Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hon visiting one of the booths

A group’s presentation to Dr. Ivan Ho, one of the competition judges

The student area abuzz with activity and students promoting their products

Kuala Lumpur, 16 July 2009 - Ms. Khor Yih Phing and  her eight team-mates are now used to being called the “tofu-cake” girls. Her team recently won the first prize for their new food product invention dubbed “Gateau de Tofu”, beating 19 other groups at the recent UCSI University Nutri Food Fair. Among the other interesting products in the running were the papaya and chili sauce concoction, “pachilli” and dragonfruit yogurt christened “dragurt”. Second prize went to the group who concocted the “Wolfberry Chocolate” bar while third prize went to the group who had created chicken meatballs with pumpkin stuffing.The 19 groups consisted of students from 4 subjects under the University’s Faculty of Applied Sciences. Totalling almost 200 students, they had two months to invent their new food product. The assignment truly tested the students’ knowledge and challenged them to think out of the box. Apart from inventing the actual food product, the students had to conduct surveys beforehand as a “litmus test” to discover what the market needed. “According to our initial survey, 84% of our respondents wanted to try the invention that we proposed, and since 98% have never heard of such a product, it fulfilled the two main criteria for the invention,” said Ms. Khor.

The students were instructed to create new products with the most ‘sales’  potential and which should also be safe to consume in compliance with national “Halal” standards. In addition, they had to come up also with a marketing plan for their new products, and to create the packaging, advertising and promotions strategies for them. Besides that, the students were also judged on their oral presentation during the event.

The UCSI University Nutri Food Fair was held for students to generate new ideas in food product development as well create an interest in nutrition for the public. Instead of  the routine classroom teaching, this project-based learning activities created opportunities for students to work on real-world problems and understand the connections between what they learn and real-life settings.In spite of the challenges they faced, the students had a great time coming up with new recipes and formulas for their new food products. The winning team had a delicious time experimenting with their five layer tofu-based cake. “Our main ingredient was soy milk, and our layers comprised of mousse, almonds and sponge cake. But before we had our final successful product, we experimented also with other ingredients; one of which was the black sesame paste. However, after a battery of sensory tests, we decided to go with what we have in the final product now,” Ms. Khor says.  The team also tried inserting layers of Konnyaku jelly, but it failed to work as the layers would not stick due to its texture.

The two-day event saw a buzz of activity at the University’s student area as food was sold from morning until evening. However, proceeds for the entire event went to United Voice, a charity selected by the Faculty, which fights for the self-advocacy of people with learning disabilities. This, according to Associate Professor Dr. Hon Wei Min, the Dean for the Faculty of Applied Sciences, was to instil a sense of social responsibility among the students. “Not only did the profits from their stalls go to charity, students were also reminded to keep in mind that their food inventions needed to be nutritious and healthy.”The student area abuzz with activity and students promoting their productsOther related articles:

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