Faculty Profile - Sunshine Layton

Hello and thank you for your interest in the Professional Cook programs at North Island College! I am so excited to be a part of the great team of instructors in the Culinary Arts department. The brand new professional teaching kitchen in Campbell River opened in the fall of 2019 and not only is it beautiful it has a wide range of modern cooking equipment for students to learn the tricks of the trade.

I am very passionate about food, cooking, baking, agriculture, nutrition and the food service industry. This passion was instilled from a young age as my parents had a restaurant and then a natural food bakery. I contined to cook in restaurants while I put myself through Aviation training, gaining a Commercial Pilot's license and most of my Flight Instructor's license. At this point, I saw that my passion was in the food service industry and decided to take it to the next level. I recieved my trades training at Red River College in Manitoba and then worked for years in various fine-dining establishments towards my Red Seal which I achieved in 2002.

I started teaching some part-time courses in commercial cooking and discovered how rewarding and fun it is to work with students. This led to enroll in a Vocational Teacher Training program and since then I have taught various levels of the apprenticeship program to a great number of students. It is rewarding to hear of the successes of former students as they proceeded with their Red Seal Designation, moving on to work in great hotels and resorts, opening buisnesses and making a good career in the food service industry.