Kelly Cattani, Chef du Cuisine
Award-winning Diversity Foods sets up shop at FortWhyte Alive
It is not only thousands of geese that are touching down at FortWhyte Alive in south Winnipeg over the next few weeks — award-winning Diversity Foods is spreading its wings to become the exclusive on-site provider of food and beverage service at the popular eco-centre, effective November 1, 2014.
Diversity’s Chef du Cuisine Kelly Cattani (2013 Manitoba Gold Plate Winner) will be the primary on-site manager operating the Buffalo Stone Café and all on-site catering. Menus are in development and will feature local, organic and sustainable foods cooked from scratch, including those produced at FortWhyte’s own on-site farm, as do all Diversity operations at The University of Winnipeg.
“This is a great fit in terms of mission alignment,” said Ian Barnett, Director of Operations, FortWhyte Alive. “FortWhyte is committed to ecological and economic sustainability, as well as to empowering marginalized youth through social enterprise. We embrace our new partners at Diversity Foods.”
“We welcome the opportunity to share nutritious and delicious food with more Manitobans,” said Ian Vickers, Chief Operating Officer, Diversity Food Services. “This partnership also means more hours of employment for Diversity staff, as our slowest time on campus (summer) is FortWhyte’s busiest season.”
Established in 2009, Diversity Food Services is a joint venture between the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation and SEED Winnipeg. The social enterprise delivers nutritional, local food while providing meaningful employment for new Canadians, Aboriginal people, community residents and University students. Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Food Service (LEAF) provided eco-certification to Diversity in 2014. FortWhyte Alive is dedicated to providing programming, natural settings and facilities for environmental education, outdoor recreation and social enterprise. In so doing, FortWhyte promotes awareness and understanding of the natural world and actions leading to sustainable living. The Buffalo Stone Café will operate Monday – Friday 9 am-4:30 pm and Saturday/Sunday 10 am-4:30pm.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist,
The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
