Ontario Restaurant News - February 2017

i s h c o m p u b l i c at i o n s s i n c e 19 8 6

O N T A R I O February 2017| Vol. 32 | No. 1

N AT I O N A L

C O V E R A G E

regional

F O C U S

Obsessed with Indian street food

By Kristen Smith

Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40010152

Mississauga, Ont. — Naveen Seth is using the foodservice experience he gained as a La Prep master franchisee to branch out with a fast casual Indian street food eatery.

Chaska opened in September with 64 seats in 2,000 square feet at 2325 Matheson Blvd. East in Mississauga, Ont. The restaurant is in the same plaza as a corporately run La Prep and the two restaurants share kitchen facilities.

Seth joined La Prep after he and a partner sold their software development company in the late 1990s. He decided to follow his passion and move into the food business.

“Even at that time, my original plan was to

open an Indian food restaurant in Toronto,” said Seth, who was advised to start his foodservice career with an established brand.

Since being awarded the southern Ontario master franchise rights for La Prep, then called Café Supreme, Seth has grown the business to 35 units. During this time, he never let go of his dream to open an Indian restaurant.

“Most people know about four or five dishes; they know butter chicken, they know chicken tikka, they know naan bread, they know samosas, but that’s about it,” Seth said.

Growing up in India, he knows there are far more South Asian recipes that could be introduced to the Canadian market.

Continued on page 21

ALLISTON, ONTARIO

$ 5 . 9 5

prepping professionals HOSPITALITY SCHOOL REPORT

8

VEGAN FARE IN A FAST FOOD FORMAT

3

RESTAURANTS CANADA SHOW RETURNS

22

DIGITAL WALLETs MOBILE PAY OPTIONs GAIN POpularity

14

CONVERT YOUR RESTAURANT

TO A BOSTON PIZZA

IT’S WORTH A CALL. IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK. CALL US NOW. Felix DeCata

905.361.3608

DeCataF@BostonPizza.com Boston Pizza and the Boston Pizza roundel are registered trademarks of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership, used under licence. © Boston Pizza International Inc. 2017.

NAME:

RestaurantNews_AD_Store_417_Alliston_JAN2017-BP

FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT PARTS. EVERY COMMERCIAL KITCHEN.

RIGHT PART, RIGHT TIME, EVERY TIME. ® We know you have a job to do - keeping the kitchen up and running so your customers are happy. With Canada’s largest on the ground inventory of 100% Genuine OEM parts and industry leading parts experts, you can be confident Heritage will get it right the first time.

HeritageParts.ca | 800.268.6316

PART SENSE™ TIP

:

When replacing a burner in a gas appliance, it’s also a good idea to replace th e orifice to ensure adequate ga s flow and heat output.

Vegan fare in a fast food format HALAL Donair & Gyro CONES LONDON, Ont. — Globally Local has opened with a mandate to recreate the fast food experience using only vegan ingredients.

The 80-seat quick service restaurant opened in December in the former home of an Arby’s in downtown London, Ont. Its owners, husband and wife team James and Lia McInnes, are billing the location as Canada’s first vegan fast food restaurant.

“It’s the first in the traditional sense of fast food, where it’s served in disposable containers and has a drive thru,” said James McInnes. “Of course, there are other people serving vegan burgers.”

Globally Local’s prices are also in line with fast food chains. The average burger costs about $6 and combos sell for less than $10.

As well, customers place their order at a counter, and receive their meal in less than two minutes.

“That’s the reason people go to fast food; it’s quick, convenient and not that expensive,” McInnes said.

By recreating a familiar business model, McInnes hopes to widen the demographic of people who eat vegan food.

“It helps us connect with the average consumer. We’re not trying to cater to a niche demographic. With a fast food restaurant, you can walk in and eat by yourself,” he said.

“A big part of what we’re doing is to break that barrier. A lot of people don’t want to go to a vegan restaurant — it’s usually expensive and it’s a time commitment.”

While the word vegan is often associated

NOW AVAILABLE FROM

bonte.ca

Globally Local’s Famous Burger. with healthy, making that connection isn’t the main goal for McInnes.

“Our focus is not 100 per cent on health.

Our focus is on showing people what’s possible when just eating plants,” he said. “We like to say it’s healthier fast food. It’s not like eating a salad.

When it comes to having that fast food experience, and balancing taste and health, we have a good balance.”

For example, Globally Local’s drink menu includes soft drinks.

“It’s not about saying ‘we’re not serving pop because it contains high-fructose corn syrup.’

Drinking pop is vegan, it’s good for people to know that,” McInnes said.

“Just because you’re vegan doesn’t mean you can’t have a pop or a beer. It’s breaking those stereotypes.”

CALL 1-888-859-7222 FEDERALLY INSPECTED

Although healthy isn’t a requirement, all of Globally Local’s products are made in-house with an organic first approach, from its vegan bacon to mayonnaise.

“It allows us to control the quality and give the customer something that is unique,” McInnes said.

Globally Local started as an organic produce delivery company about three years ago.

The business grew to include a vegan food truck, followed by the brick and mortar location. By the end of February, a month after the restaurant’s official opening, McInnes plans to begin looking for a second location. He plans to target buildings that were constructed for other fast food restaurants.

“We want this to be everywhere,” he said.

“We believe if you make plant-based food accessible and affordable, people will choose it over the animal-based version.”

Putting up a Duke The Duke of Cornwall will be the seventh pub to open under the Imago Restaurants brand

By Kristen Smith TORONTO — When Duke of Cornwall opens this fall it will have been nine years since Imago Restaurants opened a new pub.

Located on the ground level of a 25-storey building at 400 University Ave., this will be the seventh Duke establishment in downtown Toronto.

Crown Realty Partners acquired the building in 2010 and invested about $10 million on extensive renovations and LEED Gold certification.

In 2016, Imago celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Duke of York in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood.

This year, the company will mark the same milestone in midtown at the Duke of Kent and at the Duke of Westminster in First Canadian Place.

“Being 40 years old, it’s time to look forward; not be thinking about how old we are, but what are the next 40 years going to look like,” said Cindy Simpson, executive vice-president of Imago Restaurants.

“Pubs have staying power, they are gems if

you take care of them. Forty years old is nothing in England,” she said. “We see this as a company that is going to be in business and established for a very long time and that’s why it doesn’t really concern us that it takes nine years to open a new location.”

Simpson describes the “high-profile location” as bookended by the Royal Canadian Military Institute and the University Club of Toronto — “two iconic buildings on University.”

Nearby, there is the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario College of Art and Design as well as medical and insurance offices.

“It’s a pretty interesting area, and it’s also a beautiful street,” said Simpson. “We’re down the way from Queen’s Park, so there is also a lot of ministry offices. It’s definitely a different community for us, but also people walk or drive up and down the street and they’ll be able to see us.”

Set in about 6,000 square feet, there will be 160 seats with a 110-seat patio.

“What does the pub of the next 40 years look like? It’s going to be traditional with a modern twist and we use high-quality finishes,” Simpson said.

The Duke of Westminster in First Canadian Place turns 40 this year.

“We would like to be the most premium pub brand. We understand that our customers make that determination, but that’s where we see ourselves.

“Sometimes we say we’re the caretakers of the brand and the customers actually own the brand and they determine how we do everything.”

With every decision, Simpson considers the expectations of the Duke’s patrons, some of whom have been frequenting the establishments longer than she has been employed with the company.

“You have to be careful not to change things too much, but you also have to change,” she

said. “You have a responsibility to the idea of a British Pub in Toronto.”

Simpson acts as the corporate chef working with Imago owner Neil Vosburgh and president James Vosburgh as well as recipe development chef Ryan Berg.

Striving to be “the ideal neighbourhood host,” there is a core menu, but the specials reflect the location of each pub.

“All of us work very closely together on developing the menu; the menu is really a labour of love and reflects what the guests want,” she said.

“Just because we love something, doesn’t mean it goes on the menu.”

February 2017 | 3

industry insight

O N T A R I O

The tipping question runs deep As business advisors with clients and family in the hospitality industry, Steve Mendelssohn, Paul Pittman and Jan ver der Hoop have been following the conversation about tipping, fascinated by how it’s unfolding. Concerned the conversation doesn’t seem to be addressing some important considerations, they conducted research with Bruce McAdams, assistant professor at the School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph, and some industry leaders. In part, the research is clear that whatever a restaurateur’s decision on tipping, every other element (including staffing choices) must be aligned behind it.

R

estaurateurs are facing all sorts of pressure – from the rise of fast casual to increases in minimum wages and legislation governing operations.

The tipping debate has mainstream and industry panel focus across North America, in the wake of bold moves by New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer and other industry influencers. Many proprietors haven’t yet realized how complex an issue this is. The topof-mind issues driving the question focus on issues of wage balancing, navigating legislative changes and competitiveness.

Co- authored by Jan van der Hoop, human capital specialist and president These considerations are just the start, of Fit First Technologies; Paul Pittman, founder and president of The Human though, when considering whether to impleWell; and Steve Mendelssohn, founding partner at Watershed LLP. ment a no-tipping policy. Whether to stray from or stay with the status quo should be in to the approach, especially if it involves a country operator interviewed made the move evaluated comprehensively and this is a great change. Employees wanting fixed pay may be to no tipping last year. For the first time, there opportunity to revisit the restaurant’s goals more attracted to service-included establish- was no territorial behaviour with servers and land on the approach that best supports ments and those preferring independence will guarding the best sections or the biggest tipbe inclined toward tipping establishments. pers. They functioned as a unified team, foits sustainability.

Consider what your decision will say to If you move away from tipping, expect for cused on a single objective: guest satisfaction.

The biggest surprise was less stress for evyour clientele, your staff and suppliers? Will those Friday and Saturday night shifts to be it continue to reinforce who you are and what less popular. Be ready for both voluntary and eryone, including the half-dozen times servers you stand for? Here are the topics we think all induced departures and plan how to limit the reported guests who were treating them inaprisk of losing your best employees. propriately to management. operators should consider: Changing your tipping philosophy (if In past years, staff felt like they had to enCommunication – You cannot assume customers, employees and suppliers will au- that’s what you decide) will affect every aspect dure inappropriate behaviour as a condition tomatically understand the logic simply be- of your business, from brand perception and of the tip. Taking the tip off the table allowed cause there has been extensive media cover- guest experience to business culture and how for a healthier, more wholesome working cliage. How do you plan to communicate your staff interact with each other and your guests. mate.

Count on there being some surprise outThe restaurant industry can learn from decision to stakeholders? Don’t be fooled into thinking that doing nothing means “no comes. One high-profile seasonal, cottage other industries that have been through similar transitions. Historically, employers change.” Others are changing and that may warrant an explanation Staff Attracted to Different models relied exclusively on pay to secure retention and motivate performance. More as to why you are not. have different DNA Workplace Culture – You *A study of servers at a Toronto restaurant that switched to ‘No Tipping’ highlighted recently, employers have had to create must consider how the tipping the differences between those who performed well in a tipping environment (Ts) and new ways to improve productivity. These chose to leave and those who are thriving in the new non-tipping (NTs) culture. industries learned a lot through this proquestion lines up with your busicess and can provide insight. nesses, core philosophies and valRegardless of the direction taken, ues. How will customers benefit it will now be less problematic to align from your decision and will their staffing with compensation practices. experience change? What does this A service-included model will necesmean for the workplace and the sitate a revised pay strategy to address work habits of front of house staff retention. Improving balance and fairand the back of house team? How ness will motivate collaborative work. will you and your management Rewarding team behaviour (rather than team change your behavior to lead individual activity) with a share of the the staff through the transition? additional value created will help attract The Choice – Will a flat serlike-minded people. vice charge percentage work or will A positive workplace culture will alyou build service into menu prices, most certainly improve productivity. A and if so, by how much? To change workplace where people can connect or not is a critical consideration in with what they are doing will foster a the context of your value proposipositive environment that will do more tion and needs careful thought. for retention than pay. Treating people Pay – If you elect to move tofairly should be a critical objective, espewards a no-tipping model, or a hycially with a younger workforce. brid option, how will you manage Building an employment brand will the subject of compensation? Do be as important as creating your cusyou plan to pool service fees coltomer face. lected and divide them equitably Candidates should be screened for among those working a particular cultural fit as outlined in the example shift? That may be the simple apabove and the traits that will deliver proach, but simplest isn’t always your brand promise. Those who don’t best, or the most sustainable. You will poison the culture and undermine will need to accommodate schedthose efforts. Equipping your staff to reuling allocation, e.g. busy nights, spond to questions raised by customers business cycles and special events is invaluable in reinforcing culture and ,in order to share proceeds equibrand. tably.

