Ontario Restaurant News - February 2015

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O N T A R I O February 2015 Vol. 30 No. 1

N AT I O N A L

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PITA PIT HITS 20 YEARS

C O V E R A G E

By Kristen Smith, Associate Editor

Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40010152

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London restaurateur Mike Smith.

Photo by Ansel Edwards.

ing his P.Za.Pie operation into the more than 4,000-square-foot space, LONDON, Ont. — Veteran restaura- which will continue operating as Jim teur Mike Smith is taking his 22-year- Bob Ray’s until the new project opens. old pub and making it appeal to a “We’re going to focus on as many broader client base as a restaurant foods as we can from the 519 area and brewpub with its own craft beer code,” said Smith. It’s not a political statement, nor is Smith trying to save and a focus on local food.

APPROVAL REQUIRED Smith plans to open Toboggan the world. He is hoping to promote The enclosed proof is sent for your approval. We will not proceed with the job until the proof is returned.

DO NOT GIVE VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS. CHECK CAREFULLY! Brewing Co. early this spring in the local success stories. “We’re just tryBeyond this point we cannot accept responsibility for any errors. Alterations (other than typographical errors) will be charged extra. proof “OK” or “OK with at corrections” may to support local farms and supplispace housing JimMarkBob Ray’s 585as the caseing be, signing your name so we may know that the proof reached the proper authority.

Richmond St., in London, Ont. To ers, make your local beer and employ bolsterOFthe new menu, he also is movlocal people,” he said.

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Not to say Toboggan, named for the beloved Canadian pastime, won’t be getting products from major suppliers too. “We’re not going to be complete purists about it; as somebody pointed out to me, they don’t grow oranges in Ontario.”

In the open kitchen, chef Mike Smith (same name, different person) will be cooking up Neapolitan-style pizzas in a wood-fired stone oven and focus on beer fare such as mussels and frites. Plans call for cheese and

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charcuterie plates to change regularly featuring local producers and owner Smith said he expects there to be more vegetarian options than on a typical bar menu.

“It’s scary because it’s evolving, you like to have things completely etched in stone so you know what you’re going for, but every day we’re finding a new product that we didn’t know was out there,” he said. “We know what we want our menu to be, but who those suppliers will be on opening day might be different than who we think they’ll be today.”

Smith said when buying from local businesses the costs need to be approachable so he can pass on a reasonable price to his customers.

In the basement, the microbrewery is being set up and Toboggan has brought on two seasoned brewers as consultants with young brewers training under them.

Smith anticipates Toboggan will have two types of customers: those who love craft beer and those who don’t like the distinctive characteristics of hops.

Smith said the goal is to have a spectrum of beers that will appeal to different tastes, focusing on two or three for opening. “No beer before its time. We don’t want to do it for the sake of having a big collection, we’d rather get it right,” he said.

Plans call for rotating, small-batch brews and Smith said he wants to involve the customers in determining the lineup.

“People have preconceived ideas about what the market wants and I want the market to somewhat dictate,” said Smith. “If you don’t like it, tell us. We won’t be insulted.”

Smith also plans to sell the beer on premise for the home consumer and to other local bars and restaurants, as well as stock other craft beers at his establishment.

“We’ll also carry some of the big companies, because if that’s what a customer wants, we want to have it for them,” he added.

The main area has a capacity of 500 when empty for special events, but day-to-day “it’s going to be more intimate than that” with about 200 seats, said Smith.

With the rise of “pre-drinking,” the popular student hangout Jim Bob Ray’s was getting busy later and later.

“When the home consumer buys a case of Blue for roughly $30, but a licensed establishment has to pay $45 and when you get through everything from wages to the HST on the selling price, insurance and everything, you can have four of those at home for the price of having one at a licensed establishment,” said Smith. “We’ll have 500 people in there by the end of the night, but at 10 p.m., you can fire a cannon off.”

While the craft beer drinker is often found in the 25 to 30-year-old demographic, Smith said it appeals to other ages as well.

“We want young people, and it’s a very big market for young people, but we want everything from people bringing their kids in for dinner to senior citizens on a bus tour — everybody from five year olds to 85 year olds,” said Smith.

After opening a number of restaurants over the last three decades, Smith knows it never goes exactly as you originally thought. “On this one, I really know that.”

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Fresh Burger readies for GTA expansion

Fresh Burger owner Jacques Kavafian.

TORONTO — From Bay Street to burger street, Jacques Kavafian has turned 180 degrees from

20 years in economics to a flattop grill as owner of a fast casual burger chain.

In late November, Kavafian opened his second Fresh Burger location at 542 Church St. in Toronto. The newest location builds off the success of the founding Richmond Hill store, where Kavafian said after a year and a half in operation, lineups are still the norm.

“We’re developing a cult following,” he said.

“I decided to go with the most simple concept where you can come here everyday — it’s not going to break the bank — and you can get your everyday burger,” said Kavafian, a self-proclaimed In-N-Out Burger addict.

He said Fresh Burger “spares no expense” with its ingredients, including premium Canadian Angus Beef for its patties.

The 1,330-square-foot Church Street location seats 30 and has a 40-seat patio, which will open this summer. According to Kavafian, Fresh Burger will be licensed by this summer, serving draft beer.

Kavafian said by 2018 the chain plans to have 10 stores in the Greater Toronto Area. The company has retained a realtor who is vetting partners and actively seeking new locations.

Cara acquires majority in Landing Group VAUGHAN, Ont. — Cara Operations Limited acquired a majority ownership position in the Landing Group of Restaurants, effective Dec. 18, for an undisclosed amount.

The Southern Ontario-based Landing Group includes Williams Landing, which is located in Toronto’s Liberty Village, Hunters Landing at Concord CityPlace in Toronto, and Harpers Landing in Oakville, Ont. “Cara invested in the Landing Group of Restaurants because we think it is a great concept and we believe in its entrepreneurial management team with decades of successful restaurant experience,” said Cara chief executive officer Bill Gregson in an email.

Co-founder Steve Pelton has been appointed chief executive officer of the Landing Group and will lead the future growth and expansion of the concept.

“Our plan is to let the brand founders run and grow the brand. Williams Landing, Hunters Landing and Harpers Landing are marketleading, upscale casual restaurants in Southern Ontario and we believe the brand can grow in Ontario and across Canada,” said Gregson.

Landing Group founders Scott Manicom, John Young, Peter Brauti and Steven Pelton have been working together since 2008 when they opened a small bistro. They partnered in several other restaurants before opening Williams Landing in 2011. Hunters Landing and Harpers

Landing followed in 2013. According to Cara, all of the founders are “intimately involved in the brand and maintain a significant interest in the company.”

Pelton oversees menu development at the three locations, which share only a handful of dishes, while the rest focus on the strengths of each restaurant’s chef. Hunters Landing features South American; Williams Landing highlights Asian influence; and Italian food is the focus at Harpers Landing.

“Partnering with Cara will create new and exciting opportunities for the Landing Group.

We look forward to working with a first class organization to enhance the hospitality experience for our guests, accelerate our growth and benefit from the synergies and best-in-class support now available to us,” Pelton said in a release.

Gregson said the concept, which has an average footprint of about 10,000 square feet including a large patio, is successful as it is now.

“Any future changes will be driven by the brand founders and not Cara,” he added.

“Landing Group provides a vehicle for growth in a segment Cara is not currently in.

We are excited to combine best practices with the Landing Group and look forward to working together with a great entrepreneurial team,” said Gregson.

According to Cara, there are no plans to

and chief executive officer, said in a release.

“She has demonstrated her ability to maximize stakeholder value by driving business growth through innovation, flexibility and change based on solid financial management and technical skills.”

Imvescor will also reduce corporate office staffing by 10 per cent, effective immediately.

The company has also hired Vincent Dugas as the vice-president of purchasing. For the past five years Dugas worked for Sysco Canada in various positions, most recently as director of marketing and supply.

John Prontzos will become the new brand leader for Scores and Robert Longtin will become senior director of restaurant development. Prontzos has been a partner and operations manager in a Scores restaurant for the past

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Cara operates more than 840 restaurants across Canada including Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill, Harvey’s, Milestones Grill & Bar, Montana’s Cookhouse, Kelsey’s Neighbourhood Bar & Grill, East Side Mario’s, Casey’s, Fionn MacCool’s, D’Arcy McGee’s, Paddy Flaherty’s, Tir nan Óg and Bier Markt.

Imvescor consolidates offices, hires new CFO MONTREAL — Imvescor Restaurant Group has announced several leadership changes and is consolidating its two corporate offices.

The company’s Moncton office will be moved to Montreal before the end of November 2015, according to a release. The Pizza Delight support team will remain in Moncton, but will be relocated “to a new, more cost effective office space.”

Tania Melanie Clarke has been brought on board as chief financial officer. Clarke was recently the corporate controller of Keurig Canada Inc. and previously spent 14 years at Grand Toys International Ltd. Clarke replaces Stephane LeBlanc who will resign and leave the company following a transition period.

“Tania is an impressive addition to our leadership team,” Frank Hennessey, president

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11 years and a member of its franchise advisory committee for two years. Longtin has been involved in retail networks for more than 20 years in Quebec and Eastern Canada. “Our management team is focused on working together with our board of directors and our franchise partners to improve performance on all levels,” Hennessey said.

Hennessey was hired on as CEO and president in the fall of 2014 after the company underwent a strategic review led by then president and CEO Denis Richard. According to a release the company plans to announce its strategic plan at its annual shareholders’ meeting in April.

Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. operates primarily in Atlantic Canada and Quebec with brands including Pizza Delight, Mikes, Scores and Baton Rouge.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

A

s is the case for many 15 year olds, my first job was in the foodservice industry at a major QSR chain. I was hired in the kitchen, while most girls worked the register. Years later, my brother also got his first job at the same location and he was put on cash. I wondered to myself: were the Smith siblings a part of some gender balancing act?

I was joking at the time, but obviously the thought stuck with me since I’m recounting it now.

As high school wore on, I worked on the line in casual dining and was told the two young women in the kitchen were hired at a lower wage than the men. Hearsay, but I’ve always wondered if it was true and if not, why would someone say that other than to make me feel I was worth less?

