The Sourdough Experience (Level II )

For Lauren, Red Hen Artisanale 

• Is all about connecting with people by sharing her love for all things sourdough and passion for teaching. It is a series of workshops and food experiences focused on sourdough + sourdough based products, and going back to our natural roots by fermenting the foods we fuel our systems with. The workshops are aimed at satisfying people of all skill levels and bringing people in communities and workplaces together both through in-person and virtual workshops. Group sizes are kept quaint to allow for the opportunity to "get to know your neighbour", get hands-on assistance when needed, and have all of your questions thoroughly answered. 
• Lauren is a Culinary graduate of Humber College. Upon graduation, she spent the next 3 years living in and travelling through much of Western Europe, gaining work experience to enrich her career. She worked for different lengths of time in Amsterdam, Rome, and various cities throughout the UK. In May of 2013, Lauren enrolled herself in a bread program at the San Francisco Baking Institute. This is where her love of bread really began to develop.
• From 2014-2017, Lauren held the position of Pastry Chef for Peller Estates Winery – the most visited winery in all of North America. She developed a bread and pastry program designed around crafting every detail in house,  and sourcing ingredients locally as often as possible. This included baking fresh sourdough bread daily for the restaurant and special events on the property. She received the "Top 30 Under 30" award from the Ontario Hostelry Institute for her work. Until December 2022, Lauren taught Baking + Pastry part-time at Humber College. She has taken the winter semester off to focus entirely on the thriving Red Hen Artisanale.
• In the fall of 2017, Lauren took a road trip to Smoke Signals Bakery in Marshall, North Carolina. She spent two weeks working with Tara Jensen (@bakerhands), assisting with her wood-fired baking workshops and absorbing every detail Tara was willing to share about bread, fire, and the stars that make up the universe we call home.
• For the first 4 years of business, all workshops were held in quaint locations throughout Southern Ontario, from one room schoolhouses in the Brant County Countryside, to bright little studios along the Grand River in Elora. All of these workshops and hundreds of attendees have directly contributed to helping Lauren fulfill a dream: to have a Baking + Nature Retreat in the forest to welcome people for adventures in baking, hiking, foraging, and a chance to relax and reconnect, by disconnecting. Since January 2022, Lauren's custom designed, private baking studio along The Saugeen River in Grey County has been welcoming people in with open arms for a variety of baking and food experiences.