Local Love Blog Series –
Farine Workshops & Events

Welcome back to the Local Love Blog Series! 

This is our first food-related feature, and we couldn’t be more excited to show off the amazing Lilliane Frechette from Farine Workshops & Events! Lilliane is not only creating the sourdough loaves that you could only dream of, but she’s also determined to teach her skills to others and empower them to make beautiful bread along with her! 

When we first reached out to Lilliane to do her Local Love Feature, she immediately offered a sourdough loaf in return, and we just couldn’t say no to the generous offer. Not 24 hours later, there was a delicious loaf sitting at the doorstep waiting to be unveiled. The loaf she baked was nothing short of perfection in both beauty and deliciousness. 

Lilliane is a creative food lover, looking for anyone who appreciates delicious food. 

The concept for Farine Workshops & Events was born when she was teaching a friend to make sourdough. Lilliane had such a good time, and her friend was so happy with the results, that it inspired Lilliane to teach others! She now hosts virtual group workshops on Sourdough and French Baking, as well as a 1:1 workshop for a more personalized experience. 

Lilliane retired from her 20-year career in January to devote all her time on her new business, and it’s already paid off! She’s partnered with chef Stephanie Naudot to host a virtual Sourdough Baguette workshop (check out the link here to register)! Lilliane is also working with a flower farm near Edmonton on a food and floral design workshop, as well as plotting out what a food and photography retreat could look like locally and on Vancouver Island with a local photographer. 

It’s so apparent that Lilliane loves connecting with her workshop participants. 

She’s not just connecting with her clients but also providing them with knowledge to nurture their own families in breadmaking. The joy she gets to experience with workshop participants when they pull out a beautiful loaf of bread is what it’s all about. Lilliane isn’t just teaching them the skills to make beautiful sourdough, but also inspiring them to make food special. 

Something as simple as beautiful produce at the local farmer’s market can inspire Lilliane to experiment with adding some flair to her breads. She’ll play with things like sesame seeds, honey, herbs de Provence, olives, gruyere, caraway, figs, molasses, cranberries, walnuts, and the list just goes on! 

So, we just had to ask who she looks up to when it comes to making food…

And the genuineness of her answer blew us away. Despite finding it hard to choose from so many amazing women who inspire her every day, Lilliane chose Julia Child. Having started her career in her late-30’s, Julia Child proved to still build a legacy through her persistence, determination, work-ethic and passion for food that will continue to inspire many chefs to come. Lilliane sees Julia as being the beacon to light the way and fits perfectly with her dedication to constantly evolve while not being afraid to jump into new challenges. 

Having lived all over Canada, including Southern Manitoba, the Yukon, Okanagan, Vancouver Island, and Kamloops, Lilliane has pulled inspiration from each place and the people she met there. Having moved every few years due to her past career, Lilliane made amazing friends who were there to remind her what it is to be kind, grateful, caring, genuine, loving, and generous. Food was always the one thing that made her feel at home, and to share it with those closest to her was the simplest joy.

She’s now been in the Bow Valley for four years. 

And while Lilliane would love some warmer weather, she loves to spend her time supporting local businesses doing great work! There are so many to name, but here are just a few that Lilliane wanted to shout out: portrait photographer Alexis McKeown, Chelsey Tennant from Adventure Floral, and Lovely Ice Cream. She also supports organizations providing food for those in need, like Bow Valley Root Cellar and Bow Valley Food Alliance. 

Lilliane is excited for when she can teach clients in the comfort of their own home, or at a local venue. She also hopes to scale her business to be able to accommodate corporate events and local wedding parties, with great ideas for group experiences such as teaching long graze-board styling. The ultimate goal would be to purchase property where she’ll be able to build a large indoor/outdoor kitchen with garden boxes to provide local produce, meanwhile clients can stay in guest rooms to attend longer or larger events and workshops. 

Until then, be sure to sign up for the Farine Workshops & Events newsletter for all the latest updates, including some sneaky intel on events like new workshops pairing yoga and breadmaking in Bragg Creek! You can also keep up with Lilliane’s amazing work on her website, where she’s now offering a membership to get access to all her Sourdough Workshop Resources, including recipes, tips, videos and more!

Interested in being featured in the Local Love Blog Series? Check out more information here and make sure to follow us on Instagram!