F&H July/August 2024 Digital Issue

Global flavours and crispy coatings rule the roost

Operators choose function over fashion when it comes to uniforms

CHICKEN CHANCES DRESSED FOR SUCCESS ROOM TO

WIN

Shining a light on Ontario's struggling restaurant industry

The

CHEFS' ISSUE

Four chefs share how they've found success outside the traditional restaurant setting

BASHIR

EXECUTIVE CHEF/ FOOD ADVOCATE

MUNYE

Hanif

Darcy

Value-driven

Experts

Savio

Over the past decade, the role of the chef has undergone myriad changes. And with the pandemic influencing all aspects of the work world, the culinary role continues to be in flux. From the age-old stereotype of the temperamental chef, whose temper tantrums lead to fear and loathing in the kitchen to the image of the cool, tattooed rockstar chefs, fuelled by the increasing popularity of both the Food Network and now Netflix, the role of the chef continues to grow and evolve. As a result, today’s chefs are now required to be more than just good cooks, they’re also expected to be teachers, mentors, parents, sometimes tech gurus, and often therapists all rolled into one. Simply stated, the role of the chef was much more predictable or definable in the past. But today, the rise of plant-based diets, as well as a better appreciation of health and nutrition, sustainability, and even changing immigration patterns and technology are impacting the way we look at food, and, similarly, the way chefs create their menus. And, a new appreciation for work-life balance has emerged, fuelled by the pandemic, which means chefs must now be increasingly mindful of their teams, as well as their own needs for a balanced life, begging the question — is that even possible?

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

With this month’s Chef’s Issue, (formerly the Food Issue) we profile a handful of chefs who are achieving success in areas beyond the traditional restaurant (see stories on page 23). From educational institutions, to working in the supply chain, or on farms, to creating multi-faceted companies that incorporate restaurants with school feeding, catering and even travel, these chefs are pushing the boundaries of culinary creativity.

They’re rolling up their sleeves to incorporate the trends of the day and, in the process, creating unique and innovative dining experiences; but they’re also committed to sustainability, to diversity, to teaching tomorrow’s young stars, and to community engagement like never before.

And, if that’s not enough, today’s breed of chef also participates in outreach and education like never before — participating in food festivals, culinary competitions, cooking demos, and social causes such as food banks, while serving as important mentors to a new generation of young chefs, all the while fostering a better sense of community and connection with the food we consume.

Not surprisingly, today’s chefs have forged and formed important, symbiotic relationships with the farms that grow the food, and the producers and purveyors that produce the products. As a result, we’ve also highlighted a few of those producers and purveyors as well (see stories on page 35).

Interestingly, as we look to the future and anticipate a new generation of young chefs entering the industry, we can only imagine how the world of food and the chefs who create it will continue to evolve even further, especially given the continued and complex growth of Artificial Intelligence‚ leading one to wonder just how AI will be incorporated in recipe development and menu planning. That’s a story for another issue. FH

ROSANNA CAIRA rcaira@kostuchmedia.com

@foodservicemag facebook.com/foodservicehospitalitymagazine instagram.com/rosannacaira

EDITOR & PUBLISHER ROSANNA CAIRA

MANAGING EDITOR AMY BOSTOCK

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MONTHLY NEWS AND UPDATES FOR THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY

NEW HOTSPOT OPENS IN TORONTO

The Wellington Market opens its doors at The Well

After much anticipation, Toronto locals and visitors can now experience the evolution of Toronto's food-anddrink scene with the opening of Wellington Market Food Hall, the city's newest culinary experience, featuring 35 tenants. The fully liquor-licensed market represents a one-of-akind experience that allows market-goers to sip while they discover fresh, local produce, artisan fare and a variety of elevated casual dining options.

The Wellington Market forms part of The Well and establishes it as a cornerstone for food-and-beverage experiences in Toronto and a social hotspot for King West and the GTA. The Market officially opened its doors in June with a buzzworthy opening.

The dog-friendly space features more than 1,000 seats with a 3,400-person capacity, and brings a thoughtfully curated mix of

merchants that celebrate Toronto's diverse culinary options. It’s a joint venture between RioCan REIT and Allied Properties REIT. The Wellington Market serves as an anchor and enhances the existing culinary offering, featuring 12 inspired restaurants such as the Wellington Restaurants, which line Wellington Street West, and the breathtaking Aera on the 8 Spadina rooftop.

Additionally, Canada's first-ever Prince Street Pizza location is part of this exciting culinary scene. Additional merchants are set to open in the coming months with plans to have 50 merchants total.

“The opening of Wellington Market is the result of the collective efforts of our dedicated team, tenants, community and partners who came together to bring a one-of-a-kind experience to Toronto. We are grateful for the tremendous efforts of

The Wellington Market was designed by GPA Architects, the Torontobased firm responsible for Eataly.

this visionary team, whose dedication and collaboration brought us to this significant milestone,” says Oliver Harrison, SVP, Leasing and Tenant Experience, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. “We are excited to share this evolution of the Toronto food-and-drink scene and have everyone experience it in their own unique way.” Boasting more than 70,000 sq. ft., Wellington Market provides a one-of-a-kind experience where visitors can explore new flavours and familiar local cuisine. They can grab a drink from the central bar, Scale Hospitality’s The Pier, and discover the fresh, local produce, artisan fare, and a variety of elevated casual-dining options. The Pier serves as an anchor for connection and social gatherings and offers a range of beverage options, including the Wellington Market's signature cocktail, ‘The Well 76.’ FH

TACO TIME

Redberry Restaurants has opened its newest Taco Bell location on Union Station’s York Concourse’s lower-level food court in Toronto, bringing the Redberry Taco Bell portfolio to 27 units.

“This will be the seventh new location that we’ve opened this year, and we’re honoured to become a part of a vibrant and historical location like Union Station,” says Steve Perreira, director of Operations, Taco Bell, Redberry Restaurants.

Redberry continues to grow strategically with ambitious plans to open 200 Taco Bell locations across the country over the next few years. As Toronto’s transportation hub, Union Station marks one of Redberry’s most significant store openings yet, with more than 200,000 people travelling through its doors every day.

BYLAW REPEAL

In response to public backlash following the implementation of Calgary’s Single-Use Item (SUI) on Jan. 16, 2024, Calgary City Council passed a motion by a 10-to-five margin on Jan. 30 requesting staff start the process of repealing the bylaw. Recently, city staff reported back to Council that all steps needed to repeal the bylaw have been completed. Following a two-hour public hearing, Council voted 12 to three to officially repeal the city’s SUI bylaw. As a result, Calgary restaurants will no longer be required to comply with the bylaw requirements including charging customers $0.15 for a paper bag or $1 for a re-usable cloth bag and asking customers to request items such as utensils at checkout. However, Calgary members are free to keep policies implemented to comply with the bylaw in place voluntarily.

