Nov. 18- 20, Nagase Food Ingredients, the food ingredient business unit of the NAGASE Group, held a workshop at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia, in Napa, California USA. Twelve prominent North American chefs, who are experts in foodservice and R&D, came together to appreciate global cuisines and learn new skills and techniques to enhance their foodservice operations.

Culinary Institute of America at Copia, Napa, CA

The workshop showcased many applications of TREHA^®︎ (trehalose), a plant-based food ingredient with the amazing natural functionalities to extend freshness of foods (examples are shown below). TREHA^®︎ is derived from starch and is GRAS-designated, Non-GMO, Kosher-and Halal-certified.

The two guest chefs (Chef Tetsuya Harikawa, Wadatsumi, LA / Chef Kanjiro Mochizuki, GPS Club (Imperial Hotel Tokyo), Tokyo) demonstrated several applications in Japanese dishes, Sushi, Tempura, House-made Tofu, and Western confectionaries, Cheesecake and Matcha Crème Brûlée. They shared their experience and advice, including the benefits in reducing food waste, operation costs, and maintaining freshness and outstanding food quality for their consumers.

Demonstration by guest chef

Chef Mochizuki's souffle cheesecake impressed the participants.

After learning TREHA’s unique functionalities, each of the chefs had worked on a prepared recipe first, then applied their new knowledge to creating their own recipe. In three days, more than 25 different dishes were presented on the table and created exciting discussion about the effectiveness and uses of TREHA.

Tasting the samples after demonstration

Furthermore, in respect to contributions towards UN SDGs 2) Zero Hunger and 12) Responsible Consumption and Production, the attending chefs learned about how using novel food ingredients can have enormous impact in sustainability on a North American and global scale.

In large scale foodservice operations, where enormous amounts of food are prepared (banquets, catering for inflight and cruises), it is challenging to maintain a high quality of freshness – especially on buffet lines and in mass production where food may be held prior to serving. The attending chefs were very excited to learn how TREHA^®︎ can be applied to preserve freshness longer in both fresh and frozen food applications.

The workshop gave the potential solutions to global food issues through utilizing TREHA^®︎’s unique functionalities as extending the shelf life of foods, keeping freshness longer especially fresh vegetables and fruits, and improvement quality in a variety of foods.

The moderator, Chef Barbara Alexander, the former CIA executive chef, was fascinated to see that a salad prepared the day before, was as fresh and crisp after more than 12 hours. This demonstrated TREHA^®︎’s natural ability to prevent vegetables from going limp and preserving the crunchy texture for a longer period of time. In addition, one of the chefs tried TREHA on roast chicken, and the attending chefs were amazed at the difference in juiciness, and the beautiful golden colored skin.

From an educational perspective, Nagase Food Ingredients is committed to providing useful information to the global foodservice and restaurant industries.