The Culinary Tourism Alliance Welcomes Five Summer Externs from George Brown College
We’re so pleased to announce that not one, not two but FIVE students from George Brown College’s Food Tourism Entrepreneurship program will be completing their externship at the Culinary Tourism Alliance.
Help Us Welcome New Students from George Brown College
Want to know a little bit more about the new externs? Read on.
Ivy Chan Joins Professional Services
Ivy Chan will be joining Ian and Shayan in our Professional Services department to help us in the research and exploration of Canada’s foodways this summer.
Her work will be incredibly important as we shape our strategies for telling Canada’s food stories in the Great Taste of Canada program and expand our reach nationally.
Growing up in Hong Kong, Ivy developed a love for food early on and has gone to great lengths to explore it!
Arming herself with a diploma in Hotel Management, Ivy has travelled all over Southeast Asia and Australia and also has a background in finance.
We’re so excited to have her well-rounded insight on board with us this summer. Want to know more? Read Ivy’s bio (and her delicious recommendations).
The Marketing Team is Joined by Abhigamya Patel and Cleo Luo
Watch out Canada! We have some wonderful new marketing externs on board this summer- Abhigamya and Cleo.
They’ll be working on spiffing up our destination profiles on OntarioCulinary.com, writing some blog content and creating social media content that fosters meaningful engagement.
Abhigamya is a passionate chef from India with a Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts and an Advanced Diploma in Hospitality Management from the prestigious Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Australia where he also got the opportunity to work alongside Jamie Oliver!
You can read all about Abhigamya’s exciting background and some drool-worthy recommendations in his bio.
Abhigamya’s teammate will be Cleo Luo this summer who comes with an impressive background herself. Hailing from Yunnan in Southern China, Cleo loves exploring new foodways.
Seven years ago, this brought her to Canada (we’re so glad it did!) where she graduated from George Brown College’s Culinary Management program. Cleo is a whiz in the kitchen too, working at several restaurants and as a meat cutter.
You can learn more about Cleo in her bio.
Kshitij and Abhijit are Shaking things Up in Programs & Events
Last but not least, we are welcoming Kshitij Ratan and Abhijit Patkar to our Programs & Events team where they’ll be delving into our signature program- Feast On®.
Similar to Abhigamya, Kshitij also completed a degree in Culinary Arts from Manipal University in India and during that time, he completed internships with hotel brands like Mariott and ITC.
Realizing how much he loved the craft, Kshitij then went on to secure a spot in the widely sought-after Taj Mahal Palace and Towers Management Training program.
From here, Kshitij worked in strategizing and executing for high profile events and watching over (including helping to execute Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s WEDDING)!
There is so much more to this career so be sure to read more about his journey on the bio page.
Finally, we are so happy to welcome Abhijit to the team. Abhijit (or Abhi as we call him) grew up in Mumbai, India and has always had an appreciation for great cuisine.
This appreciation and love of food guided him toward a Hospitality Management diploma and landed him at George Brown College too!
During the pandemic, Abhijit operated his own Cloud Kitchen called @Hungryy_Tummyy and successfully delivered 1400 packages over 1.5 years! He’s also known to show up with the odd treat for his friends and classmates (hehe). You can learn more about Abhijit’s exciting story in his bio.
A Great Summer Ahead
We’re so excited to have these five externs on board for the summer and hope to learn as much from them as they’ll learn from us. It’s sure to be a great summer. Welcome aboard!