Janice Acio
Janice Acio is a Lab technician at the BC Beverage Technology Access Centre in Kelowna. Janice had one of her papers published in the American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Her scholarship is towards a Winemaking Certificate at University of California, Davis.
GEORGINA ACOSTA
Maki Adachi
A recent graduate of Burnaby South Secondary School and aspiring pasty chef, Maki will be applying her scholarship to VCC Baking and Pastry Program.
Elena Adiletta
Elena is a native of Vancouver. When her family moved to Pennsylvania she knew that after high school she wanted to come back to her roots and pursue a degree in Food Science at UBC. She hopes to become part of a research and development team of a food company afterwards and one day hopes to have her very own food product.
Laura Agnew
Owner/Chef – As You Like It Products and Catering, Union Bay, BC
[SCHOLARSHIP TOWARDS: Holistic Nutrition Program Pacific Rim College, Victoria BC]
Laura is a creative chef with a passion for exploring flavors and ingredients. Her extensive travels have inspired a love for foraging, browsing farmers’ markets, and uncovering unique finds to incorporate into her meals—whether catered or prepared for take-home.
Laura was a competitive swimmer, runner, and avid cyclist, eventually competing in triathlons. Today, she continues to embrace a healthy lifestyle on her 4-acre hobby farm, where she blends her love of gardening with her commitment to wholesome, creative cooking.
Through pursuing a program in holistic nutrition, Laura hopes to deepen her understanding of food and wellness with the goal of preparing nourishing meals, leading classes, and empowering others to embrace healthier, more mindful eating.
Sung-Hee Ahn
Sung-Hee’s first experience at food preparation was cooking, and burning, a whole pot of rice at the age of nine! Luckily, her culinary skills improved and after a short career in Interior Design, she came to Canada and followed her ambition to become a chef. Sung-Hee now has her Diploma in Culinary Arts and is apprenticing at The Pear Tree working on her Red Seal.
Maria Alvarez
Maria’s career began with a BSc in Microbiology in Costa Rica. But pursuing her interest in cooking has been an ongoing drive. It’s her desire to have her own restaurant, where people can enjoy savoring the delicacies of French cuisine mingled with the Spanish and Latin American tastes. With that goal in mind, she has spent considerable time working in restaurants in Costa Rica and Vancouver, to gain experience and further her culinary skills. Maria’s scholarship will help fund her course in Culinary Arts at Dubrulle’s.
Cassandra J Anderton
Good Life Vancouver Publisher, Freelance Writer, Brand Ambassador/Sales Specialist for Sea Cider, Content Creator. PR, Events, Social and Digital Media Consultant.
Cassandra Anderton is a freelance travel, food, wine, and lifestyle writer, content creator and broadcaster. She is the publisher and editor of Goodlifevancouver.com, a website devoted to what’s good in and around Vancouver and sometimes far beyond. Cassandra is a Past President of the British Columbia Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an organization of women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality whose mission is education, provision of scholarships and philanthropy.
Cassandra has appeared on Global Television and CityTV and published in Vita Magazine, BC Living, The Vancouver Courier, BC Wine Trails Magazine, The Yellow Pages Style Guides, Darpan Magazine, and EatNorth. She is an ambassador and sales specialist for Sea Cider and The BC Food and Beverage Association. She consults on Social, Public, Media and Digital Marketing, curates content and produces social media and digital marketing for brands in the food, drink, health and travel industries. Past projects have included working with Wines from Vinho Verde, BC Blueberries, BC and Alberta Pork, Avocados from Mexico, and I-REMOVE Weight Loss supplements.
Cassandra was born in New Zealand, grew up in the Okanagan, and has lived in Vancouver for “many” years. She is passionate about local food, cider, spirits, beer and wine and loves to travel to report on what others are doing to promote their local culture.
Cassandra can be reached at cassandra (at) goodlifevancouver (dot) com
PLEASE CHECK our “Work with GLV” page for ways to work with Cassandra and Good Life Vancouver to raise awareness for your brand or product.
Jenna Angle
Jenna grew up in Salmon Arm and comes from a family that loves to cook. From her high school Culinary Ace-it Instructor to Thompson Rivers University Jenna found inspiration. After graduation she had the opportunity to work in Whistler at the Fairmont Chateau and now with Chef Casavant at Monteo Resort in Kelowna. She continues to grow, learn and succeed. With her scholarship from Les Dames she will finish her level three apprenticeship and continue to strive for excellence.
Ayja Armstrong-Golder
From before she was old enough to taste it, Ayja has always had a keen interest in wine. After competing her WSET Level 2 in the Champagne region and traveling to several other French wine regions, she fell in love with the diversity of the country’s wines. Having recently completed her WSET Level 3 Ayja will focus on French wines using her scholarship to take the French Wine Scholar program. Ayja would like to thank Les Dames d’Escoffier for giving her the opportunity to do so.
Tina Bacon
Tina is a mother of three who loves to share her passion for baking whether it be baking for a caterer or cafe, teaching a class or simply watching the pleasure on someone’s face as she shares with them something she’s made. Great ingredients, good techniques and lots of love go into everything she bakes. Tina has been baking since she was a little girl in her mother’s kitchen and is primarily self taught. After years of wishing for a job she loved rather than one that just paid the bills, she got her opportunity. Tina hopes to expand her knowledge for her customers and fine tune her skills through the Pastry Training Center of Vancouver with Chef Marco Ropke.
