We were pleased to welcome Jérôme Dupras, Quebec’s Chief Scientist and President and CEO of the Fonds de recherche du Québec, to the Culinary Complex and the Clinical Investigation Unit at the Services Pavilion at Université Laval.

As key facilities of INAF and the NUTRISS Center—a member entity of the Institute—this visit provided an opportunity to showcase a unique ecosystem where researchers, professionals, and students, as well as partners and companies, collaborate to address challenges related to sustainable food systems.

Throughout the discussions and the tour of our facilities, Executive Director Renée Michaud highlighted the breadth of interdisciplinary research conducted at INAF, as well as the key role these state-of-the-art facilities play in translating knowledge into tangible benefits for society. From the Aliment’terre culinary camps for youth aged 10 to 15, to the projects of the Innovation Support Service, and the training of a highly qualified next generation through initiatives such as Ça Relève!, this unique infrastructure fosters learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the development of solutions to address the major challenges facing our society. Benoît Lamarche, director of the NUTRISS Center, highlighted the Center’s research as well as the new NutriFAQ website.

A stroke of luck: Professor Julien Chamberland and Samiya Agzid, a Ph.D. student in food microbiology, happened to be at the Culinary Complex, hard at work preparing pizzas for a research project on cheese. This was a delicious, hands-on demonstration of the applied research that drives the STELA Center, a member entity of the Institute. This unique facility enables its scientific members and partners in the bio-food industry to collaborate on developing innovative solutions in food processing, while training a highly qualified next generation of scientists poised to tackle the food challenges of tomorrow.

The visit also provided an opportunity to showcase the work of the Observatoire sur la qualité de l’offre alimentaire [Observatory on the Quality of the Food Offering], a flagship initiative of the INAF that plays a key role in monitoring and analyzing trends in the food market in Quebec. Through its monitoring activities and the production of evidence-based data, the Observatory helps inform the decisions of stakeholders in the bio-food sector and public authorities. Laurélie Trudel, assistant director of INAF and the Observatory, explained how the Observatory’s data and analyses help foster a better understanding of changes in the food environment and support decision-making.

Finally, the discussions turned to presentations of promising projects that illustrate the impact of research beyond the laboratory, particularly through an interdisciplinary approach. The work of Laurence Guillaumie—supported, among others, by the Pôle bioalimentaire, an initiative backed by the FRQ – Nature et technologies and spearheaded by INAF—clearly illustrated the importance of joining forces in the field of regional food systems.

Thank you to Jérôme Dupras for his interest in our mission and for his commitment to promoting Quebec research. Thank you to the FRQ—Nature et technologies for its support to INAF and the Pôle bioalimentaire, and to the FRQ—Santé for its support to NUTRISS Center. Together, we continue to build bridges between science, innovation, and the needs of society.