NOW OPEN: EARLS KING WEST

Earls Restaurant Group opened Earls King West on June 28, 2024. With an expansive space spanning more than 10,000 sq. ft., the new location features three outdoor patios, including a rooftop patio and solarium.

Unique to this location, Earls King West features exposed brick, original wood floors, open-rafter ceilings and a retro neon Earls sign. This design concept was brought to life by Earls’ internal design team, with creative direction by Elly Chronakis in collaboration with lead designer Emily Stadnyk. Earls King West can accommodate 110 guests on the upstairs solarium and 172 on the main floor (including the sidewalk and street-side patio).

Beyond the design, the restaurant’s menu, created by renowned chef David Wong, features items tailored to the King West community palettes, including items inspired by world travels such as the Yuzu Calamari, Queen Bee Pizza, Sesame Citrus Noodle Bowl, and signature items such as the Seafood Tower, Truffle Parmesan Chicken and Angry Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Guests can complement their meal with beverages such as the Crystal Margarita, Coconut Mango Margarita and White Peach Whiskey Sour. The drink development team, including Vancouver

CRUCIAL SUPPORTS

Saputo Inc.’s Dairy Division (Canada), Dairy Division (U.S.) and Corporate Services have been recognized with gender-parity certifications from Women in Governance, a North American non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women through their career advancement. These certifications

RE-CLAIM THE FLAME

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) has completed its previously announced acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. that aren’t already held by RBI or its affiliates for $9.55 per share in an all-cash transaction, or an aggregate total enterprise value of approximately $1 billion.

With the close of the acquisition, RBI adds the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S. to its portfolio as part of the company’s Re-claim the Flame plan. As previously announced, the company will invest a further $500 million to accelerate the re-imagining of more than 600 Carrols restaurants before re-franchising the majority of the acquired portfolio to new or existing smaller franchise operators over the next seven years.

Consumption Confusion

Data doesn’t lie when it comes to beverage-alcohol trends

BY VINCE SGABELLONE

During a recent media interview, I commented that Gen Z doesn’t consume as much alcohol as older generations. Gen Zers contacted me to defend their alcohol consumption prowess and to advise me that I shouldn’t generalize. Restaurant and pub operators were worried about their livelihoods and reached out to learn more. And other media outlets asked for further clarification and their own quotes. Allow me to explain myself and to defend my initial position with some data.

Let’s begin with some foundational info. Our CREST database of consumer restaurant-consumption trends shows beverage alcohol was included in seven per cent of all restaurant meals for consumers aged 18+ during the 12-month period ending March 2024. This figure is virtually unchanged from five years ago and may appear to contradict widely held notions about beverage-alcohol trends, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Digging deeper, we see average checks on orders that include alcohol have increased just eight per cent since 2019, or half the average rate. And alcohol consumed without food is up 13 per cent, five times the overall increase in servings. Whether it’s less food, fewer re-fills, or a switch to lower-cost items, restaurant consumers have reduced their average spend per alcohol visit while still enjoying an alcoholic drink.

As you might expect, FSR accounts for more than three-quarters of all foodservice beverage-alcohol servings, included in one-quarter of all FSR visits. QSR accounts for 21 per cent, with the final few points in share going to the retail foodservice segment. Beer is the largest category with more than 50 per cent share, followed by wine, and then cocktails. But the fastest-growing category of beverage alcohol is the “other” category, which includes the growing selection of pre-mixed alcohol-based beverages. Now accounting for more than eight per cent share, or about the same as white wine, these beverages are especially popular in the QSR and retail segments, which serve their beverage alcohol from a refrigerator, not across a bar. In particular, the QSR varied menu subchannel, which includes the up-and-coming nontraditional global-cuisine restaurants, reaches overall beverage-alcohol

incidence equal to midscale restaurants. This is yet another example of how these upstart QSR operators (sometimes referred to as fast casual) are carving out a middle ground between traditional QSR and traditional FSR.

What about the generational trends that I kicked off with? Well, I stand by my original sound bite. Gen Z consumes alcohol in restaurants at about half the rate of the boomer generation. Millennials are just ahead of Gen Zers, and Gen Xers are just behind boomers. While average consumption for the two older cohorts increased in the past year, it decreased for the two younger cohorts. The reasons for this variance are numerous and include age, budget, health, and access to other now-legal stimulants. Further, younger generations use restaurants differently than older cohorts, with more conveniencebased QSR visits and fewer experiential FSR visits that are more likely to include alcohol. But make no mistake, even as young cohorts don’t drink as much as others, they still consume their fair share of beverages. In fact, every cohort consumes beverages at about the same rate, but with a different mix across the expanding spectrum of beverage options currently available in the market.

A recent study on beverage consumption released by Circana U.S., highlights Gen Z’s beverage preferences in non-alcoholic beverages, specifying that this cohort is on a continuous search for innovation inspiration. Gen Z’s preferences in non-alcoholic beverages reveal a desire for energy, sweetness, fruit flavours, added benefits, and forme-for-now sizes — think juices, smoothies, enhanced waters, energy drinks and coffee-based beverages. Look to these preferences for innovation inspiration in beverage alcohol and beverage menus in general. This report went on to conclude that Gen Z doesn’t consume as much alcohol as older generations. FH

Vince Sgabellone is the director of Client Development and a foodservice industry analyst at Circana. He can be reached at vince.sgabellone@circana.com

New Horizons in Franchising Understanding Saskatchewan’s Franchise Disclosure Act

BY JASON BRISEBOIS AND ANNA THOMPSON-AMADEI

The Province of Saskatchewan may soon become the seventh province in Canada to enact franchise disclosure and relationship legislation. The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan introduced Bill 149, The Franchise Disclosure Act (the “Act”), for first reading on November 9, 2023.  If the legislature passes the bill, it will be the province’s first comprehensive franchise legislation, and represent a significant step towards uniformity in franchise laws across Canada, as Saskatchewan would join British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island in having legislated protections in place for franchisees.

The Act was introduced after public consultation on the need for franchise legislation within the province. The framework of the consultation was based on the Uniform Law Conference of Canada’s Uniform Franchise Act (which Sotos LLP co-chaired).

In response, the Canadian Franchise Association and Sotos LLP, among other parties, submitted a number of recommendations, including urging the province to follow the most recently enacted provincial franchise legislation, British Columbia’s Franchises Act, which came into force in 2017.

