News Releases

Chef Ned Bell, Corporate Chef of the Vintage Group, was crowned the winner of the BMO Mutual Funds Fall Harvest Cook-off today at Stephen Avenue Mall in Calgary. Competing against Chef Andrew Keen, Executive Chef of Tribune Restaurant, the chefs developed three dishes in sixty minutes on an outdoor grill using pumpkin as the special ingredient. A panel of judges, including BMO Mutual Fund's Linda Knight and BMO Bank of Montreal's Susan Brown, taste-tested and evaluated each of the chefs' creations to determine the winner.

Spectators and passers-by cheered on their favourite chef, and donated food items on-site to the Calgary Food Bank.  While the scores were being tallied, Ms. Knight, on behalf of BMO Mutual Funds, presented a $5,000 cheque to the Calgary Food Bank, in support of their fall food drive.

During the cook-off, Ms. Knight talked to the audience about how investing for your retirement can be as simple as fall harvest gardening.

“The fall harvest is a time when Canadians reap the rewards of their labour by pulling the final fruits from their gardens.  It's also a time to prepare the garden for another productive bounty next spring. If you apply this same philosophy to your investments, your long-term savings – or harvest – should also grow,” said Ms. Knight.

BMO Mutual Funds is a member of BMO Financial Group and part of the organization's Private Client Group. The Private Client Group provides integrated wealth management services in Canada and the United States and had total assets under management and administration and term investments of $280.1 billion as at July 31, 2006.

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Calgary, Alberta, Canada-- Oct. 18/06----Winning chef Ned Bell of Vintage Group, presents a decadent pumpkin dish to BMO Mutual Funds' Linda Knight at the BMO Mutual Funds Fall Harvest Cook-Off held outdoors on Stephen Avenue Mall in downtown Calgary. At today's event, BMO donated $5,000 to the Calgary Food Bank. Dave Olecko Photo.