Sylvia Jurys' passion has always been French Cuisine and she is proud to be a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, where she was awarded the Cuisine Diploma. She is also a graduate of the Cuisine and Baking Programs at the George Brown School of Hospitality in Toronto.

Sylvia came to the Okanagan to share her passion for cuisine with her students at Wine & Thyme. We welcome local residents and tourists from around the world.

Sylvia has always been interested in food preparation, and fond memories of standing on a stool watching her grandmother bake apple pies was an early indication that cuisine was going to be an important part of her life.

Sylvia enjoyed a successful business career with a large corporation but she always held on to a dream to become a chef. While dedicated to her career and studying part time, she constantly entertained friends at her home and delighted them with gourmet dinners and cocktail parties. She has catered numerous dinner parties, weddings, showers, breakfasts, luncheons, cocktail parties and christenings, and has given much of her time and talents to several charity and fund raising events in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Peachland. She is well-known for her signature desserts and pastries. She embarked on the journey to realize her dream in 1992 when she began formal studies in both pastry and cuisine.

Sylvia was declared "Woman of the Year, Faith and Outreach" by York Region in 2002. She is currently a Member of the Board of Directors for Camp Quality Canada, a charitable organization helping kids with cancer through summer camps and year-round support for the children and their families. She is actively involved with Camp Quality Alberta.

Chef Philippe Guiet, Technical Director, Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, for his inspiration and wicked sense of humour. He was the best of instructors and proved to me that French cooking is the heart and soul of cuisine no matter how hard we British try to dispel the reputation of preparing only ‘tasteless and boring' food.

Chef Eric Chauffour, Culinary Instructor, Le Cordon Bleu, Paris who is undoubtedly the best chef that I have ever met. His passion for food made every plate a delight for the palate. He shared his culinary expertise with enthusiasm in each and every class. He is and will always be my mentor and close friend. To have his culinary expertise would be a true gift.

Chef Ludovic Chesnay, Patisserie Instructor, Le Cordon Bleu, Paris who told me that ‘desserts' is ‘stressed' backwards. How true! He taught me how to temper chocolate to perfection and bake patisseries to die for.

Chef Gurth Pretty, Culinary instructor and co-owner of EpicurianExpeditions.com who taught me about the abundance of Canadian Cuisine with passion and expertise. Game meats are the jewels of our heritage and are not to be missed.

Chef Klaus Mueller, George Brown School of Hospitality, for his sauces and marinades. His European influence was invaluable.

Linda O'Reilly, Chef/Owner, La Cuisine Fraiche Cooking School, Aurora, for planting the seed to take my passion for food to a higher dimension.

Martin Finesilver, a long-time friend and Owner of Finesilver Design Inc., who designed the beautiful logo and stationery for Wine & Thyme. He captured my feelings in that design excellence and food presentation go hand in hand.

Ray Jurys, my husband, for his constant love and encouragement.

And of course, my close friends, (you know who you are) for always being there.