Alyssa Leblanc

Every adventurer has a different path that takes them to the water. And, that brings them back; some day by day, and some after years away.

Alyssa LeBlanc’s is the latter.

Born and raised in small-town Nova Scotia with nature as her playground, Alyssa started hunting and fishing with her brothers, father, and grandfather at a very young age. A family activity that was the throughline in life, she kept up the outdoor adventures and marine foraging into her older years - only slowing down once the pressures of corporate jobs and ‘adulthood’ pulled her away.

That distance remained until in 2015, when she was in a car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) she needed to leave her corporate job to heal from. While resting and in recovery, she turned her focus to cooking...and found a whole new passion that ultimately landed her on Season 6 of MasterChef Canada (taking home 7th place!).

Her cooking is rooted in her roots; focusing mostly on food she hunts and fishes herself - keeping her freezer stocked for the year with what she harvests.

Another major turning point in Alyssa’s story came where her passion for cooking and comfort as a lifetime adventurer converged. Because hunting, fishing and foraging with family was always part of her upbringing, when a group canoe trip with her chef friends featuring world class trout fishing surfaced as a possibility, it was an easy yes. That trip was also the catalyst for Alyssa’s uncompromising advocacy for PFD use in all watercrafts - as a near drowning incident of one of her adventure-mates exposed her to the necessity of always being backed by a flotation solution you know and trust.

Today, you can catch her hunting, angling, and cooking up a storm - and always on the water in her PFD.

Fast Facts:

• MasterChef Canada Season 6 contestant (7th place)
• Proud Nova Scotia Acadian
• Hunter, Angler, outdoor enthusiast and cook who specializes in wild game that she hunts/fishes herself
• Hobbies on land: musician, singer/songwriter
• Go-to cooking tool: a cast iron pan
• Favourite spot to visit by boat: The Tusket Islands
• Has her own save story: jumped into action to save a friend from drowning on a canoeing trip with friends...more on that later