It wasn’t until I switched to the front of house that I realized gender bias in restaurants goes both ways. While it wasn’t the norm to have women in the kitchen, it was fairly unusual for men to be servers. They were often bartenders and — outside of fine dining — rarely tableside.

In our feature on page 14 we spoke with successful women in the foodservice industry on gender balance and making it in a traditionally male-dominated workspace.

“Cooking. You immediately think of your mom at home cooking food, so why is the industry filled with men?” asked Sharon Steward, a mother of three who teaches at Red River College in Winnipeg.

Perhaps the image of mother in the kitchen is part of the problem. When Humber culinary program director Shonah Chalmers was working her way through the restaurant industry, a chef asked her: “Why do you even bother? You should just be at home in your kitchen.”

Women shouldn’t have to work harder to be successful in any industry, but in many cases they have and they do.

“I responded like any young, crazy, hotblooded woman,” said Chalmers “I cooked harder, faster, worked longer, did more than anybody else. And that’s really what you have to do as a female; it’s terrible to say. In going through kitchens, I had to come in earlier,

do more, accept more challenges, be ready to move to the next station without any hesitation.”

It’s a sentiment echoed in many of the interviews: many women chefs have had to work harder and put in longer hours than men for acceptance and to rise through the ranks.

Corporate chef for One Horn Developments Mel Lafleur said she hopes the young women she sees in cooking school take note of the many talented female chefs in the culinary community. “It’s hard, it’s not an easy job, but maybe they see that it’s happening and we’re doing it, so they can do it,” said Lafleur.

Talented women in foodservice aren’t hard to find, but even in the age of The Food Network and with the rise of the celebrity chef, they are often not easy to see. Perhaps it is the job of operators and media to shine a spotlight on female culinary talent.

Kristen Smith Associate Editor

EDITORIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Mickey Cherevaty Consultant, Moyer Diebel Limited Marvin Greenberg Consultant Jack Battersby President, Summit Food Service Distributors Inc. Barney Strassburger Jr. President, TwinCorp Paul LeClerc Partner, Serve-Canada Food Equipment Ltd. Paul Mancini Director of Retail, Inventory and Wholesale, LCBO 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/Owner, Pangaea Restaurant Joel Sisson Founder and president of Crush Strategy Inc. Leslie Wilson Vice-president of Business Excellence, Compass Group Canada Chris Jeens Partner, W. D. Colledge Co. Ltd. Ontario Restaurant News Volume 30 · No. 1 · February 2015 Ontario Restaurant News (www.ontariorestaurantnews.com) is published 12 times a year by Ishcom Publications Ltd., 2065 Dundas Street East, Suite 201, Mississauga, Ont. L4X 2W1 T: (905) 206-0150 · F: (905) 206-9972 · Toll Free: 1(800)201-8596 Other publications include the Canadian Chains and Buyers’ Directory as well as:

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Bi t s Foodservice to grow less than one per cent according to NPD TORONTO — According to The NPD Group, 2015 will be a battle for market share in both quick and full service restaurants within the Canadian foodservice industry, as they are expected to grow less than one per cent year over year for the next five years.

In a January release, NPD executive director of Canada foodservice Robert Carter said the modest rate of growth means individual growth must come from stealing visits from the competition.

“There are going to be winners and losers in the restaurant industry this coming year,” said Carter. “Restaurant operators who remain relevant by giving consumers what they want can be the winners, but it will require continually staying on top of trends and understanding what is resonating most strongly with consumers.”

Carter said convenience, value, unique menu items, and service remain high on the list of foodservice consumers’ must-haves and wants and that won’t change in 2015, but how consumers define these is continually changing. For example, convenience is generally about portability, saving time and order accuracy, but the recent technology has raised the bar in all these areas and made online marketing a necessity. Carter predicts this year will bring an increased proliferation of mobile apps for ordering and payment, and other technologies that enable greater convenience for restaurant customers.

Executives depart Tim Hortons OAKVILLE, Ont. — On the heels of its $12.5-billion deal with Burger King and preceding layoffs at head office, three Tim Hortons senior executives left the company.

The newly named Restaurant Brands International had named two of the executives to new positions in mid-December.

President of Tim Hortons U.S. Mike Meilleur and head of communications and corporate affairs Scott Bonikowsky left their

positions after being with the company for about 20 years and more than seven years, respectively.

Ronald Walton, a former Canadian Tim Hortons president, also left the company, according to early January reports.

The three departures came less than a month before about 350 Tim Hortons employees lost their jobs in late-January layoffs at the company’s regional and head offices.

David Blackmore, previously senior vicepresident of operations, has taken on the role of U.S. president of the chain, replacing Meilleur. Bonikowsky’s responsibilities are shared between two employees. David Clanaghan, who was recently named Tim Hortons’ president for Canada, has taken on some of Walton’s responsibilities, according to reports.

Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, the new owner of Tim Hortons, disclosed other executive changes to Tim Hortons and Burger King in December.

Marj’s closes after hep A scare ALMA, Ont. — In mid-January the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health informed patrons of Marj’s Village Kitchen in Alma, Ont., of a hepatitis A scare. Vaccinations were recommended for anyone who ate at the restaurant in January.

The restaurant closed on Jan. 23, “due to several factors,” according to a statement from owner Keith McLean.

“The restaurant has been struggling financially and now the reputation has been tainted,” McLean said.

O&B acquires The Carlu TORONTO — Restaurant, catering and event company Oliver & Bonacini (O&B) announced on Jan. 13, the addition of The Carlu to its events portfolio. The purchase amount is not being disclosed.

The historic event space originally opened in 1930 as “Eaton’s Seventh Floor” and was

a nd

Bi t e s

designed by French architect Jacques Carlu. In 2003, the space at 444 Yonge St. in College Park was reopened as The Carlu event venue after an extensive restoration led by business partners Jeffry Roick and Mark Robert.

“The Carlu has long been considered the gem of Toronto’s event scene, with a sterling reputation as one of Canada’s premier event destinations. With O&B’s extensive portfolio of venues, and their consistency and excellence of cuisine and service, The Carlu was a natural fit,” Roick said in a release.

“We’re very excited to be managing this magnificent venue and couldn’t be happier to be bringing our passion for food and service to The Carlu’s distinctive setting of elegance and grandeur,” O&B president Andrew Oliver said in a release. “Working with The Carlu events team, we look forward to continuing the legacy of excellence that has been upheld throughout the years.”

The official transition of The Carlu management to O&B will take place on March 2. Corporate events chef Jamie Meirele will oversee The Carlu.

“We’re leaving it as an event venue — there’s not going to be a restaurant,” Oliver told the Toronto Star. “I’ve kind of had my eye on The Carlu for the last five years.

Grey-Bruce inspections go online OWEN SOUND, Ont. — The Grey Bruce Health Unit has put its foodservice inspections online to give easier access to the public.

Prior to the Jan. 1 move, customers had to call in to check whether an establishment had any food safety concerns.

“It’s becoming very commonplace in Ontario to have an online disclosure process,” said Angela Newman, program manager, food safety, with the Grey Bruce Health Unit.

“Being online is just more user-friendly.”

The online reports are broken down into categories and show whether an establishment is in compliance or not.

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From humble roots

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Pita Pit founders Nelson Lang and John Sotiriadis in front of the original Kington, Ont., location.

By Kristen Smith KINGSTON, Ont. — In 20 years Pita Pit has gone from its first location in Kingston, Ont., which founder Nelson Lang called “a little hole in the wall,” to more than 500 stores.

Pita Pit product and procurement specialist Matt Johnston and chef Samantha Kelly head up research and development and as the company turns 20 this summer, they are working on limited time offers to demonstrate the company’s growth.

“We’re really lucky that we’re in 11 different countries right now and a lot of the countries that we have Pita Pit locations in are really trending, for example South Korea, India, Trinidad and Tobago and some South American countries,” said Johnston. “We’re lucky that we have access to some really interesting flavours.”

He and Kelly are experimenting with chimichurri, Korean barbecue and jerk spices in the company’s test kitchen in Kingston in an effort to feature a taste of the countries where Pita Pit has stores and its history in that market.

“It really gives us a chance to brag about how awesome we are and bring some cool flavours to the table at the same time,” said Johnston. “Half the people we talk to have no idea that we’re 20 years old and even fewer people that you talk to have any idea that we’re in more than just Canada and the U.S.”

Lang opened the first location in the summer of 1995 with co-founder John Sotiriadis, who Lang met while operating a pizza joint in Newcastle, Ont. Both grew up in Durham Region and were looking for a good location in a university town.

Lang said they didn’t know Kingston was going to be their home base until spending some time there and falling in love with the city.

Lang was 26 and Sotiriadis had just turned 27 when they opened the 400-square-foot store.

Lang said the plan was to open another store every year in areas close to universities.

“In seven years, we opened up a little over 200 stores. It just went crazy,” said Lang, adding he would not have imagined then that 20 years later, there would be 540.

“When we opened that first store in Kingston, every penny that we had — I think it cost about $32,000 to build — went into that first store,” said Lang. The duo didn’t have financing, secured second-hand equipment and used repurposed materials.

Their plan was to make great sandwiches and get involved in the community. They were on site from open to close, keeping labour down and rolling pitas.

“After six months of living in Kingston, both John and myself knew pretty well everyone in town, just getting to know them as they came through the door,” said Lang. “I can truly say

O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

From left: Pita Pit Canada president Kevin Pressburger, chief executive officer Chris Fountain, vice-president of operations Braden Martyniuk and founder Nelson Lang.

that every pita I made over those early years I would have eaten myself and I think that’s the key to business. If you’re not going to be there, make sure you hone somebody to look after your business and your investment as well as you’re going to do it.”

Over the last decade, Lang bought portions of the business from Sotiriadis and in 2009, he purchased the rest with his existing partners: Pita Pit Canada president Kevin Pressburger, chief executive officer Chris Fountain and vicepresident of operations Braden Martyniuk.

“We’ve evolved the brand a lot over the last 20 years. Every four or five years we kind of revamp it and take a look at it and constantly are improving,” said Lang.

The company uses reclaimed barn board, high-efficiency light bulbs and biodegradable napkins. In its U.K. stores, Pita Pit has added water refilling stations and a living wall, which Lang said the brand plans to implement in Canada. “Thinking about the future and the environment is the next step for a brand like Pita Pit,” said Lang.

