USDA + New England Culinary Institute = Recipe for Success - Statistical Data Included

AgExporter, July, 2000 by Kathleen Wainio

While the image of Vermont evokes charming bed and breakfast inns, general stores stocked with cheddar cheese, maple syrup and old-fashioned Yankee gadgetry, it is also home to one of the hottest kitchens in the USA--the internationally renowned New England Culinary Institute (NECI). In a unique partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, NECI's enthusiastic Chef Michael McCarthy has been turning up the heat at a number of USDA-sponsored trade shows, with delicious results.

Thanks to the cooking demonstrations and performance art of New England Culinary Institute Chefs McCarthy and Jim Zipco, USDA'S USA Marketplace Pavilion was a "must see" attraction at the Canadian Food and Beverage Show in Toronto, Canada, in February.

The two chefs created recipes highlighting all the various U.S. food products featured in the USA Marketplace pavilion. U.S. catfish, wild rice, Florida tomatoes and Louisiana hot sauce became "Catfish Jambalaya With Spank." There was lots of "spanking" (Chef McCarthy's term for adding spices) at the USA Pavilion, and the crowds loved it.

Lively on-the-spot interviews with product representatives drew attention to U.S. offerings and educated the audience on the high quality of the U.S. products on display. For example, the USA Tomato Commission gave the audience tips for its product ("never...ever refrigerate tomatoes") and provided information on the season for Florida tomatoes.

When additional ingredients were needed to complete a dish, the two chefs "shopped" at surrounding booths. It proved difficult to refuse a chef with a live microphone.

A Tough Bunch To Impress

Attracting attention to a booth is a challenge at a trade show; and it is particularly difficult in a market as sophisticated as Canada's. At any food show, exhibitors are competing with other booths, some of which feature live bands, interactive activities, product samples or games--all designed to capture the attention of visitors to the show.

Innovative products are helpful, but Canadian consumers are well-acquainted with new products. Food trends in Canada are similar to those in the United States (see AgExporter May 2000 article on Western Canadian food trends). There is increasing demand for home meal replacements, convenience foods, foods perceived to be healthy and innovative products.

Prepared With Panache

The New England Culinary Institute chefs created a sense of excitement in the USA Pavilion, and all of the exhibitors benefitted from the additional walk-through traffic and the publicity generated by the chefs' use and description of U.S. products in their recipes.

The mix of products featured at the USA Pavilion reflected Canada's position as the No. 1 market for U.S. high-value products: wild rice, chocolate, New York wine, bakery products, catfish, Florida tomatoes, hot sauces, confectionery products, jalape[[tilde]{n}]o stuffed olives, flavored coffee filters, nuts, fruit roll-ups and snack foods. Chefs McCarthy and Zipco's use of these ingredients created a culinary atlas of America-including fruit cobblers, pastas, innovative pestos, chocolate chili, fruit compotes and a host of other creative dishes for food-savvy Canadian consumers.

The New York Wine and Grape Foundation presented food and wine pairing advice and wine samples for all dishes.

Exhibitors at the USA Marketplace Pavilion were universally pleased with the results, some of them volunteering to "go on the road" with the two chefs. The sales results in the USA pavilion were remarkable. One company reported one sale of over half a million dollars, several smaller sales, as well as a request to purchase the recipe for the Pear Chocolate Crumble created by the chefs.

The author is the U.S. agricultural attache at the American Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.

New England Culinary Institute

The New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont, is dedicated to providing high-quality education in basic cooking skills. The school has a seven-to-one student/teacher ratio in production kitchens. Students spend 75 percent of their time in hands-on training in five different real food service operations: two restaurants, a bakeshop, a cafeteria, and a banquet catering operation. In addition to Culinary Arts programs, NECI offers a B.A. in Food and Beverage Management at the Business School.