About Chef Shirley Lang
Executive Private Chef Shirley Lang’s Spirit name is Kaug Auk Shee, (Festival of the Raven), of the Cree Metis Nation. She is a Culinary Explorer, experimenting and creating cuisine with Indigenous ingredients married with Global flavours, living true to her passion! She has owned Kitchens of Distinction since 2004 until 2019, at which time she decided to rebrand, aligning more with her own culture.
In 1995, as a prominent figure in the elite Canadian entertainment industry, she relocated from Toronto to BC after 20 years of owning Brooke International Studios. Brooke International Studios was A Collective of Image Consulting Artists; hair-salons and a talent agency which catered only to her many prestigious celebrity friends, media personalities and entertainment moguls, from Canada and abroad.
“The kitchen is the heart and soul of any home. It is where we share the flavors of the food we lovingly prepare, where we share laughter, emotion, stories and secrets. It is where teachings, life lessons and comfort take place. It is where we gather together and where our heartwarming memories are made. We are equals in the kitchen & around the table; human, vulnerable and authentically magnificent.”
“For me, the kitchen has always been warm, welcoming, comforting and safe. My fondest memories are of days gone by as a child, growing up on a large working farm, watching my mother and grandmother cook wonderful comfort meals using the freshest and finest ingredients of the meats and poultry that we raised ourselves, and produce that we planted, nurtured and harvested throughout the seasons. These are heartwarming memories of my mother and grandmother, lovingly taking the time to teach me to cook, to read recipes, to learn measurements.
The kitchen was the place that I learned to never give up. If you make a mistake, it can be corrected or adjusted to create something else; to be resourceful. The kitchen was the place that I learned to try new things without fear, to be confident in my abilities … to be authentically me. This location and the teachings that took place there, would one day prove to be where all things fundamentally began in my world.
No matter what path I took the kitchen was the space that fed my soul, that calmed my world, and that continued to nurture my gifts, allowing me to succeed in other crafts. The kitchen today is the peaceful and meditative place that allows me to share my creativity, my gifts and my passion for global cuisine and everything associated with it.
I look forward to the opportunity to share my passion and enthusiasm for the culinary world with you!”