Lang said the brand could have grown more quickly if it hadn’t taken the time to ensure franchisees buy into it with their eyes wide open and align with the brand’s values.

“I always call it my barbecue test: ‘If you have a barbecue at the house, who would you invite?’” asked Lang. “It’s a ten-year franchise

agreement, so it’s a long time that you’re going to be in business with this person so you want to make sure you know who you’re doing business with.”

The proudly Canadian brand opened its 200th Canadian location last year in Quebec and has plans for 40 more in 2015. Lang said the goal is to be at 400 Canadian stores in the next five years, while making sure franchisees are successful and not stepping on each other’s territory.

“We’re growing in Canada safe and strong and protecting the franchisees that we already have in the system,” said Lang. “It’s funny, a lot of our franchisees in the system are buying their second and third stores and kind of developing the region, which is great for us, because if you already have a great track record in Stoney Creek, we know you’ll do great in Hamilton or Burlington.”

Pita Pit is opening more than 100 stores annually system wide.

“It took us 19 years to get to 500 stores and it’s going to take about another four to get to 1,000. Exciting times,” Lang laughed.

Lang said the success of the brand doesn’t fall on his shoulders alone. It wouldn’t have been possible, “If it wasn’t for all the great partners, all the great franchisees, and all the employees in the stores rolling these pitas every day, because they’re really the face of the company.”

Feeding the industry OTTAWA — On the heals of some prominent restaurant closures in Ottawa, two foodservice veterans launched the Ottawa Restaurant Fund in an effort to create a more stable environment for the foodservice industry.

ZenKitchen creator and chef (and recently turned consultant) Caroline Ishii and Donna Holtom, owner of Santé restaurant and Holtz Spa, have partnered to start a capital fund with the Ottawa Community Foundation, where it can be invested and grow.

With the goal of supporting the restaurant staff and owners through educational support and micro-loans, the fund was kick-started by a December event at Santé. Chef Bites saw Ottawa chefs come together: Ishii, Marc Lepine of Atelier, Scott Adams of Benny’s Bistro, El Camino’s Matthew Carmichael, Ross and Simon Fraser from the Fraser Café, Murray Street’s Steve Mitton, Marc Doiron of Town, Chris Deraiche from the Wellington Gastropub and Jason Laurin of Essence Catering.

Ishii called the event an “incredible success on all fronts,” seeing support from sponsors and donors as well as raising more than $10,000.

Ottawa restaurants Domus, ZenKitchen, and Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar, all closed in 2014. “I believe if one restaurant fails it impacts the whole restaurant industry and the community. Everybody shakes a little bit,” Ishii said.

“When a prominent restaurant closes in a community and we’ve had a few, I gave it some serious second thought. People mourn it — I mourned it; I felt sorry for the chef, I felt sorry for the staff, I felt sorry for the diners,” said Ishii.

“I thought, ‘Is there anything we could have done to change that’?”

Ishii and Holtom want the fund to develop innovative solutions, such as supporting educational scholarships and training, and microloans for social enterprise and entrepreneurs, to assist restaurant owners, management and staff.

“What we’ve done is we’ve started a conversation,” said Holtom.

“Second of all is to look at shining a light on local and independently-owned restaurants and how much of a key role they play in the community, not only as employers but as contributors back into the community,” said Holtom.

“The No. 1 place that people come for sup-

Ottawa Restaurant Fund event Chef Bites.

Photo courtesy of the loveOttawaproject.

port is the restaurant,” whether it be for a donation of food or space, said Ishii. “It’s great to do something that’s going to grow and develop our own staff. We need to feed ourselves.”

Ishii said she hopes the fund is able to decrease the failure rate of restaurants in the future.

“We know the restaurant business is very fragile sometimes. The industry is based on

many indicators that are volatile,” said Ishii. “I think it’s one of the hardest businesses on the planet to run.”

Holtom said developing partnerships and having the industry involved are integral to the long-term sustainability of the project. When funds are dispersed in the future, the criteria and priorities will be set by an industry-led advisory committee.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

the big picture

Getting the Red Seal of approval and 6,000 hours in the industry as an apprentice and studying the theoretical underpinnings of the trade at a community college. In Ontario, students are required to complete 360 hours of theoretical training.

For chefs who have been in the industry for years and are looking to receive their Red Seal, provinces have avenues to skirt the program and challenge the exam.

The Ontario College of Trades — which all tradespeople looking for accreditation in the province must join — has developed the Trade Equivalency Assessment process, which assesses the candidate’s skills against the province’s apprenticeship programs.

“If that candidate meets all the training requirements of that apprenticeship, she or he will qualify to apply for certification in her or his trade or challenge the certification of qualification exam,” said an Ontario College of Trades spokesperson in an email.

To get the Red Seal endorsement you need to pass a provincial exam, administered by a provincial apprenticeship and certification authority.

The Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program is a national endorsement based on uniform criteria for tradespeople.

“It sets common standards, assessments and tools — all with industry input — and that occurs in each of the Red Seal designated trades,” said Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission chief executive officer Jeff Ritter.

There are 57 Red Seal trades in Canada from hairstylist and landscape horticulturist to mobile crane operator and carpenter. In Ontario, there are a total of 156 available trades to study.

In Canada, within the realm of culinary arts, a Red Seal can be obtained as baker or cook.

“All provinces and territories, except Quebec and Alberta, have adopted the Red Seal exams as their final jurisdictional exams in those Red Seal trades,” Ritter said.

How to get your Red Seal For those who are new to the industry, there are essentially two streams to take: a traditional apprenticeship route, where the apprentice receives on-the-job experience and learns from a mentor; or through the completion of a community college culinary program and followed by an apprenticeship program.

Each province has a set of criteria that must be met prior to passing a Red Seal exam.

Typically, this means working between 5,000

TORONTO 2015

Chef versus cook The trade of chef is not a Red Seal-designated trade in Canada, while the trade of cook is.

In Ontario, students can begin the process to get their certification of qualification as a chef

after they have their Interprovincial Red Seal for the trade of cook and a minimum of one year’s related experience after receiving their Red Seal.

In Ontario, students can also study to be an assistant cook.

In British Columbia, however, there is technically no chef trade. B.C. students looking to enter culinary arts have the options of baker, meat cutter, general cook or professional cook, which has an institution entry and a workplace entry (depending on the path a student wants to take).

In Nova Scotia, students work through the Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency, which offers the culinary options of cook or baker.

Regardless of which province, the people who many would call a Red Seal chefs are actually trained in the trade of cook.

White Spot White Spot Restaurants is uniquely designated to provide the first two tiers of education toward becoming a Red Seal cook in British Columbia.

Typically, young cooks would have to leave their apprenticeship to attend a community college to study for up to six weeks.

“It can be quite disruptive for the operation and the individual,” said Denise Buchanan, White Spot director of human resources.

Instead of leaving to attend school, appren-

yOuR fOOd busiNess capiTal

April 28 to 30, 2015

Direct Energy Centre, Toronto

tices with the company can study one day a week for 26 weeks at the corporate kitchen in Vancouver for the first two tiers of the Red Seal program.

“It’s really helped us with developing our people and the skill level within the organization, which has helped us push some boundaries in terms of menu and execution,” Buchanan said.

After completion of the first two tiers — which is unique to B.C. — students must then attend a community college to study culinary arts to achieve the final stage.

Earn while you learn “Apprenticeships are probably one of the oldest forms of education,” said Ritter, adding it is a knowledge transfer from an experienced journeyperson to a newcomer.

Ritter said restaurants participating in an apprenticeship program can see many benefits including reduction in errors, greater customer satisfaction and providing a rewarding scenario for a senior employee where his or her knowledge is passed on.

As for the Red Seal program, Ritter said it provides “really good evidence that they are qualified to do all the duties of their job.”

For more information, visit www.earnwhileyoulearn.ca

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F E B R U A RY 2 015

Catering to those with low vision

By Colleen Isherwood, Senior Editor

I

n early January, at Cottage Canoe Restaurant in Barrie, I donned a blindfold and experienced what dining is like for a someone who is blind or has partial sight.

The first and final courses — a soup sipped from a wonton soup bowl and fruit on a skewer — were easy to navigate.

But the main course, consisting of meatloaf, crunchy potatoes, broccoli and crispy shallots — was daunting. The meat posed a seemingly impenetrable mass, and my knife and fork refused to co-operate.

Finally Tam, my sighted tablemate, reached over and cut my meat. “Use your fingers as a guide,” Gerry, a blind tablemate, added. I fin-

ished my main course and happily removed my blindfold.

By hosting this event, the Barrie region CNIB’s annual volunteer dinner, the staff at Cottage Canoe learned some valuable tips on serving and cooking for the blind, as 40 guests and seven guide dogs participated in the Dining in the Dark experience.

Having servers tap guests on the shoulder to alert them of their presence and explaining where food is located on the plate are both helpful.

Food can be served in ways that will accommodate the blind — drinking bowls for soup, bite-sized portions for meat, and fruit on skewers, for example.

My husband Steve, publisher of Ontario Restaurant News, has low vision. He finds low lighting in fine dining establishments a challenge,

and copes by using a penlight and magnifier to illuminate and enlarge the menu type. Restaurants that have such items on hand are much appreciated.

Menu boards in quick-service establishments are similarly frustrating. A simple sheet of paper showing menu items and prices in large print makes all the difference in the world.

Like many people over 40, I wear reading glasses and sometimes forget them.

A few years back, I was most impressed when 529 Wellington, a fine dining restaurant in Winnipeg, presented me with an assortment of reading glasses arranged neatly in a satin-lined wooden chest.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is here, helping Ontarians better serve patrons of all abilities. It’s events like Dining in the Dark that bring the theory to life.

CNIB volunteers Gerry and Merilyn Smith.

Volunteer Tam Belayneh with Aztec.

Dining in the Dark in Barrie BARRIE, Ont. — How does a restaurant handle a group of 40 diners, some of whom are blind or partially sighted, and several guide dogs? Staff at Cottage Canoe in Barrie had a chance to find out on Jan. 7 as the restaurant hosted CNIB Barrie’s annual volunteer dinner.

