I always knew I wanted to own my own business. One of my early jobs was working in a small café in Stratford, where I grew up. I worked there before and after school throughout high school and fell in love with cooking and decided this was the direction I would go. After working in numerous restaurants in Stratford and attending Stratford Chefs School, I traveled to the west coast to work at the Sooke Harbour House where my passion for creating menus and thinking outside of the box flourished.
After a few years I decided it was time to open my own restaurant so I moved back to Ontario to Ottawa, the hometown of my partner, also an SCS graduate. We opened The Urban Pear in 2001 and were able to have fun with the local bounty on our ever-changing menu. A few years later I sold my shares in the restaurant to stay at home with our daughter with the intention of opening something new when she was in school full-time. I ran a home daycare and bought, renovated and sold houses to raise the capital required for my next venture. In 2011 I opened The Hintonburg Public House which is a community-driven gastro style pub in Ottawa and I’m loving every minute of it!
What is your favourite restaurant?
Wellington Street Gastropub in Ottawa, Canada. Their food, drink & amazing service keeps me happily close to home.
What is your favourite cookbook?
The full set of Stratford Chefs School manuals. Honestly they are the only ‘cookbooks’ I have that ALL of the recipes actually work!
What is your guilty pleasure food?
Cheese of all kinds. In and on everything!
What food did you think was over-rated until you tried it?
Favourite knife or kitchen tool?
Victorinox serrated knife. I use it for everything (even though I know I shouldn’t).
What restaurant dish seemed the most intimidating, but is actually really easy to make?
Favourite ingredient you can’t get enough of right now?
What is a new technique/flavour you are experimenting with currently?
Are there any recipes from SCS you still use?
Ice cream base & bread rolls.
What is your best SCS memory?
My best memories are meeting up after class at Down the Street to chat about what we had learned/experienced that day.