What makes our work unique is the interplay between the two mandates: to help industry produce new food products, and to train students to become tomorrow’s culinary industry and research professionals. Each section of this book therefore focuses on the specific ways our culinary research team (and students) have helped industry partners, and highlights the results our collaborations have achieved, while underscoring the opportunities these collaborations have created for students to gain hands-on skills in culinary arts and research.

None of the recipes we share in the following pages are proprietary client formulations; they are recipes using new products we’ve developed for clients, or recipes that showcase the ingredients our clients produce. All recipes in this book have been fully approved by our clients as examples of what innovation, creativity, and collaboration can accomplish. We maintain strict client confidentiality on any prototypes or formulations developed for industry.

Why include recipes at all? Because we learned that when you conduct food research you inevitably amass a collection of great recipes doomed to sit in a database known only to your own researchers and client collaborators. But recipes are meant to be shared and enjoyed. In the context of this research review, they also serve an important purpose by demonstrating the quality of our results through the ultimate test marketing tool – your taste buds. These recipes illustrate the best of what culinary research can accomplish when it brings together food scientists, chefs, and innovative Canadian food companies.

Finally, this research review allows us to show our gratitude to the funders and stakeholders whose belief in our vision has made the past eight years possible.