Having undergone its first and second readings in November 2023, the Act is anticipated to be enacted in 2024. Absent franchise disclosure and relationship legislation having been previously adopted in the province, franchise (and related) agreements are primarily subject to the common law of contracts, in addition to standard consumer protection regulations and rules that may apply.

If enacted, the Act will constitute a major change to the Saskatchewan franchise industry and its dealings, as it will place significant new disclosure obligations on franchisors, and offer new statutory remedies to franchisees that operate in the province.

CONTENTS OF THE ACT

The main features of the proposed Act include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Duty of

Fair Dealing.

Every franchise agreement will impose on each party a duty of fair dealing in the performance and enforcement of the franchise agreement. Further, each party will have a right of action for damages should the other party breach the duty of fair dealing. The duty of fair dealing includes the duty to act in good faith and in accordance with reasonable commercial standards.

2.

No waiver of rights under the Act. Franchisees will not be able to waive any rights granted to them under the Act.

3.

Franchisee Rights to Associate and Form Associations. Franchisees will be permitted to form or join franchisee organizations and associations.

4.

Franchise Disclosure. Franchisors will be required to provide prospective franchisees with a disclosure document (containing certain prescribed information, as well as all material facts).

Note that franchisors will need to update their existing disclosure documents to ensure that they can be safely and effectively used in the Province of Saskatchewan, once the legislation is effective. Franchisors should proactively work with legal counsel to ensure that such updates are in place prior to the effective date of the legislation, to ensure that franchise sales are not delayed or affected.

5.

Franchisee’s Right of Rescission. A franchisee will have the right to rescind a franchise agreement within 60 days after receiving the disclosure document if the contents of the disclosure document do not meet the requirements of the Act. The bill also provides that a franchisee may rescind the franchise agreement within two years after entering into the franchise agreement if the franchisor fails to provide the disclosure document within those two years.

6.

Damages. If a franchisee suffers a loss because of a misrepresentation contained in the disclosure document, the franchisee will have a right of action for damages

When compared to other existing franchise legislation in Canada, specifically, Ontario’s franchise legislation, the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure) (the “AWA”), there are two notable differences with the Act:

1.

The Act provides that a franchisee may rescind the franchise agreement within two years after entering into the franchise agreement if the franchisor fails to provide the disclosure document “within those two years”. The reference to providing a disclosure document “within two years” is not contained in any of the other six existing franchise acts in Canada. This provision seems to suggest that if a disclosure document is not received by a franchisee prior to the execution of a franchise agreement, the franchisor can still meet its disclosure obligations within two years after the franchisee enters into the franchise agreement.

2.

One of the criteria to meet the definition of a “franchise” in the AWA is that the franchisor (or franchisor’s associate) has a right to exercise significant control or has a right to provide significant assistance (among other criteria). By contrast, the Act defines “franchise” as circumstances where the franchisor (or franchisor’s associate) exercises significant control over, or provides significant assistance in, the franchisee’s method of operation. As such, the Act requires that the franchisor take actual steps to exert control over the franchisee. Simply having the contractual right to do so does not appear to meet the proposed threshold.

BENEFITS OF THE ACT

As stated above, should the Province of Saskatchewan proceed to enact franchise legislation, this would align it with the regimes of all western provinces, as well as Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

In addition to making a positive stride towards uniformity across the provinces, the introduction of franchise legislation would also help protect consumers by allowing them to make informed investment decisions when purchasing a franchised business. FH

At Sotos LLP, we are committed to guiding franchisors through the evolving franchising landscape. We provide a full range of legal services, including the drafting and reviewing franchise agreements, ensuring compliance with disclosure requirements, and representing clients in

Celebrating Next Gen Trailblazers

BY AMY BOSTOCK AND NICOLE DITOMASSO | PHOTOGRAPHY BY WAYNE LINDO

More than 160 attendees gathered recently at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel for KML’s second-annual Top-30-Under-30 Summit. This year’s event, Celebrating Next Gen Trailblazers, celebrated the winners of KML’s prestigious Top-30-Under-30 Awards and featured panel discussions that offered attendees the chance to glean insights from present and future industry leaders.

The event opened with a celebratory breakfast for the Top 30 winners their guests, followed by the awards presentation, led by Rosanna Caira, editor/publisher, KML and Bruce McAdams, associate professor, School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, University of Guelph. Georgy Pyle, Sustainability manager, Fairmont Royal York, Toronto then delivered the Valedictorian Address.

Following the awards, Caira sat down with Hanif Harji, CEO of Scale Hospitality for an Icons & Innovators interview that outlined Harji’s journey in the hospitality industry and highlighted strategies for growth, including identifying under-served areas and building a strong team. Harji discussed his experiences in building a restaurant empire through partnerships and innovation, emphasizing the crucial role of people and culture in success.

The conversation centred around the challenges and opportunities facing the hospitality industry post-pandemic and Harji emphasized

Ren Navarro, owner/operator at B Diversity Group (left) and chef/ activist Joshna Maharaj

Top 30-Under-30 Award winner Shantay Brown

the importance of creating a singular vision for restaurant concepts, sourcing local ingredients, and balancing digital marketing efforts with genuine hospitality.

“Every customer is different,” he pointed out. “They’re celebrating, they may be working on a business deal or having a social night out. You really need to understand who your client is, and make sure their night goes exactly the way that they want to go. Awareness is really important and so, for me, being honest, being aware and having a genuine ability to want to host them are important things.”

Other topics covered during the session included how to address the talent gap and the need for industry evolution a nd adaptability to attract new generations.

For more in-depth coverage of the Icons & Innovators see page 43.) The first panel of the morning, Defunding DEI, The Case for People and the Engine that Powers our System, was moderated by Trevor Lui president & CEO, Highbell Hospitality Group and co-founder at Quell Now Inc. The panel featured Ren Navarro, owner/operator at B Diversity Group; Joshna Maharaj chef, activist; and Christina Veira, owner of Bar Mordecai in Toronto.

The group discussed the challenges and opportunities when it comes to advancing inclusivity in the hospitality industry, highlighting the need for continued conversations and actions towards a more inclusive and equitable industry. They emphasized the importance of understanding and addressing systemic barriers, creating safe spaces for marginalized workers, and recognizing the lack of representation in leadership roles. They also discussed the

need for tailored onboarding and training policies to accommodate diverse learning styles and experiences. Finally, the panellists acknowledged the importance of champions in this space and encouraged further conversations to continue leading the industry into the next generation.

“I do want to also acknowledge that along this journey, there are a lot of champions in this space,” said Lui. “There are a lot of champions in this room and the future is very bright. The conversation has to continue with people that have the power to continue to usher in these conversations so we can have a more collaborative and constructive way around the table. We don’t want to take a seat away. We just want to add a chair.”

