The Diversity Foods team led by chef Ben Kramer wins Iron Chef competition, April 12, 2010.
WINNIPEG, MB – Led by award-winning chef Ben Kramer and his team, The University of Winnipeg’s Diversity Foods has won the 2010 Winnipeg Iron Chef competition, beating out some of the city’s top restaurants. The eight teams in the quarter finals included The Fairmont Hotel, Bistro 7 & 1/4, Le Petite France, The MTS Centre, Provence at the Niakwa Golf and Country Club, Bonfire Bistro and the Glendale Golf and Country Club.
Participating chefs don’t know what ingredient they are cooking with until 30 minutes before the competition. Diversity’s surprise ingredient for the quarter finals was Battle Eggplant, the semi-final ingredient was Battle Duck and Foie Gras and the Championship round ingredient was Battle Rabbit.
“It is an incredible honour to win this recognition,” said Kramer. “We have a very talented group of people here on campus. Even though day to day we are running a cafeteria, we also offer high-end catering that is on par with the very best in Winnipeg.”
The Iron Chef competition was held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre April 11 and 12, 2010 as part of Centrex – Manitoba’s largest tradeshow for hotels, restaurants, bars and foodservice providers. Diversity’s top prize entails $1,000 for the team.
The competition allows chefs one hour to develop as many dishes as they can using a secret ingredient. Their culinary creativity was judged on presentation, composition, originality and organization.
The University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation (UWCRC) and SEED Winnipeg created Diversity Foods in June 2009, providing high-quality jobs for immigrants, newcomers and Aboriginal peoples to provide all food services on campus. It is an approach that is unique among universities in Canada.
In developing nutritious, affordable and ethnically diverse food options, Diversity focuses, wherever possible, on locally sourced, organic ingredients, reducing transportation costs, decreasing the dependency on food grown with herbicides and pesticides, and securing products that benefit those who grow them through a commitment to fair-trade practices.
Diversity Foods now caters to the broader community for meetings, banquets and weddings. Visit www.diversitycatering.ca for details.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
