The Sault’s Kassandra Yun and Danial O’Brien have already attracted local attention and a great deal of customer appreciation for Kasdan Co., the coffee shop and bakery they own and operate on Queen Street East in the city’s downtown core.
Now, Yun’s doughnuts have earned the couple a place in Guinness World Records.
O’Brien and Yun hold the record for stacking the highest number of doughnuts - 10 of them - by a team of two in one minute.
That feat was more complicated than it sounds.
“When we were getting ready to launch our business at this location we talked about trying it. We submitted an application to Guinness World Records in the U.K. and they sent us a package with very specific rules,” O’Brien told SooToday.
The doughnuts had to be plain - no icing - and made fresh the same day of the event.
They had to meet diameter and thickness specifications and be placed one on top of another, O’Brien and Yun taking turns adding a doughnut to the stack with one hand behind their backs.
No attempt to stabilize the stack of doughnuts was allowed and the stack had to stand for at least 10 seconds after the one-minute exercise was over.
Video evidence of the process had to be provided and sent off to Guinness World Records.
Yun and O’Brien’s doughnut stack was 18 inches in height.
“It doesn't sound like a lot but when we were practicing we couldn't get more than six doughnuts stacked,” O’Brien said.
The couple stacked their 10 doughnuts on Oct. 27, 2024 and Guinness World Records notified them of their record-setting status earlier this month.
A plaque recognizing their achievement hangs on the wall of Kasdan Co.
“I was surprised. I don't know if it's sunk in yet but there’s the plaque on the wall. It’s kind of cool. We enjoy sharing that kind of thing on our social media page,” Yun said.
“It’s one of those novelty records for sure but I think it was cool just having everybody here as part of it. There were 12 people here. Everybody had a job like filming and timekeeping and then everybody got to enjoy the donuts after,” O’Brien added.
O’Brien is no stranger to setting Guinness World Records.
In 2018 he identified the most Best Picture Oscar winners in one minute.
“Somebody off camera says 1975 for example and you have to say what movie won the Academy Award that year for Best Picture," O'Brien said.
"You have exactly one minute and it was an interesting process. It was random. I didn’t know what years they would ask. It wasn’t in order.”
That record was broken, leaving O’Brien and Yun determined to set another with their doughnut stack.
“We had to get back into the record book,” O’Brien chuckled.
The couple’s record can be found on the Guinness World Records website.