Before breaking for lunch, Shantay Brown, assistant general manager, e11even/Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, delivered the first of three Rapid Fire talks and shared her personal experiences as a female and minority in the workplace. She detailed the challenges she has faced and the resilience she has developed, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, taking action, and never letting others define one’s identity or potential. Through her experiences, Brown encouraged others to embrace their unique perspectives and overcome obstacles with resilience and determination.

The afternoon portion of the Top-30-Under-30 Summit kicked off with a panel on recruitment and retention. During this discussion, attendees learned how experts from some of the industry’s leading companies have adapted and changed the ways they recruit and retain talent, resulting in enlightening hospitality and organizational and associate success. Moderated by Frank Menezes, professor at

(from top) KML's Green Leadership Award winners Laura Matheson project manager, Conestoga College; Marie Pier Germain, VP, Sales & Marketing, Germain Hotels; and Alison Hunter GM, Hyatt Place

Ottawa West, who accepted the award from sponsor representative James Wolfe from Innvest Hotels

George Brown College, speakers included Kristi Thyssen, regional director of Human Resources, Canada, Marriott International; Phil Wylie, Chief People Officer, Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality; Hanan Haddad, area Human Resources director, Hilton Toronto; and Tiffany Smye, senior director, Talent, Learning & Development, MLSE.

First, the panellists discussed shifts in Canadians’ preferences and expectations regarding job roles.

“At a basic level, nobody wants a bad job anymore,” said Wylie. “There was a time when a hospitality job was a bad job – long hours, low pay and no respect. Today, people want pay transparency, which is particularly relevant in restaurants where there’s gratuities that get shared and it’s not always clear who that money is going to. People also want more flexibility for a greater work-life balance. For senior-level employees, it’s important to give them some autonomy.”

Haddad added that job candidates are also looking for flexible benefits and the ability to go to work as their true authentic selves. “Dress codes have changed and requirements for what you look like when you come into work, even for some of our luxury brands, have changed. That homogenous, strict way of looking no longer exists. Employees want to come in looking and feeling like themselves.”

With regard to skills that employers are looking for when recruiting talent, Thyssen said customer service is still the most important skill but the foundation of what that means has taken a different path. “We’ve learned that the customer isn’t always right, so we need to think about how we can better equip and inform our employees so that they feel comfortable and can also have a voice.”

The panellists also talked about the importance of developing a strong social-media strategy to attract candidates on a global scale; how to engage employees through branding and culture to make them want to stay within a company; and the power of celebration and transparency within an organization.

Then, Josh Anwar, director of Front Office at the St. Regis Toronto, delivered the second Rapid Fire talk and shared some of the differences he noticed regarding employee expectations while working in the U.K. and Canada. He talked about the importance of work-life balance, trust and transparency and encouraged leaders to make sure that employees feel heard in the workplace.

Next, KML presented its 2024 Green Leadership Awards, which recognize environmental excellence and innovation within Canada’s hospitality industry. Award recipients included Hyatt Place Ottawa West; Bloom Restaurant, an interactive live classroom located within Conestoga College’s School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts in Waterloo, Ont.; and Montrealbased Germain Hotels. Alison Hunter, GM, Hyatt Place Ottawa West; Laura Matheson, project manager, Conestoga College; and Marie Pier Germain, VP, Sales

& Marketing, Germain Hotels accepted the awards.

Following the awards presentation, the last panel of the day entitled Making the Case for Sustainability was moderated by Amy Bostock, managing editor, KML, and featured Hunter, Matheson and Germain. Together, the panellists talked about their approaches to sustainability and the importance of starting small to create big changes.

“It can be daunting for operators looking to start their sustainability journey at a hotel or restaurant, but we can all do small things every single day in our operations to make change,” said Hunter. “If our industry as a whole starts making small changes, it’ll become a tidal wave,” adding that one priority area for the hotel post-pandemic was eliminating the individual milk and creamers at coffee stations.

Similarly, Matheson said one of Bloom Restaurant’s entry points into sustainability was removing tablecloths and linens to reduce water and energy used during laundering.

Other small initiatives mentioned during the discussion included knife techniques to maximize the use of produce, re-purposing food scraps, using coffee grinds as natural fertilizer for gardens and more.

The panellists also highlighted the significance of collaboration to establish sustainable initiatives. Ideas from team members and associates should always be encouraged, which helps drive employee engagement and sense of purpose.

“We don’t operate from a topdown approach,” said Matheson. “We empower everybody to be a part of the journey and ensure that we model shared responsibility and shared ownership for sustainability.”

To wrap up the event, Adrianna Remlinger, head butcher and food stylist at The Inn at Bay Fortune in P.E.I. delivered the final Rapid Fire session. She spoke about her personal experience of becoming her partner’s full-time caregiver after he sustained a spinal-cord injury and became a paraplegic. Support was needed with regard, to Remlinger’s own daily activities, eating, resting and managing distress. She said while dedicating time and effort to a career can be important for personal growth, financial stability and professional success, it’s equally important to maintain a healthy work-life balance and spend time with family and friends because anyone’s life can change in an instant. FH

While larger and more established outlets were wilting on the vine during pandemic lockdowns, feisty new chefs harnessed an already-emerging trend to launch innovative businesses, often jump-starting a brick-and-mortar debut with food-truck and pop-up appearances, building up reputation before committing to a lease.

For instance, husband and wife Monia Elhayek and Shad Haidar launched a fried-chicken business called BTRMLK in London, Ont. in April 2020, just as COVID hit. They started out selling to friends from a garage, then ran pop-ups in a taco shop owned by friends. Their first storefront opened in February 2021; they have since added a second location.

It’s the same all across the country. Despite a few casualties (such as Edmonton’s Northern Chicken, which recently shuttered its two outlets), hip, lean, Instagram-friendly fried-chicken eateries are showing remarkable resilience after opening at the worst of times.

Foodservice and Hospitality noted the 2020 openings of The Heartbreak Chef in Etobicoke, Ont. and Birdies in east-end Toronto. Both founded from food-truck successes, they are still going strong. (In 2023, Birdies’ owners Kevin Green and Amanda Louie added a trendy ice-cream boutique next door.) Montreal’s Jack le Coq, with a local-food focus, has expanded to six locations since its March 2021 opening.

In 2021, Frying Pan likewise spun off from a top-performing Vancouver food-truck business.

“In four years, we built our company to almost $1 million in revenue, so we were able to find a brick-and-mortar location,” says general manager Doosung Kim.

With landlords struggling to fill spaces, “[during] COVID it was to our advantage to move into brickand-mortar.”

Korean chicken is the draw at Frying Pan, but when the food truck launched in 2017, “it was relatively unknown in North America,” says Kim. “With the popularity of Korean culture, Korean fried chicken, with its light batter and a lot of crispiness, became very popular.”