These are the folks who control the Consider whether rewarding message to your customers, media and based on a number of factors such potential new employees. as job duties, skill and ability, etc., *In summary, a tipping environment may better suit the server who is individualistic, The choice is yours, but a thoughtful, is important and what new behav- self-focused and motivated by immediate recognition. A Non-Tipping environment operationally oriented review will lead to iours you expect to see. is better suited to folks who are want to be part of a team that shares their desire to deliver a superior guest experience. a sustainable conclusion.

Staffing – Not all staff will buy

4 | Ontario Restaurant News

PUBLISHER

Steven Isherwood ext. 236 · sisherwood@canadianrestaurantnews.com EDITOR

Kristen Smith ext. 238 · ksmith@canadianrestaurantnews.com SENIOR EDITOR

Colleen Isherwood ext. 231 · cisherwood@canadianrestaurantnews.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Bill Tremblay ext. 226 · wtremblay@canadianrestaurantnews.com ASSISTANT EDITOR

Don Douloff ext. 232 · ddouloff@canadianrestaurantnews.com SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

Debbie McGilvray ext. 233 · dmcgilvray@canadianrestaurantnews.com ACCOUNT MANAGER

Kim Kerr ext. 229 · kkerr@canadianrestaurantnews.com PRODUCTION

Felicia Mangiardi ext. 0 · fmangiardi@canadianrestaurantnews.com CIRCULATION MANAGER

Peter Elliott ext. 228 · pelliott@canadianrestaurantnews.com CONTROLLER

Stacey Holmes ext. 237 · sholmes@canadianrestaurantnews.com

CONTACT US: 905-206-0150

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

ONTARIO RESTAURANT NEWS VOLUME 32 · NO. 1 · February 2017 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 Directory and Buyers’ Directory as well as: P A C I F I C / P R A I R I E

A T L A N T I C

C A N A D I A N

LodgingNews Subscriptions: Canada: $52.33/year or $78.57/2 years, $102.67/ 3 years; U.S.A.: $58.85/year or $84.85/2 years, $108.70/ 3 years.

Single copy: $5.95 (Plus taxes where applicable) Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department, 2065 Dundas Street East, Suite 201, Mississauga, Ontario L4X 2W1 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40010152 ISSN 0834-0404 GST number R102533890

When your hot water stops flowing, so can your revenue.

Protect your bottom line with the Reliance Commercial Solutions™ water heater rental program today.

Lots of things can go wrong in the food services and hospitality business, but few can compare to a water heater breakdown, and having to close your doors to customers.

That’s where Reliance™ comes in. A leading provider of worry-free water heating solutions for over 30 years, we’re proud to guarantee outstanding service: • Four-hour service response guarantee, 24/7/365

• No upfront equipment replacement costs*

• No repair bills*

• One predictable monthly payment

• Customized solutions

Plus, if you own a water heater that’s less than 6 years old, or a boiler that’s less than 8 years old, you can benefit from our exclusive Buy-Back Program and earn $3,000 to $9,000 to invest in your business.

To find out if you qualify for our Buy-Back Program and learn more about our customized water heating solutions, call 1-866-326-9392 today.

Receive up to $9,000 through our exclusive Buy-Back Program.

™ “Reliance”, “Reliance Commercial Solutions”, and the Reliance Commercial Solutions logo are trademarks of Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership. * Subject to standard rental program terms and conditions. Some additional charges relating to installation (e.g. code required venting) may be applicable. Call for details.

February 2017 | 5

The Heather Coffee shop by day, fine dining by night HAMILTON, Ont. — Without an actual invite, The Heather is as close as you get to dining in a chef ’s personal kitchen.

The 12-seat restaurant, operated by husband and wife team chef Matt and Meg Cowan, operates throughout the day as a coffee shop and transforms to a fine dining restaurant at night.

The intimate venue offers its guests the chance to watch Matt prepare the menu from the open kitchen. Meg handles front of house duties.

“I can see the whole dining room. It’s awesome. We want it to feel like you’re in a friend’s kitchen,” Matt said, adding when the last guests have left, they retreat to their apartment above the restaurant.

The restaurant’s size and design also encourages interaction between guests.

“We have most of the tables engaging with one another by the end of the night,” Matt said.

“Those are some of my favourite dining experiences, when the room is alive. Dining is a social experience; we’ve gone into this bubble nowadays where no one talks to each other.”

While the city’s culinary scene is gaining momentum, The Heather’s location at 357 Barton St. East is outside of the culinary hotspots emerging within Hamilton. The Cowans, however, were attracted to the “old town feel” on Barton as well as its commercial and residential mix.

“There was just something about this street, but we were told to stay away,” Matt said.

“There’s a stigma about (Barton Street), but Matt loves a challenge” Meg added.

The menu is Matt’s take on Canadian comfort food, present-

Chef Matt Cowan. ed with a “fine dining inflection.” For example, he transformed a childhood favourite, pork chops and mushroom soup, into mushroom braised pork cheeks with whipped mushroom soup, roasted sunchokes and king oyster mushrooms.

“It’s not always going to be a direct reflection of a dish I grew up on. It’s what I think Canadian cuisine is,” Matt said.

“There’re all these conversations about what Canadian cuisine is and I think we’re getting to a point where we’re figuring it out.”

During the day, The Heather serves coffee and house-made baked goods as well as a prix fixe lunch menu and weekend brunch. With the nearest coffee shop about a 20-minute walk away, opening during the day aims to capitalize on business from the nearby hospital.

“We wanted our concept, both coffee shop and (dinner) menu to be cohesive,” Meg said. “Our underlining theme is everything

is made in-house, the best quality it can be and a chef driven menu.”

She added the daytime menu makes The Heather more accessible, as its prix fixe and $55 tasting menu may be out of the price range of some of the restaurant’s neighbours.

“We wanted the community to still be able to come in, but not break their budget,” she said.

The restaurant is named after Matt’s mother, who passed away when the chef was 14 years old, the same year he took his first kitchen job.

“I knew when I opened a place it would be a tribute to mom,” Matt said.

“Her kitchen was always full of friends, she was such a gracious host. I wanted a place where we could celebrate that. It’s not a morbid thing at all, it’s a place to celebrate an incredible person.”

SIAL 2017 to highlight European Union

The Battle for breakfast TORONTO— A&W and McDonald’s are no longer limiting their breakfast menu items to the morning.

On Jan. 26, A&W announced all-day breakfast items join the all-day burgers the quick service restaurant chain already serves at its restaurants.

The all-day breakfast menu will launch Feb. 27, and includes the Bacon & Egger, Sausage & Egger, Cheese & Egger breakfast sandwiches as well as its breakfast wrap, coffee and hash browns.

“We take pride in listening to our guests at A&W,” said Susan Senecal, president and chief operating officer of A&W. “We found that our guests were beginning to ask us to serve breakfast in the afternoon.”

McDonald’s also announced their plan for all-day breakfast on Jan. 26. However, McDonald’s will adjust its menu on Feb. 21 to include the Egg McMuffin, Bacon ‘n Egg McMuffin, Sausage McMuffin, Sausage ‘n Egg McMuffin, along with hotcakes, sausage and hash browns all day.

6 | Ontario Restaurant News

“When McDonald’s launched the Egg McMuffin more than forty years ago, we revolutionized how Canadians enjoy breakfast, and now we’re pushing the breakfast rules even further,” said John Betts, McDonald’s Canada president and chief executive officer.

“Paired with our strong McCafé coffee credentials and newly transformed restaurants, we’re now excited to offer our guests our world famous breakfast whenever they want it.”

Last year, A&W tested the all-day breakfast concept at about 40 of its locations.

“The response was tremendous, particularly from millennials, and we know that breakfast is something Canadians don’t limit to just the morning,” Senecal said.

McDonald’s began testing all-day breakfast in the United States in 2015.

In Canada, they began testing breakfast at about 20 locations earlier this year.

TORONTO — The 2017 edition of SIAL North America will shine a spotlight on the European Union as its region of honour. The international food show is being held May 2 to 4 at the Enercare Centre, Toronto.

With the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) expected to enter into force provisionally this year, show organizers see tremendous opportunity for the food industry. The bilateral trade in goods in 2015 between the EU and Canada was €63.5 billion.

Phil Hogan, member of the European Commission responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development, will attend SIAL in Toronto with a delegation of about 60 companies from Europe.

The European pavilion will feature 1,200 square feet of exhibitor space.

The 240,000-square-foot show floor will also feature a number of exhibitors from across Canada and other parts of the world in 240,000.

The Toronto show will also feature the annual SIAL Innivation contest, a focus on the ready-to-eat market, ethinic products and a new cheese sector.

The previous edition of the SIAL show, held last April in Montreal, boasted a record high of 930 exhibitors and increase of 17 per cent of attending industry professionals. Almost 17,500 visitors from Canada and 67 countries walked the show floor in 2016.

SEAFOOD MAKES IT SIZZLE IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE SEAFOOD Impressing today’s consumer takes innovation. That’s why we’ve evolved from being an expert on sourcing quality seafood from around the globe, to becoming the partner you can trust to deliver a world of possibilities for giving customers the tastes they crave. We’re High Liner Culinary and we’re here to make seafood the hottest thing on your menu. highlinerculinary.com

SEAFOOD IS BETTER™

© 2017 High Liner Foods. All rights reserved.

February 2017 | 7

Preparing hospitality professionals A report on post-secondary schools in Ontario offering hospitality programs, inlcuding what’s new, contact information and number of students enrolled. completed in a restaurant, hotel, catering or other approved food and beverage facility either locally or across Canada.

By Colleen Isherwood

ALGONQUIN COLLEGE Ottawa, Ont. www.algonquincollege.com Altaf Sovani, Chair, School of Hospitality & Tourism sovania@algonquincollege.com 613-727-4723 x7406 Program Types: Honours Degrees include: Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management (Honours). Post-Graduate Certificates include: Event Management; and Retirement Communities Management. Diplomas include: Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management; and Tourism – Travel Services.

What’s New/Focus: All courses are offered with hybrid traditional in-class theory and practical hands-on learning.

The Degree program has two mandatory paid cooperative education (Co-op) work term(s). Total 1,000 hours. E-text is available for all programs.

This four-year program was designed with extensive industry input and was developed with a focus on progressive learning in four key hospitality and tourism industry areas: management, finance, human resources and marketing. Throughout, students are provided with opportunities to learn and develop teamwork, leadership, communication, critical thinking and problem solving skills. A strong experiential component provides the context in which to integrate theory and practice, enabling students to apply their learning real business situations.