This year’s dinner had a Dining in the Dark theme.

“In the past, they just served sandwiches,” said Ritu Taneja, the restaurant’s owner. “We thought we would make it more upbeat and fun.”

Some of the volunteers who have full vision could choose to be blindfolded.

“We saw it as an opportunity for people with full vision to walk the walk, and for those with low vision to share their knowledge,” added Sherri Helsdingen, co-ordinator of volunteer services for CNIB Barrie. “They have lots of strategies that enable them to have dinner and look elegant.”

The dinner also provided an opportunity for the restaurant’s servers and culinary team to learn how to create a positive dining experience for customers with vision loss.

“Most importantly, if you can tell the person has vision loss, ask if they need help. If they

do, usually they need a sighted person guiding them to their seat as elegantly as possible. This involves a fair bit of description,” Helsdingen said. For example, walk straight for 18 steps and then turn left.

“People think they are being condescending, but if diners have low vision, they need to know where they are going.”

It’s important that guests know when a server is coming and leaving. “Put a hand on their shoulder to let them know you are there; when leaving, say, ‘Okay, I’m going to step away for a moment.’

“When you’re putting a plate or glass in front of them, let them know, as in ‘I’m putting your glass up and to the right of the plate.’ It’s obvious when you think about it, but people don’t always think.

“To help people figure out what’s on their plates, we often use a clock metaphor,” Helsdingen added. For example, the potatoes are at three o’clock. If meat is served, it can be cut in advance, especially meat with a bone.

“And please don’t do candles,” Helsdingen warned.

“We prepared soups that don’t have to be eaten with spoons, containing vegetables that

Staff at Cottage Canoe Restaurant in Barrie, left to right, Lukkas Powers, Kelly Harrison, Caroline Anderson, Sarah McDonald and Kevin Isherwood.

were specifically designed not to be chunky,” said head chef Kevin Isherwood.

The soups were served in wonton soup bowls, so that they could be sipped, and penne rather than spaghetti was selected for the pasta course, since it’s easier to manipulate.

Asked about his pet peeves, Gerry Smith, a CNIB volunteer who has been blind for 40 years, told ORN he hates it when people address

his wife, Merilyn, who has full vision, asking, “What does he want?”

The guests included seven guide dogs. “We do our best to ensure the guide dogs are seated in a way that is conducive to traffic,” said Helsdingen. “There’s a real temptation to acknowledge or even fuss over the dogs, and of course we can’t. Even using the dog’s name is distracting — we have to pretend they’re invisible.”

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F E B R U A RY 2 015

IN PHOTOS: Tim Hortons opens museum at Store No. 1 HAMILTON — It was all hands on deck, as Tim Hortons’ brass unveiled the completely remodelled Store No. 1 in Hamilton in early January.

The new two-storey site includes an upper-level museum of Tim Hortons’ memorablia from the company’s past 50 years of operations.

David Clanachan, president and chief operating officer,

said the event topped off a busy year, which saw the introduction of a dark roast, a $12.5-billion deal with Burger King and the celebration of its 50th anniversary.

The company’s first location opened at the corner of Ottawa Street and Dunsmure Road in Hamilton on May 17, 1964. Currently Tim Hortons has more than 4,000 locations across Canada.

1.

2.

4.

1. Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger (with scissors) cuts the ribbon at the grand opening ceremony. 2. Paper cups throughout the history.

3. Florence Kasoian, 84, worked for Tims for 40 years. 4. Tim Hortons memorabilia on display.

5. Progression of uniforms. 6. The remodelled Store No. 1. 7. A statue of Tim Horton.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

Aburi Restaurants sets Toronto plans

By Don Douloff, Assistant Editor TORONTO — Aburi Restaurants Canada plans to open Miku restaurant in downtown Toronto by late June, the second location of the samenamed Japanese eatery the company launched in Vancouver in 2008.

“We chose Toronto because it’s Canada’s financial centre,” said director of operations and development Mike Deas-Dawlish. “Toronto’s southern financial district is an up-and-coming area and we want to be part of something and grow with the area as it grows.”

This is Aburi Restaurant’s first foray into the Ontario market.

Plans are also afoot to debut a new, smaller sushi concept in Toronto’s financial district, with construction expected to begin in August and a pre-Christmas opening slated, according to Deas-Dawlish. Two to three Toronto locations are planned. Further details have yet to be released.

Construction began in January on Miku Toronto’s 7,700-square-foot, street-level space in the RBC WaterPark Place Building at 10 Bay St. It will seat about 200 people — approximately 120 in the main dining space, 66 in the lounge and 12 each at the sushi and raw bars. A patio will seat another 70 to 80.

Deas-Dawlish characterizes the restaurant’s look as “West Coast modern with a Japanese feel, clean lines and simple elegance.” The interi-

or will feature marble, white oak and tempered glass and light greys and black will dominate the palette.

Spearheaded by corporate chef Kazuya Matsuoka, the Toronto menu will highlight Miku’s signature blowtorch-seared, aburi-style nigiri sushi and sashimi. As in Vancouver, the Toronto restaurant will feature West Coast fish and seafood — some of it sustainable Ocean Wise certified. The Toronto menu will set itself apart, however, by offering fish and seafood sourced from the Atlantic, Europe and the Caribbean, as well as produce from Eastern Canada and Ontario, said Deas-Dawlish.

Miku Toronto will further differentiate itself by offering an “increased focus” on shared shellfish platters and chef ’s-choice omakase menus priced at $60, $80 and, possibly, $100, he added.

Average per-person cheque, including food and drink, will be between $55 and $65.

Complementing the food will be 12 to 16 sakes, including six to eight by the glass (as well as tasting menus with sake pairings); more than 100 wines; 20 to 30 cocktails; and Japanese whiskies.

Staffing the Toronto location will be a kitchen brigade of 50 to 60 and a front-of-house team of 60 to 70.

Deas-Dawlish said Aburi Restaurants has “looked at” Calgary for a Miku location and in 2018, will “start turning its sights south, to New York and Chicago.”

Miku roll.

Vancouver Miku lounge.

Dining room at Vancouver Miku.

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WOMEN’S FOODSERVICE FORUM Cindy Novak, Vanessa White and Barb Peters are all successful women in the foodservice industry. They are also members, volunteers and advocates for the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) whose members are in operations, manufacturing, distribution, supply and publishing.

The WFF started about 25 years ago in the U.S. with 12 women who came together to discuss how to break through the glass ceiling. It came to Canada about 11 years ago and today, has leadership programming in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal. The organization focuses on competency, providing content and building connections for both women and men in the industry.

Novak, a foodservice veteran and president of Toronto-based Communication Leadership Network, says women still face specific challenges in the workplace. “In the foodservice industry, without a doubt. We like to pretend we don’t, but we actually still have very specific organizations and very specific subsets within the industry that are still very male-dominated and who don’t have a lens on diversity,” she says.

According to a Catalyst study of Fortune 500 companies, those with higher representation of women in top management positions financially outperformed those with lower representation.

“You need gender-diversity in order to get diversity of thinking and diversity of perspective. When you get your workforce gender-balanced all the way through the workforce, you get better results,” says Novak.

White, senior vice-president of human resources for Sodexo Canada, has a degree in hospitality and tourism, but landed her first job after school in HR with Maple Leaf Foods. She has also worked on the supply side of the industry with a number of large Canadian employers.

“I love the industry because it’s so dynamic,” she says. “When I think of the network I’ve built over almost 20 years of working through this industry — just the people I have met and the things that they do and the companies they work for — I’m honoured to be a part of it.”

White says she thinks there are more opportunities for women to enter foodservice

compared to other industries in frontline and entry-level roles. “If you love it, you stay, and if you don’t, then you’ve had a great opportunity to come in and gain experience,” she says.

“I think where the industry needs to do some work and still has some barriers for women is as you rise above that middlemanagement level. I do see it changing — and organizations like the Women’s Foodservice Forum have been absolutely critical to that — and I think more and more women are rising into more senior positions even outside of the traditional HR-type leadership roles. We’re seeing female presidents in foodservice,” says White.

Peters, vice-president of foodservice for Kraft Canada, has been with the company throughout her career starting in Montreal as an administrative assistant.

Over her 30 years there, Peters has worked in sales and marketing in progressive roles and has held her current title for about two years.

Peters says she never felt like she didn’t get a position because she is female.

She did, however, face challenges from customers because of her sex. “You find ways to earn your stripes and build up your credibility on what you’re capable of, which takes time, then that somewhat neutralizes any opinions that your customers may

have,” says Peters.

The WWF’s annual conference is being held in March in Orlando.

“It’s probably one of the best development conferences in any industry and has been ranked [as such],” says Novak, who was named volunteer of the year in 2010.

“I’ve been to this conference now four or five times and I still get chills when I walk in that room and am surrounded by 2,500 very professional, successful, ambitious women. It’s pretty cool,” says White.

“As a woman in the industry, you’re used to being the minority in a big group, so for women it’s pretty empowering,” says White, noting Sodexo also sends men to the conference. “A lot of the men come back and say, ‘I never thought about what it must feel like to walk into a room where you’re the minority.’”

White says there is a lot of opportunity for people outside of under-represented groups to grow and learn.

Peters suggests women in the industry leverage a group like WFF, which she credits with helping her build her career.

She also encourages advocating for yourself as much as possible, adding she might have moved up the ranks faster if she had done more. “I don’t think young women today are as shy about advocating for themselves, but I still see it,” she says.

When a young girl came into Biff ’s Bistro with her parents, chef de cuisine Amanda Ray took the time to come over and talk about different dishes and desserts they might like. When the girl mentioned she liked crème brûlée because of the crackling sound it makes when you dip into it, Ray went back into the kitchen and brought out two samples for the table.

“It just made her day, she was just blown away by that special detail,” says Ray. The girl mentioned that someday, she would like to become a chef too.

“You know what? You should go for it,” Ray told the girl. “It’s an amazing thing to cook for someone and show that kind of love and passion when you create something.”

The girl also left a note listing her top five favourite restaurants — all of which were Biff ’s Bistro.

“Those are the amazing moments where

you’re like ‘OK this is why I work 50 to 60 hours a week.’”

