That's A Food Job!

Jake Karls is Co-Founder and Chief Rainmaker at Midday Squares, a Better-For-You chocolate and snacking brand now sold in over 10,000 stores across North America. In today's episode, we talk about what it actually looks like to build a career on relationships instead of resumes, how to network without an agenda, and why your story matters more than you think, even if you don't feel like you have o...

Tony Wong is the Plant Manager at 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee roastery in Vancouver that supplies retail chains, independent cafes, and a growing e-commerce operation across Canada. In this episode, we talk about what plant management actually looks like in a food and beverage manufacturing setting, how speciality coffee is actually made and how a food science background in q...

Veronica Hislop sits down with Olga Cenic, HR Manager at Voortman Bakery, to talk resumes, interviews, mentorship, and the overlooked ways students can break into food manufacturing - all in part three of FoodGrads' HR mini series! Olga Cenic is the HR Manager at Voortman Bakery - a 75-year-old cookie and wafer manufacturer in Burlington, Ontario, and home to the number one sugar-free wafer in Nor...

This is part two of FoodGrads' three-part HR miniseries, built for students entering the food and beverage industry with support from De Lacy Executive Recruitment. In this episode, we get into what hiring managers actually do when they open your resume - and what happens in those first five to seven seconds that determines whether you make the pile or not. Steve McIntyre is the Vice President of...

In episode one of our HR-Miniseries we are talking about what hiring managers actually look for, how to approach resumes and interviews, and realistic ways that students can build experience and momentum as they start their careers. Nicolas Pretorius is Talent Acquisition Manager at Highliner Foods, one of North America's leading processors of frozen, added-value seafood. In this conversation, you...

Enea Lelaj is a Confectionery Specialist at Tilray Brands, working at the intersection of food science, product development, and one of Canada's fastest‑changing industries. In this episode of That's a Food Job!, Enea shares how his path into food science was anything but planned. Starting in chemistry at Toronto Metropolitan University, he followed curiosity into a food research lab and discovere...

Domenique Mastronardi is President of Beck's Bone Broth, a Canadian food startup bringing bone broth-based lattes to market — blending comfort, wellness, and innovation for retailers across Canada. In this episode of That's a Food Job!, Domenique shares her journey from engineering student to co-leading one of Canada's most creative emerging food startups. She opens up about what entrepreneurship...

Talha Rashid is a Continuous Improvement Manager at Handi Foods Ltd., a Canadian food manufacturer specializing in crackers and better‑for‑you snack products supplied to major retailers across North America. In this episode of That's a Food Job!, Talha breaks down what a continuous improvement career looks like in food manufacturing and how data, teamwork, and problem‑solving drive real change on...

In this special solo episode, Veronica breaks down something that often gets overlooked — what the food and beverage processing industry actually is, and just how many career paths exist within it. If you've ever stood in a grocery store aisle and wondered how all those products got there, this one's for you! --- CareersNOW!   is Food and Beverage Ontario's multi‑year workforce development initiat...

Salma Fotovat is the Co-Founder & Sourcing & Procurement Director at Riverside Natural Foods, Ltd. - Home of MadeGood. They are a Canadian-owned company that specializes in creating healthy, allergy-friendly snacks She shares her insights on the complexities of product development in the dairy industry. She discusses the importance of collaboration, the challenges of optimizing established product...

Pratistha Banerjee is a Product Development and Commercialization Manager at Darigold, a global supplier of dairy and specialty food products. Pratistha shares insights into her role, emphasizing that food product development is not just about flavor but also about functional ingredients, supplier collaboration, and navigating complex operational and regulatory requirements in the dairy industry....

What does a Product Development Specialist actually do in meat manufacturing? Leslie Herbas Marañon is a Product Development Specialist at Ascona Food Group, a global supplier of customized dry blends, edible films, and casings for the meat industry. With over 10 years across production, quality management, and R&D in Bolivia and Canada, she brings a hands-on, formulation-first approach to every p...

Mohammad Kathawala, a senior project engineer at Agri-Neo, explains what it takes to work in food safety engineering. He describes how project engineers translate technology into systems that work in real food processing environments, often across global operations. Mohammad shares how his engineering background led him into the food industry, what his role looks like day to day, and why communica...

