Sandra Carswell
In 1992, Sandra Carswell moved to Maple Bay, British Columbia from
Alberta where she was a medical laboratory technologist. Her move to the
Cowichan Valley promoted a change to her career in specialized Chemistry and
she chose to follow her passion, cooking.
Sandra located an ideal spot in downtown Duncan to build a 17-seat
delicatessen where she also manufactured and sold fresh pasta and sauce. The
popularity of her cooking combined with her outgoing personality became a
perfect recipe for business and it quickly grew to a new location as a
50-seat restaurant called “ASTA Pasta”, an acronym for Always Superb, Truly
Affordable. The restaurant became a very popular destination for food and
wine gourmands, and catered to discriminating clients who seek creative food
featuring fresh local ingredients and a refined list of reasonably priced
wines chosen to complement the daily menu.
Upon the sale of her successful business, Sandra became a consultant to
the Quw’utsun’ Cultural & Conference Centre in Duncan. Her work there
developed into a full-time position as the Director of Business Services
which included mentoring foodservice and retail managers. Sandra became an
integral part of a dynamic management team who dedicated their effort to
improve the financial growth and development of the aboriginal tourism site.
Community
Sandra has always volunteered her time and enjoys being involved in the
community. As owner of ASTA Pasta, she was a member of the B. C. Restaurant
& Food Services (BCRFA) and for several years chaired the Cowichan Valley
Branch. She was a Director for the Fringe Festival Society for seven years
and a member of the Duncan Chamber of Commerce and Duncan Downtown Business
Improvement Society. In past years Sandra also supported the Duncan Summer
Festival, Feast of Fields and Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Society. Her most
recent volunteer position was with the Cowichan 2005 BC Senior's Games where
she was the Food Service Director, coordinating all the athletes’ meals
during what has been the most successful Senior's Games in the program’s
history.
The Duncan Chamber of Commerce awarded Sandra the “1995 Business Achiever
of the Year” and she was also recognized by the BCRFA for her community
involvement and dedication to service excellence, receiving the “1996 B.C.
Restaurateur of the Year” award.
Today
Sandra believes that ‘attention to detail’ and outstanding customer
service are as essential in today’s business of real estate as they have
been in her previous roles, practicing medicine and running a successful
restaurant. She considers the Cowichan Valley as the best place to live in
Canada and to her, it is a pleasure to help people through one of the most
important decisions in their lives, choosing a home and property.
