Fiona McKenzie decided at the age of 7 that she’d grow up to be a chef, but probably never dreamed that her wedding cakes would one day be featured in People Magazine and The Knot — or that she’d be the chair of a highly successful culinary education program far from her little hometown of Queensland, Australia.
Fiona met her husband, Matt (a Moore County native) while working in Aspen, Colorado, and the two later moved to Pinehurst. She started her career at Sandhills Community College 11 years ago as a new mom, and now her daughter Molly is her shadow in the kitchen.
But Fiona’s ingenuity doesn’t end at banana cinnamon cake with peanut butter chocolate ganache filling. Despite a packed schedule and lack of sewing experience, she recently started another business, The McKenzie Apron — which the staff at Southern Pines Brewing Company now sport while manning the canning line.
Read more about SCC’s culinary arts program here — and see students in action on the department’s Instagram or on Facebook.
