What is your morning routine?
It begins with coffee, which I sip while catching up on news, emails, company internal reports, and Instagram. Then I wake up my daughter, make her lunch, get ready – then it’s off to the races!
Tell us about your career path
I am the founder and president of Balzac’s Coffee Roasters. I oversee all aspects of cafe operations and coffee roasting from the Balzac’s Roastery in Ancaster, Ontario.
My passion for coffee began when I was 14. My first paying job was at an Italian restaurant, Il Giardino, in Vancouver. One of my responsibilities was operating the espresso machine, and that’s where it all started.
In 1993, I traveled to San Francisco to learn the craft of coffee roasting and bean selection at the West Coast Specialty Coffee Training Institute. This was the same year that Balzac’s began as a coffee cart at Ontario Place in Toronto. Now Balzac’s celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and has 15 artisanal cafe locations across Ontario.