FINGERS, TENDERS, NUGGETS, STRIPS AND… BOMBS?

Chicken tenders are having a moment.

“Tenders and nuggets are becoming increasingly popular, frequently replacing wings, making them an essential product in casual and quick-service restaurant dining,” says Jean-François Bérubé, senior Communications officer with Chicken Farmers of Canada.

Technically, the tender is that toothsome, easily detachable strip along the side of the breast, but when it comes to menu names, “there’s really no true science behind that, although the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) does have certain standards,” says David Cocker of Reuven International Ltd. A finger or nugget is chopped and formed, while a tender or filet should be a wholemuscle product, he explains.

Reuven’s recently launched cooked chicken tender has become the number-1 tender in the Canadian foodservice marketplace. “It has a proprietary coating that will stay crispy even in to-go containers and in sauce,” Cocker notes. “We were very shocked by the response that we got.”

Why are tenders currently so popular? “I think a lot of it is marketing spin,” says Dan Kennedy of Open Concept Hospitality. Because his establishments use dark meat (another coming trend), they call their version a bomb.

“The term ‘tender’ is used largely to give the perception of an elevated item.”

As Nashville hot-fried chicken began to attract diners’ attention, Frying Pan’s concept was “to incorporate the lightness and the crispiness with the hotness of Nashville hot chicken,” says Kim. Innovative chicken recipes may attract foodies with international flavour profiles such as Japanese karaage, sweet and spicy Korean yangnyeom and Filipino proben, but for more downto-earth diners, it’s simply a familiar comfort food. Thus, it’s still a go-to for family restaurants such as Toronto’s 32-year-old Jawny Bakers, an east-end neighbourhood staple serving steaks, salads, sandwiches and pastas.

Mary Browns K-Crunch chicken sandwich; Taco Bell's new Cantina menu (below)

“Chicken is more popular now because of a price-conscious consumer,” says managing partner Tom Zoras. Jawny Bakers uses only fresh meat from The Butcher Shoppe in Etobicoke, Ont., cooked à la minute. Its clientele is more traditional than trendy, so menu additions are conservative, such as a Penne Athena pasta (chicken with goat cheese, sundried tomato, pesto-tomato sauce, roasted red pepper and spinach) and a schnitzel-style Peppercorn Chicken.

Chicken is also buoying up the fortunes of big international chains, served in meals such as Thai hot chicken bowls or grilled chicken poke bowls, and especially as crispy fried chicken fuelled by peppery spices.

“Spicy chicken has seen a 4.3-per-cent increase over the last five years in menu penetration throughout the Canadian marketplace,” says David Cocker, director of Culinary Innovation and Marketing with Reuven International Ltd, which is seeing growing enthusiasm for its chicken karaage: skin-on marinated, breaded and cooked thigh meat with a ginger-sesame-soy flavour profile.

Speaking to these trends, in late 2023, Popeyes added new chicken-wing flavours — Honey BBQ, Roasted Garlic Parmesan, Signature Hot and Honey Garlic — and brought back Ghost Pepper. In early 2024, it introduced a Crispy Chicken Wrap featuring chicken tenders in Buffalo sauce.

Last February, Tim Hortons launched Sweet Chili Chicken as a wrap or bowl. In March, Taco Bell Canada’s new Cantina Chicken Menu arrived with tacos, burritos and quesadillas seasoned with Mexican spices, pico de gallo and Avocado Ranch Sauce. Mary Brown’s started serving its new Korean-inspired, soy-garlic glazed K-Crunch sandwich in late March.

There’s so much interest in chicken that an intersection in Burlington, Ont., west of Toronto, has lately been dubbed “Chicken Corner” for its conglomeration of competing chicken concepts that is attracting socialmedia comparisons: Dave’s Hot Chicken, Church’s, Popeyes and Mary Brown’s, with rumours of a Chick-Fil-A soon to arrive, and the second outlet of MightyBird, a fried-

chicken brand developed by Open Concept Hospitality with Eat Up Canada!

The first MightyBird launched in late 2023 in Toronto’s recently re-designed Union Station, serving fresh dark meat with numerous seasonings. Crispy chickensandwich offerings include the Mighty O.G. with coleslaw, banana pepper, maple-honey syrup and buttermilk ranch; the Crispy Chicken Waffle Club; and the popular Nashville Lightning Hot.

“Nashville chicken has become a huge trend; we have a custom hot sauce and three levels of heat,” says operating partner Dan Kennedy. MightyBird also offers a Piri-Piri Griled Chicken sandwich; its tacos include Banh Mi Crispy Chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy Korean gochujang-style sauce.

Asian or American, sweet, spicy, creamy or crunchy, breast or thigh, chicken’s ability to play nicely with almost any flavour profile or preparation method is continuing to support foodservice operators as they adapt to the long-term effects of postpandemic disruption. FH

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Essence of Excellence

Savio Volpe continues to build a culinary following in Vancouver

BY SUZANNE CHIN-LOY

I

n the heart of Vancouver’s thriving culinary landscape lies Savio Volpe, a restaurant known for its exquisite Italian cuisine and warm, inviting atmosphere. It has become a favourite among food enthusiasts and critics alike and is featured in the 2023 MICHELIN Guide. But what truly sets Savio Volpe apart is its unyielding commitment to culinary excellence and innovation.

“My partner, [Craig Stanghetta] and I were looking to do a neighbourhood restaurant [where] we could be welcomed in the community and would be impactful,” says co-owner Paul Grunberg of restaurant group Banda Volpi. “We wanted it to be an unpretentious experience and osteria, with the freshest seasonal [ingredients] on the menu.”

ARTFUL AMBIANCE

According to Grunberg, the essence of Savio Volpe is captured in its attention to “seasonality, delicious food, great service and an enjoyable environment where you could sit at the bar, have a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine, or have a more formal dining experience.”

The eatery’s name, which means ‘wise fox’ in Italian, is a 3,000-sq.-ft. space that can accommodate up to 100 guests. Patrons can explore a gastronomic journey daily between 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

“Those hours capture dinner service,” says Grunberg, “You’ve got cooks prepping during the day so we are not open for lunch. We’re usually busy at 5 p.m. and slowing down by 9 p.m. Those shoulder times between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. are usually for set up and at around 11:50 pm we close down.”

The ambiance at Savio Volpe owes much to Culinary director Phil Scarfone and its 60 dedicated associates. On any given day, a wellbalanced distribution of 40 individuals across back-of-house, front-of-house, and managerial roles is instrumental in creating this harmonious teamwork and the exceptional dining experience patrons enjoy.