Graduates are equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience for careers in hospitality and tourism. Graduates are also prepared to pursue further academic study in business administration, management and hospitality/ tourism fields.

Number of Hospitality Students: 1,115

FANSHAWE COLLEGE

Centennial College’s new Culinary Arts Centre opened its doors in September and includes a 742-bed residence, classrooms, labs, offices, a restaurant, café and conference centre.

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE Toronto, Ont. www.centennialcollege.ca/hospitality Joe Baker, Dean, School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts jbaker@centennialcollege.ca 416-289-5000 x3557 Program Types: Food Media, 1 year Graduate Certificate; Food Tourism, 1 year Graduate Certificate; Event Management, 1 year Graduate Certificate; Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Management, 1 year Graduate Certificate; Hotel Operations Management, 2 year Diploma; Special Events Planning, 2 year Diploma; Food and Beverage Management, 2 year Diploma; Culinary Management, 2 year Diploma; Baking and Pastry Arts Management, 2 year Diploma.

What’s New/Focus: The School has a brand new building featuring an experiential learning environment that includes The Local Cafe

Conestoga gets $15.8M for expansion WATERLOO, Ont. — Elected representatives from the federal, provincial, regional and municipal governments joined members of the Conestoga College community at the college’s North campus in Waterloo, Ont. on Dec. 19 for the announcement of a joint federal-provincial government investment of $15.8 million to support a major expansion project for the campus.

The funding will support Phase 1 of Conestoga’s Pathways to Prosperity initiative. The project includes the development of three primary components, including a new Institute for Culinary & Hospitality Management, which will greatly expand capacity for programming and applied research. In addition, The Centre for Advanced Learning will focus on the delivery of new and expanded programming for information and communications technology. An Access Hub will provide students, newcomers to Canada, job seekers and area employers with access to information, programs and services.

Optimizing food safety at Niagara College MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — SGS Canada Inc. and The Canadian Food & Wine Institute at Niagara College recently announced a partnership to offer a risk-focused, tool kit based

8 | Ontario Restaurant News

and Restaurant, the Centennial College Event Centre and hotel guestrooms. New programs include Food Media, Food Tourism and Special Events Planning.

Number of Hospitality Students: 1,000

London, Ont. www.fanshawec.ca School of Tourism and Hospitality tourisminfo@fanshawec.ca 519-452-4289 Program Types: Food and Beverage Management, Hotel and Resort Services Management, Golf and Club Management, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Special Events Planning.

What’s New/Focus: Programs prepare students for a variety of careers in the hospitality industry with a focus on practical skills training.

Students work in our student-run restaurant, do onsite visits of industry partners and learn industry-specific software. They also have opportunities for extending their global outlook with exchanges and international field trips. All programs also have a placement or co-op work term where students are working in a variety of positions with hotels, clubs and restaurants all over the world.

Number of Hospitality Students: 350

CONESTOGA COLLEGE Kitchener, Ont. www.conestogac.on.ca Keith Müller, Chair, School of Business and Hospitality kmuller@conestogac.on.ca 519-748-5220 x3245 Program Types: 2-year diploma Hospitality Management — Hotel & Restaurant (Co-op).

What’s New/Focus: The program is designed to combine theory and practical experience in the people management, hands-on preparation, customer service, and financial controls needed in the hospitality industry. Co-op terms can be

approach to train in the “how to” of food safety management.

The Food Safety Program Optimization (FSPO) is designed to target risk reduction and provide the tools to students to demonstrate risk-based diligence.

This partnership is a part of the Canadian Food & Wine Institute’s new continuing education program called Expert Edge.

“This new program focuses on delivering hands-on training led by true industry professionals,” said Jeffrey Steen, manager of corporate training at Niagara College. “We have a unique proposition to those seeking to take their careers to the next level in the fields of risk management, auditing and supply chains dealing with food, wine and beer.”

Those enrolled in the program will work towards a number of certificates each addressing the needs of the industry and the variety of sector-specific needs within that industry (bakery, brewing, foodservice).

“What makes this approach to training so incredibly valuable is that you are taking a leader in academia dealing with food, wine and beer and joining forces with the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company,” said Rob Sinyard, vice-president of certification and business enhancement at SGS Canada Inc. “We are convinced that we need

GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE Toronto, Ont. www.georgebrown.ca/hospitality The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, hospitality@georgebrown.ca 416-415-5000, ext. 2225 Program Types: 2-year diploma, Food & Beverage Management – Restaurant Management; 2-year diploma Tourism & Hospitality Management; 2-year diploma Hotel Operations Management Program; 2-year diploma Special Event Management; 4-year Honours Bachelor of Business Administration (Hospitality); Ad-

to prepare students to walk out of the classroom with not just the training to work locally, but provide them with a global perspective to the challenges of feeding a growing world population.”

Fanshawe developing downtown campus LONDON, Ont. — As part of its Phase 2 downtown development plans, Fanshawe is transforming the former Kingsmill’s building, located directly across from the college’s Centre for Digital and Performance Arts (CDPA), into a six-storey learning centre for tourism, hospitality and IT programs. The new facility will feature modern labs, bright and open classrooms and collaborative learning spaces for 1,600 students. When complete, the new London, Ont., downtown campus, including CDPA, will bring a total of 2,000 students into the heart of the city.

The 115,000-square-foot project has a budget of $66.2 million (with $9 million from the City of London and $1 million from MainStreet London and London Downtown Business Association Board). Slated to open in September 2018, the project is designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc. in partnership with Philip Agar Architect Inc. with construction being managed by EllisDon Construction Ltd.

Harvesting grapes for icewine

Humber’s Culinary Olympic Team

From left: Alysha Muir, Vincent Capitano, James Bodanis, Annalisa Lattavo and Jonathon Brum.

Niagara College students harvested grapes for icewine harvest on Jan. 14 at 3 a.m. The icewine harvest has become an annual rite of passage for students in Niagara College’s wine programs.

Students met in the early morning hours at the Niagara College Teaching Winery (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.), before setting out into the vineyards. Their mission: to pick frozen grapes that will soon be transformed into one of Niagara’s sweetest treasures.

Students from the College’s wine pro-

vanced Wine and Beverage Business Management (Postgraduate — 3 semesters).

What’s New/Focus: The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management acts as the bridge to connect students to industry, and exposure to premier restaurants, hotels and event planners.

The relationships it has established with leading industry partners provide students with local, international and work/study abroad learning opportunities.

Number of Hospitality Students: 1,800​

GEORGIAN COLLEGE Barrie, Ont. www.georgiancollege.ca Arthemise Lalonde arthemise.lalonde@georgiancollege.ca 705-728-1968 x5357 Program Types: Hospitality Administration Hotel & Resort — Ontario College 3-Year Advance Diploma; Hospitality Management Hotel & Resort - Ontario College 2-Year Diploma.

What’s New/Focus: Georgian’s program provides some of the most extensive paid co-op work experiences in the Canadian college system, along with experiential opportunities, including one week applied field experience, practical labs, workplace certifications and study and travel abroad.

HUMBER COLLEGE Toronto, Ont. www.humber.ca Susan Somerville, Dean, School of Hospitality, Recreation & Tourism Susan.somerville@humber.ca 416-675-6622 x4550 Program Types: New Hotel Management Leadership Program; 2-year diploma, Hospitality Management — Hotel & Restaurant Program, variety of culinary programs.

What’s New/Focus: New 14-week Hotel

grams (Winery and Viticulture Technician, and Wine Business Management), were joined by interested students from the College’s Ecosystem Restoration program to share the unforgettable learning opportunity.

Niagara College’s icewine harvest coincided with the 2017 Niagara Icewine Festival (weekends from Jan. 13 to Jan. 29).

Wineries across the Niagara region, including the NC Teaching Winery, took part in this event to celebrate this bounty of winter.

Management Leadership Program started March 26, 2016. It allows students to work fulltime while developing essential leadership skills to move into senior management positions.

Subjects include communication and presentation skills, marketing, accounting and hotel technology.

NIAGARA COLLEGE Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. www.niagaracollege.ca Damian Goulbourne, Associate Dean (Acting) dgoulbourne@niagaracollege.ca 905-641-2252 Program Types: 1-year certificate, Hospitality & Tourism; 2-year diploma, Hospitality - Hotel and Restaurant Operations; 4-year degree, Bachelor of Business Administration (Hospitality).

What’s New/Focus: Full culinary labs, wine tasting rooms, Benchmark restaurant, front desk with Opera PMS system to access virtual 50room hotel. Paid co-op. Setting up a centre of excellence in tourism, hospitality and business innovation in Taif, Saudi Arabia.

Number of Hospitality Students: 400

ST. CLAIR COLLEGE Windsor, Ont. www.stclaircollege.ca Ken Reynolds kreynolds@stclaircollege.ca 519-972-2727 x4422 Program Types: 2-year diploma, Hospitality Management (Hotel and Restaurant Management).

What’s New/Focus: Student work and earn programs are available through recruitment visits by Fairmont Resorts and Hotels through the Disney College Program, and internally by the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts.

A team made up of Humber graduates, faculty and students brought home a gold medal from the International Culinary Olympics, held in Erfurt, Germany. Competing against 54 other teams, Humber was one of only two Canadian teams to win gold in the regional division.

Established in 1900, the Culinary Olympics are held every four years in Erfurt. This year, 59 nations with 148 teams competed in a range of divisions including national, junior national, regional and individual.

SENECA COLLEGE Markham, Ont. www.senecacollege.ca Angela Zigras, Academic Chair, School of Hospitality and Tourism Angela.zigras@senecacollege.ca 416-491-5050 x77531 Program Types: 2-year diploma Hospitality Management — Hotel and Restaurant Services Management; 8-month graduate certificate programs in Global Hospitality Operations Management and Global Hospitality Business Development.

What’s New/Focus: Diploma students are eligible and may qualify for work placement positions in South Africa; or to study abroad at the Swiss Hotel Management School, Montreal, Switzerland. All diploma students are available to complete a 6-month paid externship.

Graduate Certificate students are engaged in work integrated projects with hospitality business leaders on business issues from the perspective of business development, operations and sales. These are projects the Graduate Certificate students take on for a period of 8 months.

They work closely with the organization to provide relevant recommendations and an implementation plan.

Number of Hospitality Students: 550

Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ryerson University Toronto, Ont. www.ryerson.ca/tedrogersschool/htm/ Frederic Dimanche, Director fdimanche@ryerson.ca 416-979-5041 Program Type: Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Hospitality & Tourism Management What’s New/Focus: The four-year Bachelor

“We couldn’t be more proud of our Humber Culinary Olympic team, made up of talented faculty, graduates and students,” said Rudi Fischbacher, associate dean, Humber School of Hospitality, Recreation & Tourism, who accompanied the team to Germany.

“Competitions like these give students a chance to experience the challenge of working in a high-pressure culinary environment, while exposing them to some of the best chefs in the world.”

of Commerce (Honours) program contains a blend of experiential professional, professionally related and liberal studies courses. Business skills applied to hospitality, event, and tourism management are developed through research assignments, tutorials, case studies, simulations, internships, and off-campus applied projects in Toronto’s busy hospitality and tourism sector. Students are required to complete a total of 1,000 hours of documented work experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. A strong alumni association helps make this the program of choice for future international leaders.

Number of Hospitality Students: 725

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH Guelph, Ont. www.uoguelph.ca/hftm Statia Elliot, Director and Associate Professor, School of Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Management statia@uoguelph.ca 519-824-4120 Program Types: Bachelor of Commerce major in Hospitality and Tourism Management with specializations in: Hotel and Lodging; Restaurant and Foodservice; and Tourism Management. MBA, Hospitality and Tourism Management; MSc, Tourism and Hospitality Management; PhD, Services Management.