Chef Ray, who grew up in Aurora, Ont., says she got into cooking when she was a teenager and her mom decided to go back to university, leaving her and her sister to cook meals for the family. She says that really sparked her interest in cooking and led to study at George Brown College.

After working for a husband and wife team at a catering business, Ray moved downtown in 2001 and took a job with Auberge du Pommier with Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants. From there she transferred to Canoe to learn from then executive chef Anthony Walsh.

“Anthony Walsh became my mentor,” says Ray, who initially was looking for a female chef to learn from.

“For me it didn’t matter that I didn’t find that female mentor because I found someone who helped nurture and gave me

Mel Lafleur has been cooking since she was about seven.

“My grandma was a great chef. When I was young, I would cook with her all the time,” she says.

Her first job was in a restaurant prepping and dishwashing.

“When I got out of high school, I wasn’t really sure what direction to go in,” Lafleur says, and when her father suggested cooking school, “It was a five-minute conversation and I think I was signed up the next day.”

She attended The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

After graduation, Lafleur took a job with a catering company, then moved over to the Vintage Group for a number of years opening new concepts and working her way up.

As corporate chef for One Horn Developments, Lafleur is responsible for menu development, training and consistency at its three Calgary establishments: The Unicorn Pub, The Libertine Public House and Below Deck Tavern. Lafleur also gets the

restaurants involved in as many community events as she has time for.

Early in her career, Lafleur was trained by women. “I was lucky getting into catering right away, because it was all women running it, so that was great. When I went to open up the other restaurants, it was sort of a boys club,” says Lafleur, who was one of the only women in the kitchen for two years at Vintage Chophouse.

She says this was an interesting experience, but didn’t cause many challenges.

“I think it’s more dependent on how you work. I was a workhorse. I would just come to work, put my head down and work as hard as I could.”

Lafleur says there weren’t many women in cooking school when she was there about 15 years ago.

“We’ve got the SAIT campus right across the street from one of my restaurants. I see a lot of girls in there so that’s exciting, but I don’t see a lot of them coming out,” she

At any given hour of the day, there’s a good chance Michelle LeBlanc is at her dreamcome-true restaurant. She is the co-owner of Chinched Bistro in St. John’s N.L., alongside her husband chef Shaun Hussey, and is first to admit in order to stay in this business, you’ve got to put in a lot of hours.

“It’s not an easy business for women to be in,” LeBlanc says. “I was very fortunate.

I am a small girl in a male-dominated business and I was always treated with respect and never felt animosity.”

LeBlanc — a Cape Breton native — graduated from the Culinary Institute of Canada in P.E.I. She started cooking 12 years ago as a line cook at Oran Mor, a high-end restaurant in Nantucket, Mass., under chef Peter Wallace.

In 2010, she opened Chinched alongside Hussey, where the duo pushes the envelope and brings locally-sourced ingredients to the table. She is also the president of the

Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador where she promotes the province’s culinary scene.

“I was lucky,” she says. “I was able to grow because I was treated with respect from both the servers and the cooks.”

LeBlanc said she isn’t sure gender is an issue until it comes to wanting a family. Women, she said, have to take that into consideration, noting there are many foodservice positions that can be conducive to being pregnant.

According to LeBlanc, Chinched always has women in the kitchen, though it may not be by design.

“There just seems to be an abundance of talented women coming to the door,” she said. “It’s really all about competency.”

Having a husband and wife team, LeBlanc said, brings a nice balance to the restaurant.

“We have great staff,” she said. “It all

Amanda Ray

CHEF DE CUISINE, BIFF’S BISTRO that growth as a chef.”

When Ray made the leap to management in 2007/2008, she says it was a hard switch. “For me, it was a different way to learn more, it gave me that opportunity to grow as a manager and to grow as a teacher as somebody who could give something back to the cooks.”

Ray says women coming into the industry have to promote themselves.

“I always did a lot of events to meet other chefs, and learn new things. People would get an opportunity to meet you and get to know you,” she says. “The most important thing is to work hard, and never be afraid to try new things.”

Photo by Cindy La.

Mel Lafleur

CORPORATE CHEF, ONE HORN DEVELOPMENTS says. “I’m not quite sure where they are all going right now, but I think there are definitely more girls. I’ve got lots of girls between the three places that I run.”

Lafleur says more women are putting on chef whites and she hopes they stick with it.

“Hopefully, they see that we’ve got some of these amazing women working in this industry here and see that it’s possible to do.

It’s hard, it’s not an easy job, but maybe they see that it’s happening and we’re doing it, so they can do it,” she says.

“If you’re finding it difficult, the best way you can prove yourself is just work really hard,” says Lafleur to women starting out in the industry.

Michelle LeBlanc

CO-OWNER CHINCHED BISTRO boils down to respect; they’re very respectful of what we do and who we are.”

Both LeBlanc and Hussey have their Red Seal endorsements and support the province’s Women in Trades program by bringing women into the restaurant to learn and gain apprenticeship hours.

As for advice for young women coming into the industry, LeBlanc says they have to know what they are getting themselves into.

“You need to have a thick outer shell,” she said. “Determination, pure passion, an interest in what you are doing and really connecting with the people you work with is so important to succeed.”

Rosie Maclean

PRESIDENT MACLEAN FOOD CONSULTING INC. For 50 years, Rosie Maclean has navigated the foodservice industry as a dietitian and food stylist. Currently she is president of her own company, Maclean Food Consulting Inc., and she has freelanced with companies such as Kraft, McCain’s, Nestlé and Campbell’s.

“Back then in the mid-60s, there wasn’t the choice of opportunity. Girls became teachers or nurses,” Maclean says. “It’s completely different today.”

While her choices were limited, she says, there was at least an abundance of jobs.

Nowadays, the tables have turned: there’s a wide breadth of foodservice occupations to chose from including sports education,

Sharon Steward

HEAD CHEF, MANITOBA PIONEER CAMP

Photo by Kaya Glover.

Sharon Steward grew up on a farm in Sanford, Man., near Winnipeg. “I was constantly surrounded by food and fresh produce and my mom made everything from scratch so I think that kind of fed the initial interest in the field,” says Steward.

While working at a café, one of the cooks suggested she pursue a culinary arts education. Steward enrolled in Red River College and apprenticed under chef Takashi Murakami at Saint Charles Country Club.

When Steward and her husband moved to Calgary in 2004, she took a back-of-house position at Catch restaurant.

After getting her sommelier certificate, Steward took over Catch’s wine and bever-

Shonah Chalmers

CULINARY PROGRAM CO-ORDINATOR, HUMBER COLLEGE Shonah Chalmers’ love for food budded at home, but blossomed during her time in the Canadian Forces. “It’s not like I pulled on the apron strings of my mom, but there were always great eats at home,” she says.

In the army, Chalmers says, the food was terrible. “I thought, there has to be a way we could do this better, so whenever we went away, I would start to cook for them,” she says. It was reflection that influenced her decision to attend Humber College for culinary arts instead of going overseas. “I had always looked back and found the happy moments were in food, around food, feeding people,” says Chalmers.

“I was the token chick in every kitchen

marketing, product development and restaurant management, but there isn’t a lot of openings and it can be hard to get your foot in the door, Maclean says.

After graduating as a dietitian in Scotland, Maclean took a job with a school youth program in Britian where she coordinated healthy lunches for 27 schools to ensure children were getting at least onethird of their necessary dietary needs from the school.

In her early 20s, Maclean came to Canada and took a job with the Milk Foundation of Canada writing pamphlets supporting the importance of drinking milk.

Maclean was introduced through a friend to the world of showbiz, where she freelanced as a food stylist for major foodservice companies advertising on television. Maclean says it was there she met and networked with major players in foodservice, which lead to more jobs in the field.

She has also worked in the healthcare sector, developing menus and ensuring food safety. “I had no plan at all,” Maclean jokes.

“I was very open and versatile.”

Maclean has held nearly every role with the Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals (CAFP), an organization she continues to work with today. Through the CAFP, Maclean obtained her certified food executive (CFE) designation.

Maclean has been a mentor to many coming into the industry. “Come in with an open mind,” she says. “Your qualifications are the same as many others.”

Maclean says it is important to know what kind of person you are. “Is it difficult to speak in groups or deal with adverse situations?” she asks. “Don’t feel that just because you learned this or that, that’s all you can do. You have to look at yourself; there are opportunities for everybody. We’ll always be eating.”

age program and then became restaurant manager.

She studied wine with the International Sommelier Guild and, after moving back to her home province about six years ago, now sits on the Manitoba board of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers.

The mother of three has been in the foodservice industry for 17 years and now teaches culinary classes at her alma mater, does some catering and is head chef at Manitoba Pioneer Camp, where she revamped the meal program with a focus on tasty, nutritious food. “My husband works at the camp full time so my whole family was going to end up being at the camp all summer long and there is high need for skilled people in the camping world,” she says.

Never intimidated by being a minority in the kitchen, Steward has faced some challenges as a woman in foodservice. She has been told she would come in second place in a competition because a female had

won the year prior and that she wouldn’t get a promotion because of her gender. Steward took this as a challenge, worked hard and kept learning.

“Being a female working in foodservice shouldn’t be any different than it is for a male, but it can be,” says Steward. “Whether you are man or woman, to do well in this industry you must be educated, work hard, be dedicated, take pride in your work and guard yourself against some of the pitfalls of the industry. Discrimination is real but, it works both ways I think.”

To women in or considering the field, Steward says get involved in organizations, compete in local competitions, ask for guidance from those who have been in the industry, and work really hard.

“Don’t waste your time worrying if the guy working next to you thinks you shouldn’t be there because you’re not a guy.

If he actually is thinking that, he won’t go far these days,” she says.

I worked in downtown [Toronto], but I never considered myself the female — I was just one of the guys, but I wasn’t a guy,” she says. Chalmers recalls one issue she had with a chef she worked under. “He just pulled me aside and said ‘Why do you even bother? You should just be at home in your kitchen,’” says Chalmers. “I responded like any young, crazy, hot-blooded woman; I cooked harder, faster, worked longer, did more than anybody else. And that’s really what you have to do as a female; it’s terrible to say. In going through kitchens, I had to come in earlier, do more, accept more challenges, be ready to move to the next station without any hesitation.”

Once you do get the respect of the rest of the kitchen, they have your back, she says.

