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29 mbiz | may 2015 29 mbiz | may 2015 m i d W e s t midWeSt hamiota chamber of commerce minnedoSa chamber of commerce neepaWa & diStrict chamber of commerce riVerS & diStrict chamber of commerce WaSagaming chamber of commerce Red River College's food research program in the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts at Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. RRC's lead research chef Brad Gray loved the product and has since run with it, using the purees to make things like cakes, macaroni and cheese, and even a navy bean creme brulee. "We went to the Manitoba Food Processor's Association Best New Product competition and asked Chef Brad to come in and make a couple of recipes and we won first place out of nine," Beaulieu says. "We're forming a really great relationship, and Red River College has been really supportive of our project, so we're thrilled with the cooperative effort we have going on here." The effort is paying off. CPGP attended the Natural Products Expo in California and was chosen as one of the top 80 companies (out of 3,000) as an innovation leader. "Manitoba ships carrots to California, one of the largest carrot producers in North America," says Beaulieu. "Our quality is so good that the chefs there would rather pay high prices for it because of the taste — and that's the product that I get to put in my carrot puree. "Such quality is here. Such quality and such capability. I think Manitoba can fill the gap for the food that we're going to need." ■ rrc research chef brad gray has used the purees to make everything from cake to macaroni and cheese. Photo by Darcy Finley

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