“Our kitchens require hard work and a very strong work ethic. We attract people who want to work,” states Scarfone.

“You can credit Phil for this,” adds Grunberg. “We’re all about creating a safe and inclusive space for our staff to work and enjoy themselves.

Head Chef, Jorge Sora,

Phil Scarfone

HAKAN

On March 14, Elio Volpe became the Banda Volpi group’s newest member in Vancouver’s Cambie Village. The converted mechanic’s shop’s 4,200-sq.-ft. space features an extensive open-air dining-room, a central bar with wrap-around seating, 115 seats and a team of 60 staff. The menu offers a range of fresh fish, thin-crust pizzas and lighter salads.

“It’s been met with great acclaim,” says Culinary director Phil Scarfone. “It’s very hard to get a reservation, but we do keep room for walk-ins. The industry is buzzing, and we are just having a great time cooking for people.”

We value our team and create opportunities for growth, professional development and more.”

KITCHEN MAESTRO

A graduate of the Canadian Culinary Institute, formerly Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., Scarfone’s epicurean adventure began in the dish pit. “I ended up falling in love with the kitchen culture, not so much with washing dishes,” he says. “I went to school [then worked] with Don Potter at Taboo Resort in Gravenhurst, Ont. [who] taught me a lot about personal accountability. He said, ‘All the fun happens back here, and you meet all the best people.’ And that was really true.”

After moving to Vancouver, Scarfone joined the opening team at Hawksworth Restaurant in the iconic Rosewood Hotel Georgia, a well-known landmark in the city. “I was there for five years, and then was head chef at Nightingale Restaurant for four,” says Scarfone.

“[I] then joined up with Paul about a month before COVID and got through that storm.”

Scarfone believes in cooking seasonally and prioritizing simplicity while maximizing flavour; presentation is a distant second. “My philosophy is that if it tastes good, it’ll look fine, so we only focus on flavour.” He remarks that while earning a Michelin recommendation was not his goal, it’s a great accomplishment for the restaurant.

“It’s a great feather in our cap. Awards are very subjective; the real win for us comes with having a full restaurant and happy staff.”

MENU FOR THE SENSES

Savio Volpe prides itself on using the highest-quality local ingredients, ensuring every dish is bursting

”

” My philosophy is that if it tastes good, it’ll look fine, so we only focus on labour

the year,” says Scarfone. “Every Tuesday and Thursday, we have produce from farms with totes full of beautiful, perfect vegetables that we serve.”

Popular menu items include kale salad ($19), rosemary-roasted chicken ($34), large-format steaks ($6.50 per ounce), and Saffron linguini with side-stripe prawns in garlic, white wine and lemon-butter sauce ($32). The restaurant’s variety of in-house pasta sells out nightly.

“We have a great pastry program,” adds Scarfone. “We do all our gelatos and sorbets for $6. We do fun flavours like flowering red currant according to what we can get from the farms and foraged goods.”

CHALLENGES

Despite reports of inflation, supply-chain issues and labour shortages often depicted in the media, Scarfone says, “We have no shortage of guests trying to get into the restaurant.”

Grunberg adds that the “media doesn’t help by casting a shadow over the [food and hospitality industry’s] situation. It scares people, and people are living with a lot of fear right now. If the media were to flip the script, we would see a change.”

“There are still plenty of people out there who want to come for dinner, have an experience, and want to work in the restaurant business,” he continues. “People want to leave their fear at the door, be whisked away on a culinary adventure journey, have excellent service and pay for a meal that costs what it costs but leaves them feeling good. That’s what hospitality provides for people.” FH

Salmon woodfire grilled

FROM FARM to FORK

Bashir Munye is driven by the desire to learn from the land, the team and the community while making systemic changes to create a more equitable food space

BY ROSANNA CAIRA

BASHIR MUNYE likes to say he “stumbled into cooking at a training program at the YMCA.” It was 1996, and he was trying to find himself as a young adult. “I was not interested in becoming a lawyer or a politician as my mother had wished upon me.” The decision turned out to be one he’s never regretted, says Munye, adding, “it has been a great journey as a chef.”

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, in the horn of Africa, a place he refers to as “the land of poets,” he migrated to Italy at the age of six and did his formative academic years outside Rome in the wine region of Castelli Romani. To earn money, he worked in restaurants during the summers as a food runner and bus boy. What he enjoyed the most was the staff meal. “The chef was very generous with the team,” he recalls.

After working in various hospitality roles for the past quarter century, the recently married food activist is now leading a new project at the Black Creek Community Farm as the Developer of Micro Economics. “My duties and responsibilities are the development of culinary shelfstable products, the branding and the marketing and to support the farm in both generating additional income, while also sharing knowledge with the community at large as we are an education farm as well.” This year, he’s produced such products as Nasturtium capers, hot sauce, smoked sumac salt, smoked herb salt, and nasturtium syrup. To minimize food waste, he likes to use all parts of the products grown on the farm.

The greatest reward of working on the farm, is “the amount of knowledge I acquire from the team and the community at large,” says Munye. “Oftentimes we think on how we enrich other people with our knowledge, meanwhile the land and the food grown on it are the biggest contributor to our overall health. Every time I step on the farm, I feel calmer, more grounded and more joyous overall.”

The culinary visionary defines his style of cooking as Nomadic Comfort Food — “rooted in my ancestral Somali Nomadic Heritage and a way of life of adaptability based on environmental stewardship. That philosophy and way of life brought me to do deep and meaningful advocacy work for a more inclusive and just food system, whereby a diverse community supports Ontario agriculture with the intention to grow culturally diverse ingredients such as okra, ginger,turmeric, as well as determine our own food sovereignty.” His approach to food is simply driven by a reliance on “wholesome locally grown ingredients, focused on exploring the vast cuisine of continental and pan African cuisine.” But he’s also a big believer in the power food has to bring people together to share their stories.

Given that Munye has always been “invested and committed in sustainable agriculture practices and regenerative farming,” this new role seems to be tailor made for him. “I do love and advocate for

Food is very political and absolutely worth fighting for. As humans, we all have some elements of advocacy and activism we take into in our lives; mine is driven by the desire to make systemic changes to create a more equitable food space

mixed with his family’s Somali background and Italian upbringing. He also serves as a consultant to various companies. Earlier this year, he was part of the Black Pavilion at the Restaurants Canada show, highlighting Black-owned businesses, where he exhibited some of the products he’s been producing at the farm.

supporting local farmers (especially BIPOC) but it’s critical to also understand the systemic barriers that prevent most people to do so — colonization, capitalism, consumerism and systemic poverty. It’s difficult to expect a young cook to meaningfully support local ingredients when they’re paid minimum wage and rent is 60 to 70 per cent of their income with a food budget of $200 a month.”

