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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Canada's podcast.
[00:09] SPEAKER_00: My name is Rivers Corbett.
[00:10] SPEAKER_00: I am the Atlantic Canadian host and hanging out with rock star entrepreneurs in Atlanta, Canada,
[00:16] SPEAKER_00: which for you people across Canada, in case you don't know,
[00:19] SPEAKER_00: including the forensic Nova Scotia, Prints over to Ireland,
[00:22] SPEAKER_00: and the beautiful province they call the Rock, which is Newfoundland.
[00:26] SPEAKER_00: And today, I'm really excited about our guest, Chanel Bellivol,
[00:32] SPEAKER_00: who is from Deep, New Brunswick,
[00:35] SPEAKER_00: which is on the other side of Monkton, New Brunswick.
[00:38] SPEAKER_00: And she's got a very intriguing business journey that really touches kind of cool with what I'm doing with my business, with Chef Toriel.
[00:48] SPEAKER_00: And so when we connected, and how did we connect in the first place?
[00:51] SPEAKER_00: Was it, I think it was on Hattle or something that there was a story on you?
[00:55] SPEAKER_00: Is that how it worked out?
[00:56] SPEAKER_00: Was it?
[00:58] SPEAKER_00: I don't know if there was a story of me.
[01:00] SPEAKER_00: Well, there should be.
[01:02] SPEAKER_00: If there wasn't.
[01:03] SPEAKER_00: So how did we connect again?
[01:04] SPEAKER_00: I can't remember how we connected.
[01:07] SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to think I feel like it was.
[01:10] SPEAKER_01: Oh, no.
[01:11] SPEAKER_01: Actually, okay, how it worked out is because I was on this Facebook group for entrepreneurs in Atlanta, Canada.
[01:19] SPEAKER_01: I think that's what it was.
[01:20] SPEAKER_01: Okay, cool.
[01:21] SPEAKER_00: That kind of makes sense.
[01:22] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, someone talked about the Canvas podcast and was like, oh my God, that's so cool.
[01:27] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I love your spirit because you said I can do that.
[01:30] SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
[01:31] SPEAKER_00: And of course, your story is absolutely amazing.
[01:33] SPEAKER_00: And good for you.
[01:35] SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's a real lesson for entrepreneurs right from the very beginning.
[01:38] SPEAKER_00: Somebody comes to you and says,
[01:40] SPEAKER_00: I'd like to give you the opportunity to speak about your story,
[01:45] SPEAKER_00: to be positioned on the number one podcast for entrepreneurs across Canada.
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: And you'd be shocked at the amount of people that don't take that offer.
[01:54] SPEAKER_00: You're playing about.
[01:55] SPEAKER_00: They're not getting the promotion.
[01:55] SPEAKER_00: So good for you, my friend.
[01:57] SPEAKER_00: You get.
[01:58] SPEAKER_00: You get great.
[02:00] SPEAKER_00: Great.
[02:00] SPEAKER_00: Great.
[02:01] SPEAKER_00: Great.
[02:01] SPEAKER_00: Good point to say.
[02:01] SPEAKER_00: I'm going to take advantage of that.
[02:03] SPEAKER_00: So.
[02:03] SPEAKER_00: So thank you for that.
[02:04] SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to read a little bit of your bio.
[02:07] SPEAKER_00: We're not going to cover it all.
[02:08] SPEAKER_00: It's quite extensive.
[02:09] SPEAKER_00: But.
[02:10] SPEAKER_00: But first of all, she describes.
[02:12] SPEAKER_00: Chanel describes her company, which is called Farm to Table NB.
[02:17] SPEAKER_00: I love it.
[02:18] SPEAKER_00: It was a beautiful project.
[02:20] SPEAKER_00: I think that's so cool how you begin that whole story.
[02:24] SPEAKER_00: And it was built up to your own work experience and your passion for gathering people around the table.
[02:30] SPEAKER_00: And it really was about gathering not just people around the passion of getting around the table,
[02:37] SPEAKER_00: but it was about having a conversation about the journey of the food that they're eating.
[02:43] SPEAKER_00: And more and more people of course have got that desire to learn all about that.
[02:48] SPEAKER_00: To have deeper conversations.
[02:51] SPEAKER_00: People reading of course labels much more than they ever have, but you're stepping it up.
[02:55] SPEAKER_00: You're actually bringing that expertise to your dining experience with fine retirement table NB.
[03:02] SPEAKER_00: And I'm just really excited about going on this journey.
[03:05] SPEAKER_00: So let's start with the beginning.
[03:09] SPEAKER_00: Obviously you've had a passion.
[03:11] SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you know, your own work experience and so on.
[03:15] SPEAKER_00: So take us through a bit of that and then say, what was the aha moment that you said,
[03:21] SPEAKER_00: I want to, I want to put this into a business.
[03:25] SPEAKER_00: Can you take us through that journey?
