Ontario Restaurant News - November 2016

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O N T A R I O November 2016 | Vol. 31 | No. 10

N AT I O N A L

C O V E R A G E

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Pascal Vernhes and Jean-Regis Raynaud.

French expats bring bistro to West Toronto rope, Raynaud entered the Canadian workforce about five years ago flipping burgers, eventuTORONTO — Pascal Vernhes and chef Jean- ally landing the position of executive chef at Le Regis Raynaud both immigrated to Canada Paradis. “You arrive with the mentality of an immiwith only a suitcase and culinary aspirations. “I didn’t know anybody here, not a single grant. You just want to make it,” Raynaud said. “It was frustrating, but it was good too, you person,” Vernhes said, who arrived in Toronto learn. When you arrive to Canada everything about 15 years ago. With extensive background working front of starts at zero.” After meeting through mutual friends in Tohouse at restaurants in Europe, Vernhes started working in Canada as a waiter. He worked his ronto, Vernhes and Raynaud have partnered to way up to a general manager position before open Le Baratin, a 30-seat French bistro at 1600 opening Midi Bistro in downtown Toronto, Dundas St. West. APPROVAL REQUIRED “We’re on the same page. Sometimes peowhich he sold in 2011. the enclosed proof is sent for your approval. We will not proceed with the job until the proof is returned. ple have different concepts or different tastes,” Despite three diplomas in French a INSTRUCTIONS. DO NOTcuisine, GIVE VERBAL CHECK CAREFULLY! Beyond this point we cannot accept responsibility for any errors. alterations (other than typographical and errors) willexpebe charged extra. Mark proof “OK” or “OK with corrections” as the case may Vernhes said. certificate in gastronomic excellence be, signing your name so we may know that the proof reached the proper authority. “We worked in the same type of establishrience in several fine-dining restaurants in EuBy Bill Tremblay

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ments, we know discipline. We’ve been trained the same way, even though there is 20 years difference between us.” Their approach is to provide French cuisine in a traditional bistro setting, which includes an affordable price. “I live in the neighbourhood, that’s why I decided to open here. It’s convenient, but there is also a need,” Vernhes said. “What I found missing here is bistros, something affordable, simple and authentic.” Le Baratin’s Brockton Village neighbourhood also lacks significant foot traffic. “We are not Queen Street, we are not Yonge Street and there’s no subway,” Vernhes said.

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The many links of Montgomery’s supply chain TORONTO — Chef Guy Rawlings is taking an unorthodox approach to sourcing ingredients for Montgomery’s, his first solo restaurant venture. To highlight wild and cultivated ingredients found in Ontario, the 50-seat Queen Street West restaurant is serving a “minimalist” menu created via foraging, uncommon protein sources and frequent visits to the province’s farms. “We consistently have some foragers coming by the restaurant and we like to go to farms as much as possible,” Rawlings said, who opened the restaurant with his wife Kim Montgomery. “I do a little bit of foraging myself.” Deirdre Fraser-Gudrunas of Vibrant Matter in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., is one of the foragers supplying Montgomery’s. “Every time she shows up we have to have some restraint. Everything is fantastic and we want to buy it all,” said Rawlings, noting a recent score of marigold buds purchased from the business. “We’ve salted those to create something like a caper we’ll use down the road.” For ingredients that can’t be foraged, Rawlings heads to Amish farms in the Kawartha Region. “It’s a great community to work with. They

have such a history and depth in farming,” he said. In the coming months, Rawlings will also add his family’s dairy cow to the menu, likely as sausages. Dubbed “Snackies” by his daughter, the cow was purchased to produce raw milk for the family. However, the Rawlings recently found out the cow must be put down, so they decided to have the animal ethically processed. “It’s not something typically done and it’s not something you see a lot of here. In other countries, they eat older dairy cows,” Rawlings said. The cow’s meat will be dry-aged for at least 30 days before it appears on the menu. “The whole thing will be interesting and new. I’m excited to see what it translates into,” Rawlings said. “It could be a disaster, but you never find something special if you don’t find a couple of disasters along the way.” Rawlings is also investigating how he might be able to incorporate the products of urban gardens on the menu. “It’s something we want to explore, the idea of supporting a closer food system,” he said. However, he noted an urban grower is likely

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unable to produce the volume required by a restaurant. “It’s difficult for them to produce those core vegetables. It would be hard to have an urban potato farmer,” Rawlings said. “It would be more specialized ingredients, things with high flavour where you don’t need a large quantity.” The ingredients sourced by the restaurant translate into what Rawlings calls Canadian cuisine. “I have an idea of what food in Newfoundland is like or northern Quebec, but in Ontario it doesn’t have a definition,” Rawlings said. “It’s not something we’re trying to define, but we’re trying to use the ingredients around us.” Montgomery’s menu will change as the ingredients available through their supply chain come and go. “The menu just evolves as the seasons do. As soon as the first frost hits, you’ll see a drastic change. When you get to the winter, there’s less evolution,” Rawlings said. In preparation for winter, Montgomery’s is drying, freezing and fermenting ingredients acquired during warmer months. “We’re trying really hard to save interesting things,” he said.

To prepare for opening his own restaurant, Rawlings spent the last four years working in front of house positions, including operations manager at Bar Raval and Bar Isabel. “To be back in the kitchen again, and being inspired by the ingredients, is the nicest thing,” he said. At Montgomery’s, the back of house is set up at the front of the restaurant, allowing foot traffic on Queen Street to see the kitchen. “The kitchen has a lot of energy, so it’s a shame to hide it in the back,” Rawlings said. “We can look out on the street and see life happening. We’re not just stuck in a box in the back without windows.” Rawlings also takes a different approach to table service. Guests pour their own wine, and staff avoid interrupting table conversation. “You go to a restaurant and they’re almost bugging you too much. I want an environment where I can enjoy the company of the person I’m with,” Rawlings said. “It’s not a lack of service by any means. We’re there and attentive to do all the necessary things, but otherwise we don’t want to interrupt.”

is the address where The Toronto Star originated as well as Muirhead’s Cafeteria. “We also have pictures and things on the walls that pay homage to that history,” Kozman said. The second Canadian Potbelly will open at 180 Bloor St. West in late January. A third store is planned for Yonge and Sheppard, scheduled to open in the spring.

“We’re still looking for other sites. Our goal is to try and roll out 15 to 20 shops in the next five years,” Kozman said. Eventually, Kozman would like to see Potbelly set up shop outside of the Greater Toronto Area. “Right now we’re focused on urban locations in Toronto,” he said. “We are a lunch brand, so we want to be in places with a lunch rush.”

FEDERALLY INSPECTED

Potbelly Sandwiches opens first Canadian location TORONTO — Potbelly Sandwiches has opened its first of three planned Canadian locations. In October, the fast casual sandwich shop opened at 83 Yonge St. in Toronto. “There’s no mystery as to why we wanted to bring it up here,” said David Kozman, founder of Halsted Hospitality, which has the exclusive franchise rights to Potbelly in Ontario. “We just thought it was a good idea, and something that Toronto really needed.” Potbelly originated as an antique store in Chicago in 1977. Peter Hastings, the store’s founder, decided to sell sandwiches alongside antiques, which included potbelly stoves. “As it turns out, they became quite popular, and they started getting lineups for the sandwiches,” Kozman said. The store eventually evolved into a sandwich shop with the antiques serving as the decor. After 20 years in business, Hastings sold the store to Bryant Keil, who began franchising the business. Today, there are more than 400 Potbelly locations in the United States, 12 in the Middle

East and one store in London, England. Kozman discovered the restaurant chain a decade ago as a student in Chicago. “It was one of those places we liked going to as customers,” he said. “This was before the explosion of fast casual. I remember thinking at that time, coming from Toronto, I hadn’t seen anything like it before.” The Potbelly menu features six signature sandwiches, including its flagship sub A Wreck (salami, roast beef, turkey, ham and Swiss cheese), as well as five sandwiches under its favourites category. Salads, soups and cookies complete the menu. “We try to stay true to (the original) menu,” Kozman said. “It’s proven itself to be something people respond to.” All Potbelly restaurants are equipped with a potbelly stove and the restaurants feature live music during lunch on occasion. “We try to have an acoustic guitarist during lunch, whenever we can manage that,” Kozman said. “It adds to the environment.” Each location also pays tribute to its neighbourhood. The 83 Yonge St. store, for example,

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Healthy food for all Canadians F

ederal Health Minister Jane Philpott announced in October an overhaul to Canada’s Food Guide, the first update to the dietary document since 2007. This begs the question: what role can and should government play in ensuring we are eating heathy? “During the development of the new guide, Health Canada will only seek expert advice from, and consult with: academics, health professional associations, federal, provincial and territorial officials and nongovernmental organizations interested in health,” as stated on the Government of Canada revisions process webpage. Those in agriculture, industry and trade associations, and foodservice professionals will have their time to speak, via public consultations through the form of an online

questionnaire. These men and women are the ones growing, studying and creating the food we eat in a system that is not as simple as it was in 1942, or even nine years ago. One celebrity chef in particular has made his mandate to fight childhood obesity clear. Jamie Oliver was in Toronto in early October meeting with media for his new book Super Food Family Classics, when he reached out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a meeting on child health. In the U.K., money collected from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy — an initiative Oliver advocated for — will go to programs to encourage physical activity and balanced diets. Oliver’s passion and personality allows people to give credence to his Food Revolution. While he certainly has good ideas and intentions, Canada has it own food revolution advocates: they are chefs and farmers, educators and community champions. They

interact with Canadians every day and are in an excellent position to inform government about the needs of those on the ground. While it’s important to include academia and innovative ideas from around the world, perhaps the best place to start when trying to determine the needs of Canadians is within our own country. And when it has to do with food, with those who work with it day-in and day-out. Canada’s Food Guide is obsolete in its current form, and maybe its intention is also behind the times. Perhaps the two-year process should focus less on what we should eat and more on ensuring everyone can eat what they should.

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news briefs Restaurants for Change raises more than $250,000

Global Egg to purchase Cargill Etobicoke facility

TORONTO — On Oct. 19, 68 restaurants in 16 Canadian cities came together to raise money for Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) through the third annual Restaurants for Change. The event raised more than $250,000 in its third year, exceeding the goal set by organizers. Through CFCC, funds raised through the event will support programs that bring people in low-income communities together to grow, cook, share and advocate for healthy food for all. “This year’s participating chefs and restaurants are part of an amazing community who care about where food comes from and also about who has access to it,” said Nick Saul, president and CEO of Community Food Centres Canada. “We’re very thankful for their support, and excited to engage more Canadians from coast to coast in the movement towards a healthy and fair food system.”

TORONTO — Global Egg Corporation recently announced they have entered into an agreement to purchase the Cargill Etobicoke egg processing facility. The transaction is expected to be completed this year. This is Global Egg’s second plant expansion in as many years. Cargill has owned the Etobicoke facility since 2006. While the terms of the sale are not being disclosed, it has been confirmed that the majority of the facility’s employees will retain employment with Global Egg. “Integrating this new facility and the expertise of our new employees into our existing business model will allow us to continue to meet our customers’ demands for the highest quality and most innovative value added egg products,” said Aaron Kwinter, president of Global Egg Corporation/EggSolutions.

Cactus Club Toronto marks first anniversary

TORONTO — Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers’) announced on Oct. 17 the acquisition of Constellation Brands Canada, the Canadian operation of Constellation Brands, for approximately $1.03 billion. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2017. “Constellation Brands Canada is an ideal addition to our consumer portfolio,” said Jane Rowe, senior vice-president, private capital. “The company is already the undisputed market leader in the Canadian wine industry and has excellent potential for continued growth and value creation.” Constellation Brands Canada is headquartered in Mississauga, Ont., and operates three commercial wineries, five es-

TORONTO — During anniversary celebrations at Cactus Club Toronto in October, a significant scholarship was announced in the form of a $15,000 endowment and six $1,000 scholarships for the George Brown Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts. With a history of supporting culinary education and more than half of the restaurant’s kitchen team from George Brown, the donation came as a natural fit. Leading up to the celebratory event, chef Rob Feenie was in Toronto mentoring a group of George Brown culinary students during a week-long workshop to prepare the anniversary menu.

4 | Restaurant News

Ontario Teachers’ acquires Constellation Brands Canada

tate wineries, and 163 Wine Rack stores throughout Ontario. Its portfolio of domestic and international wines includes Inniskillin, Jackson-Triggs, Kim Crawford, Robert Mondavi, Ruffino, Sawmill Creek and Wallaroo Trail. “We look forward to partnering with Constellation’s impressive management team and president and CEO Jay Wright to capitalize on long-term growth trends in the wine industry,” said Rowe. “Our Canadian management team is excited about working with Ontario Teachers’ to take our business vision to the next level,” said Jay Wright. “Their financial commitment and considerable expertise in helping their portfolio companies achieve meaningful strategic market advantages set the stage for an exciting partnership.”