When she first started cooking, Chalmers was told there are two types of women in this industry: tough and closed off or soft and nurturing. “I didn’t want to be

either of those, so I decided I had to find a balance between the two,” she says. “You have to be really you. You have to be a chef, you don’t have to play the female, you need to just be a chef.”

Chalmers is the president of the Toronto Escoffier Society and has been teaching culinary arts at Humber College for five years. She says 54 per cent of the culinary program is women. “So where do they go?” asks Chalmers. “That’s part of the reason I came back to teaching. Why don’t they stay? It can’t just be because they have babies, that’s impossible, right?”

She says there needs to be a change and it has to happen slowly. “We can’t lead with this iron fist anymore, it has to be with a gentle hand and gentlemen are understanding that it’s OK to have a balance of females and males in the kitchen — it actually gives you a good diversity of how the kitchen feels,” says Chalmers.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

IN PHOTOS: Pizza Nova opens full service concept TORONTO—Pizza Nova recently opened Nova Ristorante, a full-service, Italian restaurant in the chain’s original location.

Opening its first store in 1963 on Lawrence Ave. E. in Scarborough, the chain has grown to more than 130 over half a century in Ontario’s

foodservice industry.

The 2,500-square-foot dining room seats 104 with a 12-seat patio.

A menu created by executive chef Luciano Schipano includes a variety of entrées, pasta and, of course, pizza.

Nova Ristorante celebrated its grand opening in December.

Nova Ristorante opened in the dining room of the original Pizza Nova location.

The restaurant seats 104.

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F E B R U A RY 2 015

A digital menu in every home Tracking the growth of online delivery orders

By Scott Stewart

F

rom desktops and laptops to tablets and smartphones, the world has experienced a radical technological shift in recent years. And while much of the foodservice market has remained relatively unchanged over that time period, we are beginning to see the effect of this technology on the industry.

Specifically, the full service restaurant (FSR) segment has started to see more delivery traffic from consumers, with some of those gains coming from online orders. Though online orders only account for about 0.5 per cent of all fullservice traffic occasions, according to The NPD Group, this emerging behaviour is becoming more relevant for operators; especially those targeting younger consumers.

Growth in the information age Delivery within FSR is relatively small compared to other access modes, accounting for four per cent of all occasions, compared to 79 per cent on premise. While there have been slight gains in delivery’s share of traffic since 2011, it has remained relatively consistent in the long term.

Among delivery occasions at FSR, 12 per cent of these orders are made through the Internet, which is a modest increase over 11 per cent of orders in 2011.

However, while these changes appear relatively small overall, there are demographic tendencies that make this emerging order method particularly worthy of focus from operators going forward. More specifically, for operators looking to drive millennial traffic to their restaurants, online ordering is becoming increasingly important in FSR.

Millennials as early adopters When it comes to online ordering, millennials (18-34 year olds) certainly stand out. Among FSR delivery occasions, 19 per cent of millennials’ orders came via the Internet, compared to 12 per cent among total consumers. And this trend has emerged in recent years, since only 14 per cent of millennial FSR delivery occasions used the Internet in 2011. This means that not only are millennials more likely to use online delivery for FSR occasions, but they are using it more and more every year.

The importance of millennials to FSR online delivery is further illustrated by that age group’s share of these types of visits.

This means that among all online delivery orders in FSR, more than half come from an age group that accounts for less than one quarter of the entire segment’s traffic. Compared to last year, millennials increased their FSR delivery traffic by more than 15 per cent, and that growth

DE CODI NG

was driven by online ordering, highlighting the importance of this method to drive growth with this highly sought after demographic group.

The millennial group has been studied in depth throughout the entire foodservice market, and this finding relating to online ordering behaviour further shows their uniqueness.

How restaurants can benefit With all of this in mind, it is important for FSR operators to consider the benefits of implementing online ordering strategies to attract these younger consumers. Not only can the development of online ordering methods at an FSR allow the operator to drive traffic through these Internet delivery occasions, but it can also help develop loyalty among consumers who may not have visited the restaurant normally.

As a result, the implications of this access mode reach beyond the singular traffic occasion, instead showing potential to impact long-term consumer trial and retention.

T HE

D ATA

It is also important to remember that the generation to follow millennials will likely be even more engaged with mobile technology, and therefore even more likely to be using the Internet to make foodservice orders. This makes it that much more important to implement these strategies now, as they will likely prove beneficial for operators in the future.

Overall, online ordering for delivery appears to be an emerging trend in the market. And for any operator aiming to develop greater share of millennials, this ordering method is in line to become increasingly important to driving traffic.

Scott Stewart is an account manager, foodservice Canada for The NPD Group, which has more than 25 years of experience providing consumerbased market information to leaders in the foodservice industry.

For more information, visit www.npd.com or contact him at scott.stewart@npd.com.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

Guelph University opens online food safety program to public GUELPH, Ont. — The University of Guelph food science department will open an online food safety course to the public in mid-February.

The Guelph Food Academy was originally designed for Loblaws’ suppliers in 2012 to ensure a standard level of knowledge and awareness around food safety.

“We’ve always been approached by nonLoblaws suppliers who wanted to take the course,” said Bill Lachowsky, food safety education co-ordinator, department of food science at the University of Guelph.

In its inaugural year, the program saw 85

participants and 350 the following year from all around the world.

According to Lachowsky, the material has been developed to be more generic and suitable for a wider audience and can be useful for anyone handling food.

“While the material is sort of talking about food processing, the concepts can be applied to restaurants,” he said. “Ingredients come in, ingredients are worked on, and ingredients go to the customer.”

Participants are tested via online quizzes and assignments. The assignments are tailored to suit each participant and can be

directly applied to their companies with immediate impact.

“At the end of that assignment, the person has something they can take to upper management and say ‘Hey I’ve just worked it out, we’re going to have to change our cleaning, we’ll have to do staff training, we have to change our labelling, we’ll have to do some shelf-life studies, we’ve done a risk assessment and we’re going to have to come up with some social media,’” Lachowsky said.

All of the information gathered through the assignments is kept strictly confidential, so people within the program have the op-

portunity to work on new, proprietary products.

The program, he said, has been taken by everyone from chief executive officers to receptionists and can be helpful for food processors, commodity groups, bakeries, confectionaries, meat suppliers, restaurateurs and food brokers.

The core program has seven modules and costs $2,000 with an additional three modules for $750.

Lachowsky said there are five more modules in the works including how to develop a food safety culture in the workplace; traceability; management commitment; food defence on how to protect your brand once the product leaves your facility; and a module on social media.

The program also provides links for those who are looking to export to different countries to know what standards each country demands from food labelling to food safety.

“The tools and everything we teach, it’s so applicable to any commodity,” Lachowsky said.

For more information visit www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/guelph-food-academy

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Dairy commission to reduce prices OTTAWA — The Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) announced in mid-January it would reduce the support price of skim milk powder, effective March 1.

For dairy farmers, this decrease is estimated to translate into a decrease of 1.8 per cent (or $1.49 per hectolitre) for industrial milk used to make yogurt, cheese and skim milk powder.

“This reduction follows a decrease in the cost of producing milk in Canada in the last year. This cost decrease can be seen mostly in feed, milk transportation, fuel, and interest paid,” Randy Williamson, chairman of the CDC, said in a release. “We are optimistic that this price reduction will help grow the demand for dairy products.”

Restaurants Canada stated it “fully expects” dairy processors to pass on the full price reduction to restaurateurs.

“Restaurants want to support the growth of the dairy industry, along with other Canadian agricultural sectors,” Restaurants Canada interim president and chief executive officer Donna Dooher said in a release. “This decrease helps us stop our industry’s declining use of dairy, and promote growth instead.”

GFS buys Halperns’ Steak and Seafood ATLANTA — Gordon Food Service announced in early January the acquisition of Halperns’ Steak and Seafood company.

Atlanta-based Halperns’ distributes high-quality meats and seafood out of four production facilities, which are located in Atlanta, Baltimore, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

“The purchase of Halperns’ will enhance our capabilities to provide our customers with the highest quality fresh meat and seafood products,” Jim Gordon, chief executive officer of Gordon Food Service, said in a release.

“We are excited to welcome the Halperns’ team to Gordon Food Service. We look forward to working together to provide outstanding products and service to our customers and grow our business.”

Halperns’ Steak and Seafood is well-established in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic areas of the U.S. According to reports, the move could see Halperns’ products in Canada, through Gordon Food Service’s distribution network.

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F E B R U A RY 2 015

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5

PROD UCT s 6

4

1. Tonica coffee kombucha. 2. Burnt Ship Bay cabernet merlot. 3. Tork napkin dispensers. 4. Vollrath portable breath guard. 5. Libbey Foodservice’s flights and glassware.

6. Cascades napkins/hand towels.

Coffee kombucha Tonica Kombucha has released a new flavour — Organic Alchemy Coffee Kombucha — a caffeine-free offering with hints of coffee, butterscotch and hazelnut. The new flavour is available in 355-millilitre bottles and can be ordered through the company’s website.

“Coffee lovers who are looking to cut down on their daily java can now enjoy a flavourful drink with kombucha’s signature energy boost,” said founder Zoey Shamai in a release. www.tonicakombucha.com

Hockey wine The exclusive wine of the Hockey Hall of Fame will be launched in LCBO stores in mid-February. Burnt Ship Bay Wines is set to release its pinot grigio and cabernet merlot to a wider audience. Previously the wine was only available at select restaurants, hotels and the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. “Some outstanding wines have been crafted for this label and we are excited to bring them to a broader audience,” Lou Puglisi, co-owner of Burnt Ship Bay vineyard project, said in a release. www.burntshipbay.com

Take a napkin Tork has launched five new dispensers in North America as part of the company’s Xpressnap Signature line.

Blue tabletop, green tabletop, blue stand, green stand and grey counter models are now available. According to the company, the new colours and styles support the growing demand for a “comprehensive assortment of one-at-a-time napkin dispensers and give customers more choice and control over the look and feel of their table tops.” The Xpressnap line was first launched in 2003 with each model utilizing “one napkin every time” technology to reduce use. www.tork.ca

Breath guard Vollrath’s new folding mobile breath guard provides customers with convenient, portable food coverings for banquets and catering. The acrylic breath guards come with a nylon bag with built-in magnetic latches for easy transport. Thumb screws provide a quick setup and are permanently attached to avoid missing parts. www.vollrath.com

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Take flight Libbey’s Foodservice has launched serving flights and accompanying glassware. The wooden paddles allow customers to experience a mixture of wines, beers, spirits or desserts in one sitting.

