{"id":10290,"date":"2026-10-14T16:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T20:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/?post_type=menu&p=10290"},"modified":"2026-11-10T11:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T16:05:09","slug":"life-is-what-you-make-it","status":"publish","type":"menu","link":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/menu\/life-is-what-you-make-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Is What You Make It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by: Elle Asiedu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Angela Lawrence, Chief Culture Officer at Gusto 54 Restaurant Group, on building joyful work and showing up as a Black woman in hospitality.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angela Lawrence never set out to become a restaurateur. \u201cMy path into food service was completely serendipitous,\u201d she says. \u201cIt felt like I\u2019d been preparing for it all along, even if I didn\u2019t realize it at the time.\u201d Food had always been central to her life. She describes herself as a foodie before the term was trendy, discovering restaurants with her close friend\u2014and future business partner\u2014Janet Zuccarini. \u201cWe used to travel, eat, and try new places. One day she came across this restaurant in New York called Miss Lily\u2019s. She said, \u2018You have to see this\u2014it\u2019s a Jamaican spot, but full-service and super cool.\u2019 We went together, and I thought, I think we could do this. At the time, it was just a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That dream came closer to reality when Zuccarini launched Gusto 101. Lawrence stepped in temporarily. \u201cIt was only supposed to be a couple of weeks, answering phones because it was so busy. I wasn\u2019t looking for a job, just helping my friend. But I saw gaps, started fixing things, putting systems in place. A few months later Janet asked me to join her leadership team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawrence wasn\u2019t new to the world of food. Before restaurants, she was a magazine editor\u2014at one point editing a food publication for Kraft Foods. She also co-founded Cook Like a Jamaican<\/em><\/a> with her mother, a blog and YouTube channel that\u2019s grown to nearly 200,000 subscribers. \u201cMy mom\u2019s an amazing home cook. Originally, I just wanted to capture her recipes for my family, but it grew into something bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

What I love most is the creative act of building something from nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For Lawrence, the through line has always been creation. \u201cWhat I love most is the creative act of building something from nothing,\u201d she says. \u201cAs a magazine editor, every issue was a fresh start. Launching Chubby\u2019s wasn\u2019t just about opening a restaurant\u2014we took an old building, gutted it, added an extension, and turned it into something new. That process lights me up.\u201d Her current role as Chief Culture Officer at Gusto 54 taps the same energy. \u201cI love creating the things that bring culture to life\u2014our holiday parties, our recognition programs, our training systems. Even writing training content feels like the editorial work I used to do: shaping ideas, making them clear, and building structure for others to use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work hasn\u2019t been without challenges. \u201cHospitality is still very male-dominated\u2014especially in the kitchen,\u201d she notes. \u201cWhen we had one woman head chef, it felt huge. Now we have three at once, which is amazing.\u201d But culture can be slow to shift. \u201cDuring COVID, I was accidentally included in a WhatsApp group. The way some chefs spoke\u2014boys\u2019-club humour, inappropriate jokes\u2014was disappointing. It made me realize how critical management training is. Back then we didn\u2019t have all the training systems we do now. Today, we\u2019re much clearer on expectations around leadership, respect, and communication.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those systems are rooted in values. \u201cWe first wrote our company values in 2014, and we\u2019ve recently updated them to reflect who we are now. Treating people with respect and kindness, valuing inclusion and belonging, choosing to have a positive attitude\u2014all of that shows up in how we hire, train, evaluate and reward. It\u2019s not just a poster on the wall. We actually measure performance against our values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her leadership philosophy balances accountability with compassion. She recalls a time as a custom magazine editor when an employee booked a surprise board room meeting. \u201cShe was ready to resign. She told me I treated her differently because she didn\u2019t have a traditional magazine background. And she was right\u2014but I didn\u2019t realize I was doing that. I apologized, and we talked it through. She stayed for two more years after that meeting. It was hard to hear, but it opened the door to an honest conversation and a new way of working together.\u201d Lawrence credits much of her growth as a leader to personal development work. \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of training\u2014communication courses, leadership programs. Leadership isn\u2019t something you\u2019re just born with. Yes, you can have certain traits, but to lead well you need to do the work on yourself. We all have blind spots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representation, she says, is about more than optics\u2014it\u2019s about creating spaces where people can see themselves reflected and feel they belong. \u201cIt means a lot for people to see someone who looks like them in leadership. I\u2019ve had team members tell me directly: \u2018It feels good to see you here.\u2019 That matters.\u201d She remembers an earlier chapter in her career, when her photograph appeared on the editor\u2019s page of a magazine for the Home Depot\u2014she was the editor for Canada and the U.S. \u201cI had Black women from the States send me letters saying, \u2018It\u2019s so amazing to see you as a Black woman in this role.\u2019 That meant something. It showed me how powerful representation is, even when you don\u2019t realize people are watching.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently Lawrence is involved in a project\u2014IDEA Hospitality, short for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism\u2014that is designed to create accountability in hiring, promotion, and management practices across the hospitality industry. \u201cThe idea is to offer both leadership training and a certification system so restaurants and hotels can\u2019t just talk about inclusion, they have to live it.\u201d For Lawrence, creating workplaces where people feel they belong is non-negotiable. \u201cWe\u2019re not a monolith. People have individual perspectives to contribute and unique needs to support. I always ask: What do you need to love your job? Let\u2019s see how we can make that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

