Meet The Faculty

• Chef Aron is a graduate of the Cook Training Program at Vancouver Island University, graduating with honors in 1996.
• After completing his Red Seal Apprenticeship in Baking at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia, Aron continued his career with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, working in Bermuda, Jasper, Washington D.C. and Hawaii.
• During his career, he received many accolades, including leader of the year for Fairmont Washington DC, numerous Culinary Competition Medals, and co-founding roof top beekeeping programs.
• Aron began working as an instructor in post- secondary in Vancouver and Calgary, and has been teaching the next generation of bakers and pastry chefs since 2013.
• In 2022, Aron accepted the position of Chair and Instructor for the Professional Baking Arts Program, bringing his culinary career full circle back to Vancouver Island University.

Pastry Chef David Nolan is a Red Seal Baker and Red Seal Cook with over twenty years’ experience, and has made several appearances as a guest chef on television shows. He began his culinary career at the age of 14 washing dishes in a small family run restaurant in Brantford, Ontario. After graduating from the Niagara Culinary Institute, he joined Fairmont Hotels and worked in the Canadian Rockies as well as the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC. While working at the Empress, Chef Nolan taught pastry instruction under Chef Harper at VIU. Chef Nolan then joined Ritz-Carlton Hotels and worked as the Executive Pastry Chef in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Mclean, Virginia (Washington DC); and beautiful Lake Oconee in the State of Georgia. He returned to Canada in October of 2011 to work as Pastry Chef Instructor at VIU. In 2021 he joined the Professional Baking program on a full-time basis where he enjoys helping students succeed in the field he is so passionate about.

Chef Harper has been Executive Pastry Chef at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, and has worked at the Pan Pacific in Vancouver, the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort and Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. He has been a gold and silver medallist in international culinary competitions as an individual, including winning Best Overall Individual Pastry Entry at the Luxembourg Culinary World Cup. He has won awards as a member of Culinary Team Alberta, winning gold at the Culinary Olympics in Germany, and as part of Team Canada, becoming World Champion at the Culinary Grand Prix in Glasgow. He has a passion for ice carving, and goes to several different competitions each winter. He also contributes to many local food events, bringing students to participate in events such as Feast of Fields, Bite of Nanaimo, and the Chefs’ Survival Challenge.