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Meet the Executive Team
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Billy Kawaja
A passion for food, and a family history
in the food business, inspired Chef Kawaja to become a professional
chef.
“While I was growing up, my family
owned and operated a large wholesale produce and grocery
operation and I learned to appreciate food quality at an
early age. My passion for fine food is rooted in finding
the best quality ingredients.”
Prior to joining Culinary Capers for the
Olympic Games catering, Chef Kawaja was the Executive Chef
for the Canadian Embassy in Beijing for two years. During
this time he has also done numerous cooking demonstrations
and lectures on French cuisine and Canadian seafood.
“My team and I are committed to delivering
great food experiences to our clients." |
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Yi Li
Yi Li joined Culinary Capers Beijing in June 2008. She has
a degree in Engineering and is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. A
versatile and valuable member of our China team, she has eight years of management
and marketing experience.
Yili’s previous experience before
joining Culinary Capers was the Vice-President of Marketing
and Operations for a diversified Beijing company with seven
divisions. Her duties included restaurant and bar management,
leasing and construction supervision, contract drafting and
negotiation, staff training and assessment and sourcing vendors.
Additional duties involved marketing and promotion and liaison
between company divisions.
She brings energy, a strong work ethic and
a wealth of relevant experience and training to her position
with our Beijing team. |
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Graeme Lahman
Graeme has been involved in the corporate events and creative
communication industries for over 30 years. He joined Australian
Business Theatre, Australia’s premium creative communication and brand
support agency in 1980 and then went on to own the company. After
selling ABT, he continued consulting in Melbourne and Sydney and then in Beijing
after relocating in 2006.
It was through his creative projects with sponsors and government
clients during the Beijing Olympic Games that Graeme partnered with the Culinary
Capers’ team. Graeme admired the company’s commitment
to delivering quality and delicious food and beverage experiences and decided
to make the shift into the catering arena.
Graeme’s primary focus will be in business development,
sales and marketing along with cultivating and maintaining relationships with
our valued clients. |
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Anita Xiao
Anita brings her thorough knowledge of human resources management
to our team, particularly in the areas of staff recruitment, training and development,
compensation and benefits, and expatriate affairs. Prior to joining Culinary
Capers, Anita earned a Hotel Management Degree and then developed her five-star
hospitality expertise at luxury international hotels in Beijing. She is fluent
in both English and Mandarin.
Anita believes that a company needs great
employees to create exceptional experiences for clients. "Passionate
and well-trained staff are our most valuable assets. Our goal
is to provide fine cuisine and excellent service through a
conscientious, consistent effort from each team member." |
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Debra Lykkemark
CEO and Founder, Debra Lykkemark oversees a high energy staff
who share a passion for fine food. In Debra’s own words, “Our goal
is to provide the best cuisine, service and décor to all our customers.
We are dedicated to producing delicious food accompanied with personal service."
Debra served on the International Caterers Association Executive
Board from 1997 to 2005, including two years as President. Debra has been a
highly regarded speaker at the top special event conferences throughout North
America, including the Special Event, Event Solutions, Catersource, NACE and
the ICA. She has been featured as one of Canada’s top 100 women business
owners by Profit magazine. |
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