[03:27] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
[03:28] SPEAKER_01: So I would say probably the way that it all started.
[03:32] SPEAKER_01: So like my passion for all things related to food has been like really like long,
[03:40] SPEAKER_01: like I've always been since, you know, being in middle school, with cooking and all of that stuff.
[03:46] SPEAKER_01: But mostly I remember, and like I said in my bio, from my work experience,
[03:51] SPEAKER_01: which really got me to where I am today doing what I do,
[03:55] SPEAKER_01: because I had the chance of like studying in housing nutrition.
[04:00] SPEAKER_01: So knowing the benefits of food on the body.
[04:04] SPEAKER_01: And I had been teaching by that point, like on the side, cooking classes for like about a year
[04:12] SPEAKER_01: when I started that course.
[04:14] SPEAKER_01: So I really liked, you know, like gathering people around a table and cooking using that.
[04:20] SPEAKER_01: But something that I realized was really lacking is that you would hear people say,
[04:27] SPEAKER_01: or even like just like small kids, if they were to go serve with their parents,
[04:31] SPEAKER_01: and they would say like, oh, well, this food I got from the grocery store,
[04:35] SPEAKER_01: like, oh, it's not like not making that connection.
[04:38] SPEAKER_01: So with that interest of wanting to make the connection between where or if we come from
[04:43] SPEAKER_01: and how it got to her plate, I went and worked on an organic farm for full season.
[04:49] SPEAKER_01: What was that up?
[04:49] SPEAKER_01: It was at 10.
[04:52] SPEAKER_01: It was at my gut.
[04:55] SPEAKER_00: That's terrible.
[04:57] SPEAKER_00: That does happen.
[04:58] SPEAKER_00: I was interviewing somebody once.
[05:00] SPEAKER_00: I never forget that I was interviewing some just to like give you some time to think about it.
[05:03] SPEAKER_00: I was interviewing somebody once.
[05:05] SPEAKER_00: And anyway, my boss just barged into the meeting that I was in.
[05:10] SPEAKER_00: And I forgot the name of the person that I was interviewing.
[05:13] SPEAKER_00: He was waiting for me to introduce them.
[05:16] SPEAKER_00: So it happens.
[05:17] SPEAKER_00: You have these memory lapses.
[05:20] SPEAKER_00: So if you don't remember, it's okay.
[05:22] SPEAKER_00: I remember it now.
[05:23] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[05:24] SPEAKER_01: It was at the thumb of a farm.
[05:27] SPEAKER_01: So they're located just outside of Booktush in Samo.
[05:30] SPEAKER_01: It's in New Brunswick.
[05:32] SPEAKER_01: It's an organic farm.
[05:33] SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I was there for the full season.
[05:35] SPEAKER_01: And just to see, like not only all the hard work that goes into growing the food
[05:42] SPEAKER_01: that we get to have and put on our plates, but just like the whole journey of the food
[05:50] SPEAKER_01: I found it was so interesting.
[05:52] SPEAKER_01: And it really got me passionate about like I really want to have this component and share that with people.
[06:00] SPEAKER_01: And not only that, but like farmers are already super busy with it.
[06:05] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[06:05] SPEAKER_01: They do, right?
[06:06] SPEAKER_01: It's really labor intensive work.
[06:10] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[06:10] SPEAKER_01: And oftentimes maybe they don't always have that chance, especially if they're not in like farmers,
[06:15] SPEAKER_01: market or stuff like that to panic with their community.
[06:18] SPEAKER_01: That was how can I bring the community to them so that we can really showcase the work that they do.
[06:25] SPEAKER_01: Really highlight the food that they grow and really make that connection all together while fostering my,
[06:33] SPEAKER_01: you know, growing passion for gathering people together.
[06:36] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[06:36] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[06:36] SPEAKER_00: Yes.
[06:37] SPEAKER_01: So that's cool.
[06:39] SPEAKER_00: So you had that idea and you were doing cooking classes on the side where you were taking your training.
[06:44] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[06:44] SPEAKER_00: So talk about, talk about that.
[06:46] SPEAKER_00: Do you remember what the first menu was that you did for a group and talk about what they experienced and how do you did your research?
[06:57] SPEAKER_00: Because like that's in on kind of why I was brought up in the days of roots, the famous series of roots, you know,
[07:03] SPEAKER_00: how do you put back to your human ancestry?
[07:06] SPEAKER_00: How do you do that research on the food ancestry?
[07:09] SPEAKER_00: Talk about that first event that you did.
[07:11] SPEAKER_00: What was on the menu?
[07:12] SPEAKER_00: Can you talk about that and then how the conversation evolved?
[07:16] SPEAKER_00: Because I'm interested in one was the first event and then how you prepared for that event so that you could give the story of the food.
[07:25] SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
[07:25] SPEAKER_01: So if I was to go into because true, well, now farm table envy,
[07:31] SPEAKER_01: there are two main offerings that we have.
