On July 11, The Honourable Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business, and honoured industry guests, converged on NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a roundtable discussion on tourism and hospitality.
Minister Tangri, MPP for Mississauga-Streetsville, was joined by local and provincial representatives from the hospitality, tourism and beverage industry. Among them was Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, MPP Sam Oosterhoff, and NC’s own Craig Youdale, Dean, Culinary, Tourism and Beverage Studies.
“Hosting roundtables with business and community leaders across the province is a top priority of mine,” said Nina Tangri MPP for Mississauga Streetsville & Ontario’s Associate Minister of Small Business. “It gives us the opportunity to hear on the ground testimony and learn more about the challenges and needs various industries and businesses are facing. It was an honour to attend Niagara college for our tourism and hospitality roundtable and I look forward to continuing our dialogue as we work to ensure Ontario remains the best place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business.”
Before the roundtable, NC’s Dr. Marc Nantel, Vice President, R.I.S.E, led Minister Tangri on a tour of NC’s own tourism and hospitality expertise.
“Niagara College was pleased to host Minister Tangri and industry leaders for an important discussion of tourism and hospitality, within which our students, faculty and researchers are deeply embedded,” said Dr. Nantel, Vice President Research, Innovation & Strategic Enterprises. “We welcomed the chance to showcase to the Minister all of the ways the College supports innovation and excellence through research and education in culinary, tourism, and beverage.”
Minister Tangri toured NC’s research labs where small-and-medium-sized businesses collaborate with faculty and students to optimize their products. Led by the NC Research & Innovation team, the Minister and delegates toured the Beverage Pilot Plant and sampled Sobrii, an innovative, non-alcoholic gin product developed with the support of the College.
Minister Tangri met with passionate students in the Culinary Innovation and Food Technology (Co-op) program and learned how the College works with food and beverage companies. Students explained how they optimize and commercialize products through rigorous lab testing and product development. Some examples included measuring the PH, texture and viscosity of food products, developing gluten-free flour and egg replacements, as well as ready-to-drink cocktails.
Dr. Nantel noted that, in many cases, student researchers have gone on to work for the companies they helped with product development with NC’s Research & Innovation.
Faculty boasted niche capabilities in temperature control testing, as well as evaluating the quality of Canadian-grown hops. The Minister learned about how the College supports the craft beer industry through testing beer samples to measure acidity and sugar content to improve product quality.
Dean Youdale offered a tour of the Culinary and Baking Labs where students were immersed in the art of culinary creation. Brewmaster Jon Downing greeted the Minister outside the Teaching Brewery where students are busy preparing their own small-batch brews for Project Brew, their end of term showcase.
As a parting gift to the Minister, Dr. Marc Nantel was pleased to present a sampling of NC products made by students, including cookies, honey, and wine.
During the roundtable, the Minister and industry representatives discussed the challenges and successes of the sector. Honing in on small businesses, the group discussed lowering costs, accelerating technology adopting, ways to retain and attracting talent, promote Ontario-made products, succession planning, and more.
