DENVER — In support of its initiative to increase demand for wheat foods and ingredients in foodservice and food manufacturing, the Wheat Foods Council (WFC) recently hosted a culinary immersion experience for product developers and chefs.
The event aimed to educate and inspire high-volume food professionals from brands such as Panera Brands’ subsidiary Bagel Brands, Mod Pizza and Dessert Holdings.
This event included a tour of several bakeries and manufacturers such as Ardent Mills’ Denver headquarters that specialize in wheat applications. At each stop, event participants learned about the innovative ways each operation incorporates wheat into its menu.
Attendees also had the opportunity to engage with the association’s executive team members.
“The $1 trillion foodservice industry is imperative to the success of the wheat industry and WFC’s constituents, as food trends often begin in restaurants and go on to impact in-home meals and retail sales,” said Tim O’Connor, president of WFC. “The foodservice channel also represents high-volume opportunities for sales across the nation. We were impressed with this year’s group of chefs because of their enormous creativity, ingenuity, passion and support of the wheat industry.”
The event closed with an innovation session that allowed attendees to develop new products featuring wheat ingredients based on what they learned during the tour.
Earlier this year, WFC created a culinary resource for bakers and foodservice professionals.
