An award-winning restaurateur and wine expert, Patricia Koyich knows good food, excellent wine and what makes for great service. At SAIT, she combines all her expertise as an instructor and course developer for the School of Hospitality and Tourism, focusing on hospitality management, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Koyich, who grew up in the restaurant business, worked in some of the city’s top spots before earning her hotel and restaurant management diploma from SAIT in 1998. Two years later, she opened Il Sogno, an acclaimed fine-dining Italian restaurant in Bridgeland that won awards, such as Best New Restaurant (Where Magazine) and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and earned a four-diamond rating from the AAA.
Although she closed it in 2015, Koyich kept her hand in hospitality, continuing to consult with restaurateurs, offering her expertise in concept research and development (Red’s Diner), training front-of-house staff, marketing, budget, and systems implementation.
As an instructor and member of the curriculum and development team at SAIT, Koyich has been training future restaurateurs and hospitality managers since 2012, with a focus on fresh perspectives, engaging with and learning from the varied student body.
Patricia recently graduated from Royal Roads University with a Master's degree in Global Leadership.
Awards and achievements:
- voted top business leader of tomorrow in 2009 by Business Calgary Magazine
- awarded the Golden Fork Award for restaurant operations by Women Chefs and Restaurateurs of America and the Doug Johnson Service Award at the Tourism Calgary White Hat ceremony in 2010.
If I wasn’t doing this: I would be focused on the further development of programming and training to support equity, diversity and inclusion within the hospitality industry.
Media interviews:
Media looking to speak to any of our experts should contact Jill Purdy, Manager, Strategic External Content, Communications.
Search for experts
Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.