He admits being an activist has always been part of his DNA. “Food is very political and absolutely worth fighting for. As humans, we all have some elements of advocacy and activism we take into in our lives; mine is driven by the desire to make systemic changes to create a more equitable food space.”

Always eager to learn, Munye says he’s “been blessed and privileged to have different mentors in his life — from immediate family members, chefs and food advocates who have shaped him into the person that he is today. But he also adds, that “Often, our identity is determined based on what we do. I feel people are more complex than just their title or work space.”

In addition to working at the Community Farm, Munye is also the founder of a supper club called Nomadic Supper Club, which explores Africa’s vast culinary regions,

As someone who’s held various roles throughout his 25 years as a chef, Munye feels more grounded today. “Most roles in my 25 years as a chef were focused in the hospitality sector in cooking and managing restaurants, catering and hotels. This role allows me to re-connect with food and community in a more meaningful and dignified way.” Having worked as an educator, the chef is a strong believer that young cooks, should be exposed to local farmers in order to have a better understanding of where their food is grown and to better know the people who produce it. He feels blessed he gets “paid everyday to learn from the land, the team and the community. I feel like a kid at a candy store with the abundance of gifts that is given to me.”

While our understanding of food continues to evolve, he’s optimistic by the ongoing “micro conversations around environmental sustainability as well as the dialogues and conversations around race and gender disparity.”

As a chef, he’s always been acutely aware of the importance of the supply chain, but now as a supplier, he also understands the importance of keeping it real. “I would love to sell the idea that all my food comes directly from the farm or all my food is ethically sourced, but I find myself having to choose to get produce in a variety of ways — independent and locally driven stores like Fiesta Farm or local farmers that can give me a deal for bulk ingredients that I can purchase with extended family.”

Though he’s happy to be cultivating success on the land, the father of two (aged 25 and 17) is planning to move back to Somalia in a couple of years “to develop an agri-tourism centre, rooted in ancestral knowledge, where we can exchange knowledge and build relationships around food justice.” FH

The Right

Fit

Chef Kevin Pelissier finds balance outside a traditional restaurant setting

BY AMY BOSTOCK

With more than 24 years experience in the kitchen and a Red Seal from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), chef Kevin Pelissier is no stranger to commercial kitchens.

“I’ve cooked in restaurants, hotels and golf courses,” says the 46-year-old chef, whose first restaurant job was bus boy at a White Spot in Victoria.

“Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to cook in fine dining, catering, and large-scale events and career highlights include travelling to Whistler before the 2010 Olympics, where I served as the team chef for Team Canada’s bobsleigh and skeleton program. Our restaurant also catered for the Calgary Stampeders training camp for three seasons in Calgary.”

Pelissier, who now resides in Burlington, Ont. with his family, says

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his cooking philosophy revolves around the use of simple ingredients to create a bold dish as he leverages various cooking techniques to develop flavours. “Whether braising slow and low or cooking with an open flame to enhance dishes, simple is often better when done right,” he maintains. “It’s also important to know where your food comes from. Being in Ontario, we have a large growing region, and I like to shop locally as much as possible, especially when produce is in season.”

COOKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

In this industry, says Pelissier, the passion for your work has to be there. “You have to put time in, which often includes long, hard hours working on the line, in a banquet kitchen peeling vegetables, or late nights scrubbing the kitchen. But at the end of it, if you can push through, you can find the right fit to work doing something you love. That has been my experience.”

The Victoria, B.C. native found his ‘right fit’ with restaurantequipment giant RATIONAL Canada, where he heads the company’s culinary team as the National Corporate Chef. In this role, he helps show Canadian chefs and foodservice professionals how the company’s iCombi and iVario product lines can help their business.

“Having used RATIONAL in my own kitchen in 2006, I was very aware of the impact that its combi technology had on my business,” says Pelissier. “When the chance to join RATIONAL came up, I saw it as an opportunity to continue my career as a chef and promote a brand I truly believe in.”

It also helped him find balance in his career. It’s no secret that the demanding nature of the culinary industry can lead to a lack of worklife balance and resulting burnout.

Mentoring is a crucial part of our industry,” he says. “We continue to learn throughout our careers so chefs and leaders taking the time to teach and coach me was so valuable. In my role now, I spend a lot of time training our team

But since moving from working in commercial kitchens to working for RATIONAL, the father of two says he can “truly appreciate a more standardized and predictable working schedule. This has improved my overall work balance.”

He says his favourite part of working at RATIONAL is showing operators how the right equipment can help kitchens run more efficiently and take some pressure of its team. “I’m helping to better the lives of people working in kitchens across Canada. Working in a kitchen can be a tough gig, so being able to impact this really give me purpose in my day-to-day role.”

But Pelissier says most young chefs aren’t aware of culinary opportunities outside of restaurants and says it’s important to spread the word about less traditional career options such as his role at RATIONAL. “I don’t think young cooks in schools or restaurants know what lateral positions exist in our industry. From R&D and development to food sciences and sales, there are a number of career paths for young chefs to explore and this should be promoted more often.”

Achieving this balance has also allowed Pelissier to focus more energy on mentoring the next generation, as many chefs did for him during his culinary journey.

“Mentoring is a crucial part of our industry,” he says. “We continue to learn throughout our careers so chefs and leaders taking the time to teach and coach me was so valuable. In my role now, I spend a lot of time training our team. I love hearing something I taught years ago being passed on by someone else. This means they not only listened, but they understood and can now teach it. I love seeing this transfer of information. This is why I became an apprentice years ago, and I am very thankful to all the people who invested in my success.” FH

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A Taste of Italy

For Luciano Schipano, promoting authentic Italian cuisine is second nature

BY ROSANNA CAIRA

LUCIANO SCHIPANO has always had a deeprooted passion for food and the joy it brings to people’s lives. From a young age, the chef was drawn to the kitchen, thanks in part to his mother’s singing and whistling as she cooked, his grandfather’s incredible fire-cooking skills, and his uncle’s love for grilling meat. “I was surrounded by amazing individuals who shared their love for cooking and the beauty of sharing a meal with loved ones.”

But his natural outgoing personality and his penchant for interacting with people meant he initially saw himself working in the front of house, “engaging with customers and making their experience enjoyable.”

Time on his family’s farm also allowed him to cultivate “a deep appreciation for animals and witnessing first-hand the satisfaction of growing and harvesting plants. It was during these moments that I realized my true calling — to become a chef and use my talents to show people how a simple ingredient can be transformed into a delicious meal. From then on, I dedicated myself to honing my culinary skills and learning as much as I could about Italian cuisine.”

