3 local food ventures win marketing aid

7/1/2008

Three winners of the first food-product development competition in metro Toledo were a Sylvania woman with a gourmet chocolate pizza, a Polish-American Restaurant with sauerkraut balls, and Magic Wok, with sweet and sour sauce.

The competition, for which the Center for Innovative Food Technology and the Northwest Ohio Restaurant Association were hosts, provides the three with business plans, product development, and other assistance to market their products, said Rebecca Singer, of the food center in Toledo.

Shirley Pollman's Pause for Chocolate sells her chocolate pizzas at farmer's markets, but she wants to produce more, Ms. Singer said. Ski's Polish-American Restaurant in Sylvania and Magic Wok want to be able to mass-produce and market their products in the restaurants as well as stores, Ms. Singer said.

The mission of the center to foster local food products.