Winners of Food Innovation Awards Announced
November 08, 2011 - News Release
Three Canadian restaurants that serve up innovation and creativity with their menu offerings have won this year’s University of Guelph Good Food Innovation Awards.
The awards honour food professionals using Canadian ingredients, following sustainable management practices and creating healthy, nutritious menu selections.
“Guelph is Canada’s food university, so it is natural that we would be following the progress of Food Day,” said Sue Bennett, director of University and community relations. “The Innovation Award captures Guelph’s leadership role in Canada’s food system.”
The award was created in 2010 to mark National Food Day. It’s presented annually by the U of G president’s office, the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) and the College of Management and Economics, along with U of G friend and culinary expert Anita Stewart. Stewart, the founder of Cuisine Canada, has written numerous books promoting Canadian foods and wines, including many featuring U of G. In 1999, she prepared a special menu for OAC’s 125th anniversary.
The 2011 Good Food Innovation Awards went to three restaurants in British Columbia and Quebec. Winners may choose their prizes, which include the opportunity to work with Guelph researchers on new innovations and tours of U of G’s research facilities.
The gold award went to Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island. Owned by Frederique and Sinclair Philips, the restaurant bases its menu on the Pacific Northwest.
The silver award went to Kelowna’s Waterfront Wine owned by Mark Filatow, who chooses wines to pair with his menu offerings.
DNA Restaurant of Montreal, the 2010 gold winner, took this year’s bronze. Owned by chef Derek Dammann and his business partner, Alex Cruz, the restaurant features a menu inspired by Quebec’s boreal forests.
Honourable mention went to On the Twenty, a Niagara Peninsula winery restaurant in Jordan, Ont.
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, lhunt@uoguelph.ca, or Shiona Mackenzie, Ext. 56982, shiona@exec.uoguelph.ca.