Each paddle comes with four distinct wells, which fit the appropriate glassware and are designed for easy handling by servers. www.foodservice.libbey.com

For table spills Cascades Elite dinner napkins/guest hand towels are absorbent (thanks to an inner layer), softer to the touch and have less lint compared to airlaid napkins or linens. Flat pack and sixth-fold options allow flexibility for silverware to be rolled, banded or set out for attractive table settings. Sixth-fold is also intended for guest hand towels in restrooms. www.cascades.com

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COMING EVENTS March 1-3: Restaurants Canada Show, Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. www.restaurantshow.ca March 15-17: International Boston Seafood Show, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston. www.seafoodexpo.com March 24-26: International Pizza Expo, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas. www.pizzaexpo.com

April 27: Resorts of Ontario Trade Show, Blue Mountain Resort Conference Centre, The Blue Mountains, Ont. www.resortsofontario.com

April 24-26: Waterloo Region Food & Drink Show, Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, Kitchener, Ont. www.fooddrinkshow.com

March 24-27: Anuga FoodTec, Cologne Exhibition Centre, Cologne, Germany. www.anugafoodtec.com.

May 5-6: GE Capital’s Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit, Hiton Toronto Hotel. www.restaurantinvestment.ca

April 10-12: The Good Food & Drink Festival. Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. www.goodfoodfestival.com

May 10-13: Terroir Hospitality Symposium, Arcadian Court, 410 Bay St., Toronto. www.terroirsymposium.com

O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

Restaurants Canada Show coming up

THEY CAN FORGIVE

AN OVERCOOKED STEAK,

Chef John Bil demos at the French’s booth last year.

TORONTO— The Restaurants Canada Show (formerly the CRFA Show) will feature more than 1,200 exhibitors and a mix of demonstrations and seminars at the Direct Energy Centre at Toronto’s Exhibition Place March 1-3.

The three-day event includes specialty pavilions, the 2015 Toronto Culinary Salon and the Frankie Tomatto’s Restaurant Innovation Competition finals.

The Pizza Pavilion will be host to a showdown between pizza tossers and dough stretchers vying for the chance to represent Canada in the World Pizza Games at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas.

Chef demos on the Culinary Stars stage include Ruby Watchco executive chef and proprietor Lynn Crawford, pastry chef and television personality Anna Olsen and Milestones corporate executive chef Jason Rosso.

The breakfast event will feature keynote speaker Dan Aykroyd, who will share his spirits experience at the Allstream Centre on March 3 at 8 a.m.

Educational seminars include:

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• Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer at the Shake & Sling pavilion on March 1 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

• Max Valiquette on consumer behaviour on March 2 at 1 p.m.

• Barmetrix (two sessions) napkinomics: design a service strategy that fits on the back of a napkin and remarkable service by design on March 2 from noon to 4:15 p.m.

• Molecular cuisine by John Placko, culinary director, Modern Culinary Academy on March 2 from 2 to 4 p.m.

• Barmetrix (two sessions) restaurant and bar profitability foundations and napkinomics: design a service strategy that fits on the back of a napkin on March 3 from 11 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

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| 23

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F E B R U A RY 2 015

Delta bar pours Canadian whisky

Mason, Ohio location

Blaze Pizza expanding to Canada PASADENA, Calif. — Build-your-own pizza chain Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, announced in mid-January it has signed a franchise agreement with Five Star Blaze Holdings, Inc. to develop the concept in Canada. The deal includes plans to open a minimum of 60 franchise units.

The fast-casual chain is targeting Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary for the first restaurants, with the first slated to open in Toronto at Yonge and Dundas streets early this fall.

A subsidiary of Cypress Five Star, LLC, Five Star Blaze Holdings is led by Robert Baxter, Blair Walker and Darven Erickson. Cypress Five Star is the largest franchisee in the Five Guys Burgers & Fries chain with 41 franchise restaurants in Canada and, through an affiliate, two additional franchise restaurants in Wyoming.

According to a release, the development area for Blaze Pizza includes Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“The global trends behind the booming fast casual restaurant segment — better quality, customization and premium environment — are also driving Blaze Pizza’s popularity and rapid expansion,” said Baxter in the release. “We’ve already introduced fast-casual burgers to Canada and are excited to do the same with fast-casual pizza.”

Jim Mizes, president and chief operating officer of Blaze Pizza, said he is pleased to be entering the Canadian market with Cypress Five Star. “We feel that Cypress Five Star has the proven track record, financial capital and local Canadian market knowledge necessary to execute the Blaze Pizza brand to our high standards,” said Mizes.

According to the company, Blaze Pizza is looking to partner with other qualified, multiunit franchise candidates to develop the brand in additional international markets.

Blaze Pizza serves up custom-built artisanal pizzas, freshly made salads, blood orange lemonade and s’more pies. Each restaurant features an interactive assembly-line format allowing guests to customize the menu’s signature pizzas or create their own. Cooked with an open-flame oven, the 11-inch pizzas are under $8.

Each restaurant makes its own dough from scratch using a recipe developed by executive chef Bradford Kent, which requires a 24-hour fermentation period to produce his signature light, crisp crust. Blaze Pizza also offers glutenfree dough and vegan cheese.

The average restaurant is 2,400 square feet with seating for about 60 guests.

Founded by Elise and Rick Wetzel (cofounder of Wetzel’s Pretzels), the concept is backed by investors including LeBron James, Maria Shriver, Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner and movie producer John Davis.

Inside Delta’s Char No. 5 whisky bar.

By Don Douloff TORONTO — Delta Toronto’s Char No. 5 lobby bar is making Canadian whisky the star of the show.

A number of factors drove the decision to focus solely on Canadian whisky including the need for Char No. 5 to differentiate itself from SOCO Kitchen + Bar, also in Delta Toronto’s lobby. To that end, the team jettisoned the hotel’s original design plans that called for the

space to serve grab-and-go food (but would have duplicated SOCO’s offerings), said JeanLuc Barone, managing director at Delta Toronto and executive director of food and beverage at Delta Hotels & Resorts.

In discussions with suppliers, the Delta team discovered “Whisky as a whole and Canadian whisky, in particular, have been on the rise for the last three to four years,” said Barone.

The team decided “There’s a Canadian whisky story that needs to be told,” he said.

Practical considerations — namely, the 1,500-square-foot bar’s limited shelf space — also helped drive the decision to focus on a niche spirit.

Opened about 10 days after Delta Toronto launched in late November, Char No. 5 features 70 to 100 whisky labels produced across the country and ranging across the price spectrum.

About one quarter is in the $30 to $40 (per ounce) range and 20 to 30 per cent are priced $10 to $15, with the remainder in the mid-$20’s.

Also featured are Glen Breton Rare, from Cape Breton, N.S., and Stalk & Barrel, from Concord, Ont., the only two single malts produced in Canada, according to Barone.

The bar also offers about a dozen whiskybased cocktails that are “resonating with female customers,” said Barone.

Two Canadian wines (one red and one white) and one Ontario craft beer, in bottles, round out the drink selection at Char No. 5, whose name refers to the optimal char burned into the insides of whisky-aging barrels by a flame-wielding cooper.

Augmenting the drink list is a snack-themed menu created by hotel executive chef Dan Craig.

Chosen to partner with whisky, the menu includes charcuterie, cheeses and more substantial snacks such as popcorn sweetbreads and whisky-glazed pork ribs. Average check is $25 per person.

“We’re not finding Canadian whiskys are a hard sell,” said Barone about a month after launch, a fact he attributed to the bartenders and servers enthusiastically directing customers to Canadian brands that match the taste of their preferred spirits.

Char No. 5, in its early days, has been attracting “a good-sized crowd” comprised more of “whisky newbies than aficionados,” said Barone.

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Beverage News

Integrating icewine NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. — The Niagara Icewine Festival brings tourists to the Ontario grape-growing region during a typically slow time of the year.

In its 20th year, the festival included activities in Jordan, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls, Ont., over the course of three weeks in January.

“It definitively brings tourism into a region that typically wouldn’t have any tourism at all,” said Vineland Estates executive chef Justin Downes, who started at the winery restaurant 16 years ago as dishwasher.

He said the influx of tourism in the winter months allows him to do some cooking his kitchen doesn’t typically have the opportunity for, such as braising.

For the Niagara Icewine Festival Discovery Pass Program, Downes created an icewine crème fraîche.

“We actually try to use it more in savoury applications than a dessert application, because icewine with icewine almost seems too much.

We’ll use it in sauces, vinaigrettes, marinades, reductions,” said Downes. “Pretty much anywhere we can substitute sugar, we’ll add icewine.”

In its five-course tasting menu, dessert is always served with a select late harvest or icewine.

“Icewine is a big part of our everyday operation.

We’re not looking for the food to overpower the icewine or vice versa,” said Downes.

Vineland Estates winemaker Brian Schmidt said there are a number of ways icewine can be used in a restaurant beverage program including cocktails, such as a Canadian vodka and icewine martini shaken with ice and served with a frozen grape.

Schmidt said last year was cool, wet and long resulting in grapes that had a slightly higher acidity and lower sugar. “Higher natural acidity is always good for icewine. The more acidity there is, the fresher, the crisper it will be,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt said in the 2013 harvest season, more than 6,000 tonnes were left on the vine for icewine, and that people’s cellars are relatively full now.

He said the cold previous winter and damage in vineyards reduced crops, which meant less grapes for both table and icewine. With a warm windy December causing grapes to fall off the vine, Schmidt said about another 40 per cent were lost.

When temperatures plummeted on Jan. 5 to -15 C, most people started their harvest.

Grape Growers of Ontario chief executive officer Debbie Zimmerman looked at icewine production from 2003 until March 31, 2014.

“We’ve had some good years — 2008, in terms of volume of litres produced, was one of our better years. We had 1.2 million litres.”

