Jason Kang’s dill pickle vodka is the young master distiller’s most recent release under his Tall Grass label and its blend of wheat and rye, dill and cucumber most impressed judges during last week’s first-ever craft beer and spirits edition of the food fight who awarded him the top prize package valued at approximately $5,000.

Kang, who is based in Winni­peg, was very happy to earn this from an event hosted by Manitoba Agriculture. It is high-profile recognition, he said.

“It really means something to us,” said Kang. “This is our first medal or first award that we’ve actually won for our product. That really proves that we have something that is basically recognized by the general public and hopefully this award can bring us more sales.”

Kang was featured in an article in the Manitoba Co-operator earlier this year where he described a journey to becoming a distiller that began with homemade wine and beer making, eventually leading him through a half-decade of research, self-education and on-the-job training.

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Tall Grass Dill Pickle Vodka is now available both direct from the distillery at 3-1680 Dublin Avenue and in Manitoba Liquor Marts.

Two others in the new beer and spirits category this year were Kevin Selch of the Winnipeg-based craft brewery Little Brown Jug Brewing with a spicy-herbal 1919 Belgian pale ale and Lawrence and Chris Warwaruk’s pink lemonade made with hops and barley from their Farmery Estate Brewery at Neepawa.

The move to create the new category for alcoholic beverages is to foster further growth in the sector, said Manitoba Agriculture officials at the event.

“It’s in support of an industry that is certainly taking off,” said Maurice Bouvier, deputy minister of agriculture.

Three prize packages were also awarded to 10 competitors in the food edition of the competition held September 20 at De Luca’s.

Winnipegger Alex Goertzen, owner of the Little Bones Wings restaurants in Winnipeg won gold in this category earning a $13,000 prize package for his speciality chicken wings.

Thrilled to win the award, Goertzen said he was basically speechless.

“This all started with a food truck in 2012,” he said. Little Bones Wings has since earned the restaurant he opened in 2014 with three ‘best wings in Winnipeg’ titles. Customers wanted to buy the wings which set him on course for creating parcooked and frozen versions of what’s served at his restaurant.

“I would love to see Little Bones Wings all across Canada. It’s been my goal since I opened my food truck. I’ve wanted restaurants all across Canada but now I think we’re pursuing just having our wings across Canada,” he said.

The silver prize winner in the food edition was awarded to Piña Romolo of Piccola Cucina in Winnipeg for her hemp macaroons.

Jeremy Silcox of Mr. Biltong Beef Jerky Company won the bronze prize for his ‘biltong and stokkies’ South African-style dried meat products.

Other innovative new food products featured at the event included a beet chip created by ‘Dr. Beetroot Canada,’ a bison bone broth from Gold Bone, a tamarind and mango chutney from Cheeky Chutney, an upscale version of ramen noodle from Canada Knightsbridge Corp., and a plant-based vegan pizza ‘cheez’ developed at Diana’s Cucina and Lounge in Winnipeg. A chickpea-based patty from Azra’s Kitchen in Winnipeg and Newdale-based CanFarm Foods Ltd. Big Prairie Sky cold-pressed canola oil were also in the competition.

GMFF is sponsored by the Manitoba government, in partnership with De Luca’s Specialty Foods Store and Food and Beverage Manitoba.

This is the 11th year of the competition which has to date featured 148 competitors, said Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler.

Manitoba is home to many exceptional entrepreneurs bringing new foods and beverages to the marketplace and the province wants to support their journeys, Eichler said.

The Great Manitoba Food Fight has seen many past participants go on to develop and expand businesses with their products.

“Sixty per cent of them have gone on to develop their products to varying degrees, from selling to farmers’ markets to retail grocery distribution,” he said.

“Events like this assist in growth of our agri-food processing sector and add value to our local-grown commodities.”

Food and beverage manufacturing employs more than 14,000 Manitobans and produces more than $4.5 billion in finished products every year.

Executive director of Food & Beverage Manitoba Dave Shambrock was equally impressed with this year’s entries.

“The quality of the business presentations and the products were outstanding,” he said in a release. “As these new products enter the market and attract new customers, these companies will create new jobs and new wealth for Manitoba.”

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“Manitoba is home to many budding entrepreneurs with a passion for food and drink and the skill to create innovative and delicious new products,” said Eichler in a release.

