CEO and Founder Josh Tetrick says, “At Hampton Creek, innovation is defined as starting over.”
As Tetrick describes the innovation at Hampton Creek, and the focus of ensuring that taste remains a primary component in developing healthier foods, he says, “there are four factors that we insist on improving in all our products: Health, affordability, sustainability and flavour. The only way to avoid compromise is to innovate.”
What’s Hampton Creek’s next big innovation? Perfecting the world’s first scrambled egg made from a plant. Josh proudly says, “Actually, we want it to be better than the best free-range egg out there.”
A company worth its salt
If we are looking at leaders in the world of innovation, let’s look to one of Canada’s innovative and award-winning food companies, Vancouver Island Salt Company. Founder Andrew Shepherd says his company started doing something that people did not think possible.
“To me innovation is problem solving with out-of-the-box thinking,” says Shepherd. “I started the Canadian sea salt industry on my front lawn — I think that’s pretty innovative!” This creative chef and his salt sauniers (salt harvesters) smile as they talk about how they specialize in innovation, where every day they are faced with a new problem and no template for solving it.
Shepherd’s dedication is paying off; Vancouver Island Salt Company is one of Canada’s foremost and greenest harvesters, working to hand-harvest sea salt and boil it down using recycled vegetable oil from restaurants. In 2014, he won the Telus small business challenge in Canada and in 2015 won the Best Producer/Supplier award at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Now his unrefined Canadian sea salt and sea salt infusions are in the kitchens of great chefs across Canada, on shelves across the United States and soon will be on the international market as well.
The creativity factor
“Being a chef, I think more in terms of being creative rather than innovative,” says Napa Valley Executive Chef and restaurateur Cindy Pawlcyn, known for such fabulous restaurants as Mustards Grill, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Cindy’s Waterfront. Her ever-popular Mustards Grill has been attracting locals and the food world for 32 years.
“I have a two-acre garden at Mustards Grill. Sometimes we grow vegetables we are not familiar with just to challenge us to create new flavours and recipes for our customers.”
Toronto chef Anthony Rose, of Rose and Sons, Big Crow, Fat Pasha and more, looks at innovation through the eyes of his staff. “In my company I let all staff come up with ideas and have a say in what we do. Everyone has good insight.” The insights must be working; he is preparing to open his sixth restaurant in Toronto in the fall of 2015.
Charcut in Calgary is a leader in the farm-to-plate philosophy. Their house-butchered meats, homemade preserves and Canada’s first beer steward are only a few of the innovative ways this restaurant keeps moving ahead. Co-chef and co-owner Connie DeSousa says, “Collaboration is essential for innovation in the kitchen.”
Expands comfort zone
DeSousa defines innovation as “a constant transformation that happens when I combine my past experiences with new ones and push my comfort zone.”
What’s next for this culinary leader? Her newest restaurant is Charbar, based on the experiences of DeSousa and her executive chef while they were in Argentina. “The menu unites the flavours and cooking methods of Argentinean cuisine, while blending our own regional sustainable ingredients from the ocean, prairies and local gardens.”
One of my most outstanding meals in the past year was at Rasa in Toronto. It was welcoming, creative, innovative, memorable and tasty. About innovation in the food world, co-owner Adam Minster says, “Innovation is harnessing everything you have ever tasted, seen or heard about and making it your own by implementing your own unique style and creativity.”
Rasa’s creative and innovative menu is brought to life when Minster describes how they ensure that taste remains an integral part of their menu development. “We always try to have something crunchy, soft, sweet, sour, spicy, hot and cold all on one plate. Then you can make every bite in a dish a new experience.”
Innovation on the grill
Creating award-winning food products takes experience, passion and dedication. Chef Ted Reader is a leader in product development. Whether it’s as past executive chef at President’s Choice, his own World Famous BBQ food line, or consulting with foodservice operators on the development of new concepts and recipes; Reader smiles as he says, “In the food world, every day is a day of flavour, creation and innovation.”
Reader is now sharing his knowledge with the next generation of culinary professionals at The Canadian Food and Wine Institute in Niagara, Ontario, where he is a professor for the Culinary Innovation and Food Technology program.
After creating hundreds of great-tasting food products and writing 21 cookbooks, where does Reader get his inspiration? “Everywhere there is good food, I am inspired. But most of it comes from my backyard test kitchen. My world of barbeque.”
I asked Reader when was the last time he tasted something that truly ‘wowed’ him and he replied, “It was a donut I created that was filled with smoked pulled pork and cheese, like a savoury appetizer that’s two bites of meat and cheese in a beer infused batter/breading. I call them Ted Bites.”
Inspiring the next generation
Dr. Amy Proulx is an Academic Program Coordinator for the Culinary Innovation and Food Technology program at the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College. To her, innovation means, “How we help people learn to be innovative.” Her favourite product is her students!
One of those past students is Beatrix Csemer. Looking at innovation through the fresh eyes of a student, Csemer’s observation is that “in the food world, innovation means ‘difference.’ This falls into two categories, invention – identifying a gap — and revision – revising an existing product in some way to make it different from the rest of the market.”
