I am a Culinary Arts and Design Instructor at the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology. I became involved with Skills in 2022 as the Chair of the National Technical Committee for Cooking. The most rewarding thing in volunteering for Skills/Compétences Canada is seeing the calibre of the younger generations at work in their chosen trade. I also enjoy feeling like I am part of something bigger, helping shape our future workforce and inspiring them to pursue a career in this great industry through the skills competitions.

What are your favourite things about Winnipeg’s vibrant food scene?

Vibrant is the right word for it. I love that Winnipeg has the most restaurants per capita in North America, and we have it all – fast food, food trucks, diners and pop-ups, fine dining, and a wide variety of cultural-themed restaurants.

We also have over 200 participants in Le Burger Week and many other food events, such as Fried Chicken Fest, Poutine Week, Potato Week, Festival Du Voyageur, Food Truck Wars, and Folklorama! We love our food establishments in Manitoba.

What is your favourite meal to cook for yourself at home?

I go in phases. During the pandemic, I got into baking sourdough bread, as so many did. Also, during that time, I ended up taking pictures and videos of the many things I cooked and turned them into presentations as my culinary class was online for many months. I re-discovered many things cooking at home.

The food I truly look forward to and get cravings for are wings, hearty soups, cakes, and roasted vegetables.