Restaurants Canada partners with HostMilano TORONTO — Restaurants Canada has partnered with HostMilano to showcase Canada’s foodservice industry internationally and open the door to increased trade and innovation for Canadian companies. The exchange agreement will promote Canadian and global innovation at Restaurants Canada’s annual event, the RC Show, Feb. 26 – 28, 2017 in Toronto, and open new opportunities for Canadian companies to participate in HostMilano, Oct. 20 – 24, 2017 in Milan, Italy. HostMilano will be part of a new RC Show feature recognizing the latest innovations in design and technology, and will offer special incentives for Restaurants Canada members and exhibitors to participate in HostMilano. In addition, a delegation of industry leaders will be invited to attend HostMilano as guests of the event.

MICKEY CHEREVATY Consultant, Moyer Diebel Limited JACK BATTERSBY President, Summit Food Service Distributors Inc. PAUL LECLERC Partner, Serve-Canada Food Equipment Ltd. JORGE SOARES Director Food and Beverage Operations, Woodbine Entertainment Group ADAM COLQUHOUN President, Oyster Boy JOHN CRAWFORD Director of Sales-Canada, Lamb Weston TINA CHIU Chief Operating Officer, Mandarin Restaurant Franchise Corporation MARTIN KOUPRIE Chef and Restaurateur JOEL SISSON Founder and President of Crush Strategy Inc. CHRIS JEENS Partner, W. D. Colledge Co. Ltd. Joe Baker Dean, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Centennial College Graham Hayes Directory of Culinary/Corporate Chef, McCormack Bourrie Sales & Marketing & French’s Food Company Canada Jody Palubiski CEO, The Charcoal Group

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Ontario

Tortoise group picks up speed

BURLINGTON, Ont. — Since Clark Lishman took on the role of chief operating officer, he has been building the team at Tortoise Restaurant Group. “It’s a time of positive changes and excitement,” said Somer Mullins, the new director of marketing. In addition to Mullins, there are district managers, Dale Vanderzwaag and Rob Dero, and a new director of training, Elizabeth Smith. To assist director of food and beverage, chef Anthony Leech, Tortoise Group also hired executive chefs Michael Vogt and Ruben Rapetti. President James Lishman founded the family-run business in 1992 with the opening of the first Turtle Jack’s Muskoka Grill in Brampton, Ont. Currently, there are 17 locations in Ontario and two Fraticelli’s Italian Grill restaurants, one in Burlington and another in Richmond Hill, Ont. The restaurant group also opened a new fast casual concept, Coop Wicked Chicken and is developing a smaller version of its Italian brand, Frat’s. His son, Clark Lishman moved from his role in marketing to COO in September 2015. “I’m a blue-collar guy; I came through marketing in college and I worked my way through

every position in the restaurant — that’s how I know what we do,” said Lishman, who is also the executive chef overseeing the brands. “I’m not some number-savvy, MBA graduate operating officer. I surround myself with people who are way smarter than I am, ask them for their advice and then we roll forward with it.” While excited about the passion at Tortoise Restaurant Group, Lishman says the young operations team is bound to stumble a bit and make some mistakes. “I also think, we’re a smaller ship, we need to be able to move way faster than our big counterparts and that’s our angle — that’s our opportunity for faster growth, better sales, smaller units,” he said. There are three new Turtle Jack’s locations on the books in Grimsby, Ont., Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga and near Pearson International Airport on Dixon Road. Turtle Jack’s locations are getting a refreshed look and plans include adding cottage-style shareable menu items. It also recently introduced chicken raised without antibiotics and has plans to futher enhance the food program. Traditionally a suburban brand, Lishman said the restaurant group is looking at locations

in downtown Toronto as well as in smaller Ontario communities. The footprint of the two Fraticelli’s locations is between 7,000 and 8,000 square feet. While more locations of this size are unlikely and dependent on prime real estate, there is a smaller version in the works called Frat’s slated to open on King William Street in Hamilton in the New Year. This location is 1,500 square feet with 35 seats, but Lishman envisions other Frat’s units to be between 2,000 and 3,000 square feet in size. “We’ll be the Napoletana pizza joint of the suburbs,” he said. The first Coop location opened in July at 272-274 King St. West, Hamilton. The second is slated to open at 370 Brant St. in Burlington in January. With the tagline, “tasty as cluck,” the cheeky brand focuses on poultry with seared, pulled or fried chicken sandwiches, deep-fried deviled eggs, chicken salads, fried chicken, chicken and waffles and tacos. Coop offers beer, wine and cocktails, including Blueberry Lemonade on tap. The fast casual brand draws influence from the ’90s with industrial design elements mixed with custom graffiti. A late-night window offers pick-up after midnight on weekends.

“This [Coop] has been living in my head a long time,” said Lishman. Rather than franchising, Lishman plans to open corporate locations with an end goal of moving towards operating partnerships. “[Then] we both have skin in the game. If the store’s not making money, I’m losing and you’re losing, we’ve got to do something to fix this,” he explained. “With the franchise model, liability is off us in a sense, because it’s on them. There is a little bit of a flip there that I would like to get done for our team.” Lishman hopes to see these partnerships go to current staff, such as general and kitchen managers. “A lot of the people who work in our restaurants right now never could afford a Turtle Jack’s or think of getting into something that big,” he said. With a smaller investment, matched by head office, staff could secure financing and open a Coop or Frat’s, but first Lishman intends to prove the viability of the concepts. “We’re keeping it all corporate from the beginning because I want to under-promise and over-deliver — that’s the new mantra at Tortoise Restaurant Group,” he said.

Orangeville catering company opens its doors to highlight local flavours ORANGEVILLE — Rural Roots Catering is inviting diners into its kitchen to showcase ingredients grown in the surrounding area. The Orangeville, Ont., company has transformed a portion of its commercial kitchen into The Mezzanine Restaurant, an 18-seat communal dining room that will serve set tasting menus about one night a week. The space will be available for private functions as well. “There’s a high ceiling, so above the office there’s a mezzanine that overlooks the entire kitchen,” said Adam Ryan, the company’s chef. “Until now it’s just been used for private tastings for wedding clients.” With seating above the kitchen, The Mezzanine’s guests get a front row view of their meal being prepared. “I feel there’s not really anything like it around,” Ryan said. “It’s introducing the area to the idea of a tasting

6 | Restaurant News

menu. There are places that have done it, but this is going to be exclusively one menu.” Each menu will feature seasonable items produced in the Dufferin County and Caledon areas surrounding Orangeville. The first menu, a 10-course meal served Nov. 5, was created using ingredients from Mulberry Moon Organics and Mount Wolfe Forest Farm, both located in Caledon. “There’s a lot of people working to promote local farms and producers in Dufferin County, and I feel we need to start doing more to put these actions in play,” Ryan said. Opening one day a week within the existing business is an ideal method to share regional flavours. “It’s much more intimate and we don’t necessarily have to pay for the overhead for a 60-seat restaurant and make sure we’re full six days a week to make ends meet,” Ryan said. “We have

the resources here already, and there’s a business model set up to do catering, bring in revenue and make sure the bills are paid.” The Mezzanine will offer various price points for their tasting menus to attract a broad demographic. The first dinner cost $84 per person. “For people looking to spend a night out and have some luxury ingredients, we’ll have high-end dinners,” Ryan said. “For people looking to go out and spend $30 on a three-course dinner, there will be that opportunity as well.” Each dinner is sold as a ticketed event, with the changing tasting menus promoted via social media. “You can go to the theatre, you can go to a movie or you can go to dinner,” Ryan said. “This is an opportunity for people to spend a night out having a food experience rather than a movie or musical experience.”

Adam Ryan


Ontario

STK opens in Canada By Kristen Smith TORONTO — The One Group CEO Jonathan Segal has had his eyes on Toronto for about five years. “It took a long time to get there. Now we’re there and we’re very happy with the space, the location and the way it turned out,” said Segal, noting Canada would have been STK’s first international location if all had gone according to the original plan. When considering where to open the first Canadian outpost of STK, Segal and his team identified three potential areas in Toronto: Yorkville, the downtown core and King West. They decided on a second-floor, 9,000-square-foot space with a large street-level entrance at 153 Yorkville Ave. The One Group created the steakhouse brand a decade ago in New York City’s Meatpacking District. Now there are about a dozen locations in five countries. By the end of the second quarter

of 2017, Segal said there should be 22 STK venues, including the STK Rooftop concept. “STK was really a reinvention of the American steakhouse,” Segal said. “When we looked at the steakhouse business, we realized it was about 80 to 85 per cent men.” Most steakhouses looked the same, had similar menus and offered large portions, he said. “We really wanted to see if we could change the paradigm,” Segal said. “If we could make a steakhouse as much about social dining as an Italian or French bistro or a pub.” The restaurants feature lively bars, a live DJ and a colour palette of cream, black and purple. The menu offers a variety of portion sizes as well as twists on traditional steakhouse items, such as crab salad instead of the crab cakes. “There are a lot of salads, a lot of great lighter dishes. All the steaks

Photo Credit: STK / Ryan Forbes. come in small, medium or large, or extra large for sharing,” Segal said. More than half of the Toronto menu consists of STK staples, while chef Tommy McHugh creates 35 per cent of the dishes, which include a tater tot short rib poutine, local heirloom salad, chopped vegetable salad, grilled Spanish octopus, Mediterranean sea bass and lobster thermador. Some of the signature dishes have been modified to include local ingredients, such as Canadian cheddar for the “lil brg” and mac and cheese. “We’re going through the process of sourcing as many of our products as we can locally. We immediately go

in there and start in business, then we go out and learn who the best people to deal with are so we can bring their stuff in and try,” Segal said. But the beef will be USDA Prime, as it is all STK locations. Segal faced the dilemma of domestic or imported beef when they opened in the United Kingdom. “At first I said I was going to go British beef, but at the very last minute, I stayed true to what we do,” he said. “I will always attempt to buy locally and support local industry, but it [U.S. beef] is part of what we do, not an insult to Canadian beef.

“Canadian beef is equally as good as American beef.” Segal said he knows local beef is important to Canada, which is why the Toronto restaurant will likely introduce guest cuts from Canadian producers, as it did at STK London. Segal said The One Group is interested in opening a second Canadian location in Vancouver and is looking for appropriate real estate. “The first STK was in New York, the second was in Los Angeles” he said. “We went literally across the country. We’ll probably do the same thing here [in Canada].”

Brampton begins building its own culinary tourism strategy BRAMPTON, Ont. — Brampton is looking to its restaurateurs to help boost tourism. The city’s economic development office is working with the Culinary Tourism Alliance to determine how the municipality may use its 800 restaurants to attract tourists. “We saw what we have: a tremendous amount of fantastic restaurants. We saw the quality we have already,” said Sharon Wilcox, the city’s tourism manager. “We need to know how we can capitalize on that.” In late September, 60 stakeholders from the city’s culinary tourism sector gathered for a forum on food tourism. Various members of the city’s foodservice sector attended from restaurants to festival organizers to manufacturers. “We had a tremendous cross section. It was the first opportunity we had to engage the businesses in the culinary side of things,” Wilcox said. “We had a lot of discussion about what Brampton has, what our assets

are already, what our focus should be and the gaps and challenges in the city.” From the meeting, the municipality plans to form an advisory board that will work with the Culinary Tourism Alliance to create a foodcentric tourism plan. The first step, however, is to define Brampton’s taste of place. Wilcox ex-

plained the city is home to regionally specific varieties of cuisine. “We have a lot of small independent restaurants that offer specific cuisine,” she said. “It’s not just Indian cuisine, it’s a certain part of the country. It’s a total variety across the board and very area specific.” While the tourism initiative will

aim to capitalize on its existing assets, it will also look at the notion of creating new festivals or events to promote the city’s culinary experiences. With its current tourism market comprised of visiting family and friends, the initiative will investigate which events Bramptonians would like to see in their city. “You want to get the message out

to the residents first,” Wilcox said. “That market is influential and has spending money coming in to have economic impact in Brampton.” “One of the challenges Brampton faces is its rapid rate of growth. As one of Canada’s fastest growing cities, marketing culinary experiences is difficult. “We’re growing by a small town every year, it’s difficult to get the message out to everybody,” Wilcox said. To assist restaurants, the initiative will help restaurants ready themselves for marketing. “Maybe it’s as simple as their website needs updating, but they’ll have everything,” she said. The Culinary Tourism Alliance is expected to complete its recommendations and strategy for the city by April of 2017. “They’re going to analyze our strengths, opportunities and our threats,” Wilcox said. “They’ll be looking at everything in a fair amount of detail.”

