The number of industry projects completed each year should double with new permanent space
By: Owen Black
Prairie Research Kitchen has opened on the 11th floor of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute and is expected to increase employment opportunities for students. It will also increase the number of projects that the Culinary Research & Innovation team conducts each year.
The new research facility provides a space for Red River College’s Research & Innovation team to be able to work with culinary arts students and industry to create new food items that serve downtown businesses.
Red River College states the centre will support industry growth by providing culinary students with industry-standard food science skills.
Mavis McRae, a research professional for the Culinary Research & Innovation team that works out of the Prairie Research Kitchen, echoed this sentiment.
McRae believes the construction of a permanent, physical space will double the number of industry projects that the Prairie Research Kitchen will be able to conduct per year.
“We’re not moving constantly, so our efficiency increases which means there’s more industry project opportunities. We’re running I think about 10 to 15 projects a year and we should be able to double that,” said McRae.
Kyle Andreasen, a research technician for the Culinary Research & Innovation team also said this will allow more students to expand their skills in the culinary arts.
“It will be easier for us to take students year-round, now that we have dedicated kitchen time. Having the space will hopefully expand the amount of students that we can have working on co-ops, as well as students doing part-time work with us,” said Andreasen.
Amelia Loewen, a culinary arts student, said the creation of the Prairie Research Kitchen will encourage students to start thinking differently about cooking.
“Cooking itself is a science, but a lot of people don’t approach it with that kind of precision. I feel like having the facility there encourages students to start thinking about food science, even if we don’t get to use it,” said Loewen.
According to RRC, the Province of Manitoba supplied $1 million from Research Manitoba for the construction of Prairie Research Kitchen.