What’s New/Focus: New in fall 2017, the Bachelor of Commerce program prepares graduates to assume positions of responsibility in hotels, resorts, restaurants, convention centres, food services and related industries. Graduates gain skills not just in hotel and foodservice operations, but in human resource management, marketing, accounting and communications.

Specialized masters programs prepare graduates for teaching and leadership roles. The PhD tourism services focus is unique in Canada.

Number of Hospitality Students: 100

Brandon Olson opens La Banane with King Street Food Co. TORONTO — Through a partnership with King Street Food Company, chef Brandon Olson opened a restaurant three years in the making.

La Banane opened in early January on Ossington Street in the former location of King Street’s The Saint Tavern. Olson was given full creative control over La Banane’s vision and direction.

“As long I make my numbers and we’re packed every day, I get to do whatever I want,” Olson said. “The overwhelming support is greater than I ever imagined, not only with my business plans, but in the community itself.

We’re doing numbers I thought would take six months to get up to; we’ve been doing it since Day 1.”

King Street lent its experience in opening restaurants and well as a capital investment to transform the space into the 88-seat restaurant.

“Starting off with your first restaurant, there are inherent challenges,” King Street managing partner Peter Tsebelis, adding King Street is in a position to be able to support Olson in bringing his vision to life.

“The space worked very well, it didn’t require an awful lot of work. We transformed the space somewhat, it’s cosmetic for the most part, but the kitchen was completely overhauled to more suit [Olson’s] menu,” said Tsebelis.

He drew parallels between Olson and King Street chef Rob Gentile (Buca) with respect to their professionalism and discipline as well as their talent and culinary philosophy.

“I think that, at the end of the day, we share a lot in common in terms of our ethos on hospitality and on food,” said Tsebelis. “He’s an artist as much as he is a professional.”

Olson has been outlining plans for his res-

The dining room area features artwork from chef Brandon Olson’s personal collection. taurant for three years with the help of his fiancée Sarah Keenlyside. The couple launched CxBO in December of 2015 with the intention of leveraging the chocolate company to eventually finance La Banane.

“It solidified when we were in Lyon — I wanted to cook French, but I’m going to be me,” Olson said, noting La Banane is not a traditional brasserie, nor is it a bistro. “We are rooted in a foundation of French technique, but we’re not a French restaurant.”

Applying French culinary techniques to ingredients not typically used in the cuisine, such as yuzu, a Japanese citrus, Olson aimed to put forth playful renditions of French classics. For example, liver and onions is represented as

chicken liver mousse with roasted cipollini onions and hen-of-the-woods mushrooms. The sea bass en croute is presented to guests in a lattice pastry. It is then brought back to the kitchen for carving and a side of zucchini and finished tableside with sauce.

“As we move forward with La Banane, the bass is going to be one of those dishes I’ll never be able to take off my menu,” said Olson. “It’s a beautiful presentation, but a theatrical moment between our guest and us. People just love it.”

Rounding out the La Banane restaurant team, Olson hired Basilio Pesce (Porzia, Biff ’s) as chef de cuisine as well as Chris Wickens (Momofuku Shoto) as general manager and Christopher Weaver as head bartender.

Olson worked with MasonStudio design for the decor, which features a marble and brass bar and raw bar and art from his personal collection.

Tsebelis said partnering with Olson is the first time the company has reached outside of the King Street family for a new project.

“We were very much in sync from the get-go in sharing a very common ethos, as if we had been working together for some time. His idea was very consistent with what we think we’ve done in the past,” he said.

“Someone asked me why we chose Brandon to work with. I thought it was quite the opposite; I think he chose us, we were lucky enough to have him.”

Hopscotch jumps into Toronto TORONTO — A university project has become a growing foodservice business.

Brothers Wyatt and Aiden Booth created the concept for Hopscotch, a fast casual eatery, for a business course at Western University.

“It was a case study class and the project for the year was creating your own business,” said Aiden, a 22-year-old recent grad.

The co-founders developed the restaurant to cater to those looking for a convenient, healthy meal.

Their family owns White Oaks Resort and Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., so the foodservice and hospitality business was a natural fit for the brothers.

“Our grandfather built it [White Oaks] in 1978, it’s kind of been our background from Day 1,” said Wyatt, 24.

The first location opened in London, Ont., in October 2015. A second outpost opened in December in Scotia Plaza along the PATH, Toronto’s network of underground pedestrian tunnels. In January, Hopscotch announced a partnership with franchise development company Fransmart.

Expansion was always part of the business plan for Hopscotch, and they chose the urban centre for its potential volume of traffic.

“We wanted to make a statement, we wanted to get our name out there and we felt we were ready for a big market,” said Wyatt. “We knew

1 0 | Ontario Restaurant News

with restaurants, scalability is very important especially with fast food — you can’t have just one.”

The menu features bowls, salads, wraps, smoothies and locally roasted Hale Coffee.

“We wanted to make sure we could provide a delicious, healthy meal to people who are on the go,” said Wyatt.

Aiden added it is important for the restaurants to offer a welcoming space, source local food and use compostable packaging.

“We want people to get more from our food, more from our restaurant,” he said.

Produce is delivered almost daily, which requires a fair amount of onsite prep work.

“We visited the farms, we know where the food comes from,” said Aiden.

The London location is about 1,500 square feet with 25 seats, but the Scotia Plaza location is only 871 square feet with no seats.

In addition to franchising, Wyatt and Aiden plan to open at least two more corporate locations in Toronto this year, specifically another in the PATH and a street level store with seating.

“We want a place where people can come hang out; we think we have a really cool brand, so we think people are attracted to more than just the food,” said Wyatt, adding at the London location many customers stay and study.

The Fransmart network of brands includes Toronto’s The Chickery and nine other United

Hopscotch creators (from left) Wyatt and Aiden Booth.

States-based brands, primarily in the fast casual/QSR segments. The brothers believe Hopscotch is attractive to a certain demographic of franchisees, due to the business model, as well as the company’s community outreach. For example, Hopscotch donates its opening day proceeds to school nutrition programs.

“We’re really lucky that we got a great location, a busy location, against all odds,” said Aiden, adding they were in competition with big name foodservice chains for their first Toronto location. “It’s good that Scotia rolled the dice on us and we just want to give back.”

Working with Fransmart allows Hopscotch to grow throughout North America.

“Fransmart has a long history in franchising,

they are great with networking, they have the right connections, but more importantly they know the right franchisees,” said Wyatt, adding they are looking for experienced, multi-unit owners. “It’s important to us not to lose the soul of the brand and not to compromise it.”

In addition to the Greater Toronto Area, Aiden and Wyatt are looking west to Vancouver as well at major markets in the United States, such as Chicago, New York, Miami and San Francisco.

“We are committed to opening at least another three this year. If we can open more, we will, but we’re not going to sacrifice quality and locations just to fill in the store count,” Wyatt said.

CANADA

7 acres of new and used equipment

Sale Ends March 14th 2017

FOOD EQUIPMENT LTD. PHONE (416) 253-5100

FAX (416) 253-2251

www.canadafoodequipment.com

18” x 18” x 11” $270 24” x 24” x14” $350

18” x 18” x 11” $470 24” x 24” x14” $630

18” x 18” x 11” $635 24” x 24” x14” $875

Wall Mounted $115 Hand Sink With 4” Faucet

Hand Sink $250 With Knee Valve, Faucet And Drain

Pedestal Sink $440 With Foot Valve And Faucet

Omcan Single Stock Pot Burner

$425

Southbend 36D $1,795

18” x 26” Bun Pan Aluminum

$7.95

Omcan Double Stock Pot Burner

$850

Pitco 40C+

$800

Southbend 24E $1,695

WE Will bEat any advErtiSEd pricE! call uS to SavE!

Cooler Freezer

TPP-60 Glass $3,495 Freezer

FOOD EQUIPMENT

$2,295

Single Door Glass Freezer $2,495

49” $2.400 61” $2,550 73” $2,850

North Queen St.

L T D

45 Vansco Road, Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 5Z8 Tel: (416) 253-5100

Glass Cooler

Fax: (416) 253-2251

N

VANSCO RD.

CANADA

1-800-263-0920

$1,900 $2,000

Undercounter Bottle Cooler

all SizES of Walk-in coolErS/frEEzErS in Stock nEW and uSEd!

AvA i l A b l e At:

$3,000 $3,200

Atomic Ave.

TSSU-48-12

Cooler Freezer

The East Mall

T23

T49 T49F

CANADA

FOOD EQUIPMENT

Kipling Ave.

GDM-41-LD GDM-37-LD

$1,400 $1,800 $2,300 $2,600 $2,600 $3,000

Hwy. 427

GDM-23-LD

27” Coldtable 27” Megatop 48” Coldtable 48” Megatop 60” Coldtable 60” Megatop

The Queensway Vansco/Wickman Access

Q.E.W.

Teriyaki Experience 2.0

By Kristen Smith OAKVILLE, Ont. — Marking three decades in the quick service segment, Teriyaki Experience is launching a new look and food experience.

“Over the years, our commitment to fresh food made before your eyes has gained us loyal guests,” said Nick Veloce, president and chief operating officer of parent company Innovative Food Brands (IFB). “As we move into the next 30 years, we believe that the brand refresh is critical in staying relevant and attracting a new generation of loyal guests.”

Vice-president of marketing Anna Datri was brought on last May to spearhead the reinvention of IFB’s brands, Teriyaki Experience and Chopped Leaf.

“Both of them sit in a really healthy halo; both of them are great food concepts that are spot on for what I believe consumers are looking for today,” she said.

“We just needed to polish a lot of the silverware when it came to Teriyaki Experience and really re-evaluate what we were doing.”

IFB launched what it’s calling “Teriyaki Experience 2.0” at three locations in September: one street level location in Oakville, Ont., and two food court units in Sherway Gardens and Toronto Eaton Centre.

“Since then, the results have been fantastic, and now, we’re looking at our next batch of stores that we can turn over,” Datri said.

The refresh included packaging, food and how the experience is communicated to guests

through menu boards and employee interaction.

“Our famous chicken teriyaki was not even a focus on our menu boards, so we re-evaluated that and we looked at how we were serving it — everything from the protein quantity to the way our vegetables were cut,” Datri said.

All Teriyaki Experience’s menu items were revamped and new signature dishes were added, such as sushi, prepared onsite daily, bento boxes, organic loose-leaf tea and Japanese cheesecake.

“We decided to look at how we could actually add to the authenticity of the Japanese food experience, especially because the trends with Japanese food are so fun and interesting,” said Datri. “There is so much in that whole culture that we could celebrate and experience based on how our store was already designed; we could do things as creative as bento boxes or street sandwiches.”

Sales at the three test restaurants increased from six per cent to as high as 30 per cent, according to the company.

Throughout 2017, Teriyaki Experience plans to roll out the new look at its other Canadian locations. There are about 70 traditional units and 15 in institutions, such as schools and hospitals.

“We are tweaking and modifying things as we go along, as always,” Datri said. “Based on the type of categories that we’re bringing on board, most of the restaurants can handle the new categories. Those that can’t, they’ll have what we’re calling 1.5, a bit of a modification on the entire portfolio.”

Fast casual spurs growth for Nando’s MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — With a revamped format to serve its peri-peri chicken, Nando’s is expanding throughout Canada.

Nando’s opened 12 restaurants in Canada in 2016.

The company’s 42nd Canadian location opened in London, Ont., in December.