[07:34] SPEAKER_01: So we have our cooking classes which I've been hosting for the past four and a half years now.
[07:39] SPEAKER_01: And we're kind of on dinner is which only really started last year.
[07:43] SPEAKER_01: But for the cooking classes, it was really like it's so interesting to see how it evolved like change throughout the years.
[07:53] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, evolved, yeah.
[07:54] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[07:55] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because when I first started, it was very much more the focus on using food to like healer body or in order to be able to support the body in the way.
[08:09] SPEAKER_01: And like my approach with like farm to table was still there, but not as like for dominant as it is now.
[08:17] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[08:17] SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so that's kind of like how it started, but yeah, it was such it was such a rush to be able to like, you know, plan the cooking class and at the start because I really started teaching cooking classes because I remember when I was in school,
[08:36] SPEAKER_01: one of my teachers was teaching cooking classes on the side and I remember attending her classes and was like, wow, this is so fun.
[08:45] SPEAKER_01: I want to do every single day.
[08:47] SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I used to live in rural Capiti in New Brunswick.
[08:51] SPEAKER_00: Okay. Yeah, yeah, love it.
[08:53] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so there wasn't anything like that being offered there.
[08:56] SPEAKER_01: And I mean, it was still quite the drive like to ready to 45 minutes to get to Monkton.
[09:01] SPEAKER_01: So I was like, it would be so fun to be able to do something like that, but in my region.
[09:06] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[09:06] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. So that's kind of where it started.
[09:09] SPEAKER_01: And I think I remember my first class.
[09:10] SPEAKER_01: I think I had like three or four people joining.
[09:13] SPEAKER_01: I was a really small class, but it was so it was such a nice experience and just seeing, you know, people got her together and just cooking and learning together as well.
[09:29] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we're still talking about the journey of the cooking classes, but talk to me about when it ultimately switched to the farm to table model.
[09:38] SPEAKER_00: Because that's the one that, you know, the whole thing of gathering around people around food and so on.
[09:44] SPEAKER_00: It's such an amazing space to be in.
[09:47] SPEAKER_00: I'm in that space myself.
[09:49] SPEAKER_00: It's a vehicle to gather people and have conversation.
[09:52] SPEAKER_00: Talk to me when you made the switch to farm to table.
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: That's the next level of your business journey.
[09:59] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
[10:01] SPEAKER_01: So definitely it would have started like after I had that work experience on the farm.
[10:06] SPEAKER_01: And that's where I realized that I really needed to make that shift in the way I was running my business because I really wanted to emphasize not not only supporting local farmers and agriculture and makers after seeing how much labor goes into the food and everything.
[10:25] SPEAKER_01: That they grow, but also just being able to make that connection again.
[10:33] SPEAKER_01: So I guess.
[10:34] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so after, yeah, so after that work experience, that's where I was like, okay, well, especially in cooking classes, that's where I started creating seasonal menus.
[10:44] SPEAKER_02: Okay.
[10:44] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, where I was really working with what was available seasonally and creating menus around that.
[10:51] SPEAKER_01: So to really have that focus around what's available locally, not only to for it to be more sustainable, but for it to be able for people to have, you know, more affordable produce as well when you're buying in season.
[11:06] SPEAKER_01: So that's that's one of the.
[11:08] SPEAKER_00: How do you find how did you find us?
[11:14] Speaker UNKNOWN: I think it's really important to make those choices for the ingredients to make those.
[11:17] SPEAKER_00: Make those recipes make those menus because I presume you didn't just make the menus and then go try to find the ingredients.
[11:23] SPEAKER_00: You actually, you were able to source a heavy time.
[11:27] SPEAKER_00: What was available?
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: And made the ingredients.
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: Is that what?
[11:29] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
[11:30] SPEAKER_01: So that's where I worked with because throughout my time working on the farm, I made a lot of other connections because I had.
[11:38] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[11:38] SPEAKER_01: The DEP farmers market also while on my time.
[11:42] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[11:42] SPEAKER_00: Cool.
[11:43] SPEAKER_01: So I was able to make connection with other local farmers and other local businesses that were growing produce or eater that had like meats or seafood or stuff like that.
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[11:56] SPEAKER_01: That I was able to connect with them and see, okay, I have a class that's coming up on X date.
[12:03] SPEAKER_01: What's the availability that you think you'll have at that time?
[12:06] SPEAKER_01: So I can create my menu around that.
[12:08] SPEAKER_01: I know what we did.
[12:11] SPEAKER_01: And especially having been able to see really the transition truck to season working on the farm and seeing what's really available.
[12:22] SPEAKER_01: And I know it really varies from season to season.
[12:24] SPEAKER_01: But sure.
[12:26] SPEAKER_01: You know, with the weather and everything, but to have like a ballpark of what ingredients I could be able to create something which during the time of years.
