MGP Ingredients, Inc. has named Yvette Hirang its new culinary chef, an integral role as the company addresses the plant-based foods trend with its recently launched ProTerra® textured wheat and pea proteins. She joins the R&D team at MGP’s technical center in Atchison.
Hirang has a unique set of talents in culinary arts, sales, communications, marketing and strategic management. She is a certified sous chef and servsafe certified.
Most recently, Hirang was a culinary and sales consultant with Reinhart Foodservice. Her additional work in food service included sous chef with SAGE Dining Services, which serves independent and private colleges, and the culinary program at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. She also held sous chef positions at several Kansas City-area country clubs and is a chef instructor at the Culinary Center of Kansas City.
Sarah Corwin, Ph.D., RD, has been named principal scientist. A Ph.D. graduate in Food Science at Purdue University, Corwin completed her doctoral dissertation on slow-digesting carbohydrates, which will help support MGP’s research into the physiological benefits of dietary fiber in humans.
At Purdue, Corwin managed the Carbohydrate Chemistry Laboratory and participated in numerous professional development activities provided by food and baking industry organizations, including the American Society of Baking (ASB) product development committee and as a volunteer with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Carbohydrate Division Leadership. She also was an officer of The Cereals and Grains Student Leadership Association.
Corwin led teams in product development competitions sponsored by the ASB, Cereals and Grains Association and Student Soybean Innovation Competition at Purdue. She taught courses on food product design and introduction to food processing and presented at national and international symposia on agricultural biological engineering and carbohydrate-related topics.
Additionally, she was a member of the Purdue Hoosier Chapter of the food science honor society Phi Tau Sigma. Under her leadership as president in 2019-2020, the chapter received Outstanding Chapter of the Year 2020.
Corwin’s other professional experience includes consulting dietitian providing clinical medical nutrition therapy for three group homes and clinical nutrition, kitchen supervision and menu development for a 180-bed medical facility.
She received a B.S. in Nutrition from Case Western University in 2013. At Case Western, she conducted research into the effects of high-fat vs. low-fat diets in the Genetics Department. Following graduation, she participated in the Dietetic Internship Program, a joint program of Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis from 2014 to 2015.
