Isabelle Loiacono developed a love for pastries early on as she eagerly helped her grandmother with traditional Italian delicacies. Her passion continued to grow as she started to develop more interest in cakes, pastries and all things sweet. She enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Ottawa where she graduated at the top of her class. She was taught by a team of highly skilled, classically trained French chefs who emphasized the rich heritage of French pastries.

Soon after graduating, Isabelle worked at the prestigious Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, where she worked under renowned chefs. Following that, she joined the pastry team of the Toronto catering company, Marigold and Onions.

She quickly developed an interest in cake design and was introduced to the art by Bonnie Gordon. Isabelle continues to stay current and inspired by new culinary trends and techniques by travelling and taking classes from professionals in their field. Isabelle has recently joined Bonnie Gordon Team as school instructor.

We are thrilled to welcome Jaclyn Douglas as the most recent addition to The Bonnie Gordon School Creative Team! She teaches a wide range of classes at the school and our students love studying with her due to her considerable knowledge, patience and thoroughness. Her classes include; DC1: Introduction to Cake Decorating, DC2: Intermediate Cake Decorating & Design, D2: Designer Cookies, D3: Mini Cakes & W3: Creative Techniques with Compound Chocolate. Jaclyn also has some exciting new classes under development.

Jaclyn first came into cake design when she decided not to return to work after having her second child.  She was eager to hone her creative passions.  She started to take part time courses, which lead her into an internship at the Bonnie Gordon School.  She is eager to teach other entrepreneurs and hobbyists alike techniques that she has learned throughout her career.

Charmaine Baan developed a great love for cooking early on and knew that she was meant to live her life in a professional kitchen. She showed an aptitude for pastry and baking while studying at the Stratford Chef’s School and shortly thereafter began working as an organic baker, specializing in artisan sourdoughs and whole grain breads. After graduating, she found her true passion working in the pastry kitchen of iconic Toronto restaurant, Susur. She followed that up with a stint as pastry chef of yet another local culinary darling, Splendido. It was around this time that she picked up an interest in cake design and was introduced to sugar work by talented pastry chef Norbert Maushagen. Through her classes, Charmaine continues to delve into the creative possibilities of sugar and all things sweet.

Jenny has always enjoyed baking for family and friends. She took a cake decorating course at Michaels in 1998 which resulted in her wanting to learn more.  She attended George Brown College where she received her Cake Decorating Certificate and later found her niche making gum paste flowers.  Initially self taught in gum paste flowers, Jenny honed her skills through a variety of classes and workshops, including a workshop with UK’s renowned sugar artist, Alan Dunn.  She has won top placement at sugar art competitions and can boast eight different first and second place awards.

 

Maxine has had a long-term love affair with all things food and is a veteran of the culinary industry for over 9 years. She has worked in a variety of kitchens from fine dining to resorts, throughout the city and the Caribbean. Though most of her experience had been in the savory side of the kitchen, Maxine’s interest in alternative baking was peaked during her time as Chef at Live Organic Food Bar where their focus was on gluten free Vegan and Raw Food cuisine. Since then, she has been developing tasty ways to have your cake and eating it to! Maxine currently works as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Culinary Wellness Coach with her company Changing Habits and is Chef de Cuisine at The Healthy Butcher.

Michael began baking from a young age and towards the end of high school switched his focus from architecture to pastry and decided to enroll at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa.  After graduating, Michael worked at a renowned Italian pastry shop in Ottawa before moving to Toronto where he currently works as a pastry chef at Summerhill Market.  During his spare time he loves to experiment with artisan whole-grain sourdough breads and confectionary, as well as learning about food science.

Sally has always loved baking but was mainly a 'cookie artist', making Christmas cookies for friends and family, until she discovered Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design. An OCAD graduate in Communication and Design, Sally started her own illustration/graphic design business in 2000, Creative Mouse Illustration & Design, and is a published illustrator/designer of countless
children's educational books. Seeking a new creative outlet, she thought she would tap into her love of baking and try her hand at cake decorating. Sally
attended the Confectionary Arts classes at Bonnie Gordon School in Dec. 2009, and discovered that cake design and sugar art is her true passion. She has now started her second business venture, House of the Rising Cake.

Having always been a 2D artist, Sally was shocked at how easily 3D figure
modelling and cake sculpting came to her and when she was approached by
Bonnie to teach a class she was thrilled. Through research and trial and
error she is quickly honing her skills as a 3D sugar sculptor and is very
excited to pass on her knowledge to other newcomers in the cake design
world.

Lori had always been known for her artistic abilities and for baking sweet confections and providing them to friends and family from her kitchen. It wasn't until the Executive chef of a local hotel had enjoyed one of her cupcakes that her love for edible works of art began.

To perfect her technique, Lori took the initiative to learn as much as possible. Initially self-taught through every lovely creation she made, her passion grew. Driven to learn from the best, she was honoured to learn from Bonnie Gordon of Bonnie Gordon School in Toronto.

In 2007 she set her sights on Collingwood and is dedicated to providing quality custom designed cakes that are entirely unique.

Amanda attended one of the only high schools in Ontario that teaches sugarwork and graduated from the Baking Program with honours. She began as an apprentice for renowned pastry chef Norbert Maushagen straight out of high school and has received top graduate in the Baking Program at George Brown College. She is now a pastry chef at Whole Foods Market Oakville and creates custom wedding cakes for private clients.

For many years Ava has worked as an artist in a variety of mediums, including painting with gouche and embroidering on paper. She has always loved fine and ornate work, and brought this baroque style to all of her art. A decade ago she started a small business painting custom Ketubot (traditional Jewish wedding certificates) which she continues to do. As an embroidery artist she developed a technique for sewing thousands of stitches and beads on Japanese paper. Most recently her art has been shown at the C1 Gallery in Toronto.

In 2008, when she discovered cake design, she immediately saw a new outlet for her obsessive love of fine detail. Since she had always loved baking, the transition to cake artist was more a shift to a new medium than an entirely new career. After taking several classes at the Bonnie Gordon School and working as an apprentice for a top wedding cake designer, she launched her own cake design business, Rostin Cake Co. At Rostin she has applied the creative and technical skills that she honed as an artist to cakes, and has developed a truly unique and innovative style.

She is thrilled to teach the art of painting on cakes to students at The Bonnie Gordon School and she looks forward to seeing you in class!