As part of the Marymount College tradition, the third family marathon was held at Chapultepec Park in Cuernavaca, Morelos. More than 500 families attended and enjoyed a day full of recreational activities.
The participation of Blueberries had the objective of promoting this little fruit as a healthy snack and easy to combine.
During May and July, three sessions of the Culinary Institutes Program coordinated by Imalinx on behalf of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council were held in renowned culinary schools located in Mexico City and Cancun, important tourist destinations and high implementation of gastronomy.
These
sessions consisted in conference and sample class, which aimed to increase the
knowledge and demand of blueberries through students and future generations of
chefs.
The participant schools were Culinary Institute Corbuse, Centro de Estudios Superiores de San Ángel (CESSA) and Technology Institute of Cancun. (UT)
During
the workshops taught by Chef Jaqueline Garreta, over 200 graduate chefs
and students learned about the origin, cultivation, and main nutritional
benefits of this fruit, as well as the varieties that can be found on the
market, the chemical reaction that they have when combined with other
ingredients or when subjected to different culinary processes, among other
topics.
Subsequently,
we held the sample classes for groups of 30 students on average in which each
of the participants had the opportunity to meet the blueberries and experiment
with them demonstrating their culinary knowledge and creativity cooking
delicious meals and drinks.
Testimonials:
“Good conference! Thank you for helping to expand our creative gastronomic
field.”
– Manuel Hernandez (Bachelor of Science in Gastronomy)
“Excellent conference and excellent
workshop. Our guests were surprised by the gastronomic quality and creativity
of our students. Congratulations!”
-Communication UT Cancun
On March 11th
, 2014, the Imalinx team participated as a lecturer at the
annual meeting of the International Blueberry Organization to share information
about the blueberry market in the country.
During the conference, very important points
were exposed, such as the increase in demand in the Mexican market over the
last 5 years, and how focused activities helps consumer to become familiar with
the fruit.
More information about the event:
http://www.internationalblueberry.org/2014/03/28/mexico-presents-serious-blueberry-potential/
From
October 17th to October 19th, the Blueberry Council
(USHBC) participated through Imalinx in the consumer show Salud y
Bienestar, directed to consumers and to health and nutritionist
specialists in the industry in Mexico City.
It was the first participation of the blueberry
and it was the only fresh product in the show, which generated a lot of
interest from the participants. Special information was prepared for
nutritionists and physicians, and prescriptions were prepared with a healthy
approach: Whole Grain Blueberry’s Pancake and Blueberry’s Tea.
More than 25,000 attendees and specialized media
were registered, the result was more than USD$15,000 equivalence in media per
publication of content and more than 250,000 readers were reached.
As representatives of the Blueberry Council, Imalinx organized a sampling activity at the restaurant Jaso, located in Mexico City at Polanco neighborhood.
The chefs, Jared Reardon and Sonia Arias, offered a tasting of six dishes which surprised even the most experienced palate, where blueberries were the source of inspiration of which chefs had to use in this occasion to create never seen before dishes on their menu.
The sampling of the menu had the objective of making the consumption of blueberries more accessible as it is a berry that is little known in our country.
On May 2010, the first blueberry culinary encounter at the Higher Education Centre of San Angel (CESSA) was celebrated, where eight outstanding graduates of this year developed original recipes with blueberries as the main ingredient.
The encounter aimed to reveal the qualities and benefits of blueberries,
as well as the multiple uses that these have and the necessary measures for
their proper handling.
Participants were able to use fresh, frozen and dehydrated blueberries.
The result was a presentation of original recipes of which the following stand out:
Imalinx achieved to position blueberries as a versatile and added value product with a “more than just for muffins” approach.
On joint efforts with the renowned chef, Paulina Abascal, an integral campaign was developed with participation on television programs, radio and magazine articles.
In alliance with the magazine “Pasión por la Cocina” a contest was arranged in which consumers participated to win a visit to the kitchen facilities of the chef and to obtain the book “Larousse Desserts” autographed by the chef and author, Paulina.
Having chef Paulina Abascal as spokeswoman of the brand allowed blueberries to position themselves as an added value item with a “more than just for muffins” approach.
The demonstration which was focused on products from western United States was undertaken in the Higher Education Centre of San Angel (CESSA) in Mexico City. Taught by chef Rod Jessick from the Coeur Dálene Resort in Idaho, who developed a menu with products of western United States for future chefs and media.
The section Buena Mesa of the newspaper Reforma published an article regarding the innovation of the United States’ cuisine.
In the culinary forum for universities, the participating entities were the University of Claustro de Sor Juana, the University of Anahuac del Sur and the University of the Valle de Mexico.
On the other hand, during the culinary forum of blueberries the future chefs had to integrate them into Mexican dishes and present their dishes before the evaluation of five critics in gastronomy.