A laboratory gourmet at Université Laval

News 20 March, 2018
  • Photo Daphnée Dion-Viens
    In the laboratories of the Institute on nutrition and functional foods (INAF) of Laval University, students work on research projects that relate to the development of algae and fungi. This research gives an idea of the work that will be carried out within the GastronomiQc Lab, inaugurated in Quebec city on Tuesday.

    Daphnée Dion-Viens

    Tuesday, march 20, 2018 14:19

    UPDATE
    Tuesday, march 20, 2018 14:19

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    A new research unit, set up by the Université Laval and the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ), aims to put science at the service of the quebec gastronomy.

    The initiative was long overdue in the restaurant sector, said the chief executive of the Casino de Montréal, Jean-Pierre Curtat. Formed in the 70’s at the ITHQ, he was not able to have access to it, at the time, to a knowledge that would have allowed him to understand what he was doing, he told. “This is a great day”, he added.

    This initiative, which brings together, for the moment, a dozen researchers, and is funded to the tune of 1 million $ by the Société des Casinos du Québec.

    This new lab gourmet spouse, baptized GastronomiQc Lab, will put research at the service of the professionals of the gastronomy, but also producers and artisans in quebec that revolve around the restaurant industry, explained Sylvie Turgeon, director of the Institute on nutrition and functional foods (INAF) of Laval University, who is co-director of this project.

    The research program, which remains to be determined, will focus on innovative business models in business management from restoration, on quebec products distinctive, such as fine cheese or apple, and on the behaviour of consumers, which will be tested in a dining room the experimental.

    In the laboratories of INAF, research work in progress to help you better understand what might be of interest to the GastronomiQc Lab over the next few years. The master’s student Laurence Pouliot, for example, carried out a research project that aims to showcase the vegetables ugly, that is to say, those who are too often wasted because they are misshapen, bruised, or discolored.

    Culinary students at the ITHQ has developed, from a parsnip puree, a gel that they have incorporated into gourmet recipes. “What interested us, it was also to study the process of creativity” that has led to the development of this product in new revenue, ” explains Sylvie Turgeon.

    On his side, chef Daniel Vézina, who attended on Tuesday the launch of the laboratory gourmet, judge the initiative as “very interesting”. The recognition of the professions of the restoration is another avenue of research that could be developed, ahead of-t-he.