November 2016 | 7



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Experiential growth U-Feast’s membership base increases to 6,000 diners By Kristen Smith TORONTO — Following steady growth over a year and a half, an acquisition has catapulted U-Feast into expansion. The experiential dining company purchased competitor Pass the Table earlier this year. Specializing in off-menu food experiences, U-Feast held its first dinner in Toronto in May 2015. The dining program offers curated events at restaurants during typically off-peak days of the week. “The platform is really an e-commerce marketplace, so we’re tapping into that unused inventory of restaurant capacity, a little bit like Airbnb for food experiences,” said U-Feast chief executive officer Terry Mocherniak. “Our value proposition for the restaurant is: we’re going to come in, we’re going to do an event at your restaurant, we’re going to pay you to be sold out that night and you get a marketing benefit for free,” said Mocherniak, adding restaurants not only get exposure to U-Feast’s members, but also those members’ social media reach. “Consumers, particularly millennial food and drink lovers, are always looking for new life experiences and they are always looking for something unique,” he said. The typical price point for U-Feast events, which include about five courses, beverages and gratuity, is $60. Co-marketing and sponsorships help U-Feast to offer this

price point while food and drink brands are incorporated into the events. “Our platform is an experiential marketing platform that connects brands to consumers and to a lesser extent, connects brands to restaurants. It’s a really synergistic ecosystem between those three stakeholder groups: the consumers, the restaurants and the brands,” Mocherniak said. “We’re a B2C business, but a lot of our revenue is actually generated from B2B through these sponsorship packages. Usually a business is one or the other, you’re either a B2B model or a B2C model. We’re kind of this unique blend of monetizing from both sides.” Through the acquisition, U-Feast added more than 2,000 new users to its member base of about 3,500 people, bringing it to about 6,000. It also added about 125 new eateries to U-Feast’s 30 restaurant partners. In addition, Pass the Table founder Jason Finestone has joined U-Feast as the company’s chief experience officer. By the end of November, Pass the Table’s events — which are typically more frequent and smaller— will be integrated under the U-Feast banner. Next year, the company plans to move into Vancouver, Montreal and Chicago, in that order. “As we enter a market, we’ll hire a dedicated city manager and start growing it from there,” said Mocherniak.

Popeyes targets Alberta for expansion ATLANTA, Ga. — Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is moving into Western Canada with locations opening in Edmonton and Calgary. Serving Louisiana-inspired fried chicken and seafood, the Edmonton location opens in November at 3773 17th St. NW in the Tamarack neighbourhood. The first Calgary Popeyes is slated to open in mid-December in Forest Lawn at 3909 17th Ave. SE. Subsequent Alberta locations are planned for 2017. Entering the Canadian market in 1984, the chicken chain has a presence in Ontario with 108 stores, primarily in the Greater Toronto Area. It moved into Ottawa in 2015 and opened in Windsor, Ont., this year. “We have managed to grow our footprint over time,” said Mitch Langston, director of international marketing for Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. “We’ve been able to grow the brand, develop it and now we’re at the point where we’re certainly continuing to grow in Ontario and franchisees in the province continue to open restaurants, but

1 0 | Restaurant News

obviously we’re trying to grow the footprint.” Langston noted Alberta’s median household income and diverse population were contributing factors when determining which province the brand would target. “We’ve been looking at Alberta for a while; it’s certainly been attractive as the fourth largest province,” he said. “The [population] is about 83 per cent urban, so to the extent that we can enter into the principal urban areas and market our brand with some efficiencies makes a lot of sense,” Langston added. “We’ve just been working on finding the right partners.” Multi-unit franchisees, one in Edmonton and another in Calgary, are opening the Alberta stores. “The expectation and certainly the commitment from the franchisees is to continue to expand and grow the brand in Alberta,” said Langston. “We’re looking at other provinces as well from a growth perspective.”


A T L A N T I C Vol. 18 | No. 4

Restaurants unite at Eliot & Vine By Bill Tremblay HALIFAX — Restaurateurs in West End Halifax are working together to establish their neighbourhood as a culinary destination. A few months after Johanna Eliot opened Eliot & Vine, at 2305 Clifton St., her chef left for another venture, taking staff members with him. Chef Ray Bear, who owns Studio East next door to Eliot & Vine, wanted to ensure his neighbour was successful, and offered to help fill the gap left in the kitchen. “When we needed somebody to step into our kitchen briefly, he did,” Eliot said. “He came in and cooked for a few nights, while we put ads out looking for kitchen staff.” Bear also helped Eliot review resumes submitted for the kitchen positions advertised. “A lot of people wouldn’t do that, but I think there’s lots of people that would,” Eliot said. “He’s just that kind of guy, like I’m that kind of gal. I would help him out if he needed it as well.” Eliot explained the location of their two restaurants, as well as several other foodservice establishments in the area, means restaurateurs have to work together to draw customers to the neighbourhood.

“We’re really trying to build a food community in this part of Halifax. We’re not right in the downtown core,” Eliot said. “It’s sort of building a neighbourhood centre for good food and wine.” For the chef position, Eliot recruited Lachlan Culjak, a Halifax native who has worked in numerous fine dining restaurants including: Nota Bene and the former Splendido in Toronto; Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark; Mayer’s Restaurant auf Schloss Prielau, a two-Michelin Star restaurant in Zell am See, Austria; and most recently he worked as development chef at Nur in Hong Kong, helping the restaurant earn its first Michelin star. Eliot & Vine serves modern European food in an upscale, but casual environment. “It’s a little bit about my tastes, I lived in Europe for many years,” Eliot said. “I love the style and the way people eat in Europe. It’s more slow and family oriented. I just love that vibe and all the flavours.” The 60-seat restaurant features a long bar, main dining room, chef ’s table and second dining area nicknamed The Frolic Room, a tribute to a Hollywood lounge with the same moniker. Dinner checks average about $50 per person. While the restaurant is Eliot’s first foodservice venture, her television production company

Eliot & Vine’s new chef, Lachlan Culjak. Ocean Entertainment has created more than 500 hours of Food Network television. “I’ve been around food and recipes a long time. I’ve worked with many chefs and I’m used to working with people who know how to cook,” Eliot said. Today, the restaurants in West End Halifax continue to assist each other in ensuring their

businesses thrive, from sharing staff and ingredients to bouncing ideas of one another. “We shout out about one another through advertising and social media. We celebrate each others’ successes,” Eliot said. “It’s a great relationship and it’s great for the neighbourhood. The food only gets better with that kind of love and attention.”

Regional Gold Medal Plates heats wrap up in Atlantic Canada Ruth Wigman and Mark Gray will represent the Atlantic Provinces at the Canadian Culinary Champions in Kelowna, B.C., next year. The regional heats were held in October in Halifax and St. John’s. Wigman, of Oppidan in the Sheraton St. John’s, took home gold at the St. John’s competition on Oct. 21 with her dish of crisp seasoned chicken feet, sichuan-style glazed dumplings, charred scallion puree, crustacean reduction and mixed pickle. Shaun Hussey of Chinched was awarded silver and Chris Chafe of The Gypsy Tea Room/ evoo in the Courtyard was awarded the bronze medal. In Halifax, Gray, from Battery Park Beer Bar & Eatery and Brooklyn Warehouse, earned gold on Oct. 27. He prepared a local Berkshire pig fed on goat whey three ways. It was paired with a cocktail made with Ironworks Gin, a distillery in Lunenburg, N.S. Louis Clavel earned the silver medal and Ardon Mofford was awarded bronze.

Mark Gray’s winning dish. While regional competitions continue across the country throughout November, the two Atlantic Canada chefs, Wigman and Gray, have secured their spot in the final competition Feb. 3-4. Since its inception, Gold Medal Plates has raised more than $11 million for Canadian athletes.

From left: Shaun Hussey, Ruth Wigman and Chris Chafe.


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Convention Centre foodservice team readies for guests By Kristen Smith HALIFAX — When the Halifax Convention Centre opens in 2017, the foodservice team could serve as many as 3,500 seated guests at full capacity. The fifth-floor ballroom can seat up to 2,000 guests for plated meals and the convention hall has capacity for 1,500 seated guests. An anchor tenant of the Nova Centre, the five-storey convention centre has dealt with a number of delays. Excavation of the site started in 2012 with the expectation it would be ready in January 2016. The completion date was extended to Sept. 30, then March 2017, but the opening has been delayed again. At press time, a new completion date hadn’t been confirmed and the centre was working to relocate events planned for April. When the new facility does open, the foodservice team will be ready. Director of food and beverage Greg Smith and executive chef Christophe Luzeux have worked together at the World Trade and Convention Centre for two decades. “Christophe and I have worked together for a long time. Between the two of us, we have more than 80 years of industry experience, so I hope that’s coming through when we’re doing

our planning,” said Smith, who has been in the food and hospitality business for about 40 years and at the trade centre since 1995. A France native, Luzeux joined the convention centre in 1989. Before coming to Halifax, he completed his culinary education and worked in his home country, including some Michelin-starred restaurants in Northern France. “I started travelling the world; I wanted to do the world tour, like most of the chefs like to do sometimes. My first stop was in Nova Scotia and I’ve been here for 25 years,” Luzeux said. He took a commis position at the convention centre and worked his way to executive chef, a position he has held since 1993. Smith said there is a diverse team in the kitchen, including executive sous chef Pierre Gaudet, who is from New Brunswick and brings an Acadian influence to the team, as well as cooks and chefs from places such as Sri Lanka and Korea. “We want to make sure that when people come to Halifax, they get that local experience as well,” Smith said. “That all factored into our new menu. It definitely has some Mediterranean and European influences, but it also has local fare — we even have donairs.”

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The food and beverage team researched convention centre trends and talked to meeting planners to ensure the new menu fit with their needs. “We wanted to make it as easy on the meeting planner as possible,” said Smith. They discovered a desire for grab-and-go options and market-style food stations. “They still exist, but the days of those formal sit-down dinners with everybody sitting with the same 10 people for three days are kind of gone,” said Smith. “They [delegates] want to network, they want to talk to each other, and so you’ll see more grab-and-go style.” In the kitchen, Luzeux and his team are focused on from-scratch cooking and sourcing what they can from local suppliers. “We just changed the breakfast sausages to a local supplier, because we find the flavour is much better. It was not a question of cost, it’s a question of flavours,” Luzeux said. “We want to make sure we provide our guests with the best quality of product we can get and really reflect what’s local and available.” With the volume expected at the new convention centre — as many as 3,500 at one time — Luzeux said they aren’t able to source everything locally, but perhaps they will be able to down the road.

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“As part of our strategy, we’re also engaging the local providers and seeing what they can provide. So we based the menu on what we knew we could get,” Smith added. This extends to the beverage list as well, which includes Propeller Brewery’s craft sodas, a selection of Nova Scotia wines and some local beer, which Smith said he is working to expand. With about 50 people on the food and beverage team, plans call for hiring more staff when operations move to the new Halifax Convention Centre. “When we get up and going at full production, we’re going to need that doubled — that’s our goal,” Smith said. At the trade centre, Luzeux and his kitchen brigade cook for groups as large as 2,500 guests. When they move into the new state-of-theart production kitchen, Luzeux has full confidence in his team’s ability to adjust to the extra capacity. “The crew we have in the kitchen, a lot of them have been with me from the beginning,” he said. “We have a lot of understanding of how

things are going to flow and how many staff we need — it’s amazing to see how fast we can deliver a dinner at night with the crew we have.”

The Canteen gets new digs DARTMOUTH, N.S. — At the current location of The Canteen, above Two If By Sea Café, staff get creative to replicate common kitchen equipment often taken for granted, such as a gas stove. “I’ve got an amazing team and I know they’re all super-excited to get in there and meet a new challenge and be able to really cook in a kitchen, because right now we’re in a tiny space with induction burners,” said chef/owner Renée Lavallée. “I think we do really well with what we’ve got, but to get into an actual kitchen is going to be really amazing for us.” The new kitchen is admittedly still small, but will have a gas stove, flat top, grill, salamander and a walk-in fridge. In October, Lavallée announced the sandwich shop was moving from Ochterloney Street to 22 Portland St., into the former home of the Sun Sun Café. The Canteen is expanding in size from 25 to 55 seats in the 1,800-square-foot space as well as adding dinner and brunch to the menu. She envisions a neighbourhood establishment, not a special occasion restaurant.

