Gia Pastion
Legacy Scholarship

BIOGRAPHY

It was obvious to Gia’s family that her love for food started at a very young age. When she was two years old, she held her breath so much that she passed out because she couldn’t have her favourite food. Two fire trucks, three police cars and an ambulance came to her rescue, when she eventually came to, she got her favourite food and since that day her family made sure food was available to her heart’s desire.



Throughout her life, Gia explored her love for food, the tastes, the textures, the flavours, the spices, the possibilities. Gia came to love extra hot and spicy flavours; this became a main ingredient in the dishes she created. Gia loved all food; especially culinary traditions from around the world. She experimented with different flavours, creating new dishes, and sharing them with her friends and family. Gia pushed the food boundaries of her loved ones; she changed her friends and her family’s perspective on food.

At the age of sixteen, Gia was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, throughout the surgeries, the chemotherapy and her recovery, when she found moments to herself she would research culinary schools. Her search eventually narrowed down to two culinary schools, she decided on the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA) and submitted her application a year after she graduated high school. Gia was accepted to PICA; her love for food, her skill and her passion were about to catapult to whole new level.

Gia shared her love for food on the social media platform TikTok. Her skill, her passion and her beautiful spirit shined through her TikTok videos. Gia’s indigenous roots were extremely important to her and she was able express this in her TikTok food videos. Gia’s food videos caught the attention of TikTok Canada, they recruited her for their Indigenous campaigns and gave her the amazing opportunity to share her food videos on their platform.

Gia planned to start a food truck business travelling to places where she can share her love for food. Gia dreamt of opening a restaurant. She pictured her restaurant to be unique and all about people; the people that worked for her, the people who came to taste her food and she planned to give to the less fortunate. Gia loved people, and it came through in her love for food.

Gia Pastion’s life on Mother Earth suddenly ended at the age of nineteen, two months before she was set to attend the prestigious Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver British Columbia. The Legacy Scholarship was created by Gia’s family to honour her aspiration for the Culinary Arts and her love for food. Gia’s family is extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue her legacy by honouring students in the Culinary Arts.