How Karin Gutoski-Kohuch found her calling in Canada’s egg industry

This is part of a series of profiles highlighting participants in our women in the egg industry program, a unique mutual mentorship program that brings together women egg farmers from across Canada to build leadership skills and facilitate knowledge transfer.

Karin Gutoski-Kohuch

Oak Bank, Manitoba

For most of her life, Karin Gutoski-Kohuch had mastered the art of serving, whether customers at her restaurant, clients in high-risk finance at the bank or the needs of a busy family household. But in 2023, she discovered the most important service she could provide wasn’t behind a counter or a spreadsheet.

It was helping deliver one of Canada’s simplest, most essential food sources: Eggs. Today, as the regional manager for Burnbrae Farms in Manitoba, Karin combines decades of business savvy with a hands-on approach to farming, managing multiple farms in the province.

Growing up in Oak Bank, a rural community just outside Winnipeg, Karin spent her childhood around horses and a handful of hobby animals. Thanks to entrepreneurial parents who built a restaurant and a strip mall, she learned early on about the long hours, responsibility, and stress that come with running a business. “As a kid, I was always washing dishes,” she says with a laugh. “When I was 10, my parents sold the restaurant, but I’d already learned how much work goes into keeping something like that alive.”

Years later, after a career in finance, Karin decided to follow in her parents’ footsteps. She opened her own restaurant, naming it Back At The Ranch as an homage to the place her family had once run right across the street. Her concept leaned on the classics locals remembered: Pizza, chicken and other homemade favourites. “People who had eaten there in the ’80s came back in the 2000s, excited to see the food they grew up on,” she recalls. At its peak, she had 13 staff members to help run a bustling business. Even during the pandemic, she pivoted quickly to take-out, ensuring the restaurant stayed alive.

But by 2023, after 20 years, Karin knew it was time for something new. “Starting over in your 50s is scary,” she admits. “But my kids were grown, and I wanted a change.” A friend encouraged her to apply for the position at Burnbrae Farms, and while the transition from restaurateur to egg industry professional might seem unconventional, for Karin it felt like a natural fit.

“From my first day with Burnbrae, I saw the company had a clear vision, a genuine commitment to animal welfare, sustainability and values that aligned with doing what’s right,” she says.

Perhaps the biggest revelation for her has been the complexity behind something so simple. “When you’re cracking eggs to make breakfast for your customers, you’re not thinking about the 17 things that have to happen to get that egg to your plate,” Karin says. “The most simple concept in the world is this beautiful package of nutrition we take for granted. The more I learn, the more I see what really goes into it. There’s so much more than meets the eye.”

Beyond the farm, Karin is deeply involved in her community, volunteering with local sports teams, supporting youth programs, and organizing fundraisers. “Being part of my kids’ sports lives has always kept me engaged and connected,” she says. She’s also thrilled to be part of the women in the egg industry program, which she describes as “an incredible opportunity to learn from women across the country, share experiences and grow together in this industry.”

Karin is proud to be part of the larger ecosystem that delivers eggs to Canadian tables. “Every day I’m still learning,” she says. “And that’s what excites me—being part of an industry that never stops evolving.”

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