Since 1986, Pusateri’s has been a leading gourmet food emporium in Canada. Executive Chef Tony Cammalleri inspires the culinary team that creates the prepared foods, baked goods and catering offerings that Pusateri’s has become known for.
“Innovation at Pusateri’s is an organic process. New products come in locally and from around the world daily and our offerings change as a result of this,” says Cammalleri.
A new innovation has Cammalleri very excited. “We recently built a state-of-the-art commissary kitchen. We looked at our current soup production method and decided to create an entirely new soup process. We were able to increase production by 50 per cent.”
Shares knowledge and experience
Chuck Currie’s career has always been focused on innovation. Now, as owner of Quality Food, Systems and Training, based in Vancouver, he is continuing to share his vast knowledge of the food world. His inspiration comes from where he lives.
“I am lucky to live in a port city,” says Currie. “To me, port cities always have the most varied and exciting food culture due to immigration.”
He has a very interesting insight, “I don’t think chefs always lead the public, the public leads us very strongly if we will listen.”
As Director of Menu and Innovation with McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada, Anne Parks looks to McDonald’s guests for inspiration.
“Today, innovation is more consumer-focused. They don’t want quiet or subtle flavours, they want big flavours that are spicy and crunchy and textured and sweet.”
Her new line of premium salads “combine texture and crunch and include new and popular ingredients like baby kale, pumpkin seeds and couscous.”
Examines consumer behaviour
Marion Chan’s career has been focused on understanding the drivers behind consumer behaviour. At her company, TrendSpotter Consulting in Toronto, Chan shares her insights on not only what is happening in the food world, but also why it is relevant. I asked her about how innovation is different today compared to five or 10 years ago.
“From a foodservice perspective, innovation is taking its cue from international cuisine. Foodservice play an important role in introducing new food to the general population and twisting and turning it into something very different that is appealing.”
John Hale has a wealth of food industry experience. One of his greatest and most successful innovations was working on the Guinness Beer widget. His knowledge and practice of sensory evaluation has led him to become a sought-after global leader. I asked Hale how he defines innovation at his company, Hale Food in Toronto.
“We use innovative methodology to delve deeply into what customers want and delight them by using an array of new sensory and product development techniques.”
The bigger picture
Urban Cultivator, based in Vancouver, created the Urban Cultivator Residential and the Urban Cultivator Commercial, allowing consumers and restaurants to have kitchen gardens, to harvest seconds before you plate, giving you access to fresh, organic microgreens and herbs year-round. Founder and CEO Tarren Wolfe says, “innovation is the creation of something that’s unique and useful to society. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it didn’t exist before, but that it’s better than what preceded it and helps society in a tangible way.”
Recently Urban Culitivator opened the world’s first Living Product Aisle in Vancouver. This storefront location allows customers to purchase “flats of greens, smoothies and salads that are made from greens grown right on site.”
What does Wolfe think is one of the newest and best-tasting innovations made with fresh greens? “The Carrot Cake is a smoothie that tastes like carrot cake. It has radish and broccoli microgreens in it; it’s bright, it’s got a little bit of a kick, but it tastes like Easter!”
Tempting treats
Sweet potato and butternut squash enchiladas, farmer’s market frittata, apple cinnamon flatbreads with apricot ricotta, organic roasted eggplant and quinoa burrito — the menu at a new neighbourhood restaurant? No, these are some of the tempting offerings from Luvo Inc.
Oh, and did I mention they were all frozen?
Luvo is transforming the frozen-food aisle, one great taste and one healthy taste at a time. CEO Christine Day is excited to talk about the innovation around the Steamazing technology, which cooks the products in unbleached paper pouches, similar to en papillote cooking.
“Innovation is the ability to be first to market and to see what the consumer wants,” says Day from her Vancouver office. “Our inspiration comes from looking at consumer’s needs and solving problems.”
Entrees like Chicken Chile Verde are full of bold flavours and “have attracted men to the brand.” “Our goal is to be in every aisle of the grocery store,” explains Christine.
These are some of the best culinary innovators. Their enthusiasm, excitement and pursuit of foods, drinks and tastes that will nourish and attract tomorrow’s consumers keep them at the top of their professions.
Tomorrow’s tastes will be different. I look forward to working with you to make tomorrow’s tastes the best ever.
See also:
About the author:
Christine Couvelier is a culinary executive, Executive Chef, and Culinary Trendologist. Christine is the past Executive Chef of President’s Choice, the Director of Culinary & Beverage/Executive Chef at Cara Operations, and the Chair of The Chef School of George Brown College. She worked on global innovation for Unilever and was the first Director of Culinary Strategy at Maple Leaf Foods. Currently Christine continues to educate, teach, and inspire her customers through her consulting company Culinary Concierge, where she provides culinary solutions to assist clients in launching on-trend, on-time great tasting food products and menu items. For more information, contact Christine by email at [email protected] or visit www.culinaryconcierge.ca.
