• DMACC Executive Chef Michael Dell received Noble House Spices from the 2023 World Food Prize Laureate winner’s husband to be integrated into every course of the gourmet dinner

  • “Without question, in my 40 years of cooking, these were the best quality spices I have ever cooked with,” said Chef Dell

  • DMACC ICI second-year students prepared and first-year students served the culinary dinner to the World Food Prize Laureate winners, dignitaries and guests

It wasn't newt’s eye and bat’s wool that were used as ingredients at the pre-Halloween culinary dinner for World Food Prize Laureate Winner Heidi Kühn, dignitaries and guests that was prepared by DMACC Iowa Culinary Institute (ICI) students. But Kuhn’s husband, Gary, sent several boxes of “very fancy spices” to DMACC Chef Michael Dell to be integrated into every course of the gourmet dinner.

The “fancy spices” sent to Executive Chef Michael Dell were multiple spices from Noble House Spice. The spices included: white pepper, whole, unwashed and unsorted; white pepper, whole and double washed; organic cinnamon; whole black pepper; late harvest black peppercorns; star anise; organic cardamom; wild black cumin, all spice and black lime, ground.

“You may find some at a local grocer in name but not in the quality that Noble House Spice clearly puts into their product,” said Dell. “We are well aware of the variety of spices that Noble House Spice provided. But I’ll say again, without question, in my 40 years of cooking, these were the best quality spices I have ever cooked with.”

Ever since the World Food Prize honored the laureates and officially awarded their prizes in Des Moines, the DMACC ICI students, under the direction of DMACC Executive Chefs, have prepared a culinary dinner for the World Food Prizes laureates, dignitaries and guests. This year World Food Prize Foundation President Terry Branstad, 2023 World Food Prize Laureate winner Heidi Kühn, and her husband, Gary, and others were served the gourmet dinner, prepared by second-year ICI students and served by first-year ICI students.

“It is a tremendous honor to host the World Food Prize Gourmet Dinner at the ICI each year,” said DMACC Iowa Culinary Institute Director and Chef John Andres. “Many of the guests and Laureates have become great friends over the years, and it is a fantastic opportunity for our students to meet and learn more about the people who impact food systems on a global scale.”

“I was given the opportunity to design the menu how I saw fit,” said Dell. “The students and I took a culinary exploration around the world and chose our favorite cuisines to develop the menu.”
Here is the World Food Prize menu prepared and served by the DMACC ICI students with the Noble House Spice used highlighted in bold:

Sicilian Arancini

  • Saffron risotto, fontina, peperone coulis

Indian Chana Masala

  • Late harvest black pepper curried chickpea soup

New Zealand Ora King salmon

  • Black lime kumara, candied pecans

Lyon rack of lamb

  • Wild cumin fennel green beans, balsamic demi

Illinois pumpkin & chocolate crema

  • Pumpkin, cinnamon, dehydrated raspberry

Catalan tomato garlic bread

“We received enough spices for the dinner, which was 140 guests,” said Dell. “We also had enough spice left over for the students to experiment with.”

DMACC President Rob Denson, who hosts the World Food Prize Laureates and dignitaries every fall during the week of the awarding of the World Food Prize, affectionately known as the Nobel Prize of Agriculture, has attended every single DMACC-hosted culinary dinner associated with the World Food Prize.

“Not only were the courses amazing, I paid more attention to the taste of spices than I ever had before and it was great! Knowing these spices were from the Laureate made it all even more special,” said Denson.

When asked to describe his reaction to receiving all of the Noble House Spices, Dell replied, “I was like a kid in a candy store.”

For more information, contact: Chef Michael Dell (515) 964-6263