In fiscal 2014 (the 2013 harvest year), 1.07 million litres were produced.

“We had a steady decline from 2008 to 2013 and a spike back in 2014,” said Zimmerman. “It really depends on what’s happening in terms of the market and the opportunities for export.”

She said this year, there were about 3,600 tonnes of icewine grapes harvested.

“The pressing is always the key and what kind of volume we’re getting out of that pressing. What we had in 2013 was a high-volume year because we had a lot of water, a lot of moisture,” she said.

Grapes left on the vine at Inniskillin Wines.

Niagara College student Sarah Forbes.

Niagara-on-the-Lake icewine celebrations.

Icewine pressing at Vineland Estates.

“That’s what’s so interesting about this business, because it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re growing more grapes, it just means those bunches are bigger,” said Zimmerman.

Justin Downes, Vineland Estates executive chef.

2014 Whisky Awards winners VICTORIA — A whisky distilled more than two decades ago has received the top prize at the 2014 Canadian Whisky Awards.

Collingwood 21-Year-Old Rye by Canadian Mist Distillery in Collingwood, Ont., won 2014 Canadian Whisky of the Year at the fifth annual event in Victoria on Jan. 15.

Chairman of the judges and Canadian whisky aficionado, Davin de Kergommeaux called it “a Canadian whisky connoisseur’s dream come true.”

Only 50 barrels of the 21-year-old whisky were produced.

According to de Kergommeaux, interest in Canadian whisky continues to grow.

“Canada’s whisky makers have responded with a wealth of new high-end whiskies,” he said in a statement. “Overall, distillers have released more small batch and top-end deluxe whiskies than ever before.”

John K. Hall was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work at Forty Creek Distillery.

Whiskies from across the country were tasted by a nine-person jury including de Kergommeaux, Ontario; Jason Debly, New Brunswick; Chip Dykstra, Alberta; Mark Gillespie, U.S.; André Girard, Quebec; Graham MacKenney, New Brunswick; Johanne McInnis, New Brunswick; Blair Phillips, Ontario; and Kris Shoemaker, Ontario.

For a complete list of winners visit: www.canadianrestaurantnews.com.

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Keeping Ontario’s craft beer scene flowing BAYSVILLE, Ont. — The province’s craft beer industry saw growth and momentum in 2014 with more than a dozen new breweries opening and 11 joining the industry association Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) as it heads into its 10th year.

OCB’s membership is at an all time high, with about 50 breweries on board.

According to OCB there are about 75 operating breweries in Ontario and an additional 25 contract brewers.

As of 2013, OCB’s share for premium priced brands was almost 4 per cent of the total beer volume sold in Ontario.

Craft beer continues to be the fastest growing segment within the LCBO’s beer category, growing between 20 and 30 per cent annually. In 2013, OCB estimated there were approximately $250 million in sales in Ontario. A substantial amount of total sales comes from smaller licensees where selection is getting broader especially in independent bars and pubs. With increasing consumer demand for craft beer, larger chains are also taking a greater interest in OCB products.

Since opening five years ago, Lake of Bays Brewery has grown from a staff of four to 25 employees, according to president Darren Smith.

Lake of Bays has its product in more than 300 bars and restaurants in the province and Smith said foodservice has played an integral role in its growth.

“Some of our first customers were bars and restaurants in the Muskoka area,” said Smith, adding while retail is an important part of the

business, “One of the main ways we can get people to try a new beer or introduce them to our brand is to get them to try it when they’re out for dinner or out for a couple drinks.”

In the last decade, the industry has grown and consumer interest has taken off.

Smith said craft beer is in some ways riding the wave of the local food trend; consumers are more interested in knowing what they are drinking and where it came from.

Typically, explained Smith, craft beer is smaller, locally-owned, single-batch brewed and made using traditional methods.

“There is growth occurring via a few mechanisms. One is just that there are so many more breweries now than there were even two or three years ago,” said Smith.

He estimated more than 16 new breweries opened last year, not including contract brewers, with more than a dozen in the planning stages.

“There is growth from new entrants to the market but I would say most of the existing breweries are also growing pretty rapidly,” said Smith.

The sixth annual Ontario Craft Beer Week takes place June 12 – 20 and since its inaugural year has grown from less than 100 events to more than 300 in 2014.

“We’re starting to see a lot more collaborative events between breweries,” said Smith. “A spirit of collaboration has always existed at the technical level within breweries. Breweries will happily share information back and forth if another brewery has a technical issue, needs advice on a particular topic, or even, we regularly share

ingredients almost like going to your neighbour for a cup of sugar.”

He said the spirit of co-operation extends to marketing, planning and advocacy.

“It comes from an understanding that we are better off working together as a united front

rather than fighting one another for scraps of market share,” said Smith, adding craft brewers are better off growing the segment rather than their own piece of the pie, especially since craft beer drinkers are often not brand loyal and once they try one they’ll likely try others.

Produces an Unlimited Supply

Kristin and Matthew Buckley.

Brewing on the Peninsula TOBERMORY, Ont. — After six years in operation, the owners of Tobermory’s seasonal Crowsnest Pub and Restaurant are set to open a year-round brewpub in the town.

The Tobermory Brewery Co. and Grill is slated to open in April at 28 Bay St. and will be the Bruce Peninsula’s first brewery.

“Our goal is to offer really nice quality beer,” said co-owner Matthew Buckley. “Not only a great beer, but also a nice menu as well.”

According to Buckley, who will run operations alongside his wife Kristin, the brewery will produce an IPA and a lager to start, with plans for cask ales and seasonal beers.

“One of the things that came up when we talked to those in the industry was to not try and do too many different types of beer at once,” Buckley said.

The brewery will include a retail space for flip-top growler sales and Tobermory Brewery Co. merchandise and a 60-seat restaurant with

Darren Smith, president of Lake of Bays Brewery and co-chair of Ontario Craft Beer Week.

a 20-seat covered porch overlooking Georgian Bay. Chefs Stacey Dey and Rob Larochelle will lead the kitchen and the head brewer will be Morag Kloeze who will graduate from the Niagara College brewing program in April.

“We’re really excited to bring Morag in,” said Buckley, adding she’s an Owen Sound native and is receiving top marks in school.

The restaurant will serve gastro pub food intended to pair with beer.

To stay busy in the winter, Buckley said they are looking to team up with local hotels to provide package deals for snowmobilers and skiers looking to come into the area.

He said there’s been positive reception from the municipality and tourism continues to grow year over year in the area.

“Every year, Tobermory gets a little busier and that’s what gives us the confidence,” said Buckley.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

peopl e

From left: Ruth Klahsen, Monforte Dairy; King Street Food Company, Peter Tsebelis, Rob Gentile and Gus Giazitzidis; Thomas Heitz; Normand Laprise; and Francesco Lagi.

The Ontario Hostelry Institute (OHI) announced the recipients of its annual Gold Awards in early February.

In the foodservice chain operator category, the award goes to Pearle Hospitality (formerly The Landmark Group), which was founded by the Ciancone family in 1936.

Independent restaurateur is awarded to chef Rob Gentile, Buca and King Street Food Company.

Scaramouche co-owner and executive chef Keith Froggett is the 2015 OHI chef of the year.

John Higgins, who previously received the OHI’s chef award in 1999, is being lauded for his work as director of the George Brown College Chef School.

On the supply side, Monforte Dairy’s Ruth Klahsen was named artisan of the year and Gordon Food Service is being awarded supplier of the year.

Hotelier of the year goes to Robert Housez, general manager of the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference

Centre for his work with the Greater Toronto Hotel Association.

Claudia Bianci, food stylist and Food Network Canada culinary producer, was picked in the media category.

Thomas Heitz joined Centennial College in January as a professor of culinary arts.

A chef and sommelier, Heitz has 20 years of front-of-house and backof-house restaurant and hotel experience. Most recently, he was executive chef at PORT Restaurant in Pickering, Ont. He also worked at Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants, Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Hillebrand Estate Winery and Loews Hotel Vogue in various senior culinary positions.

Heitz is a graduate of the cook apprenticeship program at Cambrian College, a certified chef de cuisine and had training with the International Sommelier Guild.

It was announced in late Decem-

ber that Montreal-based Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux Normand Laprise has been appointed a member of the Order of Canada for “contributing to the development of Quebec cuisine as an innovative chef and mentor.”

Born in Kamouraska, Que., Laprise learned his craft and developed his passion in Québec City. Apprenticeships in Europe and Asia preceded the opening of restaurant Toqué! in Montreal in 1993.

His commitment to Quebec cuisine includes a passion for “well born” regional ingredients, while his mentoring activities include participating as jury member in the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship competition in Vancouver.

The Stratford Chefs School announced chef Francesco Lagi and chef Michael Hazlewood as its international chefs in residence for 2015.

French-born Lagi is the chef at Tuscany’s Villa Mangiacane and cooked at the school from Jan. 20-24.

Hazlewood comes to the school from

Toasted Restaurant and Wine Shop in London, England and cooked on campus from Jan. 27-31.

Guest chefs serve as mentors at the Stratford Chefs School, giving students an opportunity to learn techniques and flavours from international chefs.

Starbucks Corporation announced on Jan. 22 the appointment of Starbucks board member and former technology executive Kevin Johnson as president and chief operating officer.

Johnson has been a board member since 2009, and will lead the company’s global operating businesses effective March 1.

Johnson served as chief executive officer of Juniper Networks, Inc., from September 2008 through December 2013. Prior to that, Johnson served as the president of the Platforms Division at Microsoft Corporation, was a member of Microsoft’s senior leadership team and held a number of senior executive positions

over the course of his 16 years at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft in 1992, he worked for International Business Machine Corp.’s systems integration and consulting business.

The Colabor Group, a Boucherville, Que.-based wholesaler and distributor for the foodservice market in Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, announced changes to its board of directors in mid-January.

Robert Panet-Raymond, who had been acting as interim chairman of the board since May, has officially became board chair. He has been a member of Colabor’s board since April 2009 and previously was a member of the board of trustees of Colabor Income Fund for four years.

Paul Webb has announced his resignation as a director to join Colabor as vice-president and general manager for the Eastern Quebec and Maritimes division. He assumed these responsibilities on Jan. 12, replacing Claude Saillant, who left the position at the end of January.

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