Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lynn Broughton, Central Epicurean Officer of Taste Detours, located in Guelph, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Taste Detours are food and drink tours with a heritage twist. On these flavourful tours, we introduce you to our local, independent food people and places. Between these tasting stops, we spotlight the history, architecture, and culture — step bite step. We are telling the stories of the people and the places that give Wellington County its flavour, through the cuisine that gives this slice of Southwestern Ontario its magic. Customers are both visitors and locals alike.

Tell us about yourself

I am a devotee of all things locally-flavoured, love a good story, and know that everyone has one. I have the deepest respect for growers and makers from all walks of life, a hunger for both urbanism and farm fields, and an appetite that just won't quit. I came to live within Wellington County in 1984 after living a rich childhood of travel and residency throughout Canada, Europe, and Africa. My Mum was a pioneer foodie whose own table exposed me to a world of cooking and taste, but I discovered the truly unifying power of food working within various restaurant cultures since I was a teenager.

Taste Detours is a culmination of personal and professional experiences to date. With an interest in healthy downtowns, independent businesses and growers, walkability, history, architecture and culture — and of course, food! I love to eat with strangers.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Being nominated for and achieving several awards. Creating Little Bites: Taste from Isolation IsoCookbook at the start of the pandemic to support struggling local food friends, remain relevant, and donate proceeds to The Seed, which helps with food insecurity in the region.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Doing all the pieces of the business myself. Even those aspects which are not my strength.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Find the right people to do those jobs where you are weak.
  2. Stay true to who you are but be adaptable to people from all walks of life.
  3. Be fearless, determined, and willing to shift and grow.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

We need to make changes in how we grow and distribute food. We need to address food waste and food insecurity.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://tastedetours.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tastedetours
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastedetours/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tastedetours
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnbroughton/


If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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