As a private chef, I offer personalized in-home cooking services. Hire me for meal-prep, a private dinner party or my special soup & stew service, filling your home with ready-to-eat nourishing meals.
To the table, I bring a deep love for cooking, along with 15 years of professional experience in the food industry.
I also offer yoga sessions and mini in-home retreats that feature yoga, breath-work, tea-time & brunch.
Through Wild Berry I provide a service that aims to create more ease and space in your life, while allowing genuine connections to our food, our bodies and each other to unfold.
Read more about Wild Berry and my professional history below.
I’m Laura Pereira:
professional chef &
Yoga teacher
Servicing Cowichan Valley to Victoria
(and sometimes beyond)
Wild Berry Philosophy
Wild Berry is a promise:
to preserve traditional cooking techniques
&
share healing practices.
~
Wild Berry is a tribute to the natural world.
It is a bow to the nourishment provided by whole foods,
nature’s greatest gift.
~
Wild Berry is a Service of Simplicity;
sharing the power of yoga
movement, rest & breath.
~
Wild Berry is a homage to my Family:
for Nonna, who taught me the pleasures of Italian food,
for my Father who teaches me traditional culinary technique,
and my Mother,
who has mastered the Art of Love.
Things I Love
traditional technique
presence
deep flavours
natural nourishing food
movement
creativity
simplicity
life-long learning
connection & community
meaningful work
breath awareness
music!
Read professional bio below.
More about me
A Brief History
Born in Toronto into an Italian/Portuguese family of chefs, bakers and restaurant owners, I thank my upbringing for providing such a wonderful flavour imprint. I began cooking professionally in 2010, providing staff meals to hungry and hardworking folk. Following the great migration West, I moved to BC in 2015, where I worked as a seasonal cook in remote luxury lodges for several years. My career was changed by my Red-Seal Sponsor, Cory Pelan who hired me as a meat-cutter at The Village Butcher in Oak Bay. Working with local, whole animals was both empowering and inspiring, it connected me to my personal potential and the bounty of BC.
Most recently I have been cooking onboard Canadian Coast Guard vessels and developing an even deeper love for BC culture. Through my varied work experiences, I have demonstrated an ability to provide both comforting batch meals and gourmet experiences for top-paying customers.
I also love to travel and my food style reflects an international appreciation for spice and flavour. Having lived and worked on several continents including Africa, Asia and Europe, I developed an expanded capacity to connect in a meaningful way with a diversity of food and cultures. Following a short work-stint in London, England, I returned to lay roots in the most beautiful place I’ve known: Vancouver Island.
But wait there’s more…
Before my culinary training, I obtained a doubled Undergraduate Degree from York University in Professional Writing & International Development. Throughout university, I founded and directed a charity based in rural Ethiopia where we ran poverty-reduction programs for a community of youth. This means I have no tolerance for food-waste and promise to reflect that in my cooking. My degrees have equipped me with exceptional communication skills and a unique global perspective.
I understand the roll of a chef as an incredibly privileged and intimate job; I therefore aim to learn the needs of my clients in order to provide a customized food experience. I am also a trained yoga and meditation teacher, with a genuine concern for the well-being of others; my cooking style reflects my desire to nourish people and create beautiful experiences.
Future Dreams
I’m currently back in school, for the umpteenth time, studying psychology with the end goal of becoming a therapist. I dream of ways to bring together my passion for food, people, connection and health.
I look forward to meeting you!
Love,
Laura
