There are three slices of butterfish lying across each other on the plate, their edges stained purple by beet juice. A small golden hill of julienned apple and beet rises nearby. The dish is framed by asparagus stalks, cucumber, a taro crisp anchored in brilliant orange roe and a pool of wasabi mayonnaise.

It looks like a modern sculpture. With its combination of Scandinavian fish curing and Japanese sensibilities, it’s a meeting of two cultures.

And it’s the dish that just won RRC alum Chef Östen Rice (Culinary Arts, 2001) the Winnipeg Gold Medal Plate, earning him a spot at the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna next year.

“That dish was very personal for me, it goes back to my heritage,” Rice says, on a break from meal rushes at Wasabi Sabi. “My mom is from Sweden. She cooked the way her mother taught her, the way her grandmother taught her and so on. I came across some old recipe books and they inspired me for this dish.”

“I realized a while ago that Japanese and Scandinavian food can work well together. The cultures have the same clean aesthetic and presentation style to them – and lots of emotion swirling around them.”

Rice’s distinctive style – his Scandinasian flair – and his recent award are both accomplishments with years of experience behind them. The 31-year-old Winnipegger, born and raised in Fort Rouge, knew from an early age that he wanted to be a chef.

“As far back as I can I remember, I was always interested in food. My mom cooked food from scratch and I was always hanging around. I think there are pictures of me as a toddler trying to help.” Read More →

Congratulations to RRC alum Östen Rice (Culinary Arts, 2001), of Wasabi Sabi restaurant, on his recent win at the Gold Medal Plates competition in Winnipeg.

Rice was awarded top honours at the event, which took place Oct. 26 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. As it does every year, the event celebrates the best in local cuisine, pitting the city’s premiere chefs against each other in a bid for a spot at the Canadian Culinary Championships.

Rice’s gold medal-worthy entry was a thrilling mix of sweet and sour, comprised of beet-cured butterfish, marinated sea asparagus, taro crisp and tobiko roe, and a slaw of julienned Fuki apple, golden beet and shiso leaf.

Food critic James Chatto, one of the judges at the event, described it thusly: “(Rice’s) dish had a personal narrative, inspired by the gravlax his Scandinavian grandmother used to cure, but given a Japanese twist to reflect the style of his restaurant.”

Rice shared the podium with fellow chefs Michael Schafer (Sydney’s at The Forks, bronze) and Jamie Snow (Amici at Niakwa). Also in attendance at the event were Senior Judge Jeff Gill, Culinary Instructor at RRC, fellow judge and RRC alum (and winner of last year’s gold medal) Michael Dacquisto, and RRC alum Adam Donnelly, who competed on behalf of his Segovia Tapas Bar and Restaurant.

Having won at the Winnipeg event, Rice now moves on to the Canadian Culinary Championships, which take place Feb. 8 and 9 in Kelowna, B.C.

Shown above: RRC alum Östen Rice (centre) along with Amici’s Jamie Snow (left) and Sydney’s at the Forks’ Michael Schafer (right), on the winner’s podium of this year’s Gold Medal Plates culinary competition.

Red River College grad Tannis Rentz (Animal Health Technology, 2002) has been providing aid to people’s pets for more than 10 years now — ever since she began volunteering at the Transcona Veterinary Hospital as a teen.

But in April 2013, Rentz and fellow AHT grad Mary Robinson (2011) will travel a little further afield to help the tens of thousands of sick or malnourished dogs crowding the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rentz and Robinson are headed to Nepal’s KAT Centre, a not-for-profit treatment centre for sick and injured street dogs. As Rentz explains, there are currently more than 20,000 dogs living on the streets of Kathmandu — many of them infected with rabies and other communicable diseases that pose a threat to their human counterparts.

“And of course they’re constantly reproducing, because none of them are spayed or neutered,” says Rentz, who over the last 10 years has worked her way from a clinical position at the Winnipeg Animal Emergency Clinic to an administrative role with the Petsecure arm of the Western Financial Insurance Company.

“Initially, the government there thought it would be a good idea to terminate these dogs by throwing poisoned meat into the streets. But then they’d dispose of the poisoned bodies by throwing them into their water supply, which just made things even worse.”

While in Kathmandu, Rentz and Robinson will assist KAT Centre staff in treating captured dogs for their existing medical conditions (malnourishment, skin diseases, lesions, etc.), then rehabilitating them to the point they can be safely spayed or neutered. Read More →

Congratulations to Red River College alumna Jamie Isfeld (Digital Media Design, 2007), on being named Broadcaster of Tomorrow by the Broadcasters Association of Manitoba.

Isfeld, who currently works as a web producer for CTV Winnipeg, picked up the award during a reception that followed the Association’s annual fall meeting last weekend.

The award honours “future stars” who have been employed in the broadcasting industry for between two to five years. In addition to her work with CTV Winnipeg, Isfeld also does freelance work in web development and new media designs, and maintains blogs on new media topics and her artwork.

Click here to see Isfeld’s website, and here for more information on RRC’s Digital Media Design program.

Congratulations to Red River College grad Paul Samyn (Creative Communications, 1988), who was recently named the new editor of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Samyn has been acting as interim editor since Margo Goodhand resigned from the position in late July. His first job for the Free Press was as a paper boy, but his journalism career began when he was hired as a reporter in 1988.

Since then, he’s covered provincial and federal elections, conflicts overseas, and the funerals of Princess Diana and former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. He also helped lead the paper’s political coverage as its Ottawa bureau chief for a decade before being named city editor in 2007.

“It’s an honour and a privilege for someone who used to deliver the Free Press … to now be leading our newsroom as we serve our readers in both print and on our website,” Samyn said in today’s Free Press announcement.

