On September 8 the Culinary Federation Winnipeg held our first meeting of the new year at the fantastic Bistro 101 at the home of Pratt’s on 101 Hutchings Street . The meeting provided members with a chance to get together for the first time in nineteen months. The meeting allowed for minimal personal attendance and Zoom conferencing for those not able to attend.

The evening featured a report from the president and executive on the activities of the branch over the last few months. The meeting was pre-ceded by a meeting of the newly elected board of the CF Winnipeg.

Our friends at Pratt’s threw out all the stops for a full buffet for the Chefs who were able to attend. We were hosted by District Sales Manager for Pratt’s, Tony Bucci who opened the doors of Pratt’s Bistro 101. The bounty of fine dining was orchestrated by Chef Ferdinand Catalan who featured slow roasted Nothern Gold Prime Rib of Beef with all the extras. An array of hot items, Salads and cold items exceeded all our expectations.

The buffet also featured the products of our presenter for the evening, Scott Hyndman of 3 Guys Greens. The items appeared all over the buffet including garnishing the spicy wontons with pea-shoots. The company was founded in 2016 to address food security and their goal is to reduce Manitoba‘s dependence on imported produce, which will help reduce emissions from transportation.

3 Guys Greens is currently growing and marketing year-round, fresh, local produce to distributors and restaurants. They are also a technology company and are actively developing Vertical Farming and Aquaponics technologies that will be influential in the development of food security and environmental sustainability and has been growing premium nutrient dense microgreens to supply local restaurants and food service suppliers. To date, they are one of the largest microgreen producers in Manitoba working actively with community groups in Manitoba towards food security in the north.  Great Work!

Chefs were provided with samples of Pea Shoots and Genovese Basil at he meeting or for pickup earlier for those who could not attend.

Check out the Shop page here

Many thanks to everyone at Pratt’s , Chef Ferdinand Catalan, Tony Bucci and Scott Hyndman for a fine evening.

Our April meeting featured a presentation by Highliner Seafood brought to you by Binner Marketing and Sales.

The focus of the presentations was the company, sustainability , and the concept Seafood is Better.

You can find out more at

http://highlinerculinary.com/en/

Seafoodisbetter.com

We were treated to a tasting and informative presentation by The High Liner Culinary Specialists.

Karam Badrudin  is a Red Seal Chef and has been part of the HLFS West team since 2013

Jo-Anne Cerruti has been with the HLFS West Team for the last 8 years and finally

Dan White, started with HLFS in 2013 and was with another seafood company prior to HLFS for 5 years

Chefs and associates were challenged to put together the Ultimate Fish Burger to share with us last night. Highliner has challenged Winnipeg Chefs to submit creative ways to use the Highliner Wild Pollock Fries in an innovative way. The winner will be awarded a cash prize and bragging rights. Send your photos and recipes to Bonnie Mularchuk

My creation with blanched asparagus and snow in the backround.

The Culinary Federation Winnipeg March virtual meeting was a delicious tasting of the Specialty Cheeses of Saputo. C F Winnipeg Board member and Saputo Key Account Representative Colleen Robbins was happy to take us on a virtual tour of these all Canadian cheeses with styles and flavours to expand chefs repertoires. The sample box and booklet that was graciously delivered to Chefs around the city before the meeting allowed the chefs to learn about the unique character of these fine cheeses.

The chefs took up the challenge and have presented their versions of the cheese board  for your perusal. Looks good, but the proof is in the tasting, and it was all thumbs up. Chefs enjoyed these fine cheeses in the comfort of their own homes, paired with the beverage and garnishes of their choice.

The Manitoba Private Wine Store Association with Charton Hobbs were able to provide chefs with a discount on wines which were selected by Mo Razik to be paired with the cheeses provided. Thanks to Colleen Robins and Ubie Fisette, Sales Representative at Saputo for putting together the  great evening.

We experienced some technical difficulties and were not able to hear the full audio for the presentation but Colleen was able to fill in just fine. For the full video and in depth descriptions please view the film on Saputo Specialty Cheeses .

https://vimeo.com/474339355/09d5eb7160

If you were not able to attend please contact the branch and we would be happy to provide you with a link to the Zoom meeting and presentation. Sorry we ate all the cheese.

On Wednesday November 18^th the Culinary Federation Winnipeg held a virtual meeting for members and guests. The night was a great success and we would like to thank those who did participate for being with us. If you were not able to join us please contact the branch and we will provide you the link to the Zoom conference page.

Culinary Federation Winnipeg members were provided a presentation associate member Vanda Racciatti with an update on how Maple Leaf’s operations are meeting the pandemic head on. We also heard from Chef John Scarcella of Bothwell Cheese who walked chefs through samples of their famous Truffle White Cheddar and their new Sunny Dog Cheddar, Barkin’ Herbs and Garlic. Both Cheeses were a splendid barrage of flavour. This event would not have been possible with out the support of Bonnie Mularchuk and Natalie Sample of Binner Marketing and Sales for putting the meeting bags together .

Based on the success of this evening the branch is working on putting together similar events.

The Culinary Federation Winnipeg held a virtual meeting featuring a presentation by Joel Waterman from Inn at the Forks. As a member of the board of the Manitoba Hotel Association, Joel provides some insight into the current state of the hotel and tourism industry. If you are interested in seeing the meeting please contact the branch and they will forward you a copy of the Google Drive link.

Please watch for next month’s Kitchen Conference featuring other industry professionals helping us to find our way through these trying times.