“The Great Manitoba Food Fight is a fun and exciting way to find a new group of talented Manitobans who are ready to take the next step and turn their culinary creations into a possible career and a profitable food or drink-based business.”

GMFF is sponsored by the Manitoba government, in partnership with De Luca’s Specialty Foods Store and Food and Beverage Manitoba. This year’s event features a new alcoholic beverage category, in support of the growing craft beer and spirits industry in Manitoba, the minister noted.

The competition provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to fast track their products to commercialization by competing for product development and service awards. In addition to pitching their product to a panel of judges, participants must submit an application form that outlines how they would commercialize their new product.

Ten applicants will be selected to compete in the food portion of the competition and three will be selected for the new pub competition. Judges will select gold, silver and bronze winners in the food category, with prize money ranging from $3,500 to $13,000. A single winner will be selected in the craft beer and spirits category, with a $5,000 prize.

The competition will be held on Sept. 20 at De Luca’s, 950 Portage Ave., in Winnipeg. The entry fee is $50 and the application deadline is Aug. 4. Applications not accepted will have their entry fee returned.

To apply for the Great Manitoba Food Fight or for more information, visit www.gmff.ca or call 204-841-4084.

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Colleen Dyck, the Niverville farmer who created the GORP Clean Energy Bar was headed to Los Angeles, where her product was to be featured at a special trade show held at the Academy Awards.

Known as the Luxury Gifting Suite, the show participants were selected from Canada, the U.S and abroad and are showcased to 150 celebrities who visit the booths to see and sample the products.

Dyck was attending the show along with Manitoba Chef Peter Fehr of Gourmet Inspirations, where the two expected to meet and have photos taken with Hollywood stars. The photos can be used in marketing and social media, and presence at the show also offers opportunities to network with other retailers.

Fifty companies are featured in the gifting suite. GORP and Gourmet Inspirations were the only two from Manitoba.

GORP bars are made from homegrown grains and other ingredients produced on the Dyck family’s southern Manitoba farm.

Dyck began developing the energy bar in 2005 while training as a triathlete. The bars were eventually picked up by companies like Mountain Equipment Co-op, and the North West Company and today are sold in 600 stores across Canada. They are also official team snacks of the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dyck told reporters last week she was very excited about this opportunity and the potential it opens for her to start selling her energy bars in the U.S. too.

The GORP bar took the top prize at the Great Manitoba Food Fight of 2009.

Dyck today employs up to 20 full- and part-time staff, making energy bars in processing facilities located in the lower levels of the Dycks’ family farm home in Niverville.

GORP is an acronym coined in the 1960s that stands for “good old raisins and peanuts.”

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John Heim of Torque Brewing Co. in Winnipeg last week took home the gold package worth $10,000 for the Witty Belgian Wheat Beer the company has developed.

The beer is a traditional Belgian wheat beer with hints of orange, lemon, lime and coriander, now being brewed in Manitoba. Heim was presented with the prize the competition held in Winnipeg September 21 where prizes were also awarded to a Brandon-based cookie maker and a Winnipeg-based food product developer.

Katy Unruh of Katy’s Kookies in Brandon took the $7,000 silver prize for her Cherries Jubilee Natural Lean bar. The bronze $3,500 award went to Kimberley Bialkoski of Flora and Farmer in Winnipeg for their Applekraut, an Asian-inspired twist on traditional sauerkraut and made with cabbage, apples and spices.

All three winning competitors have not yet fully commercialized their new products, but amply impressed the panel of judges with their beverage and food creations and business pitches.

Other products vying for title this year varied from a dried sausage popular in Southern Africa, several chocolate products, a herb and garlic ‘marinade-in-a-bag, the popular Icelandic vinertarta dessert, and a specialty syrup made from birch trees.

Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said the competition continues to provide a venue to support entrepreneurs as they move toward commercialization while recognizing how important they are to the provincial food sector. “Entrepreneurship is thriving in Manitoba’s food sector, and we continue to see new, innovative and delicious food products coming forward,” he said in a government release.

This is the 10th year of the food fight, which became a popular annual and stand-alone event that was originally part of former Capturing Opportunities and Rural Forum events.

Twenty applicants applied this year, said Shauna McKinnon, business development specialist with the Food and Agri Product Processing department of Manitoba Agriculture, adding that the calibre of competitors is getting higher with each year. All applicants must submit to a stringent vetting process to become one of the 10 selected to compete. They don’t require a full-fledged business plan, but must be able to respond to questions about marketing, cost of production and other key areas related to food product manufacturing.