This year, the restaurant chain plans to open seven to 10 locations in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. The South Africa-based restaurant company opened its first Canadian location in Richmond, B.C. in the mid 1990s.

“We look at ourselves as a 20-year startup,” said Ron Cecillon, president of Nando’s Canada. “We were relatively unknown for the first 20 years, now we’re slowly expanding.”

When Nando’s entered Canada, its business model mimicked the quick service restaurant format used in South Africa, where its first location opened in 1987.

However, the company has moved to a fast casual format developed in the United Kingdom.

“The most successful country for Nando’s is the U.K. They really were on the leading edge with fast casual,” Cecillon said, noting the chain now has a presence in 24 countries. “It comes out of that pub culture, where people have to get some of their own things in the U.K.” Under its fast causal model, guests are seated by a hostess and presented with a menu. Orders are then placed at the counter, and front of house staff deliver the meal.

“We believe it is a blend of speed from fast food and the quality and design elements of casual dining.

It’s a really nice blend for us,” Cecillon said. “For cus-

1 2 | Ontario Restaurant News

tomers, the biggest thing is comprehension and understanding it.”

Under its quick service restaurant model, Nando’s sales were split evenly between takeout orders and dine-in customers. Since moving towards fast casual, the dining room now accounts for about 70 per cent of its business.

“We’re seeing our dine-in business grow significantly, compared to where it was in our old style restaurants,” Cecillon said.

By the end of the year, all of Nando’s Canadian locations will be renovated to fit the fast casual format.

While all restaurants will soon have the same service model, Cecillon explained each location is unique. For example, all art featured in the restaurants are original works from South Africa.

“We design art right into our restaurants, instead of saying ‘that’s a great wall for art’,” he said. “Nando’s owns the largest South African art collection outside of Africa. We’re now over 22,000 pieces globally.”

Outside of its art, Nando’s decor aims for a natural look, using imperfect wood and worn leather.

“If it looks perfect, then it’s really contrived. We love the uniqueness of the wood and furniture we put in our locations,” Cecillon said.

Although Nando’s plans to open up to 10 new locations this year, the company is closed to new franchisees. Currently, about 15 of its restaurants are franchise locations, and new openings will be corporate stores, or operated by existing Nando’s owners.

“We’re culturally rich,” Cecillon said.

“It takes a great deal of time to understand the Nando’s culture.”

Epson just reinvented the POS printer category. Again.

The new OmniLink® TM-T88VI allows retail and hospitality merchants to get ahead and stay ahead.

To future-proof your POS printing, Epson introduces the TM-T88VI. It simultaneously connects to traditional PC-POS systems and mobile POS systems, and features Epson’s beacon1 support for distributed proximity-based printing and third party loyalty applications. Plus the TM-T88VI comes standard with OmniLink Merchant Services for access to best-of-breed cloud applications, offers triple interface support, and has NFC2 support for easy Bluetooth pairing – all with the performance, reliability and efficiency you’d expect from the industry leader. Create an amazing experience that will keep your customers coming back, again and again. epson.ca/reinventpos

Another Innovation from Epson Business Solutions EPSON is a registered trademark and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. OmniLink is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. Apple is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries, and iBeacon is a trademark of Apple, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2017 Epson America, Inc. 1. Requires the use of a beacon dongle connected to TM-T88VI printer via the USB-A port. Supports only Apple® iBeacon™ compliant format. The Epson-approved dongle is Laird model BT820.

2. NFC tag requires use of a device that includes NFC reader, and may require additional software.

Tap Takeover The number of consumers tapping their phone or card as a method of payment is rapidly growing and is expected to become the new norm for transactions in Canada.

By Bill Tremblay

S

martphones have already eliminated the need to carry a camera, map and mp3 player.

Now, the cherished digital device is moving to render wallets obsolete.

The addition of Near Field Communication (NFC) to mobile devices has allowed hardware and software developers to create mobile wallets, which allow consumers to pay for purchases by tapping their phone to a properly equipped payment terminal.

At Centennial College’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, the onsite restaurant and café, The Local, began accepting Apple Pay, one of the leading mobile wallet options. The move to accept mobile wallets aims to ensure the students running the restaurant stay on top of the latest payment technology available.

“We want them to go with the most up-to-date technology; it changes so fast,” said Amanda Tarrant, the college’s general manager of the restaurant and events. “That’s kind of a goal in all of our operations — to use the newest systems and be up to date with those options.”

Aside from having a tap-equipped payment terminal, accepting Apple Pay was relatively easy to adopt.

“It wasn’t something we had to enable. It was already capable within the Moneris machine,” Tarrant said.

The only concern that has arisen from accepting mobile wallet payments is integration with The Local’s point of sale (POS) system. While many POS software systems will recognize if a mobile wallet is using a debit or credit card for payment, the software used at The Local requires staff to ask which method of payment is linked to the device.

“If somebody pays by Visa, we have to put into our system that they paid by Visa,” Tarrant said. “It takes that extra step for our student to ask ‘is that Visa or debit?’ We don’t know the cards they’re tapping.”

North America’s largest credit and debit processors.

In 2013, about 10 per cent of transactions in Canada were contactless. The following year, that number doubled, and grew to 25 per cent in 2015. In 2017, so far, about one in three transactions are made via a tap function.

According to a recent Moneris survey, 55 per cent of Canadians prefer to use a contactless payment method. Within the millennial demographic, that number grows to 67 per cent.

“We consider contactless acceptance to be new normal, rather than a trend, and expect that half of all transactions will be tapped by the end of 2017,” said Rob Cameron, chief product officer at Moneris. “Restaurants and bars will see increasing popularity in the number of customers using contactless payment methods to settle their bills quickly and seamlessly.”

In 2013, Moneris made widespread investments in its infrastructure to support the acceptance of contactless payment.

The same year, Moneris partnered with Interac and McDonalds to process the first contactless mobile debit transaction in Canada.

“This was a major turning point for contactless acceptance as consumers could now use either debit or credit cards to tap at the majority of terminals,” Cameron said.

Today, about 85 per cent of Moneris merchants have payment terminals equipped with NFC and are capable of accepting contactless payment from a card or mobile wallet.

As well, Moneris offers the ability to add a tip to contactless transactions.

“This will continue to drive adoption in restaurants and bars as those merchants who were not accepting contactless, due to the lack of a tip feature, can now do so easily,” Cameron said.

While contactless transactions are growing, Tarrant noted The Local still sees cash used for about half of its transactions,

A growing trend Mobile payment was included in Technomic’s 2017 Canadian Trends Forecast as a development that will continue to solidify its position throughout the year. In its top five predictions for this year, the company outlined how operators will pay closer attention to Generation Z, what they call a “maturing cohort of ethnically diverse digital natives” who are used to constant convenience and a fast-changing world.

“I do think it is the future,” said Alex Barrotti, chief executive officer of TouchBistro, the top grossing iPad restaurant POS app in 37 countries. “I might leave the house without my wallet, but I won’t leave the house without my phone.”

Canadian consumers are embracing the speed and convenience of contactless payment, according to Moneris, one of

1 4 | Ontario Restaurant News

JOEY PAY app.

despite the college’s dominant millennial customer base.

“You don’t have to have money change hands anymore, but I’m actually surprised at how much cash we still see,” she said.

Other ways to mobile pay Mobile wallets are not the only way to avoid physically exchanging cash. Barrotti categorizes mobile payments into three camps: geo-location, mobile wallets and apps.

“They’re all trying to do away with credit cards,” he said.

Touch Bistro’s first mobile payment partnership was with PayPal, which used geo-location to check into a store and pay. After checking in, the customer’s photo and name would appear in on the TouchBistro system.

Android Pay slate.

“The first time I used it, I went to a local coffee shop, and I had never known the gentleman’s name. He said, ‘Hi ing mobile wallets work with TouchBistro’s POS. However, mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay or Alex, I’m Miles.’ That was really cool. It was a nice way to Samsung Pay are built into the phone. feel like a small community again,” Barrotti said.

“Everyone is going after that industry, I doubt someMany restaurant chains are turning to mobile apps to times if there is room. When your phone comes with a built handle ordering and payment.

This spring, Tim Hortons and Burger King plan to in wallet, why would I use another wallet I have to downlaunch a new app that will allow customers to pay through load?” Barrotti said. “There’s going to be a huge shakeout and consolidation as to whatever habit forming one works their smartphone.

Last year, JOEY Restaurants launched the iPhone-only the best.”

As a POS vendor and developer, Barrotti said TouchJOEY PAY, which allows their customers to enter a code on their receipt into the app to pay via credit card. Guests are Bistro is studying the potential market for new mobile payment technology before integrating it into their system. then notified if their payment was successful.

“We’ve tried other mobile payments in the past, and Starbucks was one of the first corporations to introduce an app to order and pay. It debuted in Canada in late 2015. spent a lot of time and money integrating with them just to “It works great for Starbucks, but not everyone has the see them not flourish in the market,” he said. “We have to ability to create a Starbucks-like experience,” Barrotti said. look at each solution to see its value.”

The demand from TouchBistro’s customers for mobile With the mobile wallets, many tech companies are trying to secure a piece of the emerging payment option by wallet use is obvious. Whether or not TouchBistro is comcreating their own wallet. Barrotti understands why, since patible with mobile wallets has become “a checkbox” for mobile wallets are compatible with a variety of businesses possible new clients.

“You still have to accept cash, it’s the law, but there’s from vending machines to fine dining restaurants.

“I use Apple Pay almost every day. I find it very con- a lot of restaurants that are popping up that are trying to venient, it’s very habit forming and it basically works any- do way with cash,” Barrotti said. “I totally understand the where that accepts an NFC payment,” Barrotti said, add- hassle and the headache.”

Android Pay Like Apple Pay, Android Pay is also a mobile wallet that utilizes the tap function at payment terminals. It is available on phones equipped with an Android 4.4 KitKat operating system or higher. Alongside credit and debit cards, Android Pay also allows its user to store loyalty cards. For security, a lost device may be remotely deactivated. The wallet began to roll out in Canada early this year.

Coming soon: ClickDishes A new app that allows customers to order and pay using their smartphone has launched in Western Canada.

In January, ClickDishes launched the beta version of its app at 15 restaurants in Calgary, including Carls Jr. and select Opa Souvlaki of Greece and Koryo Korean Barbecue locations as well as 10 restaurants in Vancouver. Vicki Zhou, vice-president of ClickDishes, explained the app allows independent operators compete with chain restaurants.

“Large chains are developing their own order and pay apps. This is convenient for smaller restaurants that want to compete with chains. They don’t have the resources to develop a separate technology product,” said Zhou. “By using this, they can focus on what they’re good at and leverage our technology and support.”

The app also allows its user to order from several different restaurants.

“Instead of having customers download each individual app, we create a platform for our customers to use for different restaurants,” Zhou said. “It’s really redundant to have one app for one restaurant.”

Samsung Pay Samsung Pay, available only on select Samsung products, and like Apple and Android wallets, may be used with tapequipped terminals. However, the Samsung wallet is also capable of processing a payment via regular credit and debit card readers, thanks to magnetic secure transactions (MST).

The MST feature allows Samsung Pay to be accepted wherever credit cards with magnetic strips are accepted. A pin or fingerprint may be used to secure the use of Samsung Pay.

For quick service restaurants, ClickDishes allows customers to avoid lineups by placing their order via the app. The in-app payment allows customers to skip the ordering process altogether.

“Once you arrive at the restaurant, your food is ready and your payment is processed,” Zhou said. “All you need to do is grab the food.”

At full service restaurants, ClickDishes users are able to order, as they’re ready, and split the bill with their table when they finish.

