Liaison College
Kitchener Campus

1780 King Street E.
Kitchener, ON N2G 2P1
Tel: 519 743 8335
Fax: 519 743 6081

Chef Kirstie Herbstreit ; Chef Instructor

"I wish to inspire my students to achieve their own personal goals in the kitchen and to teach them strong basic skills that they can build on. The one simple rule I follow is to use fresh, local ingredients."

Part of Chef Kirstie Herbstreit's role at the Liaison College Kitchener Campus includes teaching up-to-date, fresh cooking ideas to her students.

Chef Kirstie practices what she preaches when she freelances for restaurants and catering companies. She works part-time for Dana Shortt Gourmet doing in-shop cooking for those who want meals to go, and she caters on-site dinner parties. At Hannah's Bella Bistro, Kirstie often makes guest chef appearances on busy weekends, and she caters dinners and parties for friends and family in her spare time.

Chef Kirstie received her training at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and apprenticed for eight months at Catch Restaurant in Calgary with Chef Michael Noble, who is well known for his Canadian representation of Iron Chef America. After that she returned to her hometown of Waterloo where she trained under Chef Dan Potter, Executive Chef of Sole Restaurant and Wine Bar and Blackshop Restaurant. A year later, she began to train under the owner of Hannah's Bella Bistro, but after six months, was called on to head up Hannah's new location.

"After just completing my apprenticeship, I quickly learned how to develop relationships with suppliers, order inventory, test recipes, write menus, hire employees, and organize the kitchen. I'm happy to say that Hannah's is a very successful restaurant that continues to grow."

When asked why Kirstie had decided to become a chef she replied, "I didn't decide; it just happened. I get excited talking about food, even if the discussion is about something as simple as a pasta dish."