“You’re going to feel like you’re in someone’s home,” Lavallée said. “I want it to be as seasonal and local as we can. Keep it so it’s simple enough for everyone … just some really solid comfort food, done really well.” Menu plans call for dishes such as seafood chowder, roasted heirloom carrot salad, fried chicken sandwich, steak frites, house-made sausage pappardelle and salted caramel tart. When Lavallée opened The Canteen in March 2014, she didn’t have plans for expansion. “It was never part of the bigger picture. My lease was coming up in the New Year, in 2017, and we realized we were getting busier and busier,” she said. Lavallée’s friend, Elliot MacNeil of Bruno Builders Inc., purchased the Portland Street property and is renovating the building for both retail and residential space. Local design firm By + Large Studios will be behind the new Canteen’s décor. A $30,000 crowdfunding campaign reached its target in four days. The stretch goal of $50,000 was surpassed by another $15,000 for

Local design firm By + Large Studios will be behind The Canteen’s new décor. a total of more than $65,000, with contributions coming from 484 backers in exchange for rewards ranging from T-shirts to private parties. “We set what we thought would be a reasonable goal over three weeks; we did not expect this at all,” said Lavallée. “The community support has been overwhelming; it’s been amazing.”

Construction is slated to begin in November and take six to eight weeks, with the move scheduled for January. “We’d love to seamlessly move everything over from our current location into the new location and not have to be closed for more than a day or two, or not close at all, if that could work,” Lavallée said.

November 2016 | 1 3


2017

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Distributor: Equipment Arctic Refrigeration and Equipment Atlantic Systems Distribtion Inc. B & B Sales Limited Hamilton Agencies LRS Paging Canada Mack Restaurant Equipment & Supplies Magnuson Industries, Inc. Rabco Food Service Limited Summertime Restaurant Equipment Ltd.

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MVP Group, formerly Canadist International Permul Limited Pitco Frialator Inc. Star Manufacturing International Inc. The Middleby Corporation Wood Stone Corporation

Ice Machines, Cubers, Ice Storage Bunn-O-Matic Corpora tion of Canada Hoshizaki America Inc. Ice-O-Matic/Mile High Equipment Co. Ltd. IMI Cornelius Inc. Kold-Draft Manitowoc Ice Inc. Permul Limited Scotsman Ice Systems USA TFI Food Equipment Solutions Inc.

Induction Cooking CookTek Globe Hotelware Agency Inc. KBC Specialty Products Inc. Regal Ware Inc. Vollrath Company L.L.C.

Kettles: Steam & Electric Accutemp Products Inc. JustSteph Sales Inc. Merco Products, division of Manitowoc The Middleby Corporation Tomlinson Industries

Knives, Knife Sharpening Bettcher Industries Inc. Canada Cutlery Inc. Dexter-Russell, Inc. IVO Cutlery Canada Ltd.

Dispensers (Non-Beverage) Chef Specialties Dante Group International Ltd. Ecolab Kruger Products San Jamar Foodservice Serve-Canada Food Equipment Ltd. Server Products Tork Hygiene Products, a division of SCA

Dispensing Equipment (Beverage) BBC Sales & Service Ltd. Berg Liquor Controls Bunn-O-Matic Corportion of Canada Chef Special ties Hoshizaki America Inc. IMI Cornelius Inc. Magnuson Industries, Inc. Pepsi Beverages Canada Regal Ware Inc. Saeco, division of Philips Canada

November 2016 | 1 5


2017

ATLANTIC Buyers’ Directory Victorinox Switzerland Zwilling J.A. Henckels Canada Ltd.

Laundry Equipment, Supplies Chandler Sales, a JD Irving Company Coinamatic Commercial Laundry Inc Ecolab Miele Limited Milnor Laundry Systems Whirlpool Canada

Manufacturers Agents Arnott Distributors Inc. B & K Agency Bum Contract Furniture Chesher Equipment Ltd. Copperfield Agencies Ltd. Flanagan Agencies Fort Marketing Ltd. KGB Marketing Inc. Milneco Permul Limited Taylor Agencies Total Tabletop Plus Inc Unisync Group W.D. Colledge Co. Ltd.

Microwave Ovens Amana Commercial Products. a Division of Whirlpool MVP Group, formerly Canadist International Panasonic Canada Inc. Permul Limited Serve-Canada Food Equipment Ltd. Sharp Electronics of Canada

Ovens: Bakery & Combi Brute - The Diamond Group Doyon Equipment Inc., A Middleby Company Earthstone Wood/Gas Fire Ovens Eurodib Henny Penny Corpora tion Igloo Food Equipment Ltd. Ice-O-Matic/Mile High Equipment Co. Ltd. IMI Cornelius Inc. Kold-Draft Manitowoc Ice Inc. Permul Limited Scotsman Ice Systems USA TFI Food Equipment Solutions Inc.

Pasta Making Equipment, Products Bluebird Mfg. Crown Custom Metal Spinning Inc. Faema Canada

Patio Equipment, Heaters

Calcana Industries Ltd IR Energy Inc. Patron Products Inc. Schwank Ltd.

Pizza Equipment, Products Alfa Cappuccino Imports Inc. American Metalcraft Inc. APW Wyott, a Standex Company Bakers Pride Oven Company, a Standex Co Bluebird Mfg Brute Kitchen Equipment Inc., The Diamond Group Crown Custom Metal Spinning Inc. CTX, A Middleby Com pany Distex M & M Inc. Euro-Milan Distributing Faema Canada Garland Canada, a division of Manitowoc Hatco Corporation Lockwood Manufacturing Company Merco Products Moretti Ovens Canada PanSaver Ovenable Pan Liners Robot Coupe Serve-Canada Food Equipment Ltd. The Middleby Corporation Thunderbird Food Machinery Inc. Tomlinson Industries Wood Stone Corporation

Plasticware (Disposable) Berry Plastics Cowling and Braithwaite Co. Ltd G.E.T. Enterprises Inc. Georgia Pacific Canada Consumer Products Harco Enterprises Ltd. Orbis Corporation, formerly Norseman Plastics Pactiv Canada Inc. Polar Pak Reynolds Food Packag ing Canada Inc. Solo Cup Canada, a division of Dart Stir Sticks & Picks International Inc. Tiimports Ltd. Total Tabletop Plus Inc Unisource Canada Inc.

POS Systems AM/PM Service Ltd. Atlantic Hospitality and Technologies Ltd. Casio Canada Ltd. Caterease Software/Horizon Business Services CLS Info Compatible Computer Services Givex

News 1 6 | |Restaurant Atlantic Restaurant News

InnSource Solutions Inc. Justin eTraining

Maitre'D by Posera

2020 Robert-Bourrassa, Suite 1900 Montreal, QC H3A 2A5 Tel: 888-404-2662 Fax: 514-499-9951 www.maitredpos.com sales@posera.com

Menu Tools Inc. Micros Systems Inc., an Oracle Company NCR Radiant Systems Panasonic Canada Inc. Pineapple Bytes PixelPoint POS Canada Profitek P.O.S. Solutions Sharp Electronics of Canada Squirrel Systems Sweda Canada Inc. Technic POS Toshiba TEC Canada Inc. Touch Bistro Visual Information Prod ucts Vivonet Inc.

Pots, Pans Bethco Agencies Limited Bluebird Mfg Browne + Co. Crown Custom Metal Spinning Inc. Padinox Inc. Regal Ware Inc. Vollrath Company L.L.C. Zwilling J.A. Henckels Canada Ltd.

Racks & Storage Brute Kitchen Equipment Inc., The Diamond Group Cres Cor Crown Custom Metal Spinning Inc. Ecolab Julien Commercial Kitchen Solutions - QC Market Forge Industries Inc. Metropolitan Wire (Canada) Ltd.

Ranges, Broilers & Rotisseries American Range Bakers Pride Oven Company, a Standex Co Blodgett Oven Company Cleveland Range c/o Garland Commercial Ranges Distex M & M Inc. Garland Canada, a division of Manitowoc GBS Foodservice Equipment Hardt Equipment Manufacturing Igloo Food Equipment Ltd. Kendale Products Ltd.

M.K.E. Industries NU-VU Food Service Systems, a Middleby Company Permul Limited Pitco Frialator Inc. Rational Canada Inc. Southern Pride Distributing LLC TFI Food Equipment Solutions Inc. The Middleby Corporation Toastmaster, A Middleby Company Vollrath Company L.L.C. Wood Stone Corporation

Refrigeration Equipment, Service & Hardware APW Wyott, a Standex Company Beverage-Air Built Rite Solutions Canadian Curtis Refrigeration Inc Carlisle Foodservice Products Cooper-Atkins Corporation Distex M & M Inc. HABCO Hoshizaki America Inc. IFI Refrigeration Kason Industries M.K.E. Industries Master-Bilt, a Standex International Company Norbec Systems Inc. Nor-Lake Inc., a division of Standex Silver King Tarrison Products Ltd. True Food Service Equip ment

Restroom Equipment, Supplies Avmor Ltd. / Kleen Canada Bay West Paper (Wausau Paper) Canadian Linen and Uniform Service Capital Paper Products Carlisle Foodservice Products Cascades Tissue Group Chandler Sales, a JD Irving Company Deb Canada Diversey Care, a Division of Sealed Air Ecolab Georgia Pacific Canada Consumer Products KBC Specialty Products Kruger Products Procter & Gamble Professional Rubbermaid Canada Commercial Products San Jamar Foodservice Tork Hygiene Products, a Division of SCA

Scales Browne + Co.

Ecolab Gemsys Money Han dling Systems Globe Food Equipment Co. JustSteph Sales Inc. Kilotech POS Canada Toshiba TEC Canada Inc.

Slicers Berkel Company, a Division of ITW Food Equipment Bizerba Canada Inc. Canada Cutlery Inc. Edlund Company Globe Food Equipment Co. Robot Coupe Vollrath Company L.L.C.

Thermometers Bios Professional / Ther mor Ltd. Cooper-Atkins Corpora tion DayMark Safety Systems Ecolab

Toasters Belleco, Inc. Hamilton Beach Brands Hatco Corporation JustSteph Sales Inc. Merco Products, division of Manitowoc Star Manufacturing International Inc. The Middleby Corporation

Trays Cambro Manufacturing Company Carlisle Foodservice Products Cima-Pak Corp G.E.T. Enterprises Inc. Johnson-Rose Inc. Mfg Tray Co Orbis Corporation, for merly Norseman Plastics Pactiv Canada Inc. Polar Pak Rubbermaid Canada Commercial Products

Carter-Hoffmann CookTek FWE - Food Warming Equipment Co. Inc. GBS Foodservice Equip ment Kendale Products Ltd. Metropolitan Wire (Canada) Ltd.

Food

Appetizers, Hors d’Oeuvres

Cheese & Cheese Products

BontÉ Foods Limited

615 Champlain St. Dieppe, NB E1A 7Z7 Tel: 506-857-0025 1-888-859-7222 Fax: 506-859-6905 www.bonte.ca moncton@bonte.ca

Expresco Foods Grand River Foods

IFC Seafood Janes Family Foods Ltd. King and Prince Seafood Kontos Foods Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. McCain Foods Canada Olymel/Galco Reuven International Selkirk Foods Willowfield Enterprises Ltd.

Bakery Products Ardent Mills Backerhaus Veit Ltd. BakeMark Ingredients Canada Ltd. (AFD)

Utensils - Kitchen & Cooling Bios Professional / Ther mor Ltd. Bluebird Mfg Cameron Restaurant Equipment Ltd. Canada Cutlery Inc. Chef Specialties G.E.T. Enterprises Inc. IVO Cutlery Canada Ltd. Johnson-Rose Inc. Thunder Group Inc. Trudeau Corporation Zwilling J.A. Henckels Canada Ltd.

Warming & Holding Equipment Alto-Shaam Canada Inc.

P & H Milling Group Pfalzgraf Patisserie PreGel CANADA Puratos Canada Inc. Rich’s Products of Canada Saputo Foods Ltd. (Dairy world Foods) Sara Lee Foodservice Ltd. Sarsfield Foods Limited, Division of Westons The Original Cakerie Ltd. Tradition Fine Foods Ltd. Tree of Life Canada ULG, a KeHe Company Weston Foodservice Ltd.

