Red River College’s new Prairie Research Kitchen was featured in the Winnipeg Free Press with a full-page spread and interviews with research professionals Mavis McRae and Heather Hill.

The article highlighted the Kitchen’s modern, beautiful workspace and the innovative work our research chefs and scientists are doing alongside Culinary Arts instructors and students, with clients from across Manitoba.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Complete with a board room with an amazing view for tasting and focus groups, Mavis McRae, the research professional for culinary research & innovation and head of the lab, said culinary arts students will get a whole new training opportunity in the science of food that was not previously available.

Already the lab is working on about 10 projects at a time with new a couple of new ones being pitched every week by industry partners and research scientists.”

Please click here to read the full article.

Research Manitoba has launched a new Innovation Proof-of-Concept Grant that aims to strengthen Manitoba-based research innovation and development projects by filling a funding gap in the Manitoba innovation ecosystem. Through two independent streams, this program provides support for innovation and commercialization research that is not otherwise accessible. This program helps fund activities directly related to process validation and proof-of-concept research. The program is targeted towards research in: Bioscience, ICT, Advanced Manufacturing, and Infrastructure and Transportation Industries and Technologies.

The two funding streams are:

Stream 1: Manitoba-Based Consortium supports local collaboration that is addressing a company specific discovery or innovation towards market usability. This stream allows academics to use their world-class knowledge, facilities, and highly qualified personnel (HQP) to close the knowledge gaps identified during the industry partner’s innovation development.

Stream 2: Manitoba Post-Secondary Researchers supports the advancement of discoveries or innovations within an academic setting, which may result in products or technologies, towards market usability.

More information on the grant can be found in the Program Guide or on the Research Manitoba Innovation and Strategic Partnerships website. The application form is also now available on Research Manitoba’s Grants Management System (GMS). The 2020 competition will be open until March 31, 2021.

Polytechnics Canada has recently published a compendium on Applied Research: Building a Stronger Canada, and Red River College’s Smart Factory gets a mention for its value in emerging technologies in metal additive manufacturing, collaborative robotics, autonomous factory vehicles, flexible robotic work cells, industrial automation and networking, and high-speed 3D laser metrology.

View the entire compendium here, and see page 3 for more on Red River College and the Smart Factory.

Like many big ideas, Prairie Fava started with a seed.

In this case however, it was a whole seed farm.

Hailey and Cale Jefferies

Hailey and Cale Jefferies are two self-described “entrepreneurial spirits” who moved back to rural Manitoba after going to university in Ontario. Cale’s family business was calling – having grown up on a fifth-generation seed farm in Glenboro, Manitoba, he made the choice to take over Jefferies Seeds.

But the seed to start their own business was officially planted when Hailey’s mom was diagnosed with cancer.

“My mom’s sickness really inspired my passion for health,” says Hailey. “My husband was selling fava seeds to farmers, but there was no market to sell it to. I saw lots of opportunity with fava and took it upon myself to leverage my passion for sales with making food healthier.”

Fava flour, flakes and grit can be used as ingredients in new and current food products to enhance the fibre and protein content. Fava flour is a gluten-free alternative that can be used in baking and conventional recipes. Combining pulse flours with grain flour creates a complete protein source, as the amino acid profiles are complementary. Rice flour is often used as a gluten-free alternative, though the protein quotient isn’t as high as in fava.

Prairie Fava operates out of Jefferies Seeds and the businesses work well with each other; as more fava beans are sold to farmers, that means there are more fava beans to process – and better nutrition in our food.

While starting their own business was a natural fit, Hailey says that being a small start-up meant they didn’t have the time or resources to dedicate to trial and error and market research. The duo co-founded Prairie Fava in 2015 and started officially processing fava beans two years later. After connecting with Red River College’s Culinary Research team – now known as the Prairie Research Kitchen – Prairie Fava soon got to work conducting basic research on their fava flour.

And the seed that first inspired their business has now blossomed into an award-winning company: Prairie Fava was recently awarded the Start-Up of the Year Award at the 2019 Manitoba Chambers of Commerce Business Awards.

Hailey Jefferies is presented with the Start-up of the Year Award at the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce Business Awards

“RRC was the first to bring a chef’s perspective and experience to applied research,” says Hailey. “The input of a chef has expediated our product development and provided us with valuable information as to the direction we should take in R&D. Our product development has been strengthened by the connection of culinary and food sciences that RRC provides.”

One of the first projects Prairie Fava and the Prairie Research Kitchen worked on together was a fava flour crouton. They initially started testing with whole beans and flour, which wasn’t really working at first. It was a trial and error period of finding fava’s strengths.

Eventually they got to work on muffins and cookies – beloved family recipes, revamped with a healthy, fava-infused twist. Hailey says she took some samples home to family for a blind taste test, and that everyone picked the cookie with 50% fava as their favourite.

Hailey Jefferies speaks at the grand opening of the Prairie Research Kitchen, as RRC Interim President Darin Brecht and Minister of Economic Development and Training Ralph Eichler look on.
Photo by Jason Halstead

With the help of the Prairie Research Kitchen, Prairie Fava was able to demonstrate that fava doesn’t compromise flavour and has the added benefit of injecting an alternative form of protein to new and existing recipes.