[12:36] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[12:37] SPEAKER_00: And how does the, so when you've created those recipes, there's a couple more, there's a couple of questions that are coming under this.
[12:43] SPEAKER_00: So I'm around the table.
[12:45] SPEAKER_00: How do, how do your customers, your guests at your farm to tap table event?
[12:50] SPEAKER_00: How do they get access to the food that's in your, in your menu?
[12:56] SPEAKER_01: What do you mean by getting access to the food?
[12:59] SPEAKER_00: So do they actually participate?
[13:02] SPEAKER_00: Are they just watching you do something?
[13:04] SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
[13:05] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[13:06] SPEAKER_00: Actually, they actually participating in the cooking also.
[13:10] SPEAKER_01: Yes. So yeah.
[13:11] SPEAKER_01: So my cooking classes have always been hands on.
[13:14] SPEAKER_01: So it's again, the framework of it changed throughout the years, but especially in the last two years where I changed my approach to going mostly all season old with my menus.
[13:27] SPEAKER_01: We usually went with like two or three hour classes and it was all hands on.
[13:32] SPEAKER_01: So the aspect of the most about those cooking classes is that we get and it always gives me like the warm fuzzy feelings.
[13:40] SPEAKER_01: And I think about it, but it's like we gather like a bunch of different people from all the different background that maybe when they come into class, they don't know each other.
[13:50] SPEAKER_01: But I just the class because we all better, we share ingredients, we share tasks, we get to have fun and laugh, we get to ask question and get to know each other more.
[14:00] SPEAKER_01: And after the end of a two or three hour class, like everyone's laughing together, everyone's like the whole point of what I do what I do because it's so heartwarming to see people connect like that.
[14:15] SPEAKER_01: So yeah, so it's for that reason.
[14:18] SPEAKER_00: So you so you would bring the ingredients to the cooking class.
[14:21] SPEAKER_00: They don't have to go.
[14:22] SPEAKER_00: Okay, got it.
[14:23] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, and how do you how do you market your classes?
[14:27] SPEAKER_00: Because I don't that's you know, it's one of the biggest part of business is getting people to buy the freaking tickets.
[14:35] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and people went along a 10 after they buy the tickets.
[14:39] SPEAKER_00: So how do you market your business? How do you market your dinners?
[14:44] SPEAKER_00: Before you do that, where do you typically execute?
[14:47] SPEAKER_00: Where do you typically run your dinners in the molten area?
[14:50] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so my my well, my cooking classes I've been doing is both mountaining capillaries for four years.
[14:59] SPEAKER_01: And the dinners, what's really interesting with them is because I'm traveling to different locations.
[15:04] SPEAKER_01: So because I started only last year having my first dinner in September of 2020.
[15:11] SPEAKER_01: My first dinner was actually in Cucang in New Brunswick.
[15:14] SPEAKER_01: So yeah, Apple orchard and we did that like it was really nice.
[15:19] SPEAKER_01: We had tables set up like by the ocean. It was really nice.
[15:23] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, so you're you're not going to the local rotary club.
[15:29] SPEAKER_00: You really try to create a firm atmosphere around the.
[15:33] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because that's what's really interesting because like once I started daydreaming about this whole part of the table thing.
[15:41] SPEAKER_01: It was a beautiful project, right?
[15:44] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because he was simmering in the back of my mind and I even had like a vision board with it.
[15:49] SPEAKER_01: And I had like what I'm picturing and like and everything.
[15:53] SPEAKER_01: But I always felt terrified by the idea of not knowing how I was going to execute it.
[15:59] SPEAKER_01: So I guess that took a little bit of more time.
[16:01] SPEAKER_01: Sure.
[16:01] SPEAKER_01: Oh, while I was like no, like I know for sure. This is what I want to do.
[16:06] SPEAKER_01: I'm so passionate about this.
[16:08] SPEAKER_01: And I was like even though if I'm just going to figure it out like on the go, even if I don't have everything figured out right away.
[16:17] SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to stop that from letting me and trying it out.
[16:20] SPEAKER_01: So obviously, and quite the journey because I'm still learning obviously every single day as I'm.
[16:26] SPEAKER_00: I've been an entrepreneur for 25 years.
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: You know, that's it.
[16:29] SPEAKER_00: I'm still learning too.
[16:31] SPEAKER_00: That's life.
[16:32] SPEAKER_00: My friend is an entrepreneur.
[16:34] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[16:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[16:36] SPEAKER_01: So yeah, no, so it's been really interesting.
[16:39] SPEAKER_01: But there's like I never.
[16:42] SPEAKER_01: I honestly can't say that I've ever felt the feel like I've never.
[16:49] SPEAKER_01: What's the word I'm looking for?
[16:50] SPEAKER_01: I was never able to like really experience that feeling with anything else.
[16:57] SPEAKER_01: Like when when I hosted my first farm to table dinner in Kakaeng last year,
[17:03] SPEAKER_01: that feeling of like seeing people gathered together and like really because the whole the whole point and the whole I guess process with those events is that people come in.
