A family
affair
since 2012

THE CREATORS

Nextjen Gluten-Free began in the kitchen of Chef Jen Peters who honed her skills as a protégé of Chef Bruno Marti, the beloved godfather of fine dining cuisine in Canada. With Chef Marti’s guidance, Jen developed an uncompromising dedication to high-quality food ingredients. She then worked and trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in England. After returning home to Vancouver, BC and discovering she was gluten intolerant, she was determined to find a way to keep delicious breads, scones, and pastas in her life.

In her own home kitchen, she began research to create a gluten-free, hassle-free all-purpose baking blend that would allow her to enjoy life without giving up her favourite foods or settling for low-quality alternatives. In 2012, Jen finally perfected her recipe and founded Nextjen Gluten-Free with her partner, Chef Hamid Salimian.

The right ingredients mixed with uncompromising dedication.

Hamid Salimian has built a reputation as a “chef’s chef”, winning the respect of his peers for his eye for detail, insistence on quality, and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of chefs. He has held leadership positions in the kitchens of establishments such as Westin Bear Mountain in Victoria, Westin Wall Centre in Richmond, and Vancouver’s Diva at the Met, where he was recognized for his innovative approach to blending multicultural influences with traditional french fare and voted Georgia Straight newspaper Best Chef in the city by his restaurant peers. In the world of culinary competitions, he holds eight international gold medals and has also been a coach for Team BC and the Canadian team for Bocuse d’Or 2013.

Today, Hamid is the co-founder of Nextjen Gluten-Free as well as the company’s food photographer. He also acts as a culinary consultant for national brands such as Earls Kitchen + Bar, and shares his knowledge and expertise with a new generation of chiefs as an instructor in the VCC Culinary Arts program.

Developing baked goods and delicious food without any gluten requires
a bit of ingenuity.”

Chef Jen Peters Chef Hamid Salimian
Gluten-Free
Xanthan-Free
GMO-Free
Management

Hamid Salimian

CEO & Founder

Hamid Salimian has a 30-year career in the hospitality industry as a top executive chef in Vancouver’s fine dining restaurants and an international award-winning culinary competitor. He is the co-founder of NextJen Gluten Free and jointly manages this successful gluten-free food production company with his partner... Hamid continues to be a member of the culinary development team for a large restaurant chain with 67 locations across North America and an annual revenue of over $270 million. Three years ago, he joined a group of top BC chefs to create, open and run two new restaurants on Granville Island, Popina Canteen and Popina Cantina. Hamid is also a full time Culinary Arts Instructor at Vancouver Community College (VCC) and created a modern cooking course for professional chefs.

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Dean Golbeck

CFO

Mr. Golbeck holds a Chartered Accountant designation (CPA, CA) with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Vancouver Island University. He started his career with a Big Four accounting firm where he worked on a mix of large public company audits and mid-market assurance and advisory services. In 2017,... Mr. Golbeck achieved the Certificate of Completion for the CPA In-Depth Tax Course. Shortly after, he moved to a mid-sized accounting firm where he focused on corporate reorganizations and tax planning for high-net-worth individuals.

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Jen Peters

Founder/Creator

Chef Jen Peters honed her skills as a protégé of Chef Bruno Marti, the beloved godfather of fine dining cuisine in Canada. With Chef Marti’s guidance, Jen developed an uncompromising dedication to high-quality food ingredients. She then worked and trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in England. After returning home to... Vancouver, BC and discovering she was gluten intolerant, she was determined to find a way to keep delicious breads, scones, and pastas in her life. In 2012, Jen finally perfected her recipe and founded Nextjen Gluten-Free with her partner, Chef Hamid Salimian.

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Molly Millar

Branding/Marketing

Molly brings several years of experience working with growth-stage companies, focusing on marketing, e-commerce, sales and operations. She is passionate about working with small teams to help them develop and execute their brand voice, as well as their sales & marketing strategy. She has spent segments of her professional life... focused on; shared mobility and active transportation, urban cycling marketing & policy, accessibility technology and equipment and market research. She holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and is currently the Chair of the Transportation Advisory Committee for the City of Vancouver.