As human beings, we all create stories about what happens to us. I choose to make them empowering.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As a Black woman, Lawrence is clear-eyed about bias\u2014but she chooses not to let others define her. \u201cAs human beings, we all create stories about what happens to us. I choose<\/em> to make mine empowering. That doesn\u2019t mean racism doesn\u2019t exist\u2014it does. I\u2019ve experienced microaggressions and more, but unless I have a gut feeling something is off, I don\u2019t start there.It keeps my power in my hands.\u201d That perspective, she says, comes partly from her upbringing. \u201cMy parents always told me I could do anything. They showed up for everything\u2014parent-teacher nights, band concerts, all of it. That gave me a strong foundation of confidence. Not everyone has that, which is why it\u2019s so important to build circles of support. I have a group of female friends, and we are each other\u2019s biggest cheerleaders. That makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her advice to women, especially Black women, is both practical and spiritual. \u201cSo many of us live from fear\u2014fear of leaving a job, fear of failure. But fear only creates more of what we don\u2019t want. Life is meant to be joyful. You have to ask yourself: what life do you actually want, and how can you build work that supports it?\u201d She points to her own path. After being laid off from a corporate job she disliked, she made a list of the life she wanted: time to exercise in the morning, freedom to work from home, flexibility in her hours. \u201cThat\u2019s basically my life now. I designed it. And that\u2019s advice I give anyone: design the life you want, then figure out how to earn a living to sustain it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Angela, optimism is non-negotiable. \u201cI really do believe energy matters. Gratitude, optimism and faith raise your vibration. What\u2019s meant for you will never pass you by.\u201d Lawrence is still dreaming up what comes next\u2014whether that\u2019s mentoring, launching IDEA Hospitality, or building new creative projects\u2014but she keeps her compass steady. \u201cIf you go to my Instagram bio, it says: Life is what you make it. And I really believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

3 Pieces of Advice:<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Design the life you want.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Don\u2019t bend your life around a job\u2014choose or shape your work to support the life you want. Make a list of what brings you balance and joy and build from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Write your own story.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      When challenges arise, resist the urge to let fear or the bias of others define your experience. Reframe it in a way that keeps your power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Recognize the importance of representation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Visibility matters\u2014for yourself and for those around you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10291,"template":"","menu_author":[471],"menu-category":[491],"menu-tag":[498,478,481,501,490],"class_list":["post-10290","menu","type-menu","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","menu_author-menu-magazine","menu-category-leadership","menu-tag-deia","menu-tag-leadership","menu-tag-spotlight","menu-tag-trail-blazers","menu-tag-women-in-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLife Is What You Make It - Restaurants Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/life-is-what-you-make-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life Is What You Make It - Restaurants Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Written by: Elle Asiedu Angela Lawrence, Chief Culture Officer at Gusto 54 Restaurant Group, on building joyful work...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/life-is-what-you-make-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Restaurants Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-10T16:05:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Angela-Lawrence-Banner.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RestaurantsCA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/life-is-what-you-make-it\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.restaurantscanada.org\\\/menu\\\/life-is-what-you-make-it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Life Is What You Make It - 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