Lucy Morrow, Culinary Arts 2014
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

For some people, their career path seems to be clear to them from the time they are very young. For others, it takes a while and few experiments to find a path that feels right for them; and for still others, they know what they want to do, but end up trying other things first. That’s how it worked out for Lucy Morrow.

Growing up in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Lucy loved cooking.

“Typical to a lot of chefs, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mom growing up,” she recalls.  “In high school, I would often bake something for a project presentation instead of actually doing a presentation.”

Despite her interest in culinary school, she decided to give university a try.

“I felt kind of obligated to go to university, even though I was interested in going to college for pastry. So, off to Mount Allison University I went, and while my soccer practice, and game attendance and performance were great, my grades were just fair, and furthermore, I didn't really care about my classes.”

Lucy’s boyfriend at the time was interested in taking Wildlife Conservation Technology at Holland College, so it seemed like an opportunity for Lucy to return to her culinary roots. She was accepted into the two-year Culinary Arts program – and hasn’t looked back!

She says the program taught her what she needed to be successful in the industry. 

“Holland College gave me the skills that were crucial for me to even know what was going on in a kitchen,” she recalls.  “Before Holland College, I was fairly naive about kitchen culture and what a workday would actually look like. I didn't have any knife skills, I didn't have my food safety certificate, I didn't know what to look for in a recipe, or what any of the lingo meant. The culinary institute provided me with the skills and certificates I needed to get my foot in the door and prove myself."

Lucy has been employed in kitchens from the day after she graduated, and is now chef at the Brickhouse Kitchen & Bar in Charlottetown.

She says she enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life during her time at The Culinary Institute of Canada and offers people considering a culinary career one piece of advice: “You can learn something from absolutely everyone.”

Images of Brickhouse Kitchen & Bar from the restaurant's website.