Rebecca Mackenzie is passionate about the interconnection between food, agriculture, tourism, arts, and culture. Rebecca has been instrumental in developing tourism products including Prince Edward County’s award-winning Taste Trail and the Culinary Tourism Alliance’s Feast On® certification program.
In her role as President & CEO of the Culinary Tourism Alliance (CTA), she manages highly participatory and asset-based community development projects at the local, regional, provincial, and national levels. Rebecca oversees programming, and partnership development, and develops comprehensive marketing partnerships to increase awareness of Canada’s food tourism experiences.
Rebecca contributes her expertise to a variety of industry boards including the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) and Visit The County – PEC’s Destination Management and Marketing Organization. She has written the curriculum for Centennial Colleges Food Tourism Post Graduate Program, contributed chapters to the 2nd UNWTO Global Report on Gastronomic Tourism, and produced a chapter “Transforming the Terroir into a Tourist Destination” in the Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism. She completed a Master of Arts in Global Leadership at Royal Roads University in 2021 with a specific interest in sustainable tourism and is a part-time professor at George Brown College in their Food Tourism Entrepreneurship Post-Graduate program.
Born and raised in Toronto, she spent her summers in rural Prince Edward County and lived there full-time in her 20s and 30s. In grade 12, she studied abroad and sailed with West Island Colleges Class Afloat on a 156-foot-tall ship to 20 countries in Europe and Africa – an experience that rooted her passion for travel, adventure, and taste of place!
Andrew Mackenzie is a serial entrepreneur and professional brand strategist. Working in the technology, advertising, media, and hospitality industries he enjoys the cross-pollination of successful ideas. Although carrying on a stormy relationship with a writing career, Andrew has a deep conviction that storytelling is the foundation to brand development.
Andrew’s personal brand project, which he co-founded in 2005, helped build PEC’s taste of place – Buddha Dog. It was not just a restaurant, it was a platform for the promotion of community economic development through local food. Using the lowly hotdog as a Slow Food ambassador Buddha Dog built a bridge between children, parents, farmers, and chefs. Andrew sadly said goodbye to Buddha Dog in 2013 as he returned to his full-time career as a Creative Director.
Rebecca and Andrew split their time between Toronto and Prince Edward County sharing their adventures with their two sons Jack and Liam, and their Silver Labrador Blueberry.