Top Chefs Become Directors of
Toronto West Campus

They are three of Canada's top chefs and members of Canada’s Culinary Olympic team.

Shawn Whalen, Lesia Burlak and David J. Bakker, will train students at Toronto West campus now that they have taken the reins.

Members of Canada’s Culinary Olympic team will train students

HAMILTON, ONTARIO, July 22, 2008: Liaison College, which is the largest trainer of chefs and cooks in Canada, is pleased to announce that three of the top chefs in the country have become culinary directors of the college’s Toronto West Campus at 2974 Lakeshore Boulevard West. The trio includes Shawn Whalen, who is captain of Canada’s Culinary Olympics 2009-2013; Lesia Burlak, who hosts the popular TV show ‘Foodies’ and is the only woman and youngest person ever to win the individual Culinary World Cup; and David J. Bakker, who was a member of Culinary Team Canada and is currently a member of Culinary Team Ontario 2008.

“We are honoured to have such prestigious, world-class chefs as these three join the Liaison College family,” says Rudy Florio, President of Liaison College. “They are internationally recognized and will certainly enhance the reputation of Liaison College as Canada’s top training facility in the culinary arts.”

Shawn Whalen, who was Executive Chef at the Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto, is one of the most honoured chefs Canada has ever produced and has won over 50 Gold Medals. From 2001 to 2005, he served as Captain of Culinary Team Canada which represented the Canadian Culinary Federation that competed against teams from other countries around the world. In the last Olympics competition, Culinary Team Canada won four Gold Medals and one Olympic Championship Gold in the Restaurant Category Gold Display. Whalen has been re-appointed as Captain of Culinary Team Canada and will lead the Canadian team once again from 2009 to 2013 as it takes part in competitions in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Chicago, Singapore, and Germany.

“Liaison College is at the leading edge in training chefs and cooks for careers in the industry, and my colleagues and I look forward to working with students at the Toronto West campus,” said Whalen. “This is something new for us and we’re very excited about it. We have lots of ideas and can’t get wait to get going.”

Lesia Burlak was Sous-Chef at the Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville under Whalen. As a member of Culinary Team Canada from 2001 through 2005, she has won 16 Gold Medals in international and Local competitions. In 2004, she was named by Maclean’s Magazine as one of the Top 30 Canadians Under 30.

David J. Bakker was Executive Sous Chef at the Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto, and mentored under Shawn Whalen. Bakker was a member of Culinary Team Canada from 2005-2008 and has won 16 International and Local Gold Medals. In 2007 he was honoured as one of the ‘Top Nine’ up-and-coming chefs in Toronto, and in 2003 was the top Apprentice in Canada.

Also joining the Toronto West Campus is Ron Pearlman, who is President and CEO of Freshtech Processors, a leading supplier of fresh, custom-processed vegetables for the foodservice industry which serves many of Southern Ontario’s largest distributors, caterers and foodservice operators. Pearlman brings to Liaison College a wealth of knowledge about operations and food costing.