For NBCC alumna Chanelle Belliveau, no two days are ever the same—and that’s exactly how she likes it. Whether teaching a cooking class, catering an event, or sourcing local ingredients for her next dinner at Maven Hill Farm, Chanelle is forging her own path while uplifting the people, places, and province that helped shape her into the person she is today…
The Roots: Where Passion Was Nurtured
Born and raised in Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick, Chanelle’s entrepreneurial roots run deep. Her grandfather Claude Lajoie, founder of Claude Poutines Râpées, started a business preserving Acadian dishes—a legacy that inspired her to pursue a culinary career built on tradition, storytelling, and local pride.
“My maternal grandfather was originally from Quebec, but after moving to New Brunswick, he started a business canning fricot and râpé—a practice that became hugely popular across the Maritimes in the 1980s and 1990s,” she shared. “Looking back, seeing how he not only embraced, but celebrated Acadian culture through food has always stuck with me.”
That early exposure to food as a cultural connector planted the seed for Chanelle’s future vision: creating experiences that celebrate local ingredients and the people behind them.
The Growth: Building A Dream While Watering The Garden
In 2021, Chanelle launched Farm-to-Table NB, a culinary venture focused on reconnecting people with the food on their plate. In her first year, she hosted five dinners, welcoming hundreds of guests to experience curated menus designed to bring people together while fostering appreciation for local farmers and sustainable practices.
“It’s so unfortunate that people don’t get to see how their food grows, so I thought I’d love to create something that would bring people onto the farms, because farmers are such hard workers and don’t get the recognition they deserve.”
At every dinner, Chanelle takes time to highlight the local farmers, businesses, and makers, whose ingredients were used to bring each course to life. It’s a chance for guests to connect with the people behind their meal, turning every bite into a celebration of community.
While her business was thriving, Chanelle couldn’t shake a deep sense of longing for something more. This feeling led her to enroll in NBCC’s Culinary Arts Management program — a decision she says gave her the confidence she was searching for both inside and outside the kitchen.
“I really wanted to learn more basic skills to build on the business that I had already been building, and NBCC gave me so much more than that,” she said. “Probably the most beautiful thing that I learned while I was here was that I really got to learn to trust myself and become more confident in my craft.”
Her time at NBCC was anything but ordinary. From foraging trips and fishing for mackerel to running full dinner service and other experiential learning opportunities, every experience sharpened her skills and deepened her belief in herself.
The Bloom: Thriving Where Planted
Since graduating from NBCC in 2024, Chanelle has continued to grow her Farm-to-Table business while also joining Brix Experience as a full-time culinary instructor.
“To be able to find a place of work where I get to teach full time, this is the dream!” she said. “In both my Brix classes and my Farm-to-Table dinners, a huge part of it all is talking about where all the items are sourced, and why the menu was created the way that it is with the local ingredients that we’re using, and the different farmers and makers we were able to support—that’s the whole goal for why I do what I do.”
For Chanelle, success is rooted in New Brunswick, a place that gave her the foundation to dream big and the community to make it happen.
“New Brunswick is where my friends are, my family, my community, my life. It’s where I found my dream and where I get to do what love every single day.”
That love and appreciation for home is woven into every aspect of her work. Each dish served reflects where she comes from and the pride she feels in sharing it with others.
“After having curated the menus, after having cooked the food and looking back down at the plate, it’s really telling the story of the place that we’re from. It’s showcasing the culture, it’s showcasing my heritage as an Acadian woman, and how preparing all of those little things helps to uplift everyone in the area.”
Chanelle’s story reminds us that sometimes the dream you’re chasing is already in your own backyard—and when we nurture our own dreams, we help cultivate a stronger, more vibrant future for the province we call home.
- Book a Farm-to-Table NB dinner or learn more about her story here.
- Sign-up for her next class at Brix Experience.
- Produce: The Dieppe Market; Windy Hill Farm; La Ferme Terre Partagée; Broadfork Farm; Ferme Alva Farm; Rolling Tide Farm
- Dairy: Armadale Farm; Fromagerie au Fond des bois
- Meat: Boudreau Meat Market; La Ferme du Diamant
- Seafood: Big Fish Market
- Preserves & Specialty Items: Copain Artisan Bread Company; Dolma Food; Adorable Chocolat; LaRouère Chocolat; La Fleur du Pommier; Verger Belliveau Orchard; Les Petits Fruits de Pré-d’en-haut
Feeling inspired by Chanelle's story?
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