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Robert M. Langford

Advisory Board

Bob, an attorney and Tennessee Rule 21 listed mediator, has enjoyed a successful career as a congressional legal counsel, metro government lobbyist, a practising lawyer, entrepreneur, and multi-unit restaurant executive having owned and/or operated within 10 different concepts ranging from fine dining and... casual dining to two 1500+ family dining and fast-casual seafood chains. Bob delivers a balance of operational excellence and real-world compliance in approaching competitive and constantly changing business environments. Bob has extensive experience managing public and private corporate governance, addressing franchise systems as franchisor and franchisee, and meeting the performance and reporting demands of private equity funds. Bob is perhaps best known for his relentless commitment to “See the Good” and encourages all on his journey to find real joy by being who they were created to be! Bob is married to his high school sweetheart and resides in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He is an active member of the community serving as an advisor to a number of music industry talent and organizations, and a proud champion of his daughter Kori’s local restaurant, Myers’ Front Porch.tions.

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Kori Langford

Business Development Consultant

Kori Langford has extensive experience in the hospitality space with over twenty years in the industry. Langford has experience with multiple organizations ranging from independent restaurants, large suppliers supporting national brands, as well as large multi-unit restaurant chains, including franchised... organizations. She has served as a brand consultant to senior leadership teams in multiple brands. Notable brands include Denny’s, O’Charley’s, Village Inn, Bakers Square, Chairman’s Foods, Fatback, Nolan Ryan Beef, and Draganfly. Langford also has extensive experience working with private equity. Langford utilizes a strategic approach to address complex brand and turnaround situations.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Paul Sparkes

Director

Paul Sparkes is an accomplished business leader and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in media, finance, capital markets and Canada's political arena. He spent a decade as a leader in the broadcast and media industry as CTVglobemedia's Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs. He also held senior positions in public service, including with the Government of Canada as Director of Operations to Prime Minister Jean Chretien, and as a senior aide to ...two Premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador. Paul was a co-founder and executive vice chairman at Difference Capital Financial and serves on a number of private and public boards. He is currently President and founder of Otterbury Holdings Inc., Global Alternatives Advisory, and is an advisor and deal maker for growth companies in the private and public markets.

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Denis Silva

Director

Denis Silva is a partner at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, an international law firm, advising clients on corporate finance and merger and acquisition transactions with a focus on the technology and mining sectors. Denis has been recognized by Lexpert and Chambers, and has acted for a wide variety of companies listed on Canadian and US exchanges. Denis holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, an M.P.A. from Queen’s University, and an LL.B ... from the University of Windsor.

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Olen Aasen

Director

Mr. Aasen is an executive and corporate and securities lawyer with more than 15 years of experience in corporate, securities, mining and regulatory matters. He has been the Corporate Secretary, General Counsel or Vice President, Legal at various Canadian and U.S.- listed companies in the mining, transportation and technology sectors. In the past ten years Mr. Aasen has advised on over $800 million in debt and equity financings and structured finance ... packages. Mr. Aasen did his undergraduate studies in the Finance Department of the Sauder School of Business, obtained a J.D. from the University of British Columbia in 2006 and was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2007. Mr. Aasen was also appointed to the 2016 Legal 500 GC Powerlist for Canada.

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Nutritional Advisors

Dr. Joey

Dr. Joey Schulman

Dr Joey's passion for natural healthcare and nutrition has been the focus of her career for over twenty years. Her philosophy of "improve the quality of your food to improve the quality of your life" has enhanced the health of thousands across North America. As a 3x national best selling author and well -known media personality, Dr. Joey is a highly regarded authority on health and achieving optimal wellness....

Dr. Joey has run Ontario's #1 holistic clinics -Shulman Health - for nearly two decades. With her amazing team of holistic nutritionists, she has helped thousands of clients re-claim their health and vitality. In her clinics, her 1 on 1 personal approach put emphasis on whole foods, hormonal balance and gut health. In addition, as a mother of a celiac daughter (and being gluten sensitive herself), she is also passionate about helping her clients find healthy alternatives.

As the media's "go-to" on natural healthcare, Dr. Shulman has been one of Cityline's top health experts for over 13 years. She has also been published in numerous publications such as Canadian Living, Flare, Chatelaine, The Post and Oxygen.

After receiving her honours degree in psychology from Concordia University, Dr. Joey went on to become a doctor of chiropractic at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and finished up her education by becoming a holistic nutritionist.

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