“I can’t emphasize enough how valuable Red River College is for a company like ours,” says Hailey. “They have provided access to College-specific expertise and funding ​that has helped propel our company into the market. We have appreciated being able to leverage the creative talents of RRC students to do market research, recipe development and great food photography. We have not been able find this kind of diverse food research elsewhere on a limited R&D budget.”

So what’s next for Prairie Fava?

“We are very excited to report that we anticipate the launch of a fava-based ‘better for you’ product into the consumer market in 2020,” says Hailey. “With the new Prairie Research Kitchen officially open, we can’t wait to do even more with RRC on a different scale. They’ve been an integral part of our growth.”

To learn more about Prairie Fava, please visit their website.

Want to know how to cook with fava? Check out some of our delicious recipes:

Tortillas

Crepes

Spaetzle

Spicy Fried Chicken

Pork Schnitzel

Tempura

Red River College is pleased to host the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) for a Lunch and Learn on November 22.

IDEaS was launched in April 2018 as part of Canada’s defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged. The program was allocated $1.6 billion over 20 years to invest in the extraordinary talent and ingenuity resident in Canada to help resolve unclassified defence and security challenges. Regardless if you are working from your home, an academic in a university lab or a scientist in a small or a major corporation, the Innovation for Defence, Excellence and Security (IDEaS) is looking for your solutions to help resolve defence and security challenges. This is your opportunity to showcase your innovative ideas!

The various elements of IDEaS include Competitive Projects, Contests, Innovation Networks, Sandboxes, and Innovation Assessment & Implementation. To date, there have been 45 challenges issued, 219 funded entities, and over $63 M committed or spent.

This Lunch and Learn takes place on Friday, November 22 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. in the Black Lecture Theatre at Red River College’s Notre Dame Campus. Please register here.

The Culinary Research team revealed some of the culinary delights concocted in the brand new Prairie Research Kitchen at Food & Beverage Manitoba’s Industry Excellence Awards on October 9th. In collaboration with RRC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts and Richardson Food & Ingredients, the team created three pies that were donated to a charity auction that raised funds for Cancer Society programs in Manitoba.

The CRI team worked alongside RRC Chef Instructors Gordon Bailey, Kim Cooke, and Lylah Erkau to create the “Pie-O-Dome,” a true piece of art that showcased the skills of the RRC culinary crew. A sugar-crusted almond nougatine pie with organic dark chocolate ganache and Grand Marnier spiked coffee, this showstopper was encased in an airbrushed compressed sugar dome to provide the lucky bidder with an additional delicious (and mysterious!) surprise when shattered. Unsurprisingly, the Pie-O-Dome was a popular item during the auction and was snatched up by a very lucky bidder.

In addition to the Pie-O-Dome, the team whipped up two other pies, including the “Key to Success Lime Pie,” a picture-perfect example of the skills being taught to the next generation of chefs and bakers at RRC’s Culinary Arts and Professional Baking programs. This decadent key lime cheesecake was surrounded by a buttery graham crust and garnished with a pillowy crème Chantilly and fresh sliced limes.

RRC partnered with Richardson Food & Ingredients on the “Co-Pie-Lot Collaboration Pie,” a gluten-free sensation inspired by a classic German Chocolate cake. This partnership pie combined fudgy creamy chocolate filling with a rich and flavourful coconut pecan custard. All this deliciousness rested on a gluten-free oat flour crust made with Richardson gluten-free oats and canola pastry shortening.

Take a look at the creation of the pies in the gallery below:

The Opportunity

SCADA screenshot

Ice formation within aircraft fuel systems has been the subject of research studies, especially in the last decade, with a number of industry-academic projects sourced in the USA and Europe. RRC’s TACAM has engaged in various stages of jet fuel icing research under two project agreements with MDS and EnviroTREC (also representing their OEM partners: Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce) since 2013. During the course of these two projects many tasks were performed, such as literature survey; lab-scale experimentation of ice formation in fuel; design, set-up and initiation of a sub-scale fuel rig; integration of water sensor with fuel rig and proDAS system to capture new data. Throughout these investigations, limitations of equipment (instrumentation, physical components of the rig, and computer operating systems) have been identified. With the goal of improving accuracy of test conditions and repeatability of data, work scope of Phase 2 was determined.

Rig set-up

The Approach

The project team’s primary focus was on increased instrumentation, refinement of systems control and improved data acquisition capability. The fuel rig was entirely redesigned to provide consistent flow and temperature control, including incorporation of heat exchanger and a circulating bath with improved cooling range. Discrete experiments measuring parts per million water content within temperature ranges of -20°C ≤ T ≤ 20°C at a constant flow rate were then conducted to assess performance capability of the new system.

The Outcomes

A controllable recirculating fuel rig capable of achieving repeatable temperature set points, and flow rate of interest. Improved instrumentation capability for conducting experiments to understand temperature-dependent changes in water content in Jet A1 fuel.

