Sault native Ken Warmington is living his professional dream in the food industry as the co-owner/operator of Maple Leaf Meats.
However, he’s living the dream far away from Canada — the Land of the Maple Leaf — operating a popular food truck and selling his original barbecue sauce in Australia.
He sells burgers, ribs and chicken wings from his food truck with wife Angela in Yarraville, seven miles from Melbourne.
“They’re the best chicken wings in Melbourne," Warmington said in an interview with SooToday, while visiting relatives and friends in the Sault for Christmas. "We do about 1.7 tonnes of chicken wings a year. We can do 105 burgers in an hour at our top speed."
The Warmingtons also make, bottle and sell their Maple Leaf Meats sauces in three flavours — Tomato Sauce, Backyard BBQ Sauce and Maple BBQ Sauce — from a factory in the Melbourne area.
The maple syrup is imported from Canada.
“We make our sauces from scratch," Warmington said. "We’ve gotten a bit of a cult following. The sauce is all natural. It’s very flavourful, done the right way with no nasties. It’s just a great product. It’s not sweet, it’s savoury. It’s not spicy, it’s peppery."
Production of the sauces is done in an environmentally-conscious way, he emphasized.
“We make a point of using glass bottles instead of plastic bottles and we want to use solar panels for our factory,” Warmington said.
Sales of Maple Leaf Meats sauces have been good.
Warmington envisions moving away from the food truck side of the food industry and concentrating on getting his sauces sold through Australian supermarket chains as well as Amazon.
“I have a passion for the quality we put out and it’s about the good feedback that we get. That’s what drives me every day. I have a lot of interests but cooks are a different bunch and I'm one of them. I’m passionate about food and it drives me,” Warmington said.
Though now a success in the food industry, Warmington has had an interesting life story with several career changes.
A Korah Collegiate graduate, he moved away from the Sault at the age of 19 to attend Montreal’s Dawson Institute of Photography.
As a photographer he produced portraits of clients and took shots of live bands.
His introduction to the food industry came when he began working as a waiter at Montreal's Dundees Bar and Grill to supplement his income.
Moving away from photography, Warmington worked hard and became manager of both Dundees locations in Montreal within months.
“I got really passionate about food. There were some great guys who worked there and taught me what I needed to know about steak. I loved watching the cooks in that kitchen. I loved the excitement of the kitchen.”
While involved in restaurant management, Warmington also developed an interest in aviation.
“A friend of mine took me up on a flight and from there my passion shifted to flying planes. I got my pilot’s license and then I worked as an apprentice aircraft mechanic working on planes.”
Working in two careers — the restaurant industry and aviation — took a toll on his health.
“I burnt myself out and in the process developed Type 1 diabetes," he recalled. "I was down to 44 kilos (97 pounds). It was a devastating blow. I had to stop everything. I came back to the Sault for a period and recovered for a few weeks. I began using insulin. It was a very challenging time."
Not content to stay still for long, Warmington found yet another interest and began working for Optimal Robotics, an information technology firm that produces self-checkout systems for retailers.
“I was training engineers how to repair and maintain them. I travelled to every state in the U.S. and it was fantastic," Warmington said.
As an Optimal Robotics employee, Warmington attended a trade show in Australia in 2003.
“They signed us up for a three-month contract to work with Coles, the second largest supermarket chain in Australia," Warmington said. "I worked in Melbourne and Sydney. I got really excited about Melbourne. When I landed in Melbourne I knew I was never going back to Montreal.”
He soon traded white Canadian snow for white Australian beach sand.
“Australians are very, very similar to Canadians. The accent may be considerably different but they’re very patient, accepting and supportive. You feel it the second you get there,” Warmington said.
His return to the food industry came when he met his wife Angela.
Interestingly, Angela wanted to get into the restaurant business.
“We searched and searched for a restaurant to buy but the market at the time was exceptional in terms of cost. People wanted a million dollars for a cafe. But this little food truck, a 1976 Volkswagen, came around Melbourne. I had a conversation with the owner and I was sold on it,” Warmington said.
He purchased the food truck and Maple Leaf Meats was born in 2016.
“It’s been wonderful,” Warmington said, stating he loves the coziness of serving regular customers from his truck.
“It’s like a bartender who has that engagement with customers. They like their regular customers. It becomes a community. It’s remarkably gratifying to serve them food and talk with them.”
Warmington’s business survived exceptionally severe COVID-19 lockdown conditions enforced by Australia’s government.
“Melbourne had probably the worst lockdowns in the world. You couldn’t move five kilometres from your house. People would dob you if you left your house. But we were considered an essential service and we left the house to operate the food truck. We were very successful during COVID, trading about two kilometres from our house. We had the food delivered to our houses. We prepared it at home and we still operated the food truck.”
Warmington is now in his early 50s and has lived in Australia for 20 years.
But will the Sault always be home?
“Yes, always," he said. "Funny enough I miss the cold in winter. The other day it was minus 18 and it was sunny. It was brilliant. To me it was a perfect winter day. I don’t like the slushy days but I do miss the cold. I’m nostalgic about it. When you come back to Sault Ste. Marie it’s still the same. I love it and I enjoy visiting the Sault.”
More information on Maple Leaf Meats and its sauces can be found on the company’s website.