Explore food industry careers with CareersNOW!: https://careersnow.ca/ Jayana Kaiprath is the Talent Acquisition Manager at Give & Go Prepared Foods, helping students and professionals land their next opportunity in the food industry. Give & Go Prepared Foods, part of the Mondelēz family of brands, makes iconic treats like two-bite® brownies and supports employee growth at every stage of their car...

Lara Tiro is the founder of Rebel CPG, where she helps food entrepreneurs take products from kitchen concepts to retail shelves. She brings deep experience in product development and project management, guiding clients through every stage of innovation to ensure ideas become market-ready products. Christine Farkas is the founder of IHeartFood and co-host of the podcast Munching on Molecules . With...

Kaylah Farina is the Product Development Manager at Sigma US, where she leads innovation projects for Bar-S Foods Co. She develops a wide range of meat products for retail and foodservice, including high-protein snacks and bold new concepts like a chili cheese dog burrito, which she describes as a mess-free chili dog on the go. Before moving into product development, Kaylah trained and worked as a...

Nataly Lopez Baron is the Manager of the Guelph Food Innovation Centre (GFIC), an applied research centre that partners with food businesses to transform challenges into practical solutions through research, product development, and pilot plant testing. Originally from Colombia, Nataly earned her undergraduate and master's degrees before moving to Canada to complete a PhD in Food Science and Techn...

Santiago Ampudia Vasquez is a brewer at Blackburn Brewhouse and Assistant Professor at Niagara College. Blackburn Brewhouse, based in Niagara Falls, produces a wide range of craft beers—from lagers and pale ales to specialty brews, seltzers, and ciders. Santiago holds a Master of Science and previously taught at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. After immigrating to Canada, he changed p...

Prairva Plepalakon, also known as "Summer," is a recent Food Science and Technology graduate from the University of California, Davis, one of the most respected food science programs in the world.  UC Davis has a big reputation in food science, pairing strong academic programs with deep industry and research networks.  In this episode of That's a Food Job! , Summer shares what it's like to study f...

Leslie Nienkark is an HR Business Partner at KWS Group, one of the world's leading plant breeding companies. KWS specializes in breeding and selling seed for crops like corn, sugar beet, cereals, rapeseed, sunflowers, and vegetables. Although Leslie hasn't spent her entire career in agriculture, her HR experience spans a variety of industries including media, software, architecture, and retail. Th...

Louisa Bachman is a Food Scientist at KIND Snacks. KIND offers a range of products, including nut and fruit bars, breakfast bars, granola clusters, and refrigerated nut butter bars. Before joining KIND however, Louisa earned her Food Science degree at UMass Amherst, where she both led their school's Food Science Club and Alpine Skiing club.   In this episode of That's a Food Job! , Louisa shares w...

Marin Pavlic is the Senior Director of QA Programs & Compliance at Sofina Foods and the current President of the Ontario Food Protection Association (OFPA). With over 15 years of experience in food manufacturing, Marin brings a deep understanding of food safety, team leadership, and regulatory compliance to his work—along with a strong belief in the power of networking and continuous improvement....

Thomas Hayes is the co-founder of Agilitas, a company building AI-powered tools to help food scientists formulate faster, smarter, and with more confidence. By transforming messy spreadsheets into an intelligent platform, Agilitas is tackling the "cold start" problem in food R&D and making it easier for teams to benchmark products, create base formulas, and retain critical institutional knowledge....

Tyler De Sousa is the co-founder of Circulr , a company helping Consumer Packaged Goods brands close the loop on their glass packaging through reuse. By managing the logistics of sourcing, collecting, and redistributing reusable containers, Circulr is making it easier for businesses and consumers to reduce waste and support a circular economy. In this episode of That's a Food Job! , Tyler shares h...

Felicia Sia is an Account Manager at Dempsey Corporation, a Canadian ingredient distributor specializing in innovative and technical ingredients. With a background in food science from the University of Guelph, her career has spanned multiple roles, including product development, technical sales and directing a cooking school for kids. In this episode, she shares insights into the world of ingredi...