Eatdrink #76 March/April 2019

14 | March/April 2019
perhaps it’s not surprising that in their post-
CFL life the Marshalls would want to start a
business themselves, that Jodie would handle
the human relations and marketing, and that
one of their biggest client groups would be
local sports teams.
Marshall’s Pasta Mill opened in 1995. Ten
years ago the couple purchased Lusitania
Bakery and moved their pasta business
into the Adelaide Street store. With the
complementary businesses under one roof,
Marshall’s became a one-stop shop for a
full pasta dinner with the fixings, offering a
variety of fresh pastas and sauces, Portuguese
breads, prepared meals, lasagna, soups,
meatballs and more.
Jodie runs the daily operations, from school
hot lunches and group fundraising events, to
walk-in customers and catering orders. There
is also a wholesale side of the business that
delivers freshly baked bread to local restaurants.
“The two things that I find most satisfying
about my job are that we make really good
healthy food that people love, and that we are
able to help others in our community,” says
Jodie. “I am involved with different social
justice committees and Marshall’s supports
many charitable organizations. Helping
others, whether it is through my business or
in my personal life, is the most important
thing for me.”
Michelle Pierce Hamilton
Owner, The Tea Lounge & beTeas
When Michelle Pierce Hamilton worked in
the financial and banking industry she visited
tea places in different parts of the world, and
was quite taken with the artistry and love
demonstrated by the tea masters. “You just feel
so peaceful,” she says. She started to seriously
study tea when people who were close to her
Michelle Pearce Hamilton
eatdrink.ca |@eatdrinkmag
were diagnosed with chronic diseases, and she
realized that constant travel and unhealthy
eating and lifestyle were taking a toll on her
and her family. “I felt a lack of control, and
almost immediately I stopped smoking and
eating fast food, and I started studying tea as a
replacement for coffee, because I always had a
warm beverage in my hand.”
After training as a Nutritionist and a
Certified Tea Sommelier she launched beTeas
in 2010. The site educates people about the
health benefits of tea, and the online store
sells quality loose leaf teas, tisanes and
functional tea ware. Teas are sourced from
around the world, with a focus on single estate
and artisanal teas from origin.
Two years ago Pierce Hamilton opened The
Tea Lounge on Piccadilly Street and created
“the place I always wished I could go to” right
here in London. Some of the décor comes
from a Toronto restaurant that was run by her
birth father. “His was the first Indo-Pakistani
restaurant in Toronto,” she says. “He was never
able to see the Tea Lounge in person before he
passed away last year, but I had Skyped from
there a few times, and he was delighted.”
Dee Spencer
Owner, The Donut Diva Mini Donut Food Truck
A self-described “Professional Donutologist”,
Dee Spencer has developed over 50 different
recipes for her mini-donuts, ranging from
basic to gourmet flavours like cheesecake or
‘BetterTart’ (because it tastes better than
butter tart, she says). You’ll find her selling
her sweet treats out of Donut Diva food truck
at different locations, mainly in London.
She posts her changing whereabouts on her
facebook page (fb.com/thedonutdiva)
“I have been in the industry for about 35 years
with jobs varying from server to general manager
to corporate trainer and have always been
an outside-of-the-box kind of gal,” says Spencer.
“When I moved back to Ontario from Alberta
and was looking at what I wanted to do I happened
upon an episode of Dragons’ Den where
a BC entrepreneur was pitching a Waffle Wagon
franchise opportunity. After further investigation
I decided that I could do something like that
myself, and having loved mini-donuts at fairs
out west I decided that was my niche.”
She got her business rolling (literally!)
in 2011. The Donut Diva Mini Donut Food
Truck is equipped with a fryer where Spencer
makes mini-donuts to order and serve them
up warm, sprinkled with whichever sugary