Alena Kukanova

Sous Chef

Sous Chef Alena moved to Canada from Russia at the age of 17 all by herself to pursue her dream of becoming a professional chef. Her Mom was her inspiration for cooking as well as memories of her whole family making Pelmeni and Vareniki together. She is a graduate of Algonquin College’s Culinary Management program and managed to accumulate 10 years of experience in different styles of cooking before she joined Carleton Dining in November 2025.

When she’s not in the kitchen, Alena spends her free time with her partner and their two fur babies Trout and Norville. Alena is also passionate about horses. She was a competitive horseback rider back home in Russia and won a couple of local dressage competitions! And of course, she loves to experiment with new recipes and share them with her family and friends.