“Our app reduces the amount of time the server has to worry about getting the order right and they can actually spend more time interacting with the customer,” said Vlad Sharpe, chief technology officer for the com-

pany. “You can keep eating and ordering new items; at the end, tap your phone and you’re done.”

There are no fees for restaurants or consumers to use the platform.

ClickDishes instead takes a percentage of the order total on their pay-asyou-go model.

All partner restaurants get access to the ClickDishes dashboard, which comes with a free tablet, stand and receipt printer.

As well, the service includes backend analytics and reporting, allowing operators to see what items are popular in real time.

The app, available for Apple and Android, is expected to expand to all major Canadian cities by the end of 2018.

Apple Pay Apple Pay launched in late 2015 in Canada and is available for iPhone 6 and above. Users are then able to tap their phone, watch or tablet at credit and debit terminals equipped with the tap feature. Apple Pay also integrates into apps, allowing users to make in-app purchases with a single touch. The maps app also displays which businesses accept Apple Pay. Credit card numbers are not stored on the phone and the device’s fingerprint reader enables use of Apple Pay.

February 2017 | 1 5

SUPPLY

McCormack Bourrie opens culinary centre

By Kristen Smith CONCORD, Ont. — McCormack Bourrie Sales & Marketing has made a significant investment in the company’s clients and partner brands with the addition of a test kitchen.

Located near the McCormack Bourrie offices at 160 Applewood Cres., the recently completed test kitchen features state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, including the ability to record and live stream.

“This is another opportunity to take our company to the next level and to get closer to our customers,” said president Paul Bourrie.

“We’re looking at this as a reinvestment in McCormack Bourrie and our brand.”

The culinary centre is designed to be flexible in its capacity and use. It can host small groups at a bar table for meetings or meals, as well as larger groups for training demonstrations or presentations.

The centre’s video capability means attendees don’t need to be in the room.

“We can use it for training videos, we can use it for internal sales meetings. We can have

one of our brands in to launch a new product,” said Bourrie.

Onsite equipment includes a combi-oven, grill, fryer, flattop and gas range as well as a sous-vide cooker and smoke gun.

“We’re trying to bring in the new with the old; We’ve got all the normal stuff, but we’ve got some really cool new stuff,” said Graham Hayes, McCormack Bourrie director of culinary services.

On the suggestion of a client, the test kitchen’s equipment can be easily removed and replaced.

“Probably the biggest difference in this versus some other test kitchen is not only can we test food here, but we can test equipment,” Bourrie said.

“If they want to ship in french fries and they want to try a new fryer, we can take the fryer out so they can test both at the same time.”

Wanting to introduce the test kitchen to the McCormack Bourrie team and its 20 principals first, it was the location for company Christmas party in early December.

“It’s not just a test kitchen, it also works real-

ly well as a venue to hold an event,” said Hayes.

Since then, the culinary centre has hosted several events, including an annual conference for an Ontario restaurant chain.

“We even opened the door to our competitors. There were other brokers that were presenting at the same time, there were other manufacturers,” said Bourrie.

“The goal is to help build the relationship with the customer, whether the customer be our

distributor customers or operator customers.”

Marking 25 years in business on April 1, McCormack Bourrie will hold a formal grand opening on May 4.

Recently adding the Tetley Canada and Gastronomy brands, the company represents 20 principals, none of which have their own culinary facilities.

“This allows them the same opportunity that some of the big brands have,” said Bourrie.

Meet High Liner Culinary Seafood company repositions its Canadain foodservice business

Costco breaks ground on first business centre SCARBOROUGH, Ont. — Construction is now underway on Canada’s first Costco Business Centre.

The 127,000-square-foot location, located at 50 Thermos Rd. in the Warden and Eglinton area, differs from any current Costco warehouse, as about 80 per cent of its products offered are unique to the business centre.

While the new store type is open to all Costco cardholders, the business centre will offer more than 3,000 items — including bulk food products, commercial kitchen equipment and coffee — specifically targeting the food service industry, offices as well as convenience and grocery stores.

“Costco members are always looking for great value,” commented James Dalton,

1 6 | Ontario Restaurant News

warehouse manager of the new location.

“They will undoubtedly find that this convenient and spacious new location will present an incomparable choice of business merchandise.”

The business centre format was introduced in the United States about three years ago and has grown to 14 locations.

The new business centre offers next-business-day delivery to commercial addresses inside of a delivery zone extending of about 20 km from the building’s location.

With its own fleet of trucks, the centre’s deliveries will be filled next day if completed by members before 3 p.m.

Its delivery zone will extend east of Bathurst Street to Markham Road and from

Steeles Avenue south to Lake Ontario.

“The arrival of this new concept in Canada will enable Costco to better respond to the needs of Canada’s business owners,” said Andrée Brien, senior vice president and senior general merchandise manager for Costco Wholesale Canada.

“Additionally, we can now offer these members a distinct product selection, more convenient hours and the option to deliver to their place of business.”

Business owners will find the same items available both online and in-store. The Scarborough Costco Business Centre is expected to open in March 2017.

For more information, visit costcobusinesscentre.ca.

LUNENBURG, N.S. — High Liner Foods recently announced changes to its foodservice division, which was repositioned and rebranded High Liner Culinary.

Complementing High Liner’s strong sourcing and supply chain expertise, High Liner Culinary launched with additional focus on customer relationships and gastronomic innovations.

The repositioning resulted from customer, category, industry and consumer insights that put the Canadian foodservice division on the path to evolve from a strong seafood supplier to a seafood category leader.

According to the company, amplifying its focus on culinary will help get seafood back on menus, deliver against changing consumer dynamics and grow the seafood category.

“We are grateful for the feedback customers provided and we have used this insight to reposition our customer promise,” said Craig Murray, vice-president of foodservice sales and marketing in Canada.

“Our mission is to grow seafood consumption by getting Canadians everywhere, every day, eating more seafood for a better life.”

For more information on the rebranding, visit highlinerculinary.com.

SUPPLY

Bridor is doubling the size of its Boucherville bakery BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Bridor is investing $40 million to double the size of its Boucherville baking facility.

The expansion will allow the bread and Viennese pastries producer to increase the plant’s production capacity by 80 per cent for its foodservice and retail products.

“The company has witnessed exponential growth in recent years and this investment shows just how committed we are to continuously improving our offering,” said Jean François Duquesne, chief executive officer of Bridor.

“We are proud to combine our traditional European baking know-how with cutting-edge industrial technology. It’s our special edge that allows us to produce quality breads and Viennese pastries at a wide scale.”

Bridor holds more than 300 French crusty and artisanal bread recipes and 150 pastry recipes. The food processing company operates industrial bakeries in Canada and the United States and markets the Bridor and Au Pain Doré brands.

The company supplies major distributors, as well as grocery stores, restaurants and hotel

chains throughout North America. The company has in-house research and development and more than 700 employees at its four plants in North America, 500 of whom work in Canada.

Bridor has operated in Quebec for more than three decades, starting with a boutique shop in Montreal in 1980. The first Boucherville bread and pastry production plant opened in 1984.

The company’s recipes feature local ingredients without preservatives, artificial colouring or flavours. Bridor also offers a variety of organic bread and bread made of homemade yeast. Expanding the Boucherville plant will allow Bridor to broaden its range of products.

“Bridor works closely with suppliers and customers to offer innovative solutions tailored to specific needs. While emphasis is put on innovation, the company always stays true to tradition,” said Louis Le Duff, owner of Bridor.

The $40 million budgeted for the Boucherville project is part of a global investment of more than $560 million that spans five years.

The total investment will be dedicated to expanding industrial operations in France and North America.

RBI plans to curb antibiotic use in chicken OAKVILLE, Ont. — Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the parent company of Tim Hortons and Burger King, has announced a commitment to the responsible use of antibiotics within chicken sourced for its menus.

In an effort to understand the issue of antibiotic resistance, the company collaborated with its suppliers as well as academics, and followed the guidance of the World Health Organization and the United States Food and Drug Administration throughout 2016.

“We believe that it is important to reduce the use of antibiotics important for human medicine in order to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics in both veterinary and human medicine,” the company’s website states.

“In order for our brands to provide high quality, safe food to our guests, we believe that we have a responsibility to ensure the health and welfare of food animals.”

RBI will aim to eliminate antibiotics deemed as “critically important to human health” by the World Health Organization from its chicken supply chain.

The supply change will come into effect this year in the United States and in Canada in 2018.

The company says it will work with its supply chain partners to implement and support the changes.

While RBI isn’t committing to completely eliminating antibiotic use, its restaurant brands will require suppliers to solely purchase products from farmers that use antibiotics “in a judicious and responsible manner” when treatment is necessary.

“We recognize that antibiotics play an important and delicate role in animal well-being and human health. Antibiotics are sometimes required to control and treat disease to maintain animal health and welfare,” RBI’s website explains.

RBI notes all of its suppliers are required by law to adhere to legislated antibiotic withdrawal times — a practice that ensures medications have cleared each animal’s system before entering the food chain.

RBI has also committed to transitioning to 100 per cent cage-free eggs at all of its North American restaurants by 2025.

As well, the company plans to improve the welfare of sows by sourcing pork products from suppliers that do not use gestation stalls.

February 2017 | 1 7

BEVERAGE NEWS

On The Table Toronto artists create coasters to encourage conversation about sexual harassment TORONTO — Stopping for a drink at one of the many establishments surrounding the Toronto Design Offsite Festival may have led to a conversation about sexual harassment and consent thanks to a new art project.

Aisle 4, a Toronto-based curatorial project, created On The Table for the festival.

The art project recruited four Toronto artists to create drink coasters that incite respectful conduct and safe public spaces.

“The main goal is to just create a dialogue about these issues. We don’t want it to seem like some preachy public service announcement,” said Renée van der Avoird, a member of Aisle 4.

“Our mandate is to curate art projects outside of institutions, so we aim to have people come across art in unsuspected spaces in the public realm. For us, something like a coaster is a perfect mode for the artwork.”

On The Table is a response to the correlation between alcohol consumption and gender-based violence, while advocating for the safety of patrons and staff in hospitality environments. As well, the hospitality industry offered an ideal location to spark conversations due to the ability to reach a mixed demographic.

“You have all genders coming together socially. Why not add in something that is art, but also messaging to bring up that subject and get people talking about it?” van der Avoird said.

“It is an issue that is very important. I think sexual harassment is more common than people think, or than people like to admit.”

To create the coasters, Aisle 4 recruited Jesse Harris, Aisha Sasha John, Hazel Meyer and Lido Pimienta.

“We looked at artists with a political or critical basis,” van der Avoird said.

“Obviously this is sort of a contentious issue, we wanted to make sure the artists were comfortable inserting themselves in the dialogue.”

During the Toronto Design Offsite Festival, Aisle 4 distributed about 10,000 of the coasters, free of charge, to about 15 bars and restaurants, including Cold Tea, Get Well, The Gladstone Hotel, Track & Field, Unlovable and Wenona Craft Beer Lodge.

“It’s there, it’s in the public, it is free and it’s mobile,” van der Avoird said.

“You can pick it up and take it home, which will hopefully continue the discussion elsewhere.”

The Toronto Design Offsite Festival ran Jan. 16 to 22.

After the festival concludes, van der Avoird hopes On The Table’s message will continue.

“Ideally, we would expand the project to other cities and work with other artists, and continue the conversation,” she said.

“We’ve had a pretty great response. It seems to be resonating with a lot of people.”

Year-long beer collaboration celebrates Canada’s sesquicentennial

By Bill Tremblay TORONTO — Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company is toasting Canada’s 150th birthday with a series of 12 limited edition beers.