Canada Bread Company, division of Grupo Bimbo Dealers Ingredients Inc. Dolphin/Village English Bay Batter Inc. Fancy Pokket Corp. General Mills Canada Corporation Kontos Foods La Danoiserie McCormick Canada Oakrun Farm Bakery Ltd. Otis Spunkmeyer Canada Ltd, division of Aryzta

Agropur, Cheese and Ingredients Division Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL)

Blancs d’Arcadie Blue Harbour Cheese Chicago 58 Food Products Limited Dealers Ingredients Inc. Finica Food Specialties, a Gellert Global Co Fox Hill Cheese Glasgow Glen Farm Holmestead Cheese Sales Inc. Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Parmalat Canada Ran-Cher Acres Salerno Dairy Products Limited Saputo Tree of Life Canada ULG, a KeHe Company

Cookies & Confectionery Dare Foods Limited Food Service Division Rich’s Products of Canada

Condiments Derlea Brand Foods E.D. Smith & Sons Ltd., division of Treehouse Foods JFC International (Canada) Inc. Kikkoman Sales USA, Inc. McCormick Canada McIlhenny Company Olive-it Canada Reckitt Benckiser Canada inc. Select Food Products Ltd. Smucker Foods of Canada Strubs, division of Whyte’s The Kraft Heinz Company


2017

ATLANTIC Buyers’ Directory Unilever Food Solutions

Dairy Products Dairytown Products Ltd. Dealers Ingredients Inc. Elco Fine Foods Inc. Farmers Cooperative Dairy, a division of Agropur Gay Lea Foodservice Kozy Shack Enterprises Natrel, a division of Agropur Parmalat Canada Saputo Foods Ltd. (Dairy world Foods) Scotsburn Dairy Group, a Saputo Company

Deli Meats Expresco Foods Heidelberg Foods Ltd. Olymel/Galco Sofina Foods Springer’s Meats Inc. Tyson Foods, Inc.

Desserts & Dessert Products Berthelet Food Products Euro-Milan Distributing Faema Canada Gumpert’s Martin Desserts McCain Foods Canada Pfalzgraf Patisserie PreGel CANADA Sara Lee Foodservice Ltd. The Elia’s Cheesecake Company W.T. Lynch Foods Limited

Distributors Food Amalgamated Dairies Limited (ADL) Atlantic Grocery Distributors, a GFS Company Better Food Concepts Capital Foodservice Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. (AFD) BakeMark Ingredients Canada Ltd. (AFD) Canada Bread Company, division of Grupo Bimbo Dealers Ingredients Inc. Dolphin/Village English Bay Batter Inc. Fancy Pokket Corp. General Mills Canada Corporation Kontos Foods La Danoiserie McCormick Canada Oakrun Farm Bakery Ltd. Otis Spunkmeyer Canada Ltd, division of Aryzta P & H Milling Group Pfalzgraf Patisserie PreGel CANADA Puratos Canada Inc. Rich’s Products of Canada Saputo Foods Ltd. (Dairy world Foods) Sara Lee Foodservice Ltd.

Sarsfield Foods Limited, Division of Westons The Original Cakerie Ltd. Tradition Fine Foods Ltd. Tree of Life Canada ULG, a KeHe Company Weston Foodservice Ltd.

Eggs, Egg Products Burnbrae Farms Ltd. Cargill Kitchen Solutions

EggSolutions 283 Horner Ave. Etobicoke, ON M8Z 4Y4 Tel: 1-866-Eggs-4-You Email: info@eggsolutions.com www.eggsolutions.com

MFI Food Canada, a Michael Food subsidiary Nova Scotia Egg Producers

Entrees Expresco Foods Heritage Frozen Foods Ltd. Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Les Plats du Chef (Thyme & Truffles) Meat & Livestock Australia Nestle Professional Pintys Delicious Foods TMF - The Meat Factory

Ethnic Foods / Kosher Backerhaus Veit Ltd. Bonte Foods Limited Burke Corporation ConAgra Foods Canada Inc. Elco Fine Foods Inc. Finica Food Specialties, a Gellert Global Co Grecian Delight Heritage Frozen Foods Ltd. Italpasta Ltd. JFC International (Canada) Inc. Kontos Foods McCormick Canada Meaty Meats Inc. Mission Foods Mr. Donair, a division of Tony’s Meats Ozawa Canada Inc. Patak’s Foods Limited Pintys Delicious Foods Queens Pasta Sonora Foods Weston Foodservice Ltd. Wing’s Food Product Wong Wing Foods, division of McCain Foods

Fish, Seafood & Shellfish Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar

A.C. Covert Distributors Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Alliance Seafood Aqua Star Canada Inc. Atlantic Aqua Farms Inc. Azuma Foods (Canada) Co Ltd Clearwater Seafoods Comeau Sea Foods Confederation Cove Mussel Co. Ltd. Cooke Aquaculture Export Packers Company Limited Fisherman’s Market International Inc. Future Seafoods Goldwater Seafood Grand River Foods High Liner Foods Inc. IFC Seafood Janes Family Foods Ltd. King and Prince Seafood Ocean Brands Oceanfood Sales Ltd. P.E.I. Mussel King Inc. Prince Edward Aqua Farms Royal Star Foods Sea Watch International Shafer Haggart Ltd. Sustainable Blue Tangier Lobster Company Trident Seafoods Corp. True North Salmon Co. Willowfield Enterprises

Food Broker Advantage Amca Sales & Marketing Aliments AGG Foods C.W. Shasky & Associates Ltd. Concord National Inc. Dartmouth Focus Food Brokers Freeman Signature International Pacific Sales Ltd. PJB - Primeline Ronahan Food Brokers Limited Rosemount Sales & Marketing Target Food Brokers Tree of Life Canada ULG, a KeHe Company Trimark Sales & Marketing TTS Marketing Uniidirect Sales & Marketing

French Fries Cavendish Farms Lamb Weston Canada, a division of ConAgra McCain Foods Canada Simplot Foods

Fruits - General A. Lassonde Inc. Alasko IPS Frozen Foods Inc. Dole Packaged Foods Norpac Food Sales Shafer Haggart Ltd. Sun Rich Fresh Foods

Inc. Sunkist Growers The California Cling Peach Board

Healthcare, Gulten Free, Allergy Aliments ED Foods Inc. EggSolutions Inc. Hain Celestial Canada Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Meaty Meats Inc. MFI Food Canada, a Michael Food subsidiary Nestle Professional Parmalat Canada Piller’s Fine Foods Pintys Delicious Foods Reuven International Shafer Haggart Ltd. Summer Fresh Salads W.T. Lynch Foods Limited

Meats AdvancePierre Foods Bonte Foods Limited Burke Corporation Cardinal Meat Specialists Ltd. Cargill Kitchen Solutions Chicago 58 Food Products Limited Export Packers Company Limited Expresco Foods Finica Food Specialties, a Gellert Global Co. Grand River Foods Hormel Foods International Corporation Jadee Meat Products Lesters Foods Limited Maple Leaf Foodservice Meat & Livestock Australia Meaty Meats Inc. Montpak International New Zealand Lamb Co. Olymel/Galco Piller’s Fine Foods Sara Lee Foodservice Ltd. Sofina Foods The Bruss Company, a Tyson Foods Division The Lamb Company TMF - The Meat Factory Tony’s Meats Tyson Foods, Inc. VIAU Foods Inc.

Oils, Fats, Shortenings ACH Food Companies Bunge (Canada) CanolaInfo ConAgra Foods Canada Inc. Dealers Ingredients Inc. Hubberts Industries Richardson Oilseed Limited Smucker Foods of Canada

Organic, Natural Foods Gerhards Importers Canada Ltd.

Italpasta Ltd. Meat & Livestock Australia Monaghan Mushrooms Sol Cuisine Strubs, division of Whyte’s

Pasta, Noodles Italpasta Ltd. Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Nestle Professional Olivieri Foods, a Division of Catelli Queens Pasta

Pizza, Pizza Products Ardent Mills Backerhaus Veit Ltd. Bonte Foods Limited Burke Corporation Chase Global Foods Ltd. ConAgra Foods Canada Inc. Earthstone Wood/Gas Fire Ovens Hormel Foods International Corporation Jadee Meat Products Kontos Foods McCain Foods Canada McCormick Canada Nestle Professional Olive-it Canada Olymel/Galco P & H Milling Group Parmalat Canada Queens Pasta Rich’s Products of Canada Rich’s Products of Canada Salerno Dairy Products Limited Saputo Foods Ltd. (Dairy world Foods) Springer’s Meats Inc. The Kraft Heinz Company Tyson Foods, Inc. VIAU Foods Inc.

Burke Corporation Exceldor Foods, aka But terball Canada Export Packers Company Limited Expresco Foods Grand River Foods Janes Family Foods Ltd. JD Sweid, formerly Elmira Poultry Inc. King Cole Ducks Ltd. La Brochette Maple Leaf Foodservice Maple Lodge Farms Nikolaos Fine Foods Ltd Olymel/Galco Piller’s Fine Foods Pintys Delicious Foods Reuven International Simplot Foods Sofina Foods Tyson Foods, Inc.

Rice Dainty, Les Aliments Dainty Foods MARS Canada Shafer Haggart Ltd.

Salad Dressings Dr. Oetker Canada Ltd. E.D. Smith & Sons Ltd., division of Treehouse Foods Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Select Food Products Ltd. Unilever Foodsolutions

Sauces, Base

Aliments ED FOODS

6200 Trans-Canada Pointe-Claire, QC H9R 1B9 Tel: 1-800-267-3333 Fax: 514-695-0281 www.ed.ca edinfo@ed.ca

Portion Packs McIlhenny Company Smucker Foods of Canada Sun Rich Fresh Foods Inc. The Kraft Heinz Company W.T. Lynch Foods Limited Wing’s Foods of Alberta Ltd.

Potatoes, Potato Products Basic American Foods Cavendish Farms Heritage Frozen Foods Ltd. Lamb Weston Canada, a division of ConAgra McCain Foods Canada Potatoes New Brunswick Reser’s Fine Foods

Poultry AdvancePierre Foods

Berthelet Food Products Campbell’s Foodservice Catelli Foods Canada Corporation E.D. Smith & Sons Ltd., division of Treehouse Foods Earth’s Own Food Company Gerhards Importers Canada Ltd. JC Creative Foods Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Neil Jones Food Company Nestle Profesional Olivieri Foods, a division of Catelli Select Food Products Ltd. The Kraft Heinz Company Torani Italian Syrups Unilever Food solutions W.T. Lynch Foods Limited

Wing’s Foods of Alberta

Seasonings, Spices, Herbs ACH Food Companies Inc. Aliments ED Foods Inc. Berthelet Food Products Chef Specialties Club House, a division of McCormick Canada Derlea Brand Foods Kerry Ingredients & Flavours Malabar Super Spice

McIlhenny Company

Snacks, Snack Foods Backerhaus Veit Ltd. Diamond Foods / California Walnuts J&J Snack Foods Corp. Johnvince Foods Distribution Kellogg Canada Inc. MARS Canada Pepsi Foods Canada Piller’s Fine Foods Sara Lee Foodservice Ltd. Trophy Foods Inc.

Soups Aliments ED Foods Inc. Berthelet Food Products Bonte Foods Limited Campbell’s Foodservice Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Neil Jones Food Company Nestle Professional Norpac Food Sales Sea Watch International The Kraft Heinz Company Unilever Foodsolutions

Tomatoes, Tomato Products California Tomato Grow ers ConAgra Foods Canada E.D. Smith & Sons Ltd., division of Treehouse Foods Italpasta Ltd. Les Aliments O’Sole Mio Inc. Neil Jones Food Company Stanislaus Food Proucts The Kraft Heinz Company

Toppings (Whipped) Bunge (Canada) Gay Lea Foodservice Parmalat Canada Rich’s Products of

November 2016 | 1 7


2017

ATLANTIC Buyers’ Directory

Canada

Vegetables Alasko IPS Frozen Foods Inc. Arctic Gardens, a Bonduelle Company Bonduelle Americas Canadian Produce Marketing Association Cavendish Farms Fresh USA (CA & FL) Tomatoes Gielow Pickles Hain Celestial Canada I-D Foods Corporation Monaghan Mushrooms Norpac Food Sales Ponderosa Mushrooms Shafer Haggart Ltd. Summer Fresh Salads The Kraft Heinz Company

Yogurt Danone Inc. Dr. Smoothie Brands Gay Lea Foodservice Natrel, a Division of Agropur Parmalat Canada

PreGel CANADA Ultima Foods Yogen Fruz Yoplait, division of Gen eral Mills

Services Associations Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Baking Association of Canada Canadian Beef Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals (CAFP) Canadian Beverage Association Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC) Canadian Health Food Association Canadian Hospitality Foundation Canadian Produce Marketing Association CanolaInfo Coffee Association of Canada

Dairy Farmers of Canada Food and Consumer Products of Canada Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador National Sunflower Association of Canada Potatoes New Brunswick Pulse Canada Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Restaurants Canada Taste of Nova Scotia Tea Association of Canada Tourism Industry Associa tion of New Brunswick Tourism Industry Associa tion of Nova Scotia Tourism Industry Asso ciation of Prince Edward Island Wild Blueberry Association of North America

ALWAYS

STYLISH & TRENDY @ChefWorksCAN

@ChefWorksCanada

@ChefWorksCanada

BACK OF HOUSE • WAITSTAFF • COATS SHIRTS • PANTS • APRONS • HEADWEAR

1.888.640.2433 | www.chefworks.ca orders@chefworks.ca

News 1 8 | |Restaurant Atlantic Restaurant News

Buying Group AFD Marketing Group ESI ITWAL Ltd. Sodexo Ontrak Purchasing Services Unipco

Consultants: Management, Marketing, Training adHOME Creative Alain Bosse Consulting Allercom Allergy Consult ing, Inc. Barmetrix Brick and Mobile Enbridge Gas New Brunswick Justin eTraining Marsh Canada Menu Tools Inc. The Fifteen Group TrainCan Inc.

