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Canada's Smartest Kitchen

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Canada's Smartest Kitchen to become one of first Technology Access Centres

Since first opening its doors in 2009 Canada's Smartest Kitchen has been providing a range of food product development services to clients across Atlantic Canada. Canada’s Smartest Kitchen evolved organically from the incredible success of the Culinary Institute of Canada. Chefs at The Culinary Institute of Canada were at the forefront of the emerging field of culinology, the merging of culinary knowledge and laboratory food science. Culinology provides a renewed focus on taste, texture and aroma – all of which are vital to develop products that will be successful in the marketplace. Our chefs work with partners to reduce our clients’ risk and increase the probability of product success.

Research and development chefs Allan Williams and Michael Bryanton lead the delivery of service at Canada’s Smartest Kitchen, with the assistance of two culinary lab technicians. In addition to working in a state-of-the-art culinary research facility, the Canada’s Smartest Kitchen team also draws on the expertise of the 16 chef instructors of the Culinary Institute of Canada. With so many regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized chefs in the building, your food product development is in very good hands.

The Maritimes is fortunate to have a rich abundance of organizations to help food processors to deliver many of the services they need to compete successfully. We work closely with food science labs, research organizations, and other service providers to offer our clients a one stop shop for all their needs. Canada’s Smartest Kitchen’s business development officer, Barb Macleod, can guide you through the variety of services we offer and help you to determine if your project is eligible for federal or provincial funding.

CULINARY FOOD PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

New Food Concept Culinary Development

Explore your culinary ideas and challenges with research and development chefs.
Value-add your food waste streams into profits. If you are processing a raw food product into another form, there is often a residual product, or waste stream, that is often sold to farms for feed with little or no revenue for the processor. Some processors even pay farmers to come pick up their waste. If you are a farmer selling raw product into the commodity market, some of your product will not meet the grade standards and is often sold for very little or given away. These products can have added value if transformed in some way. We can help you to come up with ideas that will build your profit base.
Raw product brainstorming to get you out of the commodity market. At Canada's Smartest Kitchen our chefs research the market, analyze your product and come up with a series of alternatives to process your product for year round sales.

Existing food product culinary re-engineering.

Food product culinary formula development.

Culinary flavour evaluation.

Chef services during scale up.

Tasting focus groups, including our popular Chef Round Table Tasting Panel.

Our focus groups assess the taste, aroma, and textural qualities of the foods we create; but sometimes our clients require a more educated palate, that’s when we call in our Chefs Round Table Tasting Panel. This group of experienced chefs assesses the qualities of your food, getting to the heart of the matter, and thus saving you time and money.

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL SERVICES

In conjunction with any of our food product development services, or as stand-alone services, we help many clients with certain aspects of their marketing and promotional requirements:

Product package consulting
Professional food styling and photography layout (sell sheets, cookbooks, brochures, flyers etc.)
Recipe development
Chef to chef services
Product launch to your buyers or media in our demonstration kitchen.
Technologically advanced video conferencing services in CSK boardroom and demonstration kitchen.
Trade show corporate/professional chef services. When you are busy planning your trade show activities it can be a great relief to know that the logistics of your food product demonstration are completely taken care of.

PRE-TRADE SHOW

In consultation with the client, chefs plan food demonstration style and method.
Chefs plan recipe development, portion sizes, and serving cup/plate needs.
Ingredient delivery to trade show.
Equipment packed and purchased as necessary.
Co-ordinate booth set-up (electricity, etc.).

TRADE SHOW

In full chef whites, our chef prepares recipes, provides food samples, and discusses the best qualities of food with attendees.
Daily clean-up and planning for the next day’s demonstrations.

POST TRADE SHOW

Pack up supplies.
Arrange for return of equipment.
Provide post trade show report of experiences.

OTHER SERVICES:

WHATEVER YOUR CHALLENGE IS, IF IT INVOLVES FOOD, WE CAN HELP YOU.

Food demonstration video production planning
Revitalizing or modernizing your promotional cookbook
Testing and updating your recipes
Menu development, testing, and refinement
In-house food product research and development lab overflow research, testing, and tasting needs
Professional kitchen design

FEE FOR SERVICE

Canada's Smartest Kitchen is a client-based fee for service business designed to discover and to solve food product development challenges, including identifying funding opportunities. Our business development officer can assist you. All initial consultations with Canada’s Smartest Kitchen are free of charge.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Canada's Smartest Kitchen understands the importance of the protection of intellectual property.

Clients of Canada's Smartest Kitchen are assured of the utmost confidentiality throughout their products' development. Some of our clients prefer to remain confidential; however others have given us permission to provide links to their businesses.

In addition to our regular clients, Canada’s Smartest Kitchen has been a partner in, or has led, larger culinary based research projects. If you are interested in partnering or would like to find out more information please contact Shawn A. MacDougall in the Holland College Applied Research department: (902) 566-9361 - SAMacDougall@Hollandcollege.com

Contact Information

General Inquiries: (902) 566-9373

Allan Williams
Research and Development Chef
(902) 894-6820

Shawn A. MacDougall
Research Development Officer
Applied Research Department
902-626-8004

Barbara MacLeod Business Development Officer
566-9674

Michael Bryanton Research and Development Chef
894-6872