The Benefits

MDS Pro-DAS system

• Availability of instrumentation and lab-scale setup for ice crystals characterization in jet fuels.
• Provision of empirical data on the behavior of unadulterated fuel exposed to extreme temperature differential

Testimonial

“The Red River College team has successfully developed a unique capability to study, characterize and control ice formation in aircraft fuel systems. This experimental capability offers us the opportunity to investigate the effects of ice formation in fuels under a variety of concentrations and temperatures thus leading to safer, more efficient fuel systems.”

– David Simpson, Executive Director, EnviroTREC

Collaborators

In advance of the inaugural 2019 Vehicle Technology International Conference, we are profiling a number of guest speakers who will be covering a range of topics relating to vehicle technology. We are pleased to welcome Eddy Zuppel from National Research Council Canada (NRC) to speak on current and future trends related to vehicle testing, simulation and modelling, as well as NRC’s vehicle-level testing capabilities.

Tell us a little bit about yourself – your background, field of interest, where do you work and what are your areas of expertise?

“I am currently the Program Leader of the Vehicle Propulsion Technologies program. As Program Leader, I oversee research and development (R&D) activities aimed at assisting Canadian industry and policy development in vehicle electrification and clean transportation sectors. Specifically, I manage a yearly budget of $6M related to over 30 projects in the areas of electric motors, energy storage and hydrogen fuel cells.

I joined the NRC in 2015 as a senior project manager following 11 years in industry where I held different managerial positions, including Section Chief of a multidisciplinary team of 20 engineers.

I hold a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and have co-authored eight scientific publications.”

What sparked your interest in vehicle technology?

“Influenced by my father who was a CNC programmer in the transportation industry, I have always been fascinated with the development of mechanical systems and their integration into vehicles that allow us to efficiently and confidently explore new destinations.”

Register for the 2019 Vehicle Technology International Conference here.

Red River College is proud to host the inaugural 2019 Vehicle Technology International Conference next week, and to welcome a number of guest speakers from Manitoba and beyond to speak on a variety of topics relating to vehicle technology. One speaker is Curtis Ross, CEO/President of the Thompson Regional Airport. Get to know Curtis and some of the topics he’ll be covering, below.

In addition to being the CEO/President of the Thompson Regional Airport, Curtis is also an entrepreneur and long-time business owner involved in commercial development and infrastructure related to winter weather testing in Thompson. He has been involved with the Ford Global Cold Weather test facility and currently works with Honda Canada on testing platforms and programs in Thompson. Curtis was instrumental in attracting and developing the Ford test facility and working with local entrepreneurs to expand the facility over the past 15 years.

Curtis has lived in Thompson for 30 years and is proud to be a graduate of Red River College in the trades program as a red seal carpenter, and he continues to build to this day. He is currently guiding the $70 million redevelopment of the Thompson Airport over the next four years, which will continue to make it a global hub for testing, tourism and freight distribution. Curtis and his private companies continue to be go-to place for winter weather testing logistics in Thompson, Manitoba. He also promotes the Thompson Airport and its facilitates for vehicle and aviation winter testing.

Tell us a little bit about yourself – your background, field of interest, where do you work and what are your areas of expertise?

“I continue to be a builder and developer involved in numerous commercial ventures. I’m a northerner by heart and moved to Thompson, like most people, for two years and ended up loving it and have now been here for 30 years.  My wife and I, along with some friends, also owned and operated a resort in Riding Mountain National Park which we sold a few years ago.

I want the next generation of tradespeople to know that they may start out as a tradesperson and that is a skillset they will continue to utilize for the rest of their lives in ways they may not even have envisioned when they first started out. I am intrigued and amazed at how building technologies continue to change and improve, and to this day I remain a student of the industry.”

What sparked your interest in vehicle technology?

“It’s hard to say if it was the technology alone that sparked my interest in the testing industry. I would say it was the infrastructure and testing parameters required by different testers to allow for them to test their technology. What myself and others realized was the requirement and demand for real time testing versus controlled environment testing didn’t meet the certification sign-off requirements of manufacturers. Thompson has optimum infrastructure and winter conditions, in a great location at a highly competitive cost per vehicle and tester point. In the last five years, the technology aspect of the testing is becoming a much more competitive field but also a highly confidential component of the business.”

Give us a taste of the topics you’ll cover at the Vehicle Technology International Conference?

“I will cover more of what makes Thompson, Manitoba attractive to many of the manufacturers, including:

• Vehicles – commercial and retail domestic models.
• Aircraft components, aircraft and helicopters.
• Snowmobiles, ATVs UTVs and snow blowers.

I will also speak to the need for entrepreneurs and the opportunities for industry partners to continue to grow the testing in Thompson.”

Anything else you’d like to add?

“I would encourage our municipal, provincial, and federal governments to partner at all levels with those looking to grow the industry in Manitoba as a whole. We owe it to the environment and the next generations to be leaders instead of followers when it comes to new technologies and the development and manufacturing of them.”

Click here to register for the 2019 Vehicle Technology International Conference.