Yvonne LeVert Legacy Celebrated at CBU with Room Renaming and Scholarship

Cape Breton University recently celebrated the life and contributions of long-time employee Yvonne LeVert with a student-led special event that will see the Multi-Purpose Room renamed the Yvonne LeVert Hospitality Suite and a financial award named in her honour.

“A cordon blue chef, Yvonne was an outstanding teacher, colleague and friend, who over the years created feasts and experiences like no other,” says Sara Burke, Vice-President of Development. “Yvonne was a cherished employee of CBU from 1984-2001, and we could think of no better way to celebrate her legacy than by having BHTM students lead this very fitting tribute.”

In addition to her long career with Cape Breton University’s Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management (BHTM) program, Yvonne combined a lifelong love of cooking and food research in her efforts to capture the true essence of Cape Breton cuisine and its people. A native of Margaree Forks and of Acadian parents, she was a graduate Home Economist who later attended the prestigious Academie du Cordon Bleu de Paris in the French capital where she obtained the Grand Diplome. She shared her knowledge through teaching, cookbooks, catering, and private cooking classes for many years. She was a member of the Cape Breton Chapter of the Canadian Association of Chefs de Cuisine and a member of La Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs.

To extend Yvonne’s legacy, Cape Breton University has also created the Yvonne LeVert Legacy Award for hospitality students which will see three deserving BHTM students receive $1,000 annually.

“Yvonne would be honoured to be celebrated in this way,” says Bernard LeVert, husband of the late Yvonne LeVert. “She would be touched to know that former students, colleagues and so many others held her in such high esteem. Her legacy will live on thanks to this moving gesture.”

Those wishing to contribute to the Yvonne LeVert Hospitality Award may visit www.cbu.ca/give