Jamie Draves managed to slay some dragons earlier this week.

The Trent alumnus had several of CBC Television’s famed venture capitalists lining up to bid on his Dragon’s Den pitch.  He was seeking funds for the development of a gluten free processing facility in Northern Ontario to produce quinoa for North American and global markets.

His company, Katan Kitchens, already has seed, farms, and eager farmers lined up.

Katan Kitchens is an innovative, health food enterprise that seeks to produce local, high quality superfoods in Ontario for the ‘Food for Health’ market.  Founded in 2011, Katan has emerged as a leader in the research and development of quinoa in Ontario over the past three years.

Mr. Draves, who graduated from Trent with a degree in Environmental and Resource Science and Chemistry, began the company in 2007, after a health crisis that resulted in the loss of a third of his pancreas.  Forced to follow a stringent diet, he turned to a number of superfoods, including quinoa.  The results of this diet inspired Mr. Draves to start his own business – bringing healthy food to the public.

Continuing his Trent connection, Mr. Draves recently partnered with Dr. Mehdi Sharifi, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Agriculture, and a professor in the new Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems program, to explore an array of approaches for improving organic quinoa production in the province through Trent’s Experimental Farm. Working also in collaboration with OSCIA and OMAFRA, Mr. Draves has demonstrated that quinoa was a viable crop for Ontario.  Interest in his results has been enthusiastic, with over 100 growers expressing interest to grow quinoa.  

Mr. Draves’ success on The Dragon’s Den will allow him to move forward with processing and shipping quinoa this upcoming growing season.

Posted on Monday, March 16, 2015.