The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 9, 20 20 | 10 Help the University of Guelph improve hearing healthcare across Canada..adanas Csorce arachtleag hnireah Connect Hearing and Professor Mark Fenske at the University of Guelph are seeking participants who are over 50 years of age, have never worn hearing aids and have not had a hearing test in the last 24 months, for a hearing study that investigates factors that can influence better hearing. Study Parameters The researchers will examine listening in a range of situations, from one-on-one, to group conversations, watching TV and wider social contexts like supermarkets and other noisy environments, and how it effects connection and socialization. Why Participate? It is estimated that 46% of people aged 45 to 87 have some degree of hearing loss, but most do not seek a solution right away. In this study you'll be playing an important part in determining the key factors around identifying hearing loss and what influences the decision to seek treatment. Participants will be significantly adding to growing knowledge surrounding hearing loss. *Wingfield, A., Tun, P. A., & McCoy, S. L. (2005). Hearing Loss in Older Adulthood: What It Is and How It Interacts With Cognitive Performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 144-148. † Study participants must be over 50 years of age and have never worn hearing aids. No fees and no purchase necessary. 1. Cruickshanks, K. L., Wiley, T. L., Tweed, T. S., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R, Mares-Perlman, J. A., & Nondahl, D. M. (1998). Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Older Adults in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin: The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 148 (9), 879-886. 2. National Institutes of Health. (2010). You can register to be part of this groundbreaking new hearing study by calling 1.888.242.4892 or visiting connecthearing.ca/hearing-study Steve Jobs' reach and his insinuation into nearly every aspect of our modern lives was long ago sealed with the revolutionary se- ries of the iMac, iPod and iPhone. But what of the iPotato? Well, that's the realm of Hassen Shinwary. The humble baked pota- to that is the main player of the eponymous iPotato is a delicious and rather fun morsel of a spud slathered with butter and stuffed with cheese - and virtually any assortment of shawar- ma ingredients, or other- wise, that you like. Shinwary explains that the "i" in the restaurant's name drew at least a bit of inspiration from another thread of pop culture, in addition to the smart- phone. "It stands for incredi- ble," said Shinwary. "When shawarma was mentioned by Iron Man in The Aveng- ers and the Incredible Hulk was around, I had the idea to call it Incredible Shawarma." iPotato, an offshoot of the iShawarma restau- rants that Shinwary has opened, has been serving customers since May. Lo- cated in the hodgepodge that is that chaotic outdoor food court next door to Uni- versity of Waterloo, iPotato sends out a pretty good ver- sion of this relatively little- known street food. Known also as a jacket potato, the humble dish is a culinary mainstay in Great Britain, according to Si- mon Dowrick. Dowrick works for a local sign, print and graphics company, and we met for an iPotato lunch recently. "It's a thing. In England, we stuff it with cheese and baked beans and other in- gredients. There'd be a jacket potato stand like we might have a hotdog stand here. The potatoes are cooking right there in an oven," said Dowrick, who grew up in Cornwall. "For a few quid (about $7) you'd get a big potato, crispy on the outside with a mountain of grated cheese. It's a meal." At iPotato, it is indeed a meal (prices start at $3.99). In fact, I brought a veggie version home and weighed it: it was over a pound. The combination of the crispy baked skin and its mouth- watering ping of salt along with a liberal dosing of sal- ad barlike toppings is quite satisfying - for just a potato. To cook the potatoes, Shinwary imported what he calls "a top of the line" cast iron oven that sits on the counter and is used to bake the spuds. It's a simple process: they are lightly coated with vegetable oil, salted and then baked in the oven for about an hour. "It's popular in Germa- ny and has become a trend in Turkey," Shinwary said. In the latter country, the home to the delectable don- er, the creation is called kumpir. While the potato of choice is the russet, a good variety for baking, size matters: when it comes to the vagaries of sourcing po- tatoes, Shinwary has to search to find consistent and good quality tubers that have the same shape and size. "We search for a 60-count russet potato," he said of the ideal. A filling and starchy bite, a kumpir or stuffed jacket potato is a blank can- vas or foundational base on which to build your own meal; it's especially good for customers looking for vegetarian options. Make sure you try their fresh- baked Turkish-Iraqi bread too. While the usual shawar- ma, poutine and fries are part of the iPotato menu, Shinwary is contemplating rolling out different ingre- dients to load onto the pota- to, many of which are tradi- tional jacket potato, or kumpir, toppings. "We have more cards that we haven't shown yet and as demand continues to grow we could add Rus- sian salad, sausage or cous- cous," he said, giving just a few examples. "The oppor- tunities are endless." I think that's what Steve Jobs believed too. iPotato is open daily at 11 a.m. Andrew Coppolino is a Kitchener-based food writ- er and broadcaster. Visit him at andrewcoppolino- .com. OPINION DON'T SKIP THIS DISH: JACKET POTATO AT IPOTATO IT'S A CULINARY MAINSTAY IN GREAT BRITAIN, WRITES ANDREW COPPOLINO ANDREW COPPOLINO Column Address: 170 University Ave. W., Unit 21, Waterloo, N2L 3E9 Phone: 519-885-4966 Website of iShawarma: www.ishawarma.com Hours: Open everyday from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. The veggie-loaded jacket potato. Andrew Coppolino photo