Renowned chef draws attention to Ontario East at international food expo | Ontario East

Renowned chef draws attention to Ontario East at international food expo

A marketing team from Ontario East brought more than brochures to a recent international food exposition to demonstrate that the region is a hotbed of high-quality food production and food processing companies.

Accompanying the Ontario East Food Sector Team to the International Food Expo in Montreal was renowned Kingston-based chef Clark Day and his staff who provided a steady supply of delicious foods for passers-by, all made from ingredients produced in Eastern Ontario.

Chris King, team chairman, said the appetizers and the chefs in their white attire drew crowds continually to the booth and brought some new attention to the region’s food sector.

“It allowed us to promote the individual suppliers and processors who provided the products,” said King.

“When someone tried one of the dishes prepared by Chef Clark Day, they’d ask what was in it and want more information about the supplier,” he said. “We were then able to provide the Ontario East directory of food-industry companies for a full description and contact details on that Eastern Ontario company that provided the food product or ingredient they wanted to source.”

The key to any successful expo or trade fair is attracting visitors to one’s booth and it’s also the most difficult challenge. The Ontario East cooking initiative was so successful and drew so much interest from potential industry buyers—entrepreneurs, investors, and food industry leaders—that the team ran out of directories and had to send for more.

King believes that hundreds of the directories were given to expo attendees whose numbers came from 60 countries. The expo attracted almost 14,000 food-industry professionals.

The Ontario East team included economic developers from several Eastern Ontario communities as well as a representative from the Business Development Bank of Canada and Belleville-based Canadian canning company Sprague Foods (www.spraguefoods.com). Many of its foods were incorporated in the dishes served by chef Day and his staff.

King said the initiative was so successful that it will be expanded upon at next year’s International Food Expo in Toronto.

“There are plans in the works to involve more food companies and to have an actual Eastern Ontario pavilion where the Ontario East Economic Development Commission and local food industry are located side by side promoting the Eastern Ontario food sector,” he said.

The Ontario East Food Sector Team is a partnership of communities across Eastern Ontario that have a strategic advantage in the food sector and interest in growing and developing the food processing sector. Team members include Bay of Quinte Region, City of Brockville, City of Cornwall, Hastings County, City of Kingston, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Lennox & Addington County, Northumberland County, Prescott-Russell, Town of Smiths Falls, and United Counties of Stormont Dundas and Glengarry.

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