[17:17] SPEAKER_01: It's usually a three hour event.
[17:19] SPEAKER_01: They get to you know, eat a little bit of food, have a drink when they come in and then they have a farm tour.
[17:25] SPEAKER_01: So the farm.
[17:26] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[17:27] SPEAKER_01: Got it.
[17:28] SPEAKER_01: Because I want to bring the dinners to the farm itself.
[17:31] SPEAKER_01: So that's okay.
[17:32] SPEAKER_01: I'm able to really see.
[17:34] SPEAKER_00: It only makes sense.
[17:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[17:36] SPEAKER_01: That's the whole farm to table.
[17:38] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's right.
[17:39] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[17:39] SPEAKER_00: That's part of it.
[17:40] SPEAKER_00: The knowledge, right?
[17:41] SPEAKER_00: Of going in that direction.
[17:42] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[17:43] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[17:43] SPEAKER_01: So that the farm owners are really able to talk about the history of the farm.
[17:48] SPEAKER_01: Why do you do what they do and really connect with those people on a deeper level and then people because obviously when we bring those dinners to the farm,
[17:58] SPEAKER_01: we're using as much as we can the ingredients and the produce from that.
[18:03] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[18:03] SPEAKER_01: You create or dinner so that the people can make that connection between.
[18:08] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[18:08] SPEAKER_01: We went and we saw the apple orchard.
[18:10] SPEAKER_01: Okay.
[18:11] SPEAKER_01: Well, there was apples.
[18:12] SPEAKER_01: They were harvested just right there.
[18:15] SPEAKER_01: And then we had an apple chris, an apple pie for dessert.
[18:19] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[18:19] SPEAKER_01: So to make really that connection and then apple.
[18:22] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[18:23] SPEAKER_01: People just gathering together.
[18:25] SPEAKER_01: Obviously it's been different with COVID.
[18:28] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[18:28] SPEAKER_00: What have you done to deal with COVID?
[18:30] SPEAKER_00: What's the end of it?
[18:30] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[18:31] SPEAKER_00: How have you been able to be flexible in that regard?
[18:34] SPEAKER_00: You talk about learning, my friend.
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: Tell us about your journey for COVID.
[18:39] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[18:39] SPEAKER_01: No, that's been interesting because the whole vision that I had is was that I was picturing like one long table with everyone sharing food together, sitting down and real division.
[18:53] SPEAKER_01: But of course with COVID.
[18:55] SPEAKER_01: COVID is all about social distancing and all that.
[18:59] SPEAKER_01: So when we hosted our first dinner, it was right before the master being mandated.
[19:06] SPEAKER_01: So that was that was a little bit better, but we still had to do the social distancing.
[19:10] SPEAKER_01: So we had bubble tables for like certain groups that at people could still.
[19:16] SPEAKER_00: It's so smart.
[19:18] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[19:19] SPEAKER_01: So that was quite interesting, but especially now like just even with the the COVID passport that's coming into.
[19:29] SPEAKER_01: So we're going to play in new friends we hear.
[19:32] SPEAKER_01: And you know, I have two dinners coming up next month.
[19:35] SPEAKER_01: Like that's another thing that we need to adapt with.
[19:45] SPEAKER_00: So we're are you.
[19:46] SPEAKER_00: So I want to get back to the marketing here for a sec because it is a challenge in any business.
[19:53] SPEAKER_00: And so how do you you've got two dinners coming up next month?
[19:57] SPEAKER_00: Use design them.
[19:59] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[20:00] SPEAKER_00: Get what's just what's on the menu for one of them as an example.
[20:04] SPEAKER_01: So for let's see.
[20:08] SPEAKER_01: So on or next dinner that's coming up.
[20:13] SPEAKER_01: Where I'm actually really interesting this one.
[20:16] SPEAKER_01: The dinner we're doing in the greenhouse that's near Hillsboro in New Brunswick.
[20:21] SPEAKER_01: And we're using mostly all ingredients from the farms.
[20:25] SPEAKER_01: So we have.
[20:28] SPEAKER_00: So brilliant.
[20:29] SPEAKER_00: Now I'm loving this all.
[20:30] SPEAKER_00: I'm loving it.
[20:31] SPEAKER_00: You were so singing my song.
[20:33] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[20:34] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[20:35] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[20:36] SPEAKER_00: This is wonderful.
[20:37] SPEAKER_00: So keep going.
[20:38] SPEAKER_00: So you're using the farmers part of them.
[20:41] Speaker UNKNOWN:
[20:41] SPEAKER_00: Is it a dinner?
[20:43] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[20:43] SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
[20:44] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[20:44] SPEAKER_01: So it's a dinner.
[20:45] SPEAKER_01: So we're going to take place in the greenhouse with the same kind of concept of having people come in.
