You know her as our head cashier and front end manager. You love the 100+ recipes she has written for Foodsmiths Food Blog! Now find out more about Cathy and her love of food!
From a young age Cathy has nurtured an interest in food.
Her first adventure was baking her brother's birthday cake in her sister's Easy Bake Oven. "I think it was his 1st or 2nd birthday." Cathy recalls.
Cathy's brother enjoying his Easy Bake Oven birthday cake. It's a fond memory for Cathy!
Cathy grew up in a house surrounded by food, with a mom who encouraged her to experiment in the kitchen. This led to many collaborations with her mom, creating big batches of egg rolls, peppermint patties, or whatever food endeavour they decided to try.
"We spent a lot of time in the kitchen. It was fun."
In her teens Cathy subscribed to every free food magazine she could find. At school she loved Home Ec and tried out her cooking skills and recipes at home. "Some of them were not a success, but I always had my mom's full support."
In high school Cathy knew she wanted to be a baker. Her dream was to own her own bakery. After graduating from high school in Northern Ontario she moved back to Lanark and worked for the summer in a restaurant learning baking techniques. She then went on to a one year course in college to learn the basics in baking, helping her professor teach a cake decorating course as an extra-curricular.
To earn her baking certificate, Cathy apprenticed at a Swiss pastries shop in Ottawa. "It was a tough learning curve." Cathy says. "I worked with Swiss and German bakers from Europe." At the end of a four-year apprenticeship, Cathy wrote her exam to become a licensed baker.
Eventually, Cathy achieved her dream of having a bakery in her home town of Lanark village, but the recession hit, and family hardships refocused her attention on her sick child.
During those years, baking became therapy for her, and on a bad day her kitchen would be filled with baked goods and the fragrance of fresh cookies and cakes.
"My love of food is very personal. It's not just baking. I love food in general."
When her son Tyler became too ill to eat and was fed intravenously, Cathy ensured he was still a part of meal times in their house. He loved to help his mom prepare food, smelling the dishes he was unable to eat. For Cathy, cooking and baking became an expression of love.
It still is.
"Cooking is my relaxation time. I love to experiment, and I spend a lot of time scouring the internet and consulting my recipe books, learning and inventing as I go."
"I love being in the kitchen."
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