Danisco Cultor to serve up Culinary Delights at IFT

A very special treat awaits IFT Expo attendees this year in New Orleans. Danisco Cultor will feature several culinary delights prepared by staff research chef, Dan Turner. Menu items include Crayfish Etouffée in puff pastries, Crème Brulee in Belgian chocolate cups with a raspberry drizzle, Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Torte with cream cheese and Citrus flavored Tea. Danisco Cultor's booth will also feature a different ice sculpture each day, also created by Turner, considered one of the Midwest's premier ice sculptors, and winner of numerous ice competitions.

Turner has been a part of Danisco Cultor's team for the past two and one-half years, and has been active in the food industry for 27 years. "The strongest point I bring to Danisco Cultor is the creative aspect of creating new tastes and food concepts," said Turner. "Many companies only have food scientists on staff. A company like Danisco Cultor that has the foresight to bring in somebody on the creative end is pretty progressive in the industry," he continued. During his partnership with the company, Turner has created several products that have made their way into a variety of food products, including a line of sauces for a major food manufacturer, for their line of boxed dinners geared toward consumers. "We take Dan's creation and stabilize it, emulsify it, or do what we have to, to adapt the formulation to meet the customer's requirements," said Steve Mallory, Group Leader Culinary & Meats with Danisco Cultor.

In addition to his duties with Danisco Cultor, Turner is a Professor of Culinary Arts at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in Overland Park, Kansas, recognized in 1998 as one of the top community colleges in the nation by Rolling Stone magazine. JCCC's Hospitality Management program has a long history of awards, including gold medals in the 1988 and 1992 Culinary Olympics, and seven gold medals in the 2000 Culinary Olympics, where they placed second in the world overall.

In summing up his mission with Danisco Cultor, Turner said, "America is simply getting a more educated palette. People are demanding better quality and higher quality goods in pre-packaged products. My job is to make the products tasty…to make them really yummy."

Source: Danisco Cultor