Throughout the year, the Vankleek Hill, Ont., brewery will release a new brew each month, created in partnership with other Canadian establishments.

“With our collaborative series, we said, ‘Let’s try to interpret Canada through a set of beer goggles’,” said Beau’s co-founder Steve Beauchesne.

The idea for the series was created when Beau’s bid on the title of the official beer of the Ottawa 2017 celebration.

Beauchesne explained he wanted the “official beer” status to achieve more than promote Lug Tread, the brewery’s flagship beer.

“We said, ‘What we want to do is not just ram Lug Tread down people’s throats, but use the moment to celebrate Canada,” he said.

1 8 | Ontario Restaurant News

For the first beer in the series, Beau’s partnered with Newfoundland and Labrador’s Fogo Island Inn to create 49° 54°, a myrrh-smoked gose named after the coordinates of the island.

“We have two companies that really have shared values. We both believe strongly in community and using our business as a force for good,” Beauchesne said during a media event held to launch the beer at Toronto’s Ruby Watchco in January.

The beer incorporates ingredients foraged on the island, including partridgeberries, birch tree bark, myrrh and sea salt.

“They were very insistent that the beer we make not only taste of Fogo Island, but taste of Fogo Island in January,” Beauchesne said.

To understand the flavours and culture of the island, a team from the brewery travelled to Fogo Island to develop the recipe with the inn’s chefs.

“This was not just a quick one-off beer. They were very interested in finding out about the culture of Fogo Island, what were the key ingredients,

what would get the community engaged and what represents the ethos of the community,” said Diane Hodgins, chief financial officer of the Shorefast Foundation, the charity that manages the inn.

For its February release, Beau’s has partnered with Oshlag Brewing in Montreal to create an oakaged vidal pale ale, which will be available at bars and restaurants throughout Ontario and Quebec.

The Oshlag collaboration is followed by an English pale ale with Ottawa’s Tooth and Nail Brewery, a porter with British Columbia’s Crannog Ales and a maibock with Side Launch Brewing in Collingwood, Ont. Lug Tread will be served at the numerous events scheduled throughout the year for the Ottawa 2017 celebration. As well, the beer now features an Ottawa 2017 branded necktag.

“We got our start with the Ottawa market,” said Beauchesne. “We wouldn’t be here today if the Ottawa restaurateurs, and people in general, didn’t embrace us when we started.”

Brewhaha: Hoteliers tap into craft beers in creative ways

By Don Douloff In an effort to boost their food and beverage offerings, Canadian hoteliers are tapping into local craft beers in new and creative ways. With the ongoing (and seemingly unending) craftbeer boom, there is no shortage of top-notch brews, or novel ways in which to feature them.

For example, Holiday Inn Peterborough-Waterfront, in Peterborough, Ont., incorporates beers from local The Publican House Brewery in a number of menu features throughout the year, said general manager Grant Zwarych.

Examples include mussels cooked in a Publican House broth; Publican House High Noon beer can chicken, “which we then shredded and used in a quesadilla”; and Publican House Square Nail Pale Ale, incorporated into a Welsh rarebit sauce that “was the main topping for the Shealand Farm lamb burger that won our annual Kawartha Choice Burger Challenge this year.”

Beyond that, the hotel plans to hold a beer maker’s dinner pairing a different brew with each course, including dessert.

Two local craft breweries have expressed interest.

“We collaborate with the brewmaster, myself and the chef, to see what we think would go best,” said Zwarych. “With my experience with wines and winemaking dinners, I use my same bridging principles with matching beer profiles with the food dish.”

Holiday Inn Sudbury, in Sudbury, Ont., uses Stack Saturday Night cream ale to flavour the barbecue sauce adorning its prime rib. On top of that, the hotel’s culinary team “is developing seasonal craft beer pairings that we aim to launch in spring,” said general manager Karim Khamisa.

The newly opened Trump International Hotel & Tower

Vancouver stocks its in-room mini-bars with local brews such as Fuggles & Warlock’s Beam Me Up Espresso Milk Stout. The Trump Champagne Lounge is devoting 75 per cent of its beer list to B.C. brands.

A number of FRHI properties are incorporating local labels. The Raw Bar at Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim, at weekend brunch, partners the Beer Makes Miso Happy cocktail (Grand Marnier, wheat beer, ginger and lemon) with bacon and sablefish miso soup.

Also in Vancouver, ARC restaurant, at Fairmont Waterfront, in partnership with Whistler Brewing, brews Fairmont Stinger Lager made with honey from the rooftop apiary. (In 2012, Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York pioneered the practice when it began selling Royal Stinger, brewed, in partnership with Mill Street Brewery, with honey harvested from the hotel’s rooftop hives. Following a 2014 naming contest, Royal Stinger was rebranded as Apiary Ale.) ARC offers monthly Chef ’s Bench dinners, including cicerone dinners featuring beer pairings.

Q at the Empress, at Fairmont Empress, in Victoria, B.C., bakes a rye loaf, made with Tofino, B.C.’s Tuff Session ale and served with black tapenade and sweet butter.

Every Saturday, Alpine Social, at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, in Lake Louise, Alta., hosts a party featuring a special 20 litre cask — from The Grizzly Paw Brewing Co., of Canmore, Alta. — opened on the bar itself, usually by the evening’s first guest. The cask’s contents are always a surprise.

Through an exclusive partnership with Grizzly Paw, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise created the P6 Pilsner, brewed exclusively at the property. Made every six to eight weeks, the pilsner is the hotel’s highest selling beer.

Your

Advertisement

Could Be

Here

Email: sales@canadianrestaurantnews.com Call: 1 (800) 201-8596 | (905) 206-0150 February 2017 | 1 9

DRUXY’S Famous Deli opens three new locations TORONTO — On the heels of its 40th anniversary, DRUXY’S Famous Deli is opening three new locations.

Toronto will be home to two of the new locations at 77 Bloor St. West and 2 St. Clair Ave. East. The third location will open in Barrie, Ont. at 55 Mulcaster St. “This expansion illustrates the endearing longevity of the brand and our commitment to widening the company’s footprint beyond downtown Toronto,” said Bruce Druxerman, president of DRUXY’S Inc. All three locations will feature the company’s

new look and feel, infused with elements from traditional delis and inspired by the shared stories that come from combining family, friends and food.

“This new design really takes us back to our roots,” said Peter Druxerman, vice-president of marketing at DRUXY’s Inc. “When we were growing up, Sunday dinners reflected our heritage, featuring not only fresh corned beef, kosher salami, and potato salad, but also lively and fun discussions with family and friends.

The whole idea of this new layout, from the large shared table to highlighting the slicing of

steaming hot deli meats, comes directly from our celebrated Sunday dinners.”

The new design combines warm wood tones with marble finishes, a design focused on delivering a multi-sensory experience for guests. A front-facing slicing station will showcase hot briskets and premium smoked meats, delivering a tempting aroma to draw people into a warm and inviting atmosphere. Communal tables will be installed to welcome diners and encourage conversation.

“This is only the beginning of what we see as a new phase for DRUXY’S,” said Harold Drux-

erman, vice-president of finance at DRUXY’S Inc. “As leases come due, our delis will be refreshed with this new design and we have identified new locations across Southern Ontario for future expansion.”

DRUXY’S Famous Deli was founded in 1976 by Bruce Druxerman with the goal of using the traditional deli format to offer fresh and healthy sandwiches, salads, soups, bagels and coffee to office workers in downtown Toronto.

Bruce was joined by brothers Harold and Peter and together they expanded the chain across southern Ontario to 44 delis.

Chefs create Canada’s Table for nation’s 150th birthday celebration OTTAWA — A 1,000-seat dining table will help Canada celebrate its 150th anniversary.

The Ottawa 2017 Bureau has partnered with restaurateur Stephen Beckta and chef Mike Moffatt (Beckta, Play and Gezellig restaurants) as well as Sheila Whyte of Thyme & Again Catering, to organize Canada’s Table — a 305-metre long dining table that will showcase Canadian food, wine and hospitality.

“The concept of Canada’s Table is something that I had been attempting to do for more than five years and was an important element

of the original Ottawa 2017 plan,” said Guy Laflamme, executive director of the Ottawa 2017 Bureau.

“When I read through local media that Stephen had the same dream, I knew it was an alliance that was meant to be.”

The open-air dinner takes place on Wellington Street, with 10 of Ottawa’s top chefs joined by 10 other influential chefs from across Canada to stage the four-course dinner, served in the shadow of Canada’s Parliament buildings.

“I am thrilled that Canada’s world-class

food, wine and hospitality will be showcased at the epicentre of our country’s 150th anniversary celebrations,” Beckta said.

The event is part of a four-day series of culinary events where celebrity chefs from across Canada will be featured at various Ottawa restaurants. In addition, they will make a social contribution by sharing their skills with local charity organizations and by offering culinary demonstrations on how to prepare low-cost, healthy family meals using fresh local products.

“We’re excited to share our passion for ex-

ceptional food and service with guests at Canada’s Table,” Whyte said.

Canada’s Table is an Ottawa 2017 Signature Event, under the Ignite 150 program.

The dinner is a non-profit event, with many partners donating time or resources. Proceeds raised from the event will be used to aid local and national food security causes.

Tickets for Canada’s Table will go on sale in the coming weeks.

The list of Canadian chefs and ticket prices will be revealed at that time.

Products Mina chicken shawarma strips

Chickpea Pasta COLLINGWOOD, Ont. — A combination of organic chickpeas and lentils, Chickapea Pasta is a gluten-free option produced by Earth to Kids Inc. The product is an organic, nutrient dense, high protein and high fibre pasta made from just two ingredients: chickpeas and lentils.

As well, the pasta is free of gluten, preservatives, common allergens and artificial ingredients.

Created by Shelby Taylor of Collingwood, Ont., the product lineup is now nominated for Best New Emerging Specialty Food Product at the Gluten Free Expo in Vancouver.

The product idea also won Best Pitch at Georgian College’s exCite Week, and soon gained investment and mentorship through one of the judging panelists.

Launching into retail stores in mid-2016, the brand is now sold in about 400 stores

2 0 | Ontario Restaurant News

across Canada and set to launch in the United States next month.

The pasta is available in penne, spirals and shells and is distributed wholesale through Neal Brothers Foods.

Earth to Kids plans to launch a foodservice program for the pasta products sometime this month. choosechickapea.com

MISSISSAUGA — Mina Halal Foodservice has launched a new website to highlight its growing product line.

On Jan. 3, the foodservice provider announced the new website, as well as the addition of chicken shawarma strips to its product line. The shawarma is fully cooked, gluten-free and made with dark meat as well as authentic Middle Eastern seasoning.

Alongside its chicken products, the new website features insight into how a restaurant may produce and serve a proper Halal meal, even in a kitchen that is not exclusively Halal.

The website also provides demographic information into Canada’s Muslim population, the fastest growing demographic in the country.

Mina products adhere to the Islamic faith, and the Halal Monitoring Authority (HMA) has certified its products. Each chicken pro-

cessed by the company is carefully monitored, individually blessed and hand slaughtered. As well, all of Mina’s Halal products are processed in Ontario and Alberta and raised by a Canadian farmer.

With more than 25 products in its portfolio, Mina Halal products are served in cafeterias and restaurants across Canada. minahalalfoodservice.com

Jollibee plans to open four new Canadian restaurants The Flilipino fast food chain has plans to open restaurants in Scarborough and Mississauga

By Bill Tremblay

Customers line up to try Jollibee’s first Canadian restaurant.

A massive bucket of chicken helped celebrate the Winnipeg store’s opening.

WINNIPEG — Jollibee is turning to Filipino expats to secure a footing in the Canadian fast food market.