“I’m proud to be part of our 140-year-old tradition and excited about the job ahead, delivering the stories that our readers expect and deserve.”

Click here to read the full Free Press story, and here for more information about RRC’s Creative Communications program.

He’s built a local business into a national retailer, cultivated a passionate base of customers through a tireless focus on service, and devoted himself to revitalizing his community and helping dozens of young people pursue their own career dreams.

That’s why Red River College is proud to name entrepreneur and philanthropist Bob Tallman as the 2012 recipient of our Distinguished Alumni Award.

Bob Tallman joined the family business, Princess Auto Ltd, in the mid-seventies, shortly after graduating from RRC with a diploma in Business Administration.

“I was the first in my family to be attending a post-secondary school,” he says. ”Our life had been focused around the family business, and I wanted to know something about business in general before I began working there on a full time basis.”

The investment in education paid off, as Bob and his brother Larry grew the small Winnipeg-based firm into a nationwide retail operation through the late-seventies and the eighties. Bob Tallman became the sole owner and CEO of Princess Auto in 1989.

Today, he oversees a network of 34 retail stores with over 1,800 staff specializing in industrial, garage and surplus items. The company prides itself on its diverse product assortment, boasting its one of the few places in the world where you can purchase a gas powered air compressor and an HDMI cable in the same building.

But it’s Princess Auto’s commitment to providing exceptional customer service that has earned it a cult-like following among shoppers, which is something Bob says was inspired by his time at RRC.

“I learned through my experiences at Red River College that a business ultimately is about the people who work in the business, the roles they play and most importantly, how they interact as a team,” he says. “It is probably the greatest lesson I learned at RRC, and has driven much of my strategy in building Princess Auto.” Read More →

If you’re going to spend a year fulfilling your work placement obligations, you might as well do so at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Just ask RRC student Eileen McDonald (Hospitality and Tourism Management), who’ll spend 365 days working as a Canadian Cultural Representative at the Canadian Pavilion in Disney World’s Epcot theme park.

McDonald applied for the year-long contract position — offered as part of Disney’s Cultural Representative Program — to fill the last of her co-op placement requirements. Following a Disney-themed farewell party (planned as a surprise by her friends in Winnipeg), she arrived in Orlando, Florida, last month.

Since then, she’s met new friends, toured the parks, and learned what will be expected of her as a greeter, seater and restaurant stocker at Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse.

McDonald is documenting her experiences — including the application process she underwent to land the position — via weekly updates on her blog. (Check the site in coming weeks to learn more about how she “earned her ears!”)

For more information on Disney’s Cultural Representative Program, contact RRC Hospitality and Tourism Management at 204-632-2572.

For much of the last decade, he’s sailed the high seas. But this summer, Red River College alum Cameron Dueck is hitting the highway in search of his latest adventure.

Earlier this month, Dueck embarked on a 25,000-km motorcycle tour from Manitoba to South America, during which he’ll explore the state of modern Mennonite culture. He’s already been commissioned to write a book on the topic; in the interim, he’s documenting his travels on Facebook.

A 1996 graduate of RRC’s Creative Communications program, Dueck got his first taste of the globetrotter’s life while working as a financial reporter stationed in Chicago, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

He’s since taken a series of extended hiatuses to indulge his passion for the sailor’s life, touring through Asia and the Middle East, dodging pirates off the coast of Yemen, and sailing through sand storms in the Red Sea before crossing the Atlantic Ocean via St Helena.

Dueck’s recently-released book and film, The New Northwest Passage, details his voyage through Canada’s Arctic — marrying a story of grand adventure with reportage on climate change, and on the political and economic challenges faced by members of the region’s Inuit communities.

Click here to learn more about Dueck, and here to learn more about his travels through the Northwest Passage.

Congratulations go out to Continuing Education student Armando Galinda, who was recently named Outstanding Student of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg.

A student in RRC’s Youth Recreation Activity Worker program, Galinda served as a volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club before enrolling at the College. He’s continued to work for the organization while pursuing his studies — completing his practicum there (at two different locations) and serving as a special events planner in his off-time.

The Outstanding Student of the Year Award recognizes commitment to the Boys and Girls Club’s vision, community involvement, and dedication to children. Galinda received his award at the Club’s volunteer reception on Thursday, May 10, 2012, where he also picked up the Jacques Nollette Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership. Click here for more information.

Shown: Armando Galindo (right), with Heather Black, Director of Volunteers and Events for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg

Just as the caterpillar transforms itself into a beautiful butterfly, a group of care home residents have transformed themselves into published authors and artists — thanks to the help and guidance of Red River College alum Kaitlyn Callahan.

A 2008 grad of RRC’s Recreation Facilitator for Older Adults program, Callahan recently celebrated the launch of a new exhibit at the Osborne Library — one comprised of eye-catching artwork produced by residents of Actionmarguerite St. Boniface.

The highlight of the exhibit is a series of watercolour and cut-paper pieces that make up a children’s book called The Caterpillar and the Butterfly, written and illustrated by a group of seven residents working under Callahan’s supervision.

“Art seems to be something that touches everybody on different levels,” says Callahan, 26, who partnered on the project with local artist Shirley Levacy. “It doesn’t matter if (the residents) can’t use their hands — they can still take part and produce something beautiful.”

Callahan’s residents call themselves the Creative Expressions Art Group. Members range in age from 33 to 57, and require long-term care due to either head injuries or neurological disorders.

As the recreation facilitator at Actionmarguerite (formerly Taché Centre), Callahan plans a variety of activities for residents. But she says the arts-related programming is especially popular, since it allows residents to channel their creative energies, work together as a team, and tap into skill-sets that might have otherwise gone undiscovered. Read More →