Dr. Tim McRoberts, Director of Canada’s Smartest Kitchen, has been named the silver recipient of the CICan Leadership Excellence Award for Managerial Staff. 

Canada’s Smartest Kitchen is the research arm of Holland College’s Culinary Institute of Canada, which provides a suite of research and development services to the food and beverage industry. CICan is the national, voluntary membership organization representing publicly supported colleges, institutes, cegeps and polytechnics in Canada and internationally.

Dr. Tim McRoberts joined the Culinary Institute of Canada in 1996 and quickly became a well-respected instructor. In 2005, he accepted a curriculum consultant position and took on a leadership role until 2008, when he began his tenure as program manager in the Business, Tourism and Sport & Leisure department. During this time, he oversaw substantial growth, which further highlighted his exceptional leadership abilities.

He was appointed director of Canada’s Smartest Kitchen in 2019 to lead a multi-disciplined team of product developers, chefs, and food scientists to deliver innovative and validated solutions across the entire food and beverage sector. Since then, he has exponentially increased professional connections within the campus and industry network. He has established strong connections with leadership teams in PEI’s food cluster network, other industry associations and the government sector.

Dr. McRoberts has developed new revenue streams for Canada’s Smartest Kitchen and overseen two successful funding applications to purchase significant pieces of equipment for the research centre.

Holland College President Dr. Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald said that the award recognizes Dr. McRoberts’ contributions over many years of service to the college as well as his contributions in his current role.

“Tim has been a member of the Holland College staff for 24 years and always brings a sincere enthusiasm to his daily operations. His professional integrity is unparalleled, and his leadership inspires those around him to feel valued and respected as members of his team,” he said. “We are thrilled that he has received this national recognition.”

“Cavendish Farms is proud to partner with Canada’s Smartest Kitchen. Tim leads a team of trained chefs and food scientists who support our Cavendish culinary team in their efforts to create innovative and exciting products for our customers all over the world,” said Graham Stark, Vice President of Technical Sales and R&D, Cavendish Farms. “Tim is an energetic leader and has built a great relationship with our team. He is very deserving of a CICan Leadership Excellence Award for Managerial Staff.”

Dr. McRoberts was honoured in an online ceremony during the CICan Virtual CONNECTION conference earlier this month.