetness, go for this one.

I also tried a classic autumn treat, the Funky Pumpkin, which Gellert claimed has the perfect balance of spices. Not only did it taste like pumpkin pie, it looked like it too! I would happily replace a classic pumpkin pie with this Candy’s Stix creation at my Thanksgiving dinner.

Gellert also has a few unexpected flavour options, such as root beer float. Though root beer flavoured cheesecake might sound odd, Gellert assured me that if you like root beer floats, you’ll like this treat. After trying it, I agreed — it was delicious!

Gellert currently splits her time between running Candy’s Stix and pursuing a career in mechanical engineering. She offered some advice for other young entrepreneurs.

“Don’t go all in. Test the waters. See if people like it, then quit your day job.”

For more information on Candy’s Stix, visit candysstix.com or visit Gellert’s booth at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market.

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Photo: Supplied / Candace Gellert