Classes in Kawartha Lakes

Reservations/Appointments: Required

Established: 2005

Staff Size: 2?10 people

Average Duration of Services: 4+ hours

Parking: Parking lot

Brands Used: Kawasaki, Yamaha, BRP

Recommended Age Group: All Ages

Pro Tip: What to bring: Long pants, closed shoes, change of clothes and shoes, bug spray, and bottles of water

Most Popular Attraction/Offering: Two-hour Extreme Mud Tour with river crossing

Q&A with Dudley, Owner

When and how did you first develop a passion for your work?

I was always a avid traveler, looking for new and exciting adventures, but was never fully satisfied with the adventures I found. Having years of experience as a young child on many motorized vehicles, I realized that Cottage Country was the perfect place to start an off-road adventure company. With ATV trails from mild to wild with epic river crossings, I knew the adventures that [we] would offer would be more than satisfactory to all ages and all riding abilities. [We offer] one- to four-hour and multiple day guided tours, rentals for ATVs, snowmobiles, personal watercraft and jet skis, waverunners, sea-doos, and overnight ATV camping adventures. Come on out and see why more people ride with us. It's a mud bogging, river splashin', good time for all.

What special training do you or your staff have?

Our staff is passionate about what they do. All of our guides have grown up riding [sport vehicles] and some have even raced. Our staff's goal is to show everyone the best time ever in a fun and safe atmosphere.

Have you ever been a patron of your own business? If so, what was the most enjoyable part?

The most enjoyable part is [that] each year our staff scouts out new ATV trails ... with bigger and better river crossings, mud roles, trail obstacles, and breathtaking scenery for trail rides, [as well as] our overnight camping trips on the beautiful Canadian shield. So, every time our clients return they are always getting something new by exploring new trails.

Lika Zowmi and Nimali Senaratne both boast years as cake decorators, experience that they bring into the classroom every time they teach at Ice A Cake. But their experience isn't the only thing they have to drawn on. They structure their courses according to the Wilton Method of teaching, dividing courses into four levels with increasingly complex techniques. Though the first course is all about simply getting cakes to turn out, the fourth includes the skills needed to make and color beautiful confectionery flowers and other decorations. Lika and Nimali also prioritize keeping their skills current by continuing to professionally decorate cakes and anything else that would look better with piped frosting on it.

After running a gourmet food importing business abroad, Nikki Dersnah returned to Canada and opened TableTalk, sharing her passion for food through cooking classes and retailing high-end kitchenware. Taught by two experienced chefs, cooking classes begin by covering the technical skills—from pressing garlic to unzipping potato jackets—that students will need to prepare a full meal during the second half of class. Just as students experience food's power to bring people together, the class curriculum emphasizes dishes and techniques that awakening epicureans can use to entertain at home.