A well-established regional twist
JOLIETTE, February 12, 2018 - The École hôtelière de Lanaudière and the Conseil de développement bioalimentaire de Lanaudière (CDBL) have once again joined forces to raise the profile of the region's agri-food businesses. The Émergence project was also launched with the support of the Association forestière de Lanaudière, the Société d'aide au développement de la collectivité (SADC) Matawinie and the financial contribution of the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), via its proximity program.
This project had four main objectives: to easily locate Lanaudière food processing companies, to replace 20 products from outside the region with local products, to introduce teachers and students to non-timber forest products and emerging company cultures, and finally to increase the visibility of regional products among the general public.
For several years now, the École hôtelière de Lanaudière has been contributing to local development by selecting Lanaudière products in the preparation and presentation of its gastronomic menus in the school dining room. Once again, thanks to the contribution of local producers and processors, the École hôtelière de Lanaudière, with the support of the CDBL, the Association forestière de Lanaudière and the SADC Matawinie, has decided to integrate the discovery and introduction of non-timber forest products into its training offer.
Our forests are teeming with products just waiting to be discovered. Think wild berries and mushrooms, woodland and Labrador teas, northern nuts and edible plants, to name but a few. This shift represents, and will continue to represent in the years to come, a considerable asset for our DVS students in contemporary cuisine, food service, butchery and patisserie, our future ambassadors once on the job market.
Specifically, the Émergence project involves skills acquisition and transfer, and product exploration, testing and comparison. According to Stéphane Toustou, Assistant Director of the École hôtelière, "this project enhances our training, since students benefit from educational visits to various local producers, participation in the grand tablée organized by the CDBL, and workshops on cheeses, foie gras and the creation of artisanal charcuterie. All these activities enable us to diversify our students' learning and replace parts of the skills with concrete activities".
For businesses, this project also represents a gain in the growth of their customer base. Since September 2017, the boutique-school has been offering additional visibility to Lanaudière producers and processors by adding a different promotional kiosk every week. This is a great opportunity for hotel school customers to discover new products and taste them. To date, most of the companies have benefited from this experience, which has been extremely positive in terms of customer growth.
Since 2001, the Centre multiservice des Samares has been offering general adult education, vocational training, distance learning and business and community services in a variety of sectors (administration, commerce and IT, food and tourism, mechanical manufacturing, health, beauty care, metallurgy, motorized equipment maintenance, transportation, public works buildings). More than 5,000 students are trained each year at our 13 training centers across the Lanaudière region, by experienced and passionate teachers.
The Conseil de développement bioalimentaire de Lanaudière (CDBL) is a non-profit organization that develops and energizes the Lanaudière biofood sector through structuring projects and weaving business links between stakeholders.
Active since 1991, the CDBL is recognized as the region's "Table de concertation agroalimentaire".
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Source : Center multiservice des Samares
Conseil de développement bioalimentaire de Lanaudière (Lanaudière biofood development council)
centremultiservice.ca
cdbl.ca
Information : Isabelle Fraser, Development Officer
450 758-3552 ext. 25580
Annie Cossette, Marketing/Promotion Coordinator
450 867-7773, ext. 242
