Lenore Johnson Email and Phone Number

In my role as a venture coach, I work with entrepreneurs in a variety of industries through the entrepreneurial journey. From ideation to commercialization, founders are encouraged to commit to a process of discovery at every stage.As a specialist in the food industry, my focused work with founders in that space is centered around innovation and efficiency with the ultimate goal of getting their food products into the hands of consumers.

A part-time role functioning as a venture coach working with Black entrepreneurs seeking to start or scale their businesses. From ideation to commercialization, founders follow a roadmap designed to help them avoid the pitfalls common to the entrepreneurial journey.

LenJo Bakes started as a pop-up cake boutique on Waiheke Island, New Zealand in March 2017. After returning to Canada and securing a location in Midtown Kitchener, the brick-and-mortar iteration of LenJo Bakes opened to the public on Valentine's Day 2020. In the years since, amid constantly changing business models, LenJo Bakes has emerged as an award-winning bespoke cake studio with a small retail shop serving the Region of Waterloo and beyond. Our café in St. Jacobs, The Shed, is our expression of what LenJo Bakes would look like as a café serving light lunches, locally made ice cream, and Kiwi-style espresso-based beverages.

A part-time contract role functioning as a venture coach working with Conestoga College-associated entrepreneurs seeking to commercialize their businesses.

Teaching both baking and pastry techniques and theory.

While on a working holiday visa in New Zealand, I tested out LenJo Bakes as a "pop-up" for a year. The result was a success and provided me with the real-time experience required to develop LenJo Bakes as a permanent entity in Canada.

My primary role as a pastry chef assistant was to fulfill orders for events. This included making and finishing canapés (sweet and savoury); preparing various baked goods and pastries; producing components for plated desserts including garnishes and sauces; as well as testing and scaling new recipes for menu integration.

My primary role at Daniel et Daniel was ensuring the pastry case in the food shop remained well stocked throughout the day. This included decorating cakes, making a variety of tarts, crème brulées, and chocolates. In addition to regular stock, I decorated and prepared all bespoke cake and tart orders received through the food shop.My secondary role included collaborating with the rest of the pastry team in producing elements required for catering orders. This included making custards, puddings, ice creams, crumbles, garnishes, and decorating cookies.