Duane Hicks
The Naicatchewenin Development Corp. (NDC) continues to diversify its business ventures, recently branching out into food services for the mining industry.
It is being headed up by director of food services Ryan Parisien, who has more than 20 years’ experience in all aspects of the industry.
“We found Ryan’s skills and abilities fit nicely with the plans that NDC has in servicing the mining industry,” NDC chief business development officer Tony Marinaro said last week.
“We’re trying to deal in consumables and participate in the economy by building capacity in our communities with our First Nation members,” he noted.
“Ryan is a great fit with what we are doing.
“A lot of these companies, [whether] it’s line cutting, exploration, or drilling, they need food in remote areas,” Marinaro stressed.
“This is the market we are targeting at this point, but there’s always room for expansion,” he added.
“It’s another diversification of our business portfolio for NDC.”
Parisien said NDC food services already has inked two separate contracts in the past six weeks—one for a line-cutting project at Straw Lake; the other for a drilling training camp in Mine Centre.
“Thing’s are going really well,” he enthused. “We have a lot of prospects for the future.”
“We’re excited about partnering with Ryan. He has a lot of experience and he’s been a leader in the industry,” said NDC CEO Jeremiah Windego.
“NDC’s goal has always been to partner with someone, or a company, who is the best in their field, and help to make them better,” he reasoned.
“We’re excited to see how things progress, and the type of opportunities we’re going to bring to this area.”
Parisien has been in the food service industry for more than 20 years, taking care of every aspect from front-of-house service to back-of-house preparation, working his way up the ranks to head chef.
He earned his Interprovincial Red Seal for cooking in 2003, and also is a certified instructor in advanced food safety training (sanitation and safety).
As well, Parisien has accrued
experience in food services consulting, kitchen management, menu design, and kitchen design, and established a rapport with local and non-local suppliers of all food service materials.
Among his achievements, he instructed at Seven Generations Education Institute for three years and captured the Northern Iron Chef 2010 competition in Thunder Bay.
In simplest terms, Parisien said NDC food services will solve a client’s nutritional needs.
“I really consider the food service aspect of the mining industry to be part of the morale of the camp,” he reasoned. “It’s of utmost importance the food is not only good, but the service is professionally-run.
“It’s important to me that myself and my cooks are wearing a uniforms,” Parisien added. “It doesn’t matter whether we are 50 miles into the bush or in a hotel, the professional atmosphere needs to happen no matter where you’re at.
“I think that needs to come through in the service, as well as through the food—not only through preparation but also through the presentation and the flavour,” he stressed.
“I think that fits along well with anything else the NDC does. I haven’t been with this company very long, but what I’ve noticed is everything that’s done is done properly and done well.
“I think my plans, and the way I am directing the food services for NDC, fits along with that really well,” he added.
“Professionalism is number-one.”
Parisien explained each client will have their own separate needs, and that NDC food services will do whatever they need to meet those needs, whether it’s feeding 10 people at a line-cutting camp or 100 people at a mining camp.
“Whatever it takes to ensure the people in that camp are fed properly, well-nourished, and have all of their basic needs taken care of in terms of nutrition,” he remarked.
Parisien is an expert in healthy food preparation, and will cater to specialized diets (e.g., vegetarians, diabetics, etc.)
“I plan to be extremely versatile. We’ll bring to the table whatever is necessary,” he pledged.
Parisien said he currently employs two cooks, but as contracts come, he’ll hire on more staff.
“Because of my experience and my tenure in the industry in this local economy—I’ve been in Fort Frances cooking now for 15 years—I know just about every cook from Seine River to Morson,” he noted.
“Not only that, but I also trained a lot of them, whether I was their culinary instructor or a chef.
“As far as those contacts go, I have a really good rapport with a lot of cooks around the area,” added Parisien. “There’s kind of a chefs’ network, and you can call someone on the telephone and say, ‘Hey, I need to borrow a pound of lard.’
“That’s the network I want to pull from.”
Marinaro said Parisien has his Red Seal, which means he also will be able to train staff, creating new jobs for community members.
“The ultimate goal of this partnership is to create opportunities for First Nations’ people in this area to have a place to work locally, so the chefs that are trained don’t have to leave town to find employment,” echoed Windego.
As reported last month, NDC has partnered with Kingfisher Lake and Wunnumin Lake First Nations in the Treaty #9 area, along with Canadian Security Management, to form Synterra Security Solutions—a new company that offers specialized security services for mining operations.
Marinaro said NDC food services is another example of seizing an opportunity to provide services locally for the emerging mining industry.
“In order for this district to continue to prosper and to grow, we need to ensure that the people that are here have a chance to go to work and put their skills to work,” he stressed.
“It’s great to train people, but you don’t want them to leave the district, either.
“There’s a lot of well-trained people in the district, and these are the opportunities that are arising,” Marinaro noted. “That’s why we’re trying to respond to the needs of the industry, with this business and any other business that emerges from NDC partnership.”
Windego said NDC is focusing on the mining industry, but it also wants to do corporate or special event catering, as well, “casting a wide net for clients,” such as partnering with Treaty #9 and other areas.
“There’s still opportunities. We don’t limit ourselves,” Marinaro agreed. “We take a team approach to it, and we think there’s a lot of benefits in partnerships.”
Over time, NDC potentially could provide food, security, and other services anywhere in the country.
For more information on NDC food services, contact Parisien at chef@ndevcorp.ca or Marinaro at cbdo@ndevcorp.ca
You also can find out more about the NDC at www.naicatcheweninfirstnation.ca