[20:51] SPEAKER_01: Take a bite.
[20:52] SPEAKER_01: Have to farm tour with the farm owners.
[20:54] SPEAKER_01: Then go back to the done half the meal.
[20:57] SPEAKER_01: This is where we're going to have what we have grilled.
[21:01] SPEAKER_01: Grill chicken on the barbecue with some chimichurri sauce.
[21:05] SPEAKER_01: We have some roasted root vegetables.
[21:09] SPEAKER_01: We're going to have like a beer cheddar at Apple soup.
[21:11] SPEAKER_01: And some other things like that.
[21:16] SPEAKER_01: So it's cool.
[21:17] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[21:18] SPEAKER_01: It's really interesting and really, really fun.
[21:21] SPEAKER_00: And so talk about the talk about marketing that.
[21:25] SPEAKER_00: How did you market that dinner in Hillsboro?
[21:27] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[21:28] SPEAKER_00: To the people who are now going to attend.
[21:31] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[21:31] SPEAKER_01: So I'm still learning a lot.
[21:34] SPEAKER_01: Of course.
[21:35] SPEAKER_01: When it comes to marketing, but I did find that.
[21:39] SPEAKER_01: Because usually what I do whenever I have those events coming up, I have like social media pages.
[21:48] SPEAKER_01: I have an Instagram and Facebook and Facebook.
[21:51] SPEAKER_01: What's really nice is that you can create those like Facebook events that seems to be shared a little bit easier.
[21:59] SPEAKER_01: So I have a lot of traction over on Facebook for those types of events.
[22:04] SPEAKER_01: I've always had a lot of other things on there.
[22:06] SPEAKER_01: Instagram as well.
[22:09] SPEAKER_01: I try to do quite a lot of post to kind of give behind the scenes of two people of kind of what it looks like.
[22:17] SPEAKER_01: Do it in their events.
[22:18] SPEAKER_01: Yes.
[22:19] SPEAKER_01: Email lists as well.
[22:21] SPEAKER_01: But like as for the rest, we're still working on the website.
[22:25] SPEAKER_01: We still have some other things that we try to.
[22:31] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[22:32] SPEAKER_00: So but you're but you're getting people who are buying tickets to go to your.
[22:36] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[22:37] SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
[22:38] SPEAKER_00: So you know with with any business part of the challenge is getting validation that there's value.
[22:44] SPEAKER_00: Not just the people so that's good, but they're willing to give you money for it.
[22:48] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[22:49] SPEAKER_00: And so congratulations on that.
[22:51] SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
[22:52] SPEAKER_00: Can you talk a bit about you know, what are what are some what are some lessons that you've learned?
[23:00] SPEAKER_00: Along the way in building firm to table as an entrepreneur, not necessarily talking about the operations, the execution, but that bigger picture stuff that you said.
[23:12] SPEAKER_00: I wish I hadn't known this before I get started or whatever something like that because our audience, you know, there's season entrepreneurs, but they're also new entrepreneurs like yourself.
[23:22] SPEAKER_00: And I consider a startup entrepreneur somebody's going to business for five years or less.
[23:26] SPEAKER_00: And they're learning the you're in a laboratory, right?
[23:30] SPEAKER_00: You're just trying to figure this thing out.
[23:32] SPEAKER_00: So can you talk about maybe a couple of lessons that you've learned along and away with your business?
[23:36] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[23:37] SPEAKER_01: So one thing I would definitely say and it happened recently because I had an event just a few weeks ago.
[23:46] SPEAKER_01: And it turned out good, but I did get you know some feedback afterwards.
[23:52] SPEAKER_01: And I feel like something that I'm learning is to not like, you know, whenever I'm getting feedback, like take what I can, but like not take it like at heart.
[24:06] SPEAKER_01: Perciple?
[24:07] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, because I was obviously like I felt like, you know, this is like, this is like my baby.
[24:13] SPEAKER_01: Of course.
[24:15] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was, you know, to work on things and then getting feedback.
[24:18] SPEAKER_01: And it was like, it was like, you know, emotional, but I was like, you know, of course it's your baby.
[24:24] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[24:25] SPEAKER_01: So I was like, you know, so I'm taking this feedback and you know, it's constructive.
[24:30] SPEAKER_01: I can take, you know, some great information out of it and be able to apply that to my business to improve.
[24:36] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[24:36] SPEAKER_01: And versus just seeing it as like, you know, people being nasty type of thing.
[24:42] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
[24:43] SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
[24:44] SPEAKER_00: And I think that I think that that's a very positive thing, you know, I, you know, I think I get advice all the time.
[24:50] SPEAKER_00: And I think the key is you could just take it as information.
[24:53] SPEAKER_00: You know your business better than anybody and people I was finding are great experts in the business of doing business.
[25:00] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[25:01] SPEAKER_00: And but they really don't, but it's important you listen to your customer because you want to get more customers.
