The growing Culinary Research & Innovation (CRI) team at Red River College supports food production firms by working on recipe development, research trials, and other partnership opportunities. This work is conducted by a core CRI team and rotating cast of co-op students with culinary experience that spans the globe.

CRI recently welcomed Culinary Skills co-op student Terry Yin to the team. Terry began his culinary career at the age of 20, studying at a culinary college in Australia, working in Africa for a year, then returning to his home-country of China to work. Terry is from Qingdao, China, where the well-known Tsingtao beer is brewed. He recently arrived in Manitoba and is exploring its diverse culinary delights.
We caught up with Terry to talk about his experience and work with the CRI team.
What’s it like moving to Manitoba?
Very cold.
How are you finding the food here? You mentioned that a dish like nachos with cheese is entirely new to your taste buds.
The food culture here is nice. There’s more variety here than China. Mexican, Moroccan, Lebanese. I tried Mexican tacos and I really liked them. Cheese, nachos and everything. The combination of sour cream and cheese is new and special to me.
What is it like working with the Culinary Research & Innovation team? And what kind of work are you doing?
This school is teaching me more than I learned in Australia. I can learn more specific details in how to do things, where to put stuff. I participate more.
I am mainly doing recipe development, so I’m creating new recipes with the products from companies that we work with.
It is a very interesting area, a big help for my English, and pushes me to study more and more. The recipe development project helps me know different kinds of food trends and food styles.
How are you finding adapting to life in Manitoba?
It’s been good. I know North American culture mostly from movies and sports. I like NBA so my friend and I went to see a Raptors game. I watch a lot of YouTube videos about exercise, and American music videos.
Last August, I went to the Mud Hero with my friend. It’s a really fun thing to do. I’ve never had that kind of experience before.

What interested you about the Culinary Research & Innovation co-op opportunity?
At first, I thought culinary research, what is that? They explained some details to me, and I was very interested. It’s a great honour to be part of the College.
Any interesting culinary stories to tell?
When in culinary school, I made a black burger bun for one of my practical test using activated charcoal. I mixed the dough with active charcoal and then baked it, so it became a black bun. It tasted good and my chef really liked it.
What do you think some exciting trends are in the culinary arts?
I’m interested in the emerging FODMAP trend and different fads like the use of activated charcoal.
What are your hopes for the future?
I already started looking for culinary work in Winnipeg. I’d like to find a full-time job to become a resident here.