Saskatchewan's Culinary Zest Featured in Japan

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Well aware that presentation is key to impressing the audience of a magazine featuring professional cooking, Chef Rob Fuller of Zest Restaurant in Regina recently put on a stunning Saskatchewan gastronomical experience for some of the world’s most sophisticated palates — Japanese guests.

Chef Fuller was approached by Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF) to use his culinary skills and creativity to prepare dishes featuring Saskatchewan products for two discerning guests: editor Ritsuo Saito and photographer Yuhei Ohyama with Senmon-Ryori, the Magazine of Professional Cooking in Japan.

The monthly magazine has a distribution of over 80,000 and a readership of chefs and food service industry insiders across Japan. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canadian Embassy worked to bring Mr. Saito and Mr. Ohyama to Canada, and gave the provinces the opportunity to showcase local foods for them.

The group, which was accompanied by Maki Mizuhara, the Canadian Trade Commissioner for Nagoya, Japan, traveled across Western Canada in January to seek products worthy of highlighting: Canadian meat products, healthy grains and berries. During their short visit in Saskatchewan, STEP and SAF hosted a luncheon at Zest Restaurant with the delegation and the Saskatchewan producers who supplied the products for the meal.

The Saskatchewan products profiled were: saskatoon berries from Riverbend Plantation (www.saskatoonberry.ca) and Prairie Berries (www.prairieberries.com); roasted golden flax from Can-Mar Grain Products (www.roastedflax.com); organic pearl barley from Poplar Valley Organics (www.cluborganic.ca) and organic beef also from Poplar Valley Organics, in conjunction with Thomson Meats (www.rascalfoods.com); wild boar and Berkshire pork, a Japanese favorite, supplied by Saskatoon Specialty Meats (www.specialtymeats.ca); wild rice and wild mushrooms from Northern Lights Foods (www.northernlightsfoods.com); and bison from Canadian Prairie Bison.

A mini-trade show was organized following the luncheon, where the photographer and editor were able to interview each supplier and ask questions about their products.

Photos of the dishes Chef Fuller prepared with the companies’ showcased products will be featured in the spring edition of the magazine with a 10- to 12-page spread on the journalists' culinary discoveries while in Canada. The release of the issue coincides with the world trade fair, FOODEX Japan, which runs from March 13 to 17, 2006.

This initiative is remarkable for the collaborative spirit displayed by STEP, SAF, AAFC and the Canadian Embassy in Japan. This kind of effort can foster unique opportunities for Saskatchewan companies hoping to put themselves in front of potential buyers in export markets.

For more information, contact:

Brenda Hawryluk
Senior Trade Specialist
Asia Pacific/ASEAN/Australasia
Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership
(306) 787-9335

Renata Bereziuk
Marketing Specialist
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
(306) 787-8541