Our Team | The Lazy Gourmet

Susan Mendelson

Owner / President

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Susan Mendelson

Owner / President

Susan is our inspiration and a mentor to us all. She started The Lazy Gourmet in 1979, and has over 35 years of event management and catering experience. Read more about Susan here.

Kevin Mazzone

General Manager

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Kevin Mazzone

General Manager

kevin@lazygourmet.ca

Kevin manages the whole operation and keeps things ticking along. He has been with The Lazy Gourmet for seven years, and works with Susan to implement the company’s vision and oversee management. He is also responsible for bidding, financials and buying decisions. As project manager of multiple simultaneous events, Kevin brings his passion for food, art, family and volunteering to everything he does.

Sales & Events

Shannon Boudreau

Director of Sales and Events

Shannon Boudreau

Director of Sales and Events

shannon@lazygourmet.ca

Shannon oversees the sales team and executes hundreds of events a year, ranging from 6 to 15,000 people. She loves being part of some of the most interesting events in the city, with a team of passionate, creative people. (She also loves getting paid to eat really good food.) Shannon has an inimitable sense of humour – you can see her witty yet educational segments on CTV Morning Live and Noon hour.

Jennifer Fryer, C.H.N.

Senior Event Planner and Manager, Special Events and Weddings

Jennifer Fryer, C.H.N.

Senior Event Planner and Manager, Special Events and Weddings

jennifer@lazygourmet.ca

Jennifer is passionate about and committed to bringing people together and has been with The Lazy Gourmet since 2011. She specializes in personalizing diverse events for each client and handling stressful event situations with grace. Her signature is her incredible attention to detail and structured + logical event flow. She is our in house certified Nutritionist and with over 13 years in the food and beverage industry she loves creating new and exciting menus to meet each clients vision. Give her a special theme to work with and she is over the moon! Jennifer loves to travel, meditate, be outside and try new restaurants.

Jenney Luong

Event Planner and Manager, Corporate and Special Events

Jenney Luong

Event Planner and Manager, Corporate and Special Events

jenneyl@lazygourmet.ca

Jenney is an Event Manager with the Lazy Gourmet, managing events of all avenues from intimate at home dinners to brand activations to cocktail galas and more. Jenney is responsible for planning events from conceptualization to execution, working with an initial budget and vision, creating menus, sourcing out equipment, and organizing vendors to bring it all to life. Originally from Saskatoon, she received her education in hospitality and tourism and has worked in the food and beverage industry for over 10 years before joining the Lazy Gourmet in 2016. What she loves most about Lazy Gourmet (besides all the food tastings of course)? How the team works together using their unique strengths and creativity to deliver truly custom experiences for clients.

Christine Noon

SFU Catering Manager

Christine Noon

SFU Catering Manager

christine@lazygourmet.ca

Christine has been with the Lazy Gourmet for 4 years and counting and is our Catering Manager who manages our operations with 4 Vancouver campuses for Simon Fraser University. Christine has a background in mechanical engineering and 15 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. She loves that everyday at work is different and she gets to work with a diverse and dedicated team to provide remarkable food and memorable service. We love the energy and enthusiasm Christine brings to the team!

Merrick Dai

Catering Service Manager, Special Projects

Merrick Dai

Catering Service Manager, Special Projects

merrick@lazygourmet.ca

Originally from Mainland China, Merrick brings both PR and restaurant experience to his work with The Lazy Gourmet. He loves being able to showcase his industry knowledge and skills, and helps manage and train our staff. He has a Diploma in Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, and has even studied fashion merchandising at Blanche Macdonald. Suffice it to say, Merrick has a passion for food, event planning and fashion.

Operations & Culinary

Allie Cooper-Parrott

Director of Operations

Allie Cooper-Parrott

Director of Operations

allie@lazygourmet.ca

Allie Cooper-Parrott manages our entire catering team and takes care of everything from organizing the schedule to get food out to our clients, preparing the back end of things for our events, problem solving and dealing with last minute details, as well as ordering and sourcing products and equipment of various types. She started with the Lazy Gourmet in 2011 as an Operations Dispatcher where she helped to grow the department and then transitioned into the role of Dispatch Manager. Then in 2017 when we were looking for our next Director of Operations, it made perfect sense for Allie to step into a larger role and lead our team with her extensive knowledge. Allie is invaluable with her infectious laughter, great attitude, and ability to organize the many moving parts involved in our operations.

Jenny Hui

Executive Chef

Jenny Hui

Executive Chef

jenny@lazygourmet.ca

Jenny has the enviable position of creating all our delicious food. With 18 years of catering experience, she’s responsible for the execution of kitchen production. With a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and a Diploma in Food Service Management and Red Seal, Jenny loves testing and creating new menu items. She manages over 30 kitchen staff, and supervises event chefs to produce food for 10 to 15,000 guests. She also oversees The Lazy Gourmet’s Food Sustainability program.

Rebecca Rancier and David Arsenault

Bakery Team

Rebecca Rancier and David Arsenault

Bakery Team

Rebecca Rancier and David Arsenault are our incomparable Bakery Team Pastry Chefs. Their roles are to run and maintain the daily functions of the bakery, ensuring that all product that leaves the kitchen meets the high standards of The Lazy Gourmet. Day to day, they supervise the bakery team, creating custom products and production of baked goods, desserts. Rebecca has been with the team since 2013 while David joined the Lazy Gourmet in 2014. Both gained experience working their way up the bakery team from production bakers to now overseeing the department.

Peter Toynbee

Human Resources Manager

Peter Toynbee

Human Resources Manager

peter@lazygourmet.ca

Peter is our people guy. He’s been with The Lazy Gourmet for almost 30 years, and is experienced in all departments of the company. With a love of people and psychology, he’s responsible for the scheduling, hiring and development of all event staff, and orchestrating teams that work well together. Peter has worked in the hospitality industry all of his life, starting as a chef, and was offered an apprenticeship at age 20. Peter loves the challenges and constant changes in the catering business.

Garret Hong

Accounting Manager

Garret Hong

Accounting Manager

accounting@lazygourmet.ca

As Accounting Manager, Garret works with people in every department at The Lazy Gourmet, and loves being able to participate in all aspects of the business. With a CPA, CGA he manages payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable and financials. He has been with the company since 2012. Garret also, unsurprisingly, enjoys food and food-related activities.

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