Credit Cards American Express Diners Club Canada, division of BMO Direct Cash ATM Discover Card

Global Payments Canada GP MasterCard Moneris Solutions POS Canada TD Visa VISA Canada

Disposable & Paper Products Annemar Apparel, for merly Canawipe Distributors Ltd. Polar Pak Tork Hygiene Products, a Division of SCA

Entertainment Equipment, Services Action Bulk Vending Bell TV NTN Buzztime Canada, Inc. Panasonic Canada Inc. PC Music Sound Products Limited The Playdium Store

Equipment Parts, Service Bell Canada, Equipment Division

Garbage Disposal Clean River, division of Midpoint International Inc In-Sink-Erator (Emerson Electric) Rothsay, a Division of Darling Ingredients Waste Management of Canada Corp.

Linen Services Canadian Linen and Uniform Service

Pest Control Abell Pest Control Inc. Ecolab HD Supply Facilities Maintenance Orkin Canada Inc

Check out the Buyers’ Guide at restaurant buyersguide. ca. Company listings can be added and revised online or emailed to Peter Elliott: pelliott@canadianrestaurantnews.com.


Canada

Airbnb photos.

Taco Bell hosts Airbnb SteakCation CHATHAM, Ont. — A Chatham, Ont. Taco Bell was transformed into an Airbnb for a single night in an effort to promote its new menu item, the Steak Doubledilla. The ‘SteakCation’ contest, launched in October alongside the release of the Steak Doubledilla, invited fans of the quick service brand to enter via an Airbnb listing. The contest received about 2,500 entries. Toronto resident Jennifer Chow won the contest, which allowed her to invite three friends to stay in the restaurant’s dining room on Oct. 17. The location was outfitted with two sets of bunk beds, chairs and a big screen television. Throughout the night, a Taco Bell butler was on hand to ensure the four guests had whatever they may need. The Steak Doubledilla is a revamped quesadilla featuring twice the portion of steak with creamy jalapeño sauce and three-cheese blend. “Staycations are a growing trend because they make the familiar exciting again,” said Veronica Castillo, head of marketing and R&D for Taco Bell Canada. “Just like a staycation, the Steak Doubledilla invites customers to rediscover the classic flavour of the quesadilla.”

Culinary skills don’t translate to success, says chef Continued from cover To attract local clientele, Le Baratin opens at 8 a.m. as a café and offers a lunch menu averaging about $12 per person, and a dinner menu with entrees priced below $25 as well as a three-course fixed price menu for $20. To keep ingredient costs low, Le Baratin is using economical proteins, elevated by traditional French methods of cooking. Their stock, for example, requires up to 72 hours of reduction before it is served. “We can’t serve Kobe beef or prime rib; we use flank steak. Flank is not the most expensive, but to make it great, we have the stock,” Vernhes said. For Raynaud, Le Baratin is his first venture as a restaurant owner. “It is a really good feeling. It is a lot of work to go into business, but definitely no regrets,” he said. He added owning a restaurant in Canada’s largest city requires matching his culinary skills with marketing, and learning to plate his dishes so they are social media friendly. “You have to. It’s business. You have to play the game, but you don’t want to compromise the quality,” said Raynaud. “Here you can be a good chef, but it doesn’t mean you will do well. It’s really competitive.”

November 2016 | 1 9


Use tech to better your business By Bill Tremblay

A

s new technologies are introduced to the public at an ever-increasing rate, restaurants aren’t left out of the fold. Tech developers, many of which are Canadian-based, are digitizing tasks for management as well as front and back of house. Everything from a restaurant’s marketing to staff training to evaluating strategies is now in the palm of an operator’s hand.

Make Wi-Fi work for you For restaurants that provide their guests with free Wi-Fi, Turnstyle allows the establishment to use the connection as a marketing catalyst. When a customer connects to the restaurant’s Internet, Turnstyle offers a customizable login page that collects the user’s email address as well as additional information. “Rather than paying for your Wi-Fi expense every month, it can actually be an investment and an asset that will increase loyalty and generate revenue,” said Bennett Fitzgibbon, Turnstyle’s marketing director. The Toronto-based program allows a restaurateur to customize the login page to their accessible Wi-Fi signal by adding up to three featured images to promote specials or upcoming events. Through the login page, the operator is also able to ask customers for their email address, or request they like, follow or check into their business on social media. “We can’t force them to like or check into the venue, but we can encourage them,” Fitzgibbon said. “We make it very simple for them to make one click and boost the social presence of their brand.”

2 0 | Restaurant News

By collecting email accounts, operators are able to create marketing campaigns to encourage repeat business. “Millennials are very willing to give up an email address — which everyone craves these days — in exchange for access,” Fitzgibbon said. Turnstyle’s email capability goes beyond a blanket blast of information, as operators are able to tailor their content based on customers’ actions. “Rather than simply doing email blasts, we can use their mobile device as a beacon to trigger messages,” Fitzgibbon said. “It gives the ability to send more contextual and relevant messages based on demographics.” For example, the operator could set up a campaign to thank or welcome a customer when they return to the business by using their mobile device ID as it tries to connect to Wi-Fi. At Subway, one of Turnstyle’s largest customers, the email campaign is used to email a coupon to customers who haven’t returned to a restaurant in the chain in more than 30 days. “The redemption rate is at 12 per cent, compared to the traditional two or three per cent rate,” Fitzgibbon said. When a customer uses Facebook or Twitter to sign into the Wi-Fi service, Turnstyle is able to pull demographic information like age and gender. “The most valuable thing for our customers is being able to build their database of every single person who has connected to their Wi-Fi,” Fitzgibbon said. As well, Turnstyle records every device ID that is Wi-Fi enabled, even if they do not attempt to access the Internet. “Any device that is Wi-Fi enabled is constantly trying to find an access point to connect to,”


COMING TO CANADA

DipJar: An answer to a cashless economy The New York City-based Dipjar has identified Canada as its second target market, after providing more than 1,000 of the devices to cafés and quick service restaurants throughout the United States. Dipjar (dipjar.com) is a cash register-adjacent unit that allows customers to dip their credit or debit card into the device to provide staff with a tip. Dipjar chief executive officer Ryder Kessler came up with the idea after he noticed a busy café was generating less tips for its baristas, as less customers were carrying hard currency. “He had the idea to solve the problem that there are many people in the workforce in the service-based industry that rely on tips heavily to get by, but not a lot of people carry cash and coin any more,” said Dipjar director of marketing Ray Lin. “It really did start with thinking about how to evolve the tip jar.”

Fitzgibbon said. “We can use that information to estimate the number of visitors in the venue, and we can pull other metrics as to whether we are detecting those visitors for the first time, or if we have seen them previously.”

Constructive criticism About two years ago, Rob Edell had a horrible restaurant experience. “I almost wrote my first Yelp review, but realized I didn’t want to bash this small business publicly,” Edell said. “It was a light bulb moment for me.” Edell realized while public review platforms are plentiful, there was a lack of digital tools to provide private feedback to operators. He decided to create Servy, a New York Citybased restaurant app similar to secret shoppers. “We essentially created a crowdsource solution to ensure operators get feedback and, more importantly, ensure staff are maintaining certain standards,” Edell said. Servy recruits foodies to review any aspect of a partner restaurant, based on questions posed by the operator. “They can ask any question. Is the server recommending coffee or dessert at the end of the meal? Are you begin greeted within a minute of entering the restaurant?” Edell said. “The restaurant can assess any aspect of their operation from food to service to atmosphere.” Servy’s reviewers who are compensated for their time, are able to select from a list of restaurants requesting evaluations provided by the app. After the meal, they take a photo of their check to verify they ate at the establishment. Their evaluation is sent to the restaurant via email and stored in a cloud-based dashboard. While they review the restaurant, they also pay for their meal. “One of the cool things we do is actually drive traffic to our partner restaurants. They’re spending money at those restaurants,’ Edell said. He added the reviewers are usually experienced diners. “Anyone interested in such a concept is probably already a self-qualified foodie,” Edell said. “And the more you do this, the more you start to think of these different components of the experience.”

Rewards for training Spiffy is a Toronto-based mobile app for training restaurant employees. The app delivers short, digestible bursts of video-based training to an employee’s smartphone, followed by a quick quiz to ensure the information was absorbed. Successfully completing the training is matched with a reward for their time and attention. “It’s always micro-learning style, which is short bursts of information,” said Spiffy cofounder Chris Snoyer. “Research shows millennials best absorb and retain information when its delivered in short bursts of video-based content.” For training, restaurant management is able to log in to the Spiffy system, build a quiz, upload their video content and then send the test to a specific set of employees. “Staff no longer have to be in the restaurant to receive training,” Snoyer said. “You can have them do the short bursts at home and still pay them for their time.” Spiffy also allows alcohol brands to upload content to the training app. At The Keg, Corby Spirits and Collective Arts Brewing are using the app to train bartenders and servers about their products. Spiffy then charges the alcohol brands based on completion of the training provided. “Collective Arts wants to train servers on their product. The more they know, the more they sell,” Snoyer said. “Collective Arts will then pay them a few bucks to learn about their product.”

A sommelier at every table A new software application is allowing sommeliers to digitally accompany their front of house staff to each table they serve. The Vancouver-based Quini data company launched QUINI SOMM, a cloud-based software system that aims to improve wine sales, streamline and standardize testing and enhance customer engagement. Roger Noujeim, Quini chief executive officer, said the software enables staff to recommend the right wine to customers. “Everybody wants to sell more wine,” Noujeim said. “Unless the servers have the credibility and confidence to come up to the table and

The device works on a cellular network, and the restaurant operator predetermines the set tip amount. “We find having a set amount is better at encouraging people to give,” Lin said. “When it’s in cafés and QSR settings it’s usually at a dollar or two.” Cafés using Dipjar have reported boosting their employees wages by 50 cents to $1 per hour. Dipjar is also being used by non-profit organizations to solicit donations. “There is a lot of generosity to be captured for charitable causes as well,” Lin said. While the company plans to enter the Canadian market, a timeline for its introduction is not yet set.

upsell rather than take orders, the vicious cycle continues.” QUINI SOMM includes a virtual trainer that walks staff through tasting wines available at their restaurant. As staff taste the product, the app records notes on eye, nose, mouth finish and opinion. The server’s notes are then stored in the mobile application. “We made sure the tool takes that information along with the servers on their own cell phones or restaurant tablets,” Noujeim said. “The opportunity to deliver better service, more precise recommendations and to assist the restaurant in saving time is critical.” As well, the app includes tasting notes from the restaurant’s sommelier and other staff members. The sommelier’s notes, as well as suggested pairings, are ranked first within the app. “When I am a server talking to a customer today, I can go from saying the typical things like, ‘This one is my favourite,’ to actually talking about what the sommelier thinks about the wine and what food it is recommended with,” Noujeim said. “We are empowering the sommelier with tools that never existed before, to ensure their sales and service have state of the art technology.” Alongside the ability to create wine lists recommended for various occasions, integrated analytics allow restaurant management to access their staff ’s tasting data. “This way I’m archiving at all times the tasting and ranking of the wine by staff and sommelier,” Noujeim said. “I’m able to track and have infor-

mation about the team, the tasting and the wine at any point in time.” The SOMM app uses the database of the company’s original QUINI, a wine tasting and rating app that published reviews of thousands of varieties of wine. Customers are also able to see reviews and browse wines via the public-facing portion of the app. Reviews may also be integrated into a restaurant’s website. “This takes care of the millennial’s need to check out what their peers think,” Noujeim said. “They want transparency.”

