Melissa Gagné

Melissa has always been fascinated by the experience of place and the products that connect people to these places. Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, she set off to explore the world at a young age and has lived in six countries on three continents, collecting and sharing food stories along the way. 

She has a M.Sc. in Tourism Management, a joint degree completed in Denmark, Slovenia, and Spain, where she bridged urban studies and tourism, focusing on how visitors and residents experience city spaces. 
Some of her most prominent food memories are tied to (very long) road trips taken from Northwestern Ontario all the way to the Gaspé peninsula to visit her grandmother, stopping in local food shops along the way and always returning with a bounty of cheese, beer, wine, and a host of pantry items.

She is the founder of Eaten & Told, a platform dedicated to sourcing and selling gastronomic goods from around the globe, hosting tastings and food events, and running a monthly cheese subscription club. Through this work, Melissa has witnessed the power that food has in connecting people to place––and to each other.