Taste the Season with Epicure’s New Head of Innovation
Hello, I’d like to introduce myself! I’m Jenn Danter, Epicure’s new Director of Innovation, Research & Development.
I’ve been with Epicure for over ten years, putting my passion into creative projects like food-styling, recipe and product development, videos, and product marketing. I’m excited to now head up an incredible Innovation team and continue to bring new, inventive, and unique products to market. I look forward to bringing you faster and easier cooking methods, helping you discover new flavours and cultures, and making every mealtime a good food experience for you—with less cleanup!
At the beginning of September, we launched new products and dropped our Fall & Winter 2021 Catalogue! I’m extremely proud of this product launch because we’re dishing up what people want and need now: healthy convenience—and that’s what Good Food. Real Fast. is all about.
Right now, I’m loving our stir-fries like Sweet & Sour and General Tao, Butter Chicken, Pad Thai, and African Sweet Potato Stew (this one is a personal fave!).
I’m also very excited about all of the new and exciting flavours that we have to offer in our seasonings, meal solutions, and baking mixes.
With Fall & Winter underway, I want to share a little bit about myself as we highlight five food and gathering trends that played a role in the development for the season.
1. Embrace new experiences.
Cooking at home is the new norm but it can get a little stale if you’re not changing things up. Get out of that funk by adding some new flair and flavour to your meals. It’s easier than you think!
Ready to try something new? Check these out:
Fun Fact: I’m no stranger to new life experiences! I’ve worked two harvests in Oregon at Cristom and Elk Cove wineries as their harvest Chef during the vendange—I cooked for the winemakers, their crews, as well as chefs and sommeliers who frequented the wineries at that time.
I love food magazines and before I came to Epicure, I was the Associate Food Editor for Chatelaine and I’ve also been the Food Director for Canadian Living. These experiences have led me to where I am today, have shaped the way I think about food, and have broadened my scope of the industry.
2. Frugal meets fancy.
Fun Fact: I have a chef background—fell in love with cooking in my early 20s. As a Red Seal Chef, I was lucky to work at some high-end restaurants in Toronto and did a year at an upscale resort in Northern Italy. I loved hosting my friends for fancy-schmancy dinner parties. Foie gras, reductions, foam, truffles, chaunk, sous vide, tiny poached quail’s eggs, and tempered chocolate were my reasons to live!
Now, I’m all about the basics: healthy convenience and real, good food made with a few simple ingredients. I still add elevated elements to my cooking, but my focus is on time with family and friends—in the same room as them, and not sequestered in the kitchen!
Don’t get me wrong, hosting can get expensive. Yet I still feel the need to have something for everyone when I’m entertaining. A fun way to stay frugal but keep things classy is to build your own grazing board. I suggest having some fun with veggies, dips, wings, nachos, roasted garlic—it’s time to get creative!
Here are some go-tos to make your next shindig a hit:
3. Plant forward.
Flexitarian ways of eating and plant-based proteins are a growing trend. Not familiar with the term “flexitarian”? It’s simply defined as a diet for those trying to cut down on their meat intake.
An increase in your overall plant-based consumption can lead to lower blood pressure, a reduced risk of developing heart disease, weight loss, Type 2 diabetes prevention…the list goes on.
If you’re interested in eating less meat and being a bit more “flex” with your diet, I recommend the following recipes:
· Crispy & Crunch Lettuce Wraps—swap the beef for tofu!
· Thai Coconut Soup—blend and recipe on pack are vegan!
Fun Fact: I love this trend. My default in cooking tends to be meat-heavy—only because it’s easy and I like to think I’m a bit of a grill master. I have a deep love for my BBQ and will smoke just about anything on it. Being on the coast, I also enjoy a lot of fish and spot prawns (yum!). Once or twice a week I try meatless meals—leaning heavily on lentils (I love black caviar or the peppery French green lentils) and my weeknight go-tos are power bowls. I can raid the fridge with veggies and have fallen in love with tofu marinated with Everything Bagel Whole Food Topper, low-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, and tons of garlic.
4. Better-for-you baking.
Having a gluten-free diet has been on the rise over the last decade due to many people having or developing celiac disease or gluten intolerance. But most gluten-free alternatives are either dense, dry, highly processed, or all of the above. This makes baking a total nightmare. Fortunately, Epicure’s baking products are triple-tested to ensure they are 100% gluten-free and the texture is out of this world.
Don’t believe me? Try these easy and better-for-you baking recipes:
· Pumpkin Spice Loaf & Muffins
Bonus: these baking mixes contain 8 g of sugar or less per serving!
Fun Fact: I adore carrot cake and had it as “my birthday cake” when I was a kid—all the other kids at my party resented me! I have strong views on this cake and heavily influenced the product developers at the time to make it with crushed pineapple, which keeps it moist and takes it to that next level. It plays well with the carrots (helps to sweeten in a way that applesauce doesn’t) and keeps the baked crumb extremely tender. I know there is a sciencey reason for this!
5. Celebrate your way.
A new season means new beginnings—and that’s a reason to celebrate. Coming together might not be an option for all of us right now, but even I’m figuring out new ways to connect with people every day.
Fun Fact: These days I feel an intense sense of gratitude and connection, while other days I feel very uncertain. Who knows what will happen for the holidays this year? I might not get back home to Toronto. I might stay in Victoria with my partner, Rob, and my cat, Taxi—or with a small group of friends.
But I do feel the delight of the unknown and the possibilities of trying something new. I see this time as the freedom to experiment with new foods and move away from what I traditionally do.
I’m celebrating my way with Shortbread Cookies! In my next batch, I’m looking to add some crushed pink peppercorns to the mix—for a fun twist, I love sweet and savoury baking in general. But rest assured, there will be carrot cake!