Find out more:

getturnstyle.com servyapp.com withspiffy.com quiniwine.com

November 2016 | 2 1


SUPPLY

Flanagan invests in Durham Region By Kristen Smith WHITBY, Ont. — The opening of a distribution centre in Durham Region, a $20 million project, marks Flanagan Foodservice’s largest single investment in its 39-year history. The company, which purchased an 80,000-square-foot facility at 295 South Blair Street in Whitby, Ont. in January, is adding an additional 100,000 square feet of refrigerated space to the new distribution centre, slated to open next spring. “This facility, once complete, will be an ideal location to service parts of GTA and east Ontario,” chief operating officer Paul Keery said at a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 25. Currently, Flanagan’s distribution is organized in three locations across Ontario: Kitchener, Owen Sound and Sudbury. When the Whitby centre is operational, the warehouse and adminis-

trative portions of the Owen Sound location will move to Kitchener and Whitby. “The majority of our Owen Sound workforce such as sales, and our drivers will be unaffected,” Keery said in an email. Joe Flanagan started the company in 1977 as a discount grocery operation in Waterloo, Ont. Now, the company — owned by his sons Dan, Rick, Murray and Jeff Flanagan — distributes more than 12 million cases of products to more than 6,000 foodservice customers, primarily in Ontario with some in Quebec. Flanagan Foodservice underwent a strategic planning session five years ago. During this process, it became clear that the company’s strategy would be to “own Ontario,” explained president Dan Flanagan. This meant the company would focus its marketing and growth on its

From left: Whitby Regional Councillor Derrick Gleed, Whitby Mayor Don Mitchell, Flanagan Foodservice president Dan Flanagan, Flanagan Foodservice chief operating officer Paul Keery and Marko Dzeletovich, president of Coldbox Builders. home province, a region representing more than 40 per cent of the Canadian market, said Flanagan. “It also focused our attention on the fact that we had plenty of room to grow in large urban centres, like the

GTA,” he said. “It meant we needed to build a stronger physical presence in the province to support our growing company.” The leadership team at Flanagan Foodservice has been working on the

Whitby expansion project for three years. “No matter how we sliced and diced the data, it kept pointing to the same solution: a distribution centre in Whitby,” said Flanagan.

RATIONAL thinking The next generation combi ovens are unveiled BRAMPTON, Ont. — RATIONAL recently launched its SelfCookingCenter line of combi ovens, including a compact unit. The next generation of RATIONAL units, introduced on Oct. 19, includes the SelfCookingCenter XS, which is 21 inches deep, 26 inches wide and 22 inches high. “We wanted to deliver the most food possible in the smallest footprint,” said RATIONAL national corporate chef Kevin Pelissier during a demonstration. The small-format cooking system can fit on a counter top and is intended to supplement larger units in a foodser-

vice or commercial kitchen, or stand alone in delis, supermarkets, convenience stores or smaller restaurants. “The new format opens up a whole new range of options for our Canadian customers,” said Louis-Philippe Audette, president and CEO for RATIONAL Canada. According to the company, the new line is faster and more efficient than RATIONAL’s previous combi ovens and comes with new features, such as LED lighting and energy consumption display. The SelfCookingCenter XS costs $14,500, while the price for the rest of the line remains the same.

Premium Brands buys North York-based Belmont Meats Belmont, which produces more than 40 million pounds of hamburgers a year, sells for $50M VANCOUVER — Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, a producer and distributor of branded specialty food products, has purchased 100 per cent of Ontario-based Belmont Meats. Premium Brands purchased Belmont Meats for $50 million, with payment consisting of $49.2 million and $800,000 in shares of the company. The deal was announced Oct. 13. “We are not only very excited about Belmont’s business and the potential for it to grow under the Premium Brands umbrella, but also the role it will play in creating value in several of our other businesses,” said George Paleologou, president and CEO of Premium Brands. “In particular, we expect to generate signifi-

2 2 | Restaurant News

cant synergies between Belmont’s business, our burger operations in western Canada and our Centennial Foodservice business recently announced initiative to expand into the Ontario market.” Belmont Meats opened in North York, Ont. in 1966. In its early years, the business primarily served as a foodservice provider. Summer Street Capital Partners purchased the company eight years ago. Today, with annual sales of about $120 million, Belmont Meats sells more than 40 million pounds of hamburgers to numerous chain restaurants, including Burger King, Dairy Queen and Hero Certified Burgers. “Furthermore, Belmont’s strong manage-

ment team significantly enhances our bench strength in the Ontario market,” Paleologou said. The company recently celebrated its 50th anniversary by expanding its product line into the United States. “We are very excited to be joining the Premium Brands family,” said Paul Roach, president and CEO of Belmont Meats. “Premium Brands has a great track record of partnering with management to build successful businesses. We are looking forward to working with them as we expand and grow our business in both Canada and the U.S.” Premium Brands owns a range of specialty food manufacturing and distribution businesses

with operations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nevada, Ohio, Phoenix as well as Washington State. Its family of businesses includes Pillar’s, Grimm’s, Harvest, Quality Fast Foods, Deli Chef, Creekside Bakehouse, Stuyver’s Bakestudio, Gourmet Chef, Duso’s, Centennial Foodservice, B&C Food Distributors, Shahir, Wescadia, Harlan Fairbanks, Maximum Seafood, Ocean Miracle, Hub City Fisheries, C&C Packing and Premier Meats. The transaction will be funded through Premium Brands’ existing bank facilities and is expected to be immediately accretive to its earnings per share and free cash flow per share.


SUPPLY

Bring home the bacon A&W now guarantees all of its pork products are 100 per cent Canadian, and all of its protein is sourced from animals raised as naturally as possible VANCOUVER — A&W is now guaranteeing all of its menu’s meat and poultry products are sourced from animals raised as naturally as possible. In October, the quick service restaurant chain announced a Pork Guarantee, a promise to serve sausage links and patties that are 100 per cent Canadian and raised without the use of antibiotics. “People bring ideas to us, we brings ideas to others, and together we form really powerful partnerships that can help us discover new ways of doing things,” said Susan Senecal, president and chief operating officer of A&W Foodservices of Canada Inc. “Sometimes it is things people say would be completely impossible,” she added. A&W’s menu transformation began in 2013, when the company announced it would serve beef raised without the use of added hormones or steroids.

A&W’s customer base is what inspired the The following year, the company announced it would serve chicken raised without the use of change to natural ingredients. “Whether it’s grocery stores, fine dining or antibiotics and eggs from hens fed a vegetarian anywhere food is diet. found, you’re seeing Earlier this year, We needed to make that interest,” SeneA&W announced sure everyone from cal said. its bacon would be “We wanted to made from pork farmers to ranchers understand what that raised without the were lined up to means for A&W and use of antibiotics. do this. how do we respond. As well, the bacon Susan Senecal That’s what started curing process no A&W president and us on that path.” longer includes artifichief operating officer Changing incial ingredients. gredients wasn’t an Outside of protein, the restaurant chain also serves fair trade easy task, Senecal noted. Implementing its Pork Guarantee, for example, required more than 18 coffee as part of its Ingredients Guarantee. “We’ve had really enthusiastic responses months of preparation. “We needed to make sure everyone from from our guests,” Senecal said. “I think that’s is something that’s kept us go- farmers to ranchers were lined up to do this,” she explained, adding the evolution of ingrediing and inspired us.”

ents required retrofitting farms as well as seeking new suppliers. “We have been delighted with the response from the farming community and producers, all of those people we work with as partners.” The shift in ingredients also came with increased product costs. Senecal explained the increase was not passed onto the consumer. “It is a bigger investment on the part of the ranchers and farmers we work with, but we’ve not increased our menu prices to consumers as a result of the changes,” Senecal said. “We feel like if we do the right thing and do what our guests are looking for, they will visit more often and things will work out in the end.” She added the strategy is working for the 861 restaurants within the company. “We do see lots of growth in our business,” Senecal said. “That is a result of a range of things, but for us, it really did start with listening to our guests.”

Sodexo shares sustainability expectations with its suppliers By Bill Tremblay BURLINGTON, Ont. — When Sodexo wants to make a change to how it does business, it ensures its suppliers are kept in the loop. In October, the facilities management and foodservice provider invited its suppliers to an in-house summit at its Burlington, Ont., office to outline how they plan to enhance services in the coming years. About 175 representatives from food and facility supply companies attended the annual summit. “The idea of the afternoon is to really give our suppliers an insight into what we want to accomplish in the next 12 to 18 months,” said Chris Fry, vice-president of supply management for Sodexo. “The idea is for them to come away from that with the question, ‘How does my organization fit into what Sodexo wants to do and achieve?’

“It’s basically a level set for suppliers to understand how to do business with us and to understand where we’re headed so they can tailor their offer to us.” At the meeting, the company explained its plan to purchase locally-grown produce, ensure a higher standard of animal welfare and source cage-free eggs, support sustainable seafood and source fair trade coffee and tea. “What I’ve found from a supply chain perspective is the more you share with Chris Fry suppliers, the easier it is to look at solutions — we certainly don’t have all the solutions,” Fry said. “It creates more engaged and forward-think-

ing results from sharing where we want to be.” Sodexo serves about 9,000 clients in North America as well as 32,000 customers in 80 countries worldwide. Each year, the company purchases $48 million in produce grown in the region where it is served; 3.3 million pounds of coffee; 267,000 pounds of tea; 16.9 million pounds of sustainably-sourced fish and seafood, and 15.4 million cagefree eggs. As part of its Better Tomorrow Plan, the company considers how its supply chain impacts individuals, its communities and the environment. “We look at that as a corporate citizen, as a

service provider and as an employer,” Fry said. Sodexo’s achievements in sustainability are also subject to a third-party audit. “As a service provider, we’re able to provide to our clients something that’s been vetted and certified in many cases,” Fry said. “That sets us apart from others who are probably doing great jobs of self reporting.” The annual supplier summit was created about eight years ago and paired with a fundraising dinner for the Sodexo Foundation, which is funded solely by the company and tasked with providing meals to at-risk youth throughout Canada. The summit was intended to increase the draw to the charitable dinner. “A part of it was how do we entice people to come in and spend the money for dinner?” Fry said. “This gives them something to go away with.”

November 2016 | 2 3


beverage news

Chic Choc rum now available in Ontario TORONTO – Chic Choc, the first spiced rum produced in Quebec, is now available in Ontario at the LCBO. Previously only available in Quebec, the rum is produced with six indigenous spices, creating a spicy bouquet with nuances of sugar cane and cinnamon, complemented by a subtle peppery tone. Drawing its inspiration from the boreal forest of the Chic Choc Mountains in Quebec, Chic Choc Spiced Rum flavour is creating using peppery green alder, pine forest spikenard, witherod berries, lovage root, sweet gale seeds and wild angelica. The spices are harvested in the Gaspé region of Quebec. “Chic Choc Spiced Rum is all natural and uniquely Canadian,” said Charles Crawford, president of Domaine Pinnacle, producers of Chic Choc Spiced Rum. “The notes of ginger and Nordic spices make this a fantastic rum to sip on its own, or as the star in an amazing cocktail, such as a Dark & Stormy.” The product was released in 2014 and is the 15th beverage released by Domaine Pinnacle since the launch of its ice cider in 2001.

Josephine “Fina” Uwineza.