“Most of the applicants are already working with our department so they know the steps they need to take, and are well prepared,” McKinnon said.

The Great Manitoba Food Fight is sponsored by the Manitoba government and Food & Beverage Manitoba, in partnership with De Luca’s.

Dave Shambrock, is executive director of Food and Beverage Manitoba, formerly the Manitoba Food Processors Association, another partner organization. The food fight is an excellent way for startup companies to get some honest feedback about their products and their plans for the market, Shambrock said.

“While it’s always nice to have judges say positive things about a product, thought-provoking questions that make the business owner rethink some aspect of their product or marketing plan can be far more valuable.”

The food fight has helped foster some substantial new food companies over the years including the 2009 gold-prizewinning GORP energy bar, produced by a Niverville-based company and now sold in over 600 stores across Canada. Another successful startup includes the 2014 bronze-prizewinning Adagio Acres naked oats, produced at a farm near Lundar and now sold in nearly 50 specialty grocery stores in Winnipeg and also served in 30 restaurants.

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Jill Tanner’s Jamore! — a fruit spread made with wild blueberries, prunes and organic chia seeds, but no added sugar or sweeteners — took home gold at this year’s Great Manitoba Food Fight, held at Red River Community College in Winnipeg over the weekend.

“I’m very conscious about what I eat, so I was already making it for myself,” she explained, adding that her family then encouraged her to try selling the fruit spread at farmers’ markets.

“It just flew off the shelf, or I guess off the table, at the farmers’ market, and since then I’ve had a really good response from people I’ve talked to about it,” Tanner said.

Currently, she is making her product at Ume’s Kitchen, a commercial kitchen located at a hot yoga studio in Winnipeg.

But with $13,000 in product development services heading her way as part of her first-place win, Tanner hopes to begin expanding.

“I really like the idea of it being local, from Manitoba. So I want to start there, sell in some smaller stores and then obviously I’d like it to grow, I’d like it to be — one day — maybe in your supermarket. But for the time being we’ll focus on the quality and keep it local,” she said.

All 10 of this year’s contestants — making products ranging from ice cream to sprouted buckwheat granola and beet dip — hope the experience will help them expand their businesses.

“The judges were very nice and gave good suggestions,” said Virginia Enriquez, adding that the advice they gave her on adding ingredients like leek and chives to her fish sausage will prove valuable.

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“Another judge also spoke about options on profit margins and how to change those,” she added.

The Winnipeg-based nurse began making the fish sausages while looking for a healthy alternative to other types of processed protein that uses locally sourced fish species. She would like to expand into stores, but currently sells at farmers’ markets.

“I will need more advice first,” Enriquez said.

Second-place Food Fight finisher, Bessie Hatzitrifonos of St. Adolphe, hopes that her Life Changing Kalamata Olive Tapenade will make it into specialty stores and eventually become a household name.

“It’s made with the choicest Greek queen purple olives money can buy, with sweet, delicious roasted red peppers, minced garlic and olive oil, so it’s very simple and wholesome, and delicious,” she said, adding that her Greek heritage inspired the product.

“I’m a first-generation Canadian, my parents’ still barely speak a lick of English after 45 years,” Hatzitrifonos said, adding she’s also worked in the restaurant industry for 25 years, including 10 years spent in the Caribbean, giving her a wide range of experiences to draw from as she goes forward with her tapenade and possibly, other products as well.

To move her fruit spread forward, Tanner has recently left her day job and will now focus on developing more flavours of her product, in addition to marketing strategies.

“This is going to be my day job now,” she said, adding that the whole Food Fight experience has been a helpful one.

“Leaving here today I took a look at my product a lot differently than I would have had I not participated, so I think it’s such a great program overall,” she said. “(The judges) gave me some great feedback on my packaging, and things that I could do, and I might experiment with it… everything was very positive.”

Roberta Irvine, a business development officer at the Food Development Centre and Food Fight moderator, said that providing entrepreneurs with guidance is a big part of the competition.

“It’s such a good experience and they’re getting such good feedback, you can’t pay for that kind of feedback, it’s really concrete and it really helps people get a faster start,” she said, adding that a continued interest in buying local is helping to drive product development.

Since launching in 2009, there have been 15 Great Manitoba Food Fight winners, nine of which launched products that remain in the marketplace today, Irvine said.

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