[25:07] SPEAKER_00: And so if you're able to get better because the customer feedback and then that's fantastic.
[25:12] SPEAKER_00: And so that's a great, great first lesson for entrepreneurs.
[25:16] SPEAKER_00: It gets easier by the way as you go on.
[25:17] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[25:18] SPEAKER_00: Listen to the, I think, but there are some good ideas.
[25:21] SPEAKER_00: And so what's another lesson that you learned along in journey?
[25:25] SPEAKER_01: I would say I had something in mind.
[25:31] SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, a second lesson in one that I think I just always keep in the back of my mind, but it's always, and I know it's so cliche because everyone say it.
[25:41] SPEAKER_01: It's always like starting before you're ready because I never, I never felt and still today's day.
[25:48] SPEAKER_01: I never feel like I'm actually ready to do what I do, but I still do.
[25:52] SPEAKER_00: You feel like a bit of an imposter?
[25:54] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, pretty much.
[25:55] SPEAKER_01: No, but really because I mean like especially when it comes because the whole, and I know it might change throughout the years because I still have like the bigger picture of what I see for my business.
[26:06] SPEAKER_01: But initially what my main goal was when I started the farm to table and be was not so much about doing dinners, but I wanted to do cooking classes on farms.
[26:16] SPEAKER_01: So that we could go gather degrees literally from the garden, bring it back to the kitchen and cook, but it's been obviously much more of a challenge because farms aren't equipped most of the time with those type of setup because they're not really there to do the catering and all that or there to do the farming.
[26:37] SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
[26:38] SPEAKER_01: So that's been like interesting.
[26:40] SPEAKER_01: So when I started because again, I really wanted to do the whole farm to table and do stuff on farms.
[26:46] SPEAKER_01: I was like, okay, well dinner is I can probably whip up maybe at some other time I'll be able to do the cooking class if I have to proper setup.
[26:55] SPEAKER_01: But when it came to like catering for groups of like 25, 50 people, like I never, I never did that.
[27:03] SPEAKER_01: Like yes, we did cooking classes for like up to 10 people, but catering for large groups like that was never something that I did.
[27:10] SPEAKER_01: So it was quite scary, but I was like, again, I'm not going to stop myself from doing it for you.
[27:18] SPEAKER_01: Figure it out a long way and you know, obviously, I love it.
[27:22] SPEAKER_01: It is, but it's been really fun to learn and it just makes me really excited for the next years to come.
[27:30] SPEAKER_01: You know, I guess with that mindset and that attitude, like what I'll be able to achieve in my business.
[27:36] SPEAKER_00: I love it.
[27:37] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is so cool.
[27:38] SPEAKER_00: You know, you are my friend and entrepreneur hands down high fund you.
[27:45] SPEAKER_00: You really are because just those two lessons right there, those are big mindset lessons.
[27:52] SPEAKER_00: And so many people I think I'm going to get some great value off of that.
[27:56] SPEAKER_00: How are the farmers been doing, doing brachial ideas?
[27:59] SPEAKER_00: How are the farmers that you've been connecting with?
[28:02] SPEAKER_00: They've been, I'm going to think that they've got to be pretty happy with concept with what you're doing.
[28:07] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, actually, it's really a win-win because when I started talking with farmers about the whole concept of doing farm to table dinners,
[28:17] SPEAKER_01: a lot of them were actually the feedback of the gave you was like, we actually really wanted to do that for ourselves.
[28:24] SPEAKER_01: But they limited amount of time that they have in a day.
[28:27] SPEAKER_01: Right.
[28:28] SPEAKER_01: They got a farm.
[28:37] SPEAKER_01: And so I think that the farmers and the idea of the day, most of them just don't have the energy to go plan and execute and advertise and do all that stuff to bring people to their farm and then go and host a dinner.
[28:49] SPEAKER_01: So when I contacted them and said like, I would like to collaborate.
[28:53] SPEAKER_01: Maybe we could do this together.
[28:54] SPEAKER_01: And most of them are really excited because it's a lot of them have that vision for the future as well of making that connection with people and where the food comes from.
[29:04] SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, I love it.
[29:06] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[29:07] SPEAKER_00: You're amazing.
[29:09] SPEAKER_00: You really are amazing, Chanel.
[29:10] SPEAKER_00: You should be very proud of your journey.
[29:13] SPEAKER_00: You should be proud of the people you're impacting.
[29:15] SPEAKER_00: You should be proud of being from Atlanta, Canada.
[29:18] SPEAKER_00: Talk to us about that.
[29:19] SPEAKER_00: Most being in Atlanta, Canadian entrepreneur.
[29:23] SPEAKER_00: Have you, you get any thoughts around the region that we live in and are fortunate to build businesses in what your thoughts on the entrepreneurial community?
[29:32] SPEAKER_01: You mean Atlanta, Canada?
[29:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
[29:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's really, really great.
[29:38] SPEAKER_01: Like, people are super supportive.
