GUEST SPEAKERS

Véronique Rivest
Véronique is a professional sommelier, wine educator and writer who was first trained in Alsace (MBA; Ecole du Vin de Rouffach; workshops with World Best Sommelier Serge Dubs). While in France, she also worked for a winery and in the hotel/restaurant industry. Back in Canada in 1994, she worked as a product consultant for the LCBO, developed many wine and sommelier courses, notably for Ottawa’s Algonquin College Sommelier Certificate, and created award-winning wine programs for some of the National Capital Region’s top restaurants.

Véronique is the wine reviewer for French CBC Radio and for Le Droit newspaper in Ottawa-Gatineau. In May 2006, she earned the title of Quebec’s Best Sommelier and went on to win Canada’s Best Sommelier title in September 2006. She represented Canada at the World’s Best Sommelier competition in Greece in May 2007 and placed in the Top Ten. She has over 15 years experience as a private consultant, teaching and advising about wines to private and public sector clients, as well as 20 years experience in the restaurant industry, in Canada and Europe.





Mirella Ioly
Mirella Ioly is the Italian lecturer from the Embassy of Italy. She is a passionate teacher of Italian language at the Universities of Carleton and Ottawa. Since her arrival to Canada in 2005, she has been sharing her special insight into Italian food and history, which she feels "blend in beautifully with the majestic Canadian landscape and nature".
During her lectures at many DiVino Wine Studio wine and food events, Mirella always enlightens the participants with her knowledge and her simple message: "Every culture travels through its food, as well as its language, habits, products, and way of being".

Gino Mastellotto
Gino Mastellotto brings into DiVino Wine Studio his vital passion for the kitchen. Born and raised in Southwestern Ontario, Gino retained a degree in Philosophy and studies in fine arts before tailoring and refining his kitchen skills. His wholehearted dedication to the culinary craft is very noticeable especially when it comes to describing and teaching about Italian food. He is currently the Chef at Flying Piggy's Bistro in Ottawa and an instructor at Algonquin College - Culinary Program.
We asked him how he became so passionate about Italian cuisine and he promptly replied with a smile: " I actually discovered my Italian roots through my love affair with the Italian pantry!"

Sarah Cappeliez
Sarah Cappeliez just returned to the Ottawa area after 2 years spent studying the gastronomic and food cultures of Italy and France. She holds a Masters in the history and culture of food from the universities of Tours and Bologna. She worked for the Slow Food association at its headquarters in Piemonte, and more recently, for Slow Food France and the Université Européenne des Saveurs & Senteurs in Provence, where she developed taste education projects. All these experiences and teachings come together in Sarah’s desire to “spread the word” about good food and conviviality, elements she finds in the Slow Food philosophy, and in Italy, the country that gave birth to this movement.




Pasquale Iannitti
Pasquale Iannitti is passionate about Italian culture and literature. Born in Italy, where he developed a strong base for the Italian language, he completed his education at the University of Toronto earning a degree in Languages and Literature with an Italian major. For his thesis, he researched and wrote the complete grammar of the dialect of his hometown Gallo Matese (Caserta), published in a book in 2007.

Recently retired after more than 30 years of dedicated service in the Public Service of Canada, Pasquale held many important positions including Director of Operations, International Social Security Agreements. He has also been very active over the years as a volunteer in the Ottawa Italian Community as a director of several organizations, as master of ceremonies and as an actor since his high school years. Recently, he played Pantalone in a Commedia Dell’Arte performance in both English and Italian.