Sona Bae
Sona Bae, still a novice in the industry, discovered her passion for the food working in different restaurants. She is currently studying business management and hopes to one day open a restaurant of her own. Excited to learn from industry professionals, Sona looks forward to expanding her culinary knowledge at the Northwest Culinary Academy.
Robynn Baijius
After a decade of working in administration, Robynn is finally following her dreams of feeding people good food by taking the Culinary Arts program at Vancouver Island University. Fueled by a passion for sustainability and the slow movement, she is thrilled to finally be able to learn everything she can about her first love: food. She is also very interested in continuing her education into baked goods and delicious treats and confections.
Sukhminder Banwait
Sukhminder looks forward to using her scholarship to help with her tuition for the Culinary Arts program at VCC. Her past experience as an events planner and at Provence Marinaside has made her realise she would now like to pursue a culinary career.
Ceri Barlow
Ceri is passionate about food and beverage and the people that create these products. She is an active member of her Victoria community and has raised many funds for farmers, food producers and food education on Vancouver Island. Her goal is to never stop learning and to be influential in igniting similar passions in others.
Wendy Barrett
Wendy is the creator and developer of a culinary program called ‘a passion for pears’. On an annual basis, Wendy teaches this program in 50 different culinary schools across Canada. When she is not touring, Wendy teaches foodie seminars in the Lower Mainland. Wendy is a self taught cook but wants to keep growing and expanding her knowledge. With assistance from Les Dames, Wendy will be taking an International cooking class at the Art Institute and looks forward to learning new skills.
Ashley Barrette
Ever since Ashley can remember, food has been a driving force in her life. She comes from a large French/Irish Canadian family that would make up any reason just to gather and feast. She was easily bitten by the baking bug when she was hired as a pastry assistant. Four years ago at the age of 21, Ashley was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. She had to give up the one thing she’s been certain of for a long time, the job that satisfied and pushed her. But hopefully the Callebaut Chocolate Academy will be the perfect stepping stone for her to give her a taste of what is out there; to diversify her skills and potentially open new doors in the wonderfully varied world that is the food industry and the world of chocolate.
Madeline Beaumont
Madeline has always loved baking and cooking. She has been doing both (successfully says her family) from a very early age. Over the last few years her culinary repertoire has expanded to include several plant-based and gluten free options. Madeline will be attending the Northwest Culinary Academy this fall and she could not be more excited!
Alyssa Belter
Alyssa was a voracious reader growing up in St Albert, Alberta. She particularly enjoyed reading cookbooks. However, she was woefully inexperienced at the art of actual cooking. It wasn’t until grade 12 that she proudly learned how to scramble eggs. While attending the University of Victoria Alyssa realized she would need to learn to cook more than scrambled eggs to survive. This led to further exploration of new tastes and ingredients found at specialty food stores, farmers markets, restaurants and even the internet. But Alyssa is not only interested in cooking; cheese making, charcuterie, writing and farming also peak her interest. She will be attending Northwest Culinary with her scholarship and looks forward to discovering how she will continue to participate in our hopefully sustainable community.
Leanne Bentley
After completing the baking and pastry course at VCC, Leanne apprenticed at the Sutton Place Hotel as an apprentice and competed in Skills Canada winning Gold in B.C. and Silver in Canada. On a trip to Paris, Leanne became mesmerised by the beautiful patisseries and chocolate shops and has decided to further her knowledge and training. She looks to refine and develop her skills in the world of chocolate by taking the Master of Chocolate program on Bowen Island.
Kaitlyn Berendt
Kaitlyn started in the wine industry working in the lab, after completing her microbiology degree at UBCO. Realizing her passion for wine and the effort that is put to create beautiful wines, she decided she would like to become a winemaker. She worked a couple harvests over seas, and now she is ready to settle in the Okangan as a winemaker. She is starting her enology certificaite with the help of this scholarship.
Alix Berrington
Raised in the Okanagan, Alix has always had an appreciation for the wine industry. From running tasting bars to hosting wine tours throughout the Okanagan, she enjoys all aspects of the industry. Alix aspires to continue her wine education with a focus in wine-making and viticulture.
Paola Bonifacio
Paola is currently pursuing her career in the pastry world in the beautiful mountains of Whistler. Employed by the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, she is training in creating plated desserts and pastries that incorporates fresh ingredients from local farms to promote ‘Farm-to-Table’.
Adriana Bonzano
Adriana pursued a technical wine degree at the University of Bordeaux, where she also enjoyed learning the basics of food and wine pairing. Always a keen student, she is currently continuing her wine education at the Sommelier Diploma level under Dame DJ Kearney, and wishes to thank Les Dames for their generous support. She loves to participate in wine and food events, and eventually hopes to work in a winery or wine cellar.
Michelle Bouffard
After moving to Vancouver from Quebec City to study classical trumpet, Michelle began a wine course and discovered a new passion. Several courses followed through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, and this spring she has written exams for her International Diploma. Meanwhile, she is employed as Sommelier at Marquis Wine Cellars. En route to her Masters of Wine, Michelle will be applying her scholarship to completing the Diploma Program for WSET.
