Born in Peru, Guillermo Tavera came to Canada in 1978 looking for opportunities and a better future.   

His journey in Canada began as a construction worker – he had no idea where his life would take him. Today, he is the head chef at La Dolce Vita, a restaurant vendor with the Student Association of George Brown College (SAGBC).   

As he landed in the country, he was looking for job opportunities with no plan in mind. He stumbled upon the construction job where he was handed a crowbar and a hammer and was told to demolish buildings one at a time.  

As winter struck, the job slipped through his hands and he was unemployed immigrant, looking for something with which to sustain himself. That was when he found a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant and found his passion – cooking.  

“In 1978, when I started to work in restaurants, I started to work for companies. I remember, an American company used to be called the Magic pan. And then I worked for other restaurants, mostly continental cuisine,” said Tavera.  

Having worked for 15 years in restaurants, he decided to go back to South America for a short vacation. However, fate had other plans.  

“When I decided to go on vacation to South America, I went exactly to Peru. That’s where I come from. I went to Peru on a vacation, and I decided to stay there for a month. I said, I’m going to stay for a month and I’m going to look for a job there. If I find a job, I stay for one year. But if do not, I will come back to Canada right away again, I found a job the very first day when I went there working for a hotel. And that year became six and a half years.” 

During this time back home, he learned to cook local cuisine from scratch. Working next to the beauty of Machu Picchu, he fell in love with food which would end up paving the path for a future that would lead him to join GBC’s culinary management program.  

“My perspective of the culinary world had changed so much by the time I came back to Canada, that I decided to go to school to learn more. I came [back] to Canada in 2000 and then I knew that I needed to polish my skillset. So that’s when I joined George Brown.”  

Talking about his experience at GBC, he reminiscences the fond memories of college he created back then.  

Being an immigrant and having a family, it was tough for him to maneuver through all of it, but he remembers his cooperative teachers and faculty which helped him complete his education.  

Things changed quickly for him once he graduated from GBC. Better opportunities came his way, and he was able to work for corporate companies and gain more experience.  

Years later, life has come full circle for him as he ended up working in a college where he once learned about the culinary world.  

“You know, it’s like coming home again. I feel young again,” he said.  

His dedication and passion for the industry flows through every word of the conversation. He suggests anyone who takes culinary management to take it very seriously.  

“Taste is all the matters but what I’m trying to say to most of the students is that I am hoping if they choose to be chefs, to be dedicated and have a lot of passion for the art.”