With more than 3,000 locations worldwide, the first Canadian location for the Filipino fast food chain opened at Ellice Avenue and Milt Stegall Drive in Winnipeg in December.

“As we enter into a new market, it’s really to bring the taste of home to Filipinos,” said Jose Miñana, Jollibee Foods Corporation’s group president for North America and foreign franchise brands.

“Our strategy is quite clear in North America. Our primary target market is the Filipino community and we know there is a big number of Filipinos in Canada.”

The interest in Jollibee opening in Canada, mixed with subzero temperatures, presented new challenges for the company when its doors opened at the 80-seat Winnipeg restaurant.

As temperatures reached -26 C, and customers began lining up at 6:30 a.m., Jollibee responded by renting heated trailers for their hopeful guests.

The restaurant also implemented a maximum $50 limit on orders and a ticket system so customers would not lose their place in line.

“We had to find ways to make sure that all these people coming in throngs would have a comfortable place while waiting for their turn,” Miñana said.

“I’ve been with the company since 1993. I

have opened hundreds of stores and I have never experienced anything like this.

“It was a first time for us to have that kind of weather.”

The company plans to open its second location in Scarborough, Ont. by the end of the year.

In 2018, a second Winnipeg location will open at Northgate Shopping Centre, as well as restaurants in Mississauga, Ont. and Edmonton.

“I was really excited about what I saw in Canada. There’s a huge mix of nationalities and concepts from other places,” Miñana said.

“I don’t think a chain like Jollibee will be as foreign as it sounds.”

All Canadian locations will be corporate stores, as Jollibee establishes its supply chain and operating systems.

“We will see as it goes, and if we could explore franchising over there,” Miñana said.

Jollibee’s menu, including its flagship fried chicken, spaghetti and peach mango pies, was imported unaltered for the Canadian market.

“It is exactly as it tastes back home,” Miñana said. “It would almost be a mortal sin for us to change what they’ve been looking forward to.”

However, the company is testing menu items that may broadly appeal to a Canadian audience.

“We do introduce products for the local market,” Miñana said.

“I think with the adventurous qualities of people living in Canada, it may give us an opportunity to cross over.”

Chaska aims to open multiple units by next year The final step for bowls and salads is choosing the sauce or Continued from cover The name Chaska translates to “obsession,” which was Seth’s dressing. The kathi roll is Indian-style flatbread cooked on a tava with a layer of egg and filled with meet, paneer or vegetables. goal when creating the food.

“When I was developing this product I told my team, ‘I want Working with executive chef Anil Reddy, Seth drew inspirato develope a product people crave’,” Seth said. tion from his experiences with street food on family road trips.

“This [kathi roll] is that product; we hear it When he was getting his post-secondary all the time.” education, Seth recalls he would often eat saStreet food favourites are also on the menu mosas on a pav bun – called bun samosa — for including pav bhaji and samosa chaat. lunch.

The drink menu features badam milk (al“Bun samosa was so delicious,” Seth said. mond milk with saffron, green cardamom and “I still have good memories of having those big nutmeg) and chai. buns and three samosas on it with ketchup.”

Seth plans to serve alcohol at future locaFor Chaska, they developed smaller vertions with Indian beer on draft as well as mixed sions, samosa sliders, topped with coleslaw and drinks. chutney.

Chaska’s vibrant, colourful decor draws “Most Indian restaurants are not serving inspiration from dhabas, roadside restaurants true, authentic Indian flavours; everything is serving local cuisine and also serving as truck more Americanized, the recipes have been stops. modified,” said Seth.

This year, Seth plans to open two more “You’ll find that our food is more flavourful, Naveen Seth Chaska locations with three more to follow in not just spicy with chilies. It has a lot of flavour 2018. to it, but it’s well balanced.”

He is looking for real estate in downtown Toronto as well as The menu is customizable with patrons able to choose a kathi reaching out to post-secondary institutions. roll, rice bowl or salad bowl.

“I’m searching aggressively to find the right location for me,” Customers are then able to choose from a list of proteins, such a mint chicken, lamb tikka or vegetarian options, including pan- Seth said, noting he is approaching campuses where he has already opened a La Prep location. eer, mushroom or soy.

Products Ltd Foodservice Equipment & Supply Est. 1963

Canada’s Distributor for Southern Pride and Broaster Equipment

Call us to book your FREE demo (888)-887-9923 | kendale@kendale.ca

February 2017 | 2 1

Canada Unleashed 2017 RC SHOW TORONTO — Gone are the days of putting out a fishbowl for business cards at trade shows and expecting sales.

Restaurants Canada is aiming to unite the country’s foodservice and hospitality community at its annual trade show. Dubbed Canada Unleashed, the RC Show runs Feb. 26 to 28 at the EnerCare Centre in Toronto.

Based on 2016 numbers, Restaurants Canada expects more than 14,000 foodservice professionals to visit this year’s RC Show, as well as about 1,000 exhibitors representing multiple brands.

“It’s the largest foodservice show in Canada and it’s growing this year,” said Troy Taylor, vice-president of operations/Groupex at Restaurants Canada.

“Trade shows are transforming right now.

Anyone can go online and buy a blender; you don’t need to come to a show to buy a blender where you would have had to years ago,” Taylor said. “I can go buy my knives, I can go buy my blender, I can even go buy my stove online if I want to, but I want to learn from the best.”

Taylor believes it’s the interaction with professionals and opportunity for education that will draw visitors and make for successful vendors.

“I don’t need to come here to buy a blender, but I need to see how that blender is going to make a drink that will cost X and I can make Y,” he said.

The transformation began two years ago, when Taylor and the team began approaching exhibitors to help with the evolution of the Restaurants Canada show.

“Help me bring your brand to life,” he said.

“I’ve give you the stage, I’ll give you the forum and I’ll give you the people.”

In an effort to draw more people to Toronto for the event, Restaurants Canada partnered with international shows, such as Host Milano, as well as other Canadian organizations, including Terroir Symposium.

“We’ve got to make Toronto a destination.

In order to do that, we have to give people more value than coming to see the proverbial blend-

er,” said Taylor. “We’re putting on a bunch of seminars, educational [presentations] and events around the show, so it will now become part of what we’re calling Hospitality Week.”

Instead of running a trade show with a handful of events attached to it, over the course of a few years, Taylor envisions a slew of events “that happen to have a trade show.”

The industry association tasked chef Charlotte Langley with reaching out to the Canadian culinary community. The idea, she said, was to get “fresh faces” involved with the show.

Langley plans to showcase regional products from across Canada, as well as shine a light on Ontario agriculture.

As for new blood on the RC Show stage, Langley’s lineup includes chefs who are not necessarily celebrities in the food television sense of the word, but famous within the industry.

“They are the influencers, they are setting the tone, they are creating the trends,” she said.

From across Canada, this includes: Newfoundland & Labrador’s Todd Perrin of Mallard Cottage; Robert Belcham of Campagnolo, Vancouver; co-chefs/owners of CHARCUT Roast House, Connie DeSousa and John Jackson; Renée Lavallée, chef/owner of The Canteen in Dartmouth, N.S. “I’m trying to showcase more gender equality; there are female chefs out there, we just don’t know about them,” said Langley.

She isn’t playing the feminism card, but simply creating a mix of great chefs.

The Canadian chefs will craft signature regional fare to highlight the country’s culinary landscape at RC Nation’s Feast, a ticketed event being held at Casa Loma.

Also new to the 2017 show is a leadership conference for single-unit operators on Feb. 26 and multi-unit operators on Feb. 27. Moderated by marketing expert Tony Chapman, the half-day conferences feature panels focused on catering to millennials, making a first impression, reaching potential customers, as well as a session by Joe Jackman on branding.

This year, the Shake & Sling Pavilion will feature a new tasting lounge and beer garden.

Chef Charlotte Langley is the culinary curator for the 2017 RC Show.

On the menu innovation side, culinary demos will include seafood, waste-based cooking, Canadian beef and cooking with eggs.

As in past years, the RC Show will also include an opening night reception, culinary and beverage competitions and Breakfast With Champions. Being held on Feb. 28 at Liberty Grand, the annual breakfast seminar will feature two keynote addresses examining key issues affecting the foodservice industry: Sara Monnette, vice-president of research and insights at Technomic, will discuss new rules for competing in a global foodservice world; and Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, will address how the Canadian psyche is changing, and how operators should respond. A panel discussion will feature Bill Gregson, CEO Cara Operations, Nick Di Donato, CEO Liberty Entertainment

Group, Alexandra Blum, vice-president, global public relationships and partnerships, FRHI Hotels and Resorts, and Jeremy Bonia, owner of Raymond’s Restaurant, St. John’s, N.L. Taylor and the RC Show team have reached out to the provinces, suggesting they invest international development dollars in sending companies to the trade show. Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island got involved this year, while other provinces said they would in 2018. In addition, Restaurants Canada is applying for international show designation to enable provinces to use funding earmarked for international export, Taylor explained.

“The biggest challenge we have now is putting this show back on sort of the national psyche of all the restaurant operators in Canada, they should be here,” he said.

We Care appoints Tiana Rodrigue executive director MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Members of the hospitality and foodservice industry gathered Jan. 16 to wish Kevin Collins luck in his new role at Easter Seals Ontario.

Collins, who served as executive director of Friends of We Care for more than 17 years, took the position of president and chief executive officer of Easter Seals Ontario in late January.

During his time at the helm of the nonprofit organization, Friends of We Care raised more than $20.5 million to send Easter Seals kids to barrier-free camps.

Last year, the organization raised $1,386,155, the highest net amount in the history of Friends of We Care.

Board chair Jim Greenway spent a great

2 2 | Ontario Restaurant News

deal of time thinking about his speech at Collins’ farewell party. “Honestly, when I tried to put some words to paper, I had an awful lot of trouble,” Greenway said to those gathered to pay tribute to “over 17 years of loyal and unparalleled service.”

We Care ambassador Taylor Hanson thanked Collins on behalf of the campers for helping them create positive experiences.

“We’ll never forget the impact you’ve had,” she said.

To commemorate the legacy of a man who has touched many lives, the Kevin J. Collins Scholarship was created for post-secondary study in the foodservice industry and announced at the event.

“It’s amazing what these kids can accom-

plish by just giving them an opportunity,” Collins said, noting the key is to “focus on their abilities and not their disabilities.”

Tiana Rodrigue has been appointed the new executive director at Friends of We Care. She joined the organization in 2012 and was most recently the senior manager of fundraising and development.

“She has already made many positive, lasting impacts on the organization,” said Greenway.

Rodrigue will work closely with We Care stakeholders while transitioning to her new position.

“I am excited by the opportunities before us and am honoured to be leading Friends of We Care into the future,” Rodrigue said.

+ Some things are simply better together . . .

Like the classic combination of macaroni and cheese, Russell Hendrix is a dynamic duo that can’t be beat. Over the next several months, Canada’s two largest foodservice equipment dealers will become one. The merged company, Russell Hendrix Foodservice Equipment, will supply customers from seventeen showrooms and five distribution centers across Canada. Stay up to date at russellhendrix.com

Leavoy Rowe Beef Co. " Your Tailors in the Meat Business"

®

ned f

su pp ort !

11

Stay tu

Th r an k you for you

HALAL CERTIFIED BEEF, LAMB & POULTRY

HACCP Recognized

Federally Inspected EST. #577

or

news

!

For more information please contact us at: sales@leavoyrowe.com 905.272.2330  1.866.444.7974

Leavoy Rowe Beef Co. 2576 Wharton Glen Avenue Mississauga, Ontario L4X 2A9