Chefs of the Kawarthas - Lisa Dixon

Meet Chef Lisa Dixon, owner of blackhoney bakery & Coffeehouse. Lisa has lived in Peterborough for 17 years, and has owned blackhoney bakery & Coffeehouse for 13 years.

Lisa moved to Peterborough after her Mom, Linda Piers, and brother, Beau Dixon, came here. “That’s the main reason for coming to the Kawarthas”, she says. Another reason is “Per capita, this is better food than anywhere else”. Prior to Peterborough, Chef Lisa lived and went to school in Ottawa, where she studied for 7 years at Ottawa University, Algonquin College for Patisserie and then at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute. After finishing school, she stayed in Ottawa for 21 years.

She is a big believer of formal education for Chefs. “It gives the fundamental skills to build a sustainable business. Running a business requires writing proposals and articulating what you plan for the client, so this is important”, Lisa says. “You don’t go to school to learn, you go to re-affirm talent.” To solidify this belief, Lisa has been teaching as a Culinary Arts professor at Fleming College for 5 years. Lisa says that the students bring a new eye to the dishes, which in turn, gives her discipline and inspiration.

Lisa and her partner, Mark, met 30 years ago in London Ontario where they worked at the same restaurant. He obviously fell in love, because he followed Lisa to attend Ottawa University.

Chef Lisa opened blackhoney because she loves

what she does. The three best restauranteurs she learned from were all women, and she says they were great teachers.

Lisa feels it is helpful to have an artistic eye to be a good caterer. Having an Art Degree from University has helped her to understand the layout & design of a menu, table decor & event planning.

We discussed the business side and Lisa feels that Chefs are not valued monetarily as much as they should be. Margins are weak and when the minimum wage went up, Lisa says

“Per capita, (Peterborough) has better food than anywhere else.”

that she lost quite a bit. If a customer winces at the prices she doesn’t feel bad because she has to pay the staff and keep her business running. She is proud of the product prepared at both the savoury & sweet kitchens, has a staff of 21 and they are all great employees.

Lisa lights up when dealing with clients for the catering. She gets to decide the menu, layout the table, and set up the event to look it’s best.

She loves baking and cooking. To entertain herself on her days off, she has started a red fife wheat sourdough with no sugar or yeast. It’s how Lisa gets her creativity flowing. She finds that she’s at a stage in business where her kitchen & bakery Managers are very strong. This allows her to play in the kitchen and wear an official chef apron less.

Her family history is very interesting. Her Mom & Dad met at Acadia University and married in the mid 60’s. Her Mother is Scottish & Irish white and her Father, Blair Dixon is black. Blair’s father, George Dixon, was in his Mother’s womb when she escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad. Living in Africville, Nova Scotia, George Dixon married a Mi’kmaq Indigenous woman, Maria White. George was a member of the first black battalion in the 2nd World War in the Canadian army. They lived in Africville, which was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin in Halifax. It was a community from the early 1800s to the 1960s, and no longer exists.

Blair is a retired Anglican minister and lives in Regina, Sask. He had a successful career of ministering to native & black communities in many churches, which installed a lasting and indelible impression on his children that humanity can only be learned by those who teach with love. Every spring and summer Blair comes to visit and you will find him on the back patio of blackhoney eating his soup and sandwich.

blackhoney bakery and Coffeehouse is a success and a great place to have a meal because of the wonderful vibe that Chef Lisa Dixon has created with her business savvy and amazing culinary skills.

blackhoneydesserts.com 221 Hunter St. W. Peterborough