Beau’s launches Rwanda Craft Brewery Project VANKLEEK HILL, Ont. — Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company has launched a project that will help a female entrepreneur start up a locally owned and operated craft brewery in the African republic of Rwanda. Beau’s will be providing financing, expertise and hands-on employee training to the start-up brewery, and has sourced brewing equipment from industry suppliers. Beau’s also launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Rwanda Craft Brewery Project that aims to raise $95,000 in donations over the next two months to fund the purchase of a bottling line. At the heart of the Rwanda Craft Brewery Project is owner Josephine “Fina” Uwineza. Uwineza is a successful restaurateur in Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali, where she opened the city’s first Chinese restaurant. More recently, Uwineza shared a business idea with the CG Group’s Nancy Coldham, a Toronto-based consultant who has travelled to and worked extensively in Rwanda as a mentor to female entrepreneurs. The connection with Coldham sparked an idea for

Molson Coors to offer more beer Molson Coors plans to offer Canadians a wider selection of imported beers following its acquisition of Miller brands. The deal, which closed in October for $12 billion US, makes Molson Coors the third largest global brewer. Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter told The Canadian Press that several brands from the United States and Europe — including Leinenkugel, Miller High Life, Sharp’s, Staropramen and Franciscan Well — could find their way onto Canadian shelves in 2017. Also, Canadian craft beers like Creemore and Granville Island could be exported to the United States. “It’s potentially going to be a two way street,” Hunter told The Canadian Press. “We’re doing all of our planning right now for 2017 so you’d expect to see some of these emerge in our portfolio once we get probably into the spring of 2017 so they’re there for peak selling time.” The Denver and Montreal-based brewer has acquired SABMiller’s 58 per cent stake in MillerCoors, a U.S. joint venture formed in 2008. It also gained the international rights to Miller brands and

2 4 | Restaurant News

royalty-free U.S. licences for SABMiller import and license brands including Peroni, Pilsner Urquell, Fosters and Redd’s. The transaction stemmed from Labatt parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev’s $107-billion US acquisition of SABMiller that gave it about 31 per cent of the global beer market. To avoid regulatory concerns, InBev agreed to the Miller deal with Molson Coors. Molson Coors expects the doubling in size will reduce costs while a more integrated North American network will create a more efficient supply chain. Part of that comes from using its Canadian facilities, for example, to brew and sell beers into the U.S. market. Hunter said any changes will emerge by the end of 2017 or early 2018. Its new facility in British Columbia is expected to open by the end of 2018. It is a few months away from announcing its modernization plans for Montreal. “As we look at the footprint for that (B.C.) facility, we want to make sure that it meets the needs of Canada and potentially some of the U.S. market, if required,” Hunter added.

a Canadian-inspired craft brewery in Rwanda. Coldham reached out to the Ontario Craft Brewers association on behalf of Uwineza, who connected the women with Beau’s. A team from Beau’s that included chief executive officer Steve Beauchesne and chief financial officer Tanya Beimers travelled to Rwanda this spring to meet Uwineza and get a sense of the scope of the project. “Meeting Fina with her passion and confidence, and then also seeing the support from the government, women’s groups and the community, we knew this was a project that we had to be a part of,” Beimers said. “We also knew when we returned from our initial trip to Rwanda that if the project was going to succeed, we were going to need to reach out to the craft brewing community for assistance.” Beauchesne and Beimers appealed to equipment suppliers on behalf of the Rwanda Craft Brewery Project to see if special funding considerations were a possibility. The request brought the donation of a brewhouse from B.C.-based Newlands Systems Inc. (NSI).


Canada

Pacini eyes hotel partnerships for growth By Don Douloff MONTREAL — Pacini Canada Inc. is eyeing new-builds and conversions in Canadian hotels for growth of its casual Italian restaurant concept. In the next two to three years, the company is targeting 15 to 20 locations, part of a larger plan to reach 200 restaurants within a decade, according to Lafleche Francoeur, vice-president of business development. There are currently 30 Pacini restaurants, 28 in Quebec and the balance in Alberta. So far, there are four hotel locations: in the Acclaim Hotel, near Calgary airport; Hotel Universel, in Alma, Que.; the Moose Hotel & Suites, in Banff, Alta., opened in July; and Auberge Gouverneur Shawinigan, in Shawinigan, Que., opened in spring. A site is under construction in Hotel Le Navigateur, in Rimouski, Que., and is expected to open in December. A deal has been signed for a freestanding Pacini to open in front of the Courtyard Toronto/Mississauga West property slated to open in 2017. The restaurant is expected to begin construction by the end of this year, targeting an opening by March, said Francoeur. The first hotel location opened in the Acclaim property in 2011 as a test of the Pacini concept outside Quebec. That site “has done very well,” he said. Although Francoeur will

consider freestanding, non-hotel restaurants, “90 per cent of franchising requests are coming from hotels.” Going forward, all provinces will be considered for hotel locations, but Alberta and Ontario will be the focus, he said. Since the brand is established in Alberta, it’s a natural fit for growth, he added, and Atlantic Canada represents a “natural evolution” for Pacini. “We’re in negotiation with 25 to 30 hotels in every re-

gion.” Larger cities are preferred. In Quebec, Pacini will consider smaller markets, and indeed, being situated inside hotels enables Pacini to locate in less populated areas, since hotel guests provide a built-in customer base. Restaurants also draw from locals, said Francoeur. New-builds and conversions will be considered equally. Hotel sites require at least 4,500 square feet. Ground-floor locations offering good external

exposure and a separate entrance are required. Mid-scale to higher-end hotels will be considered. For freestanding, non-hotel sites, Pacini prefers markets with a minimum population of 30,000 people within a short radius. “The requirement in terms of population is half of that when we are within or close to a hotel.” Those sites need 6,000-plus square feet in power centres and strip-mall end caps. Up front, hotels pay $1.5 million, which covers the franchise fee and construction costs. Once the restaurant opens, hotels pay a royalty of 4 per cent of gross sales, and an additional 4 per cent of gross sales that is pooled in a national marketing fund. Restaurants serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with weekend brunch. Menus are themed casual Italian — pastas, pizzas, appetizers and main courses — and offer an all-youcan-eat bar where guests grill bread slices and top them with spreads and jams. Gluten-free options are available, as are allergen-free dishes made and sealed offsite by a third party. Locations feature a dining room, lounge and a market area, dubbed a ‘piazza,’ selling Italian oils, pasta sauces, dry pastas, chocolates, etc. In addition, Pacini provides all onsite event catering for its host hotels. Catering menus are adapted locally.

products Organic soybean oil Bunge introduced Whole Harvest USDA certified organic soybean oil and Non-GMO Project Verified milled ancient grains at the 2016 SupplySide West (October 6-7) and IBIE (October 8-11) shows. “Organic, non-GMO, and clean label will continue to be key growth drivers in the U.S. food market, which is why we’re excited to help our customers leverage these trends across many categories from savoury snacks to bakery,” said Mark Stavro, senior director of marketing, Bunge North America. “Our new offerings will help food companies introduce organic oils and non-GMO milled ancient grains into more food applications than previously possible.” The introduction of Bunge’s organic soy-

Personalized coffee creations Frank Coffee Systems recently released its A1000 machine. The fully automated system focuses on personalized coffee creations. Features include: six flavours, refrigeration unit for two milks, automated cleaning system, multi-media touchscreen, and accessibility via the Internet. bean oil expands upon the brand’s existing range of Non-GMO soybean oil, canola oil and pan sprays. Bunge’s new line of ancient grains — including millet, sorghum, and quinoa — adds to its range of non-GMO milled corn and rice ingredients.

Lower GR potato Glassware for high volumes Libbey introduced Neo, the newest addition to its Master’s Reserve Performa Collection. Neo is American-made glassware that combines innovative design and technology to craft a highperformance experience for banquet, event or high-volume environments. Neo withstands repetitive use while maintaining its integrity, even after 2,000 washings in professional-grade dishwashers.

EarthFresh Farms recently debuted the Carisma potato, which has a lower glycemic response (GR), according to research conducted by Glycemic Index Laboratories in Toronto Ontario-grown, Carisma is farmed from traditional seed and without the use of biotechnology. “Glycemic response is reflective of the quality and quantity of carbohydrate in a food, which plays an important role in regulating blood sugar levels,” said Jane Dummer, registered dietitian and author. The Carisma potatoes have been grown and consumed in the Australia and the Netherlands for years. “As a Canadian company specializing in pre-

mium produce, we’re focused on growing and distributing healthy and delicious products,” says Tom Hughes, president, EarthFresh Farms. Carisma potatoes are currently grown and sold only in Ontario and available in limited quantities.

November 2016 | 2 5


Canada

Culinary Olympics Canadian teams shine

ERFURT, Germany — As the 2016 Culinary Olympics concluded in Erfurt, Germany, Junior Culinary Team Canada came out shining with gold and silver medals. Comprised of recent graduates from Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute, the team represented Canada at the IKA/Culinary Olympics in October. The team won gold at its first competition on Oct. 22 — the edible buffet program. They also earned a silver medal at the second and final competition, the hot program, on Oct. 24. “This could not be possible without the hard work, dedication and passion put in by each team member,” said team captain Ben Lillico after learning of the team’s gold medal win. With final results of a total of 177.56 points from both competitions, Junior Culinary Team Canada left the Culinary Olympics in sixth place overall behind Sweden (first place), Switzerland, (second place), and Norway (third place) and just behind Austria and Denmark. “I was absolutely thrilled with the team’s performance. They gave their best in the kitchen this week,” said team manager Craig You-

dale, dean of Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute. “It was the best buffet I’ve ever seen them do, and it was probably the best hot run I’ve ever seen them do.” Youdale applauded the work and dedication from the team members and the sacrifices they made to participate in the competition. “They put their lives on hold for three years. They took everything in their lives and put it aside because they wanted to do this,” he said. “No money. No pay. Out of sheer pride for their country. I think that’s pretty cool.” Lillico said the team has become a family. “We didn’t win, but we all won. We came here to really cook our hearts out. We did our best and we put everything on the table,” said Lillico. “It’s not really about the medal. It’s about the journey.” Medals were granted based on scores achieved at each competition — gold for 90 or higher, silver for 80 or higher, bronze for 70 or higher, and diploma for less than 70 points. Junior Culinary Team Canada was one of 20 junior national teams — among 2,000 chefs

Kissa Tanto

Daniella Germond (Junior Culinary Team Canada) in the edible buffet competition. from more than 50 countries around the world — competing at the 24th IKA/Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany from Oct. 22 to 25. The senior team, Culinary Team Canada, also finished well, placing eighth in the world with a final standing of silver and a score of 179.531. The team finished behind Singapore (first), Finland (second) and Switzerland (third), but earned an impressive gold medal score in the hot kitchen of 92.38. In the cold kitchen, the Culinary Team Canada earned silver with a total score of 87.086 (81.44 in pastry art and 90.85 in culinary art). A number of regional teams also participated in the Culinary Olympics. Regional Team Prince Edward Island brought home gold medals in both pastry art

Alo

and culinary art, earning a fourth place standing and final score of 91.04. Culinary Team Humber placed ninth, earning gold and a total score of 90.21 (90 in pastry art and 90.35 in culinary art). Ontario Culinary Team placed 15th with a silver medal standing and a total score of 85.362 (93.33 in pastry art and 80.05 in culinary art). Placing in the top 30 were: Golden Horseshoe Culinary Team Canada with a score of 77.818 (81.67 in pastry and 75.25 in culinary); Culinary Team Nova Scotia, who scored 76.458 (83.670 in pastry and 71.64 in culinary); and Trillium Chefs Canada with a total score of 75.692 (80.33 in pastry and 72.6 in culinary).

Highwayman

Kissa Tanto named Canada’s Best New Restaurant: enRoute TORONTO — Air Canada inflight magazine enRoute announced its Top 10 list of Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2016 as well as the winner of the People’s Choice Award on Oct. 25. This year’s first-place honours went to Tannis Ling and Joël Watanabe of Kissa Tanto, who wowed with their atmospheric JapaneseItalian restaurant in Vancouver’s Chinatown. It’s the second appearance on the list for this team, whose French-Chinese brasserie Bao Bei placed second in 2010. The other winners span the country, from Bay Fortune, P.E.I., to Victoria, B.C. This year, the Air Canada enRoute People’s

2 6 | Restaurant News

Choice Award Winner is Backhouse in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont, where wife and husband team Bev Hotchkiss and chef Ryan Crawford are tackling what they call “cool-climate cuisine.” This year marks the 15th anniversary of Air Canada enRoute Canada’s Best New Restaurants, a program that seeks to promote the nation’s culinary excellence at home and abroad. “The top restaurants in our 2016 ranking are influenced by community, and they create an experience that diners can really become a part of,” said Jean-François Légaré, editor-inchief, Air Canada enRoute.

Food writer Andrew Braithwaite travelled coast to coast on a month-long eating marathon in search of the country’s latest and greatest. Here are the 2016 winners: 1. Kissa Tanto (Vancouver) 2. Alo (Toronto) 3. FireWorks (Bay Fortune, P.E.I) 4. Agrius (Victoria, B.C.) 5. Foxy (Montreal) 6. Agrikol (Montreal) 7. Kraken Cru (Quebec City) 8. Le Fantôme (Montreal) 9. Highwayman (Halifax) 10. Savio Volpe (Vancouver)

The Top 10 restaurants officially received their awards during the annual Canada’s Best New Restaurants Gala celebration on Nov. 10 at Toronto’s Design Exchange. “Air Canada enRoute Canada’s Best New Restaurants program actively promotes a sense of culinary identity across the country,” said Andrew Shibata, managing director, brand, Air Canada. “With 2016 marking the program’s 15th anniversary, we are delighted to have shared the evolution of Canadian cuisine with our passengers, and to continue to do so with the winning restaurants for this year.”


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