{"id":1372762,"date":"2025-04-23T12:54:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T16:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.niagaracollege.ca\/insidenc\/?p=1372762"},"modified":"2025-04-24T15:20:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T19:20:03","slug":"a-chefs-journey-featured-alumni-hunter-kangas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.niagaracollege.ca\/insidenc\/2025\/04\/23\/a-chefs-journey-featured-alumni-hunter-kangas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chef’s Journey Featured Alumni: Hunter Kangas"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been 13 years since Hunter Kangas graduated from NC’s Winery and Viticulture Technician program, but on April 24 he will return to his alma mater ‘in spirt’ as a featured alumnus for A Chef’s Journey with Riley Bennett at Benchmark. Select wines from the B.C. winery, where he is now Cellar Master, are also on the menu for the dinner event.<\/p>\n

InsideNC<\/em> caught up with Kangas who shared memories from his College days, career highlights, details about his involvement in A Chef’s Journey, and more.<\/p>\n

Current role<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Cellar Master, Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia<\/p>\n

Hometown<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Hornepayne, Ontario<\/p>\n

Current city<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Penticton, British Columbia<\/p>\n

NC program<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Winery and Viticulture Technician<\/a> Class of 2012<\/p>\n

Path to NC<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I worked in a wine shop to pay for university and became fascinated with the history, complexity and power of wine so decided to enroll at NC and try and make a career out of it.<\/p>\n

Standout NC memories<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The people I met and relationships I made. I am still very good friends with several people I studied and worked with at NC. There are also quite good amount of NC grads out here in B.C.<\/p>\n

NC influences<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I use the foundational knowledge of winemaking and viticulture every day at my job. Obviously, there has been a lot of hands-on work experience since then. But the core knowledge all goes back to my time at NC. The program was very good at building the day-to-day skills and knowledge needed to succeed in this industry.<\/p>\n

Career highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n

I travelled and worked in Central Otago, New Zealand as well as the Yarra Valley, Australia, and made friends and connections from those experiences.<\/p>\n

I visited Burgundy, France last year and had the privilege of tasting in the cellars and walking the vineyards of some of the most famous and revered wines in the world.<\/p>\n

Rewards \/ inspiration<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It’s that there is a tangible product that you can taste and experience, knowing all the hard work that went into creating it. Wine is one of the few things that can capture a time and a place so well.<\/p>\n

Every year is a new challenge; nothing stays the same. Also the people I have met so many wise, inspirational, funny and genuine people from this career.<\/p>\n

A Chef’s Journey involvement <\/strong><\/h4>\n

I know [NC Wine Professor] Gavin Robertson at the College quite well. He got us in touch with each other. Chef Riley wanted to highlight a winery from the Okanagan Valley, since that is where he is from originally.<\/p>\n

I’ve created a PowerPoint slideshow\/video presentation about my journey and where I work, since I can’t be at the dinner in person.<\/p>\n

Words of wisdom<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Have fun and be open to the opportunities that come your way. And don’t be afraid to make mistakes; that’s the only way to learn and get better.<\/p>\n

A Chef’s Journey details<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Organized by the College’s Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies division, each event in the A Chef’s Journey series shines a spotlight on an academic chef – or two – who curate a multi-course meal along with an evening experience that reflects their personal journeys. The events also include featured alumni and a team of students. Stories will be conveyed through a menu of food and beverage selections, as well as storytelling, visuals, and other surprises throughout the evening.<\/p>\n

A Chef’s Journey events are held at Benchmark restaurant, located at NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The events are supported by students and staff from the College’s Benchmark team led by Victor Oliveira and Chef Justin Downes.<\/p>\n

For series details and ticket information visit Eventbrite: eventbrite.ca\/e\/a-chefs-journey-celebrating-students-tickets-1092764741759?aff=oddtdtcreator<\/a><\/p>\n

Please note: Tickets for scheduled A Chef’s Journey 2024-2025 events have sold out.<\/em><\/p>\n

Related<\/h4>\n

Benchmark spotlight shines on Chef Riley Bennett<\/a><\/p>\n

A Chef’s Journey Featured Alumni: Anthony Greco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been 13 years since Hunter Kangas graduated from NC’s Winery and Viticulture Technician program, but on April 24 he will return to his alma mater ‘in spirt’ as a featured alumnus for A Chef’s Journey with Riley Bennett at Benchmark. Select wines from the B.C. winery, where he is now Cellar Master, are also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":1372814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[284,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1372762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-relations","category-my-people"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Chef's Journey Featured Alumni: Hunter Kangas | InsideNC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.niagaracollege.ca\/insidenc\/2025\/04\/23\/a-chefs-journey-featured-alumni-hunter-kangas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Chef's Journey Featured Alumni: Hunter Kangas | InsideNC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s been 13 years since Hunter Kangas graduated from NC’s Winery and Viticulture Technician program, but on April 24 he will return to his alma mater ‘in spirt’ as a featured alumnus for A Chef’s Journey with Riley Bennett at Benchmark. 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