[29:41] SPEAKER_01: You know, especially I find like, people and not just like the other entrepreneurs, but just the people from the community.
[29:51] SPEAKER_01: And even like, small community, like, you know, coming from like, capillain rural area.
[29:56] SPEAKER_02: Capillain, wait, yeah, absolutely.
[29:58] SPEAKER_01: Like, people are so, so supportive.
[30:01] SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I, I had a recently.
[30:05] SPEAKER_01: Is that your dog?
[30:06] SPEAKER_01: No, the neighbor is dog.
[30:11] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, and yeah, it's been really, that's awesome.
[30:16] SPEAKER_00: That's awesome that they're supportive.
[30:17] SPEAKER_00: And so it's more than just the entrepreneurs.
[30:19] SPEAKER_00: It's the community itself.
[30:21] SPEAKER_00: And I know it's a consistent message.
[30:23] SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's really special.
[30:26] SPEAKER_00: How do people find out about the farm at table and being?
[30:30] SPEAKER_00: What's the best way that they can go to your Instagram?
[30:36] SPEAKER_00: Have you got some information on that?
[30:39] SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're not putting it in the feed anyway, but I want you to say you want to find out, go here.
[30:45] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
[30:46] SPEAKER_01: So definitely the best way to find out about or work currently would be through social media mainly.
[30:54] SPEAKER_01: So on Facebook, it's farm to table ND.
[30:57] SPEAKER_01: And it's getting over on Instagram.
[31:00] SPEAKER_01: We're really active on both platforms.
[31:03] SPEAKER_01: Instagram being my vice of choice, but there's a lot of people that follow along on Facebook.
[31:10] SPEAKER_01: But it's a farm to table ND as well on Instagram.
[31:14] SPEAKER_01: And that would be the best week currently as we work on the rest of this stuff.
[31:19] SPEAKER_00: But you can keep your journey going.
[31:21] SPEAKER_00: You mentioned we a few times.
[31:22] SPEAKER_00: Talk about your team.
[31:24] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're getting the work with you.
[31:26] SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
[31:27] SPEAKER_01: I don't I think it's first of habit.
[31:29] SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I want people to think that I have a team behind.
[31:32] SPEAKER_01: Of course you do.
[31:33] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love this.
[31:34] SPEAKER_00: I love this.
[31:35] SPEAKER_00: But it's me.
[31:37] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[31:38] SPEAKER_00: No, that's so cool.
[31:39] SPEAKER_00: I am so happy you said that because I tell people when I'm coaching them to do the exact same thing.
[31:46] SPEAKER_00: Talk about we because when you think about it, it is a team.
[31:50] SPEAKER_00: It's the farmers.
[31:51] SPEAKER_00: It's you.
[31:52] SPEAKER_00: It's the people who you know, it's the people who gas up your car.
[31:56] SPEAKER_00: You're trying to get out there.
[31:58] SPEAKER_00: All of these people come together and make your magic happen.
[32:03] SPEAKER_00: And so I love that you do that.
[32:05] SPEAKER_00: I know when I started in my business many years ago, my first one, it was a we also.
[32:11] SPEAKER_00: Yes.
[32:11] SPEAKER_00: And the purpose and it gives great credibility.
[32:14] SPEAKER_00: You create what you do, but it just gives that other sense.
[32:16] SPEAKER_00: So I love this because natural with you.
[32:18] SPEAKER_00: So, Chanel, you've been awesome to talk to.
[32:21] SPEAKER_00: I think.
[32:22] SPEAKER_00: We're proud of you as a land of Canadian entrepreneur as an entrepreneur.
[32:26] SPEAKER_00: And I look.
[32:28] SPEAKER_00: The one thing you talked about, I'm going to close with that, was the passion around bringing people together.
[32:35] SPEAKER_00: Around this whole experience.
[32:38] SPEAKER_00: And that, my friend, even though I haven't had the luxury of been into a farm to table and be.
[32:42] SPEAKER_00: Event yet, I'm sure that just keeps showing and showing and showing with the culture that you created.
[32:50] SPEAKER_00: And that's what keeps you going day after days because you've got this deep passion.
[32:54] SPEAKER_00: So congratulations on that.
[32:56] SPEAKER_00: You are amazing.
[32:57] SPEAKER_00: Keep doing your great stuff and we'll look forward to sending this out.
[33:02] SPEAKER_00: Not only by the way we're going to send this across a planet Canada, we're going to send it across Canada too.
[33:05] SPEAKER_00: So really, really appreciate you being on the Canada's podcast today.
[33:10] SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chanel Belavos.
[33:12] SPEAKER_00: She is the CEO and founder of Farm and Table NB.
[33:16] SPEAKER_00: I'm Rivers Corbett, the land of Canadian hosts for Canada's podcast, the number one podcast for entrepreneurs.
[33:23] SPEAKER_00: See you everybody.
