Chef Ben Kramer “Ingredients for a Creative Life”
As we emerge out of the darkest of winter and head into the accelerated brightening of each day, there is an opportunity to reflect on the shifting sands around us – culturally, socially and emotionally. Our CreativeMornings theme for this month is DIVERGENT, which invites us to think and act differently, to think in ways that may challenge traditional systems or take action that may threaten the status quo. We have invited Chef Ben Kramer to be our speaker this month, because his entire culinary career clearly illustrates a DIVERGENT and non-traditional path. He introduced new ways of approaching institutional cuisine in his development of Diversity Food Services, a social enterprise, for the University of Winnipeg. He has been involved in creative culinary events such as Winnipeg’s Table for 1200 and Raw Almond. His commitment to social justice through the work on his newest venture, Made with Love, enhances food security at a time when the social divide keeps increasing. His CreativeMornings talk, “Ingredients for a Creative Life,” will consider his own creative process, using food and service as a canvas for divergent thinking.
About the speaker
Chef Ben Kramer helped establish Winnipeg as one of the most vibrant food scenes in North America. He was one of the first to champion the use of local, sustainable ingredients and Ocean Wise certified fish at the dynamic Dandelion Eatery, here in Manitoba.
He then accomplished what most thought couldn’t be done: he made an institutional food services program at the University of Winnipeg a model of excellence, world-wide.
As the Executive Chef of Diversity Food Services, Chef Kramer championed a social enterprise approach and introduced a sustainable menu to the campus community based on the belief that everything should be made from scratch using local ingredients.
Chef Kramer left Diversity in August of 2015 to focus on what he finds most satisfying – working directly with individual clients to create individually crafted menus. He’s been a part of the RAW: Almond concept (dining on Winnipeg's frozen rivers) since its inception as well as Table for 1200. He is the executive chef of the Winnipeg Folk Festival feeding thousands of volunteers each year.
Food security and giving back have always been a major pillars in every business he has been involved in. Since 2014, Ben has partnered with Community Food Centres Canada, including Made with Love where his team, in partnership with NorWest Co-op Community Food Centre, has produced and delivered more than 20,000 meals to some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable. Ben was also instrumental in gathering food from restaurants that were shutting down during the pandemic and using that food to create nutritious meals for community partners and agencies.
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Winnipeg Virtual Event
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Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3P 0S5
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Creative Manitoba
New Media Manitoba
RRC Polytech
Red Moon Media
Gabrielle Touchette Photography
Jessica Dumas Leadership Impact Coaching
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Johnston Group
