A Q&A with Chantal Roy, a TL Insider, on making new connections and meeting top chefs
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Toronto Life Insider is a membership club that gives you front-of-the-line access to the best experiences and offers in the city. With your membership, you get an upgraded subscription to Toronto Life that includes access to signature events (like a taco party with La Carnita), hands-on workshops (hello, cocktail-making classes from top bartenders), hard-to-get tables at some of city’s best restaurants (we’re looking at you, Momofuku Kōjin) and candid conversations between TL’s editor-in-chief Sarah Fulford and some of the city’s most interesting characters.
We chatted with TL Insider Chantal Roy, a marketing manager, about her experience with the membership so far.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Toronto. I come from a French-Canadian family—my parents are both from Quebec—and French was my first language. Speaking both languages in Toronto is such a huge asset, especially in marketing. I went to Ryerson for fashion communications, and I quickly landed a job right away with Puma. I worked with Puma and Tretorn for almost nine years before moving on to experiential marketing for Bacardi, and then to WeWork just this past year.
Which neighbourhood do you live in?
I live in Little Italy, around College and Ossington. It’s the best neighbourhood—my husband and I love it so much. It’s within walking distance to so many great local shops, like Prairie Boy Bread, and so many amazing restaurants. We love to cook but we also love to venture out to local hot spots.
Do you have some favourite local bars and restaurants?
Bar Isabel is just down the street from our house so that’s always been a date-night staple. Since Campagnolo closed, we’ve started going to their sister restaurant on Dundas, La Palma. We also really like DaiLo. Most of our favourite restaurants are right around the corner from our house which is both amazing and dangerous.
What does your free time look like?
We try to be social as much as we can, which means spending time with friends as much as possible. And going out to restaurants is great, but my husband and I really love to cook together. I also like to paint with acrylics just for fun.
Why did you become a TL Insider?
I knew it would connect me with a lot of different people. I’ve been able to meet people from all sorts of industries—people that I otherwise would never really have the chance to socialize with.
Any favourite events so far?
The Garden Party at the Toronto Botanical Gardens was great because it got me out to an area of the city I don’t normally venture to. I also really enjoyed the book signing with Jeremy Charles, the chef at Raymonds in St. John’s, Newfoundland. We got to hear his story about how he lived in Montreal for years and then moved back to Newfoundland to connect with his roots. And being able to get his book at the end of the night was great. It was such a nice little takeaway.
Have you tried out any of the recipes from his book?
We haven’t had a chance to cook any of them—yet.
Any upcoming events that you’re looking forward to?
I’m really looking forward to TL’s Best Dressed event—it’s always interesting to see the outfits that people put together. And it’ll be super fun because it coincides with TIFF and Fashion Week. It will be a nice little kick-off to September and the fall season.
Be like Chantal and become a TL Insider today.
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Toronto Life Insider is a membership club that gives you front-of-the-line access to the best experiences and offers in the city. With your membership, you get an upgraded subscription to Toronto Life that includes access to signature events (like a taco party with La Carnita), hands-on workshops (hello, cocktail-making classes from top bartenders), hard-to-get tables at some of city’s best restaurants (we’re looking at you, Momofuku Kōjin) and candid conversations between TL’s editor-in-chief Sarah Fulford and some of the city’s most interesting characters.
We chatted with TL Insider Chantal Roy, a marketing manager, about her experience with the membership so far.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Toronto. I come from a French-Canadian family—my parents are both from Quebec—and French was my first language. Speaking both languages in Toronto is such a huge asset, especially in marketing. I went to Ryerson for fashion communications, and I quickly landed a job right away with Puma. I worked with Puma and Tretorn for almost nine years before moving on to experiential marketing for Bacardi, and then to WeWork just this past year.
Which neighbourhood do you live in?
I live in Little Italy, around College and Ossington. It's the best neighbourhood—my husband and I love it so much. It's within walking distance to so many great local shops, like Prairie Boy Bread, and so many amazing restaurants. We love to cook but we also love to venture out to local hot spots.
Do you have some favourite local bars and restaurants?
Bar Isabel is just down the street from our house so that’s always been a date-night staple. Since Campagnolo closed, we’ve started going to their sister restaurant on Dundas, La Palma. We also really like DaiLo. Most of our favourite restaurants are right around the corner from our house which is both amazing and dangerous.
What does your free time look like?
We try to be social as much as we can, which means spending time with friends as much as possible. And going out to restaurants is great, but my husband and I really love to cook together. I also like to paint with acrylics just for fun.
Why did you become a TL Insider?
I knew it would connect me with a lot of different people. I've been able to meet people from all sorts of industries—people that I otherwise would never really have the chance to socialize with.
Any favourite events so far?
The Garden Party at the Toronto Botanical Gardens was great because it got me out to an area of the city I don’t normally venture to. I also really enjoyed the book signing with Jeremy Charles, the chef at Raymonds in St. John's, Newfoundland. We got to hear his story about how he lived in Montreal for years and then moved back to Newfoundland to connect with his roots. And being able to get his book at the end of the night was great. It was such a nice little takeaway.
Have you tried out any of the recipes from his book?
We haven’t had a chance to cook any of them—yet.
Any upcoming events that you're looking forward to?
I’m really looking forward to TL's Best Dressed event—it’s always interesting to see the outfits that people put together. And it’ll be super fun because it coincides with TIFF and Fashion Week. It will be a nice little kick-off to September and the fall season.
Be like Chantal and become a TL Insider today.){kind=link}