These days, Schipano is putting those skills to good use, melding his passion for food and his love of people into a career as both a chef and business owner. “My true joy came from not just cooking, but also telling stories and creating memorable experiences for my diners. This led me to open multiple businesses, each with its own unique concept and menu, but all with the same goal of bringing people together through food and storytelling. Being a chef and business owner has allowed me to combine my passions for food and people, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to do what I love every day. I hope my dishes not only nourish people’s bodies, but also their souls, and that they leave my restaurants with unforgettable memories.”

Born in Toronto, Schipano spent most of his childhood in Calabria where his parents returned in 1982 after emigrating to Canada in 1975. “My passion for cooking started at a young age, and after finishing highschool, I attended IPSSAR in Soverato, a highschool/trade school specializing in culinary arts,” says Schipano, who these days leads Ristorante Boccaccio in the Columbus Centre, an Italian cultural centre located in Toronto. Schipano also serves as the president of the Italian Chefs Association and runs a catering business.

In addition to a culinary education, the chef also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a major in Tourism and a Master’s degree in Science with a major in Tourism and Demographic Studies. “This combination of knowledge and skills has helped me to not only excel in my culinary career but also understand the business side of the hospitality industry.”

I believe in showcasing the true flavours of ingredients without unnecessary distractions. My mandate as the executive chef of Boccaccio is to provide guests with a classic cuisine that stays true to its roots while still tantalizing the tastebuds

the best quality ingredients and traditional cooking methods to keep the true taste of Italy alive. “Authenticity is key and I’m passionate about sharing the true flavours of Italy with the world.”

In addition to his role at the Boccaccio Restaurant, which serves as the cornerstone of his business, Schipano also runs Culinarium, a cooking school and small event space he founded to share his knowledge and skills with aspiring chefs and food enthusiasts. “It serves as a creative space for culinary classes and pop-up events; Caffe Cinquecento, my cozy coffee shop, bistro, and pizzeria, which has become a popular hangout spot for foodies in the neighbourhood and a catering company, Chef Luciano Schipano, “catering events of all sizes, bringing a taste of Italy to any occasion.”

Schipano’s cooking philosophy is driven by simplicity and seasonality. “I believe in showcasing the true flavours of ingredients without unnecessary distractions. My mandate as the executive chef of Boccaccio is to provide guests with a classic cuisine that stays true to its roots while still tantalizing the tastebuds.”

The chef prides himself on using locally sourced and fresh ingredients. “This not only guarantees the best quality but also supports our community and reduces our ecological footprint. We take a traditional approach to cooking, making everything from scratch, including fresh pasta, focaccia, mozzarella, burrata, and even using my mother’s extra virgin olive oil from our family estate in Calabria. I want guests to have more than just a meal; I want them to have a memorable experience. By combining simplicity, seasonality, and the best local ingredients, we strive to provide our guests with a taste of authentic Italian cuisine that will transport them to the rural landscapes and bustling markets of Italy.”

As a restaurant located inside a cultural

centre, Boccaccio boasts 102 seats amidst a modern and simplistic design,” making it the perfect spot for gathering and enjoying a delicious meal. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, closing on Mondays and holidays, “because our staff deserves some well-deserved time off.”

The restaurant’s style “is rooted in traditional Italian cuisine, utilizing fresh and high-quality ingredients to create bold and flavourful dishes. It’s no surprise that some of our most popular menu items include our homemade burrata and zucchini fritters, as well as our Carbonara and scialatielli seafood pasta. For entrées, our branzino gratinato and braised lamb shank are crowd favourites.” And, no meal would be complete without guests indulging in a classic tiramisu or gelato affogato for dessert.

As a disciple of Italian cuisine, Schipano is “thrilled to witness the evolution of Italian food. It’s a cuisine loved by everyone because it’s simple, comforting and full of flavour. However, with the rise of Americanized versions of Italian dishes and the lack of authentic Italian chefs, I’ve been challenged to stay true to the roots of this beloved cuisine.”

That’s why Schipano is committed to using

And, if that’s not enough to keep him busy, he also manages the school cafeteria at De La Salle College in Toronto where he focuses on providing healthy, quality meals to students. During the summer months, he organizes culinary tours to Italy, specifically focusing on discovering the hidden gems of Calabria and soon Sicily. “It’s a unique experience that truly immerses food enthusiasts in the authentic flavors and traditions of Italy.”

As for the future, Schipano is determined to continue to focus on maintaining the high standards he’s set and being open to new opportunities. “I see myself as more than just a chef, but as a servant to my community, always striving to deliver the best experience for my customers. With a strong passion for cooking and entrepreneurship, I will continue expanding my presence in the culinary world — whether through opening new restaurants, collaborating with other chefs, or participating in events.” At the same time, he’s committed to “maintaining the excellence and authenticity of Italian cuisine that my brand is known for.” Ultimately, he says, his goal is to leave a positive impact on the world through food and hospitality. “Through my love for cooking and dedication to serving my community, I have the potential to make a difference.” FH

LESSONS LEARNED

Chef Shonah Chalmers is shaping the next generation of chefs

BY AMY BOSTOCK

When chef Shonah Chalmers enters her classroom at Humber College, she brings with her a passion for local sourcing and sustainable practices, a firm grasp of the science of food and a desire to help others grow and learn in the kitchen.

Outside the classroom, she also champions women in the culinary industry, shining the spotlight on the challenges they face, including the gender imbalance in leadership positions and the lack of representation of women in the industry, while emphasizing the importance of mentorship, networking, and supporting each other to create a more inclusive industry.

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Chalmers is a graduate of Humber College’s Culinary Management program, joining the school’s faculty in 2011. But teaching, she said, had never been on her radar, until one of her professors convinced her to come in and teach “just one class. It was only supposed to be a one-day thing, she recalls.

She’s never looked back. “I’ve learned, flourished and grown more being a teacher than I’d ever have been able to as a chef because you’re too busy doing the work.”

Before joining Humber College, Chalmers put in her time in kitchens, working with many great chefs at fine-dining restaurants, hotels, catering and even working at a ski resort in Japan before landing at Eagle’s Nest Golf Club in Maple, Ont.

“I would never have left the kitchen,” says Chalmers. “I was working at Eagle’s Nest and they treated me fabulously. I had complete autonomy on food, on suppliers, on staffing. You name it, it was mine; I had complete say in everything, which is every chef’s dream.”

But, she recalls, she missed being involved in the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. “As you gain responsibility, you lose your ability to be in the kitchen, because you have to manage, schedule and budget. I loved standing next to a cook, seeing the light go on and helping them excel and lift them up in the kitchen”

Now, as a culinary professor and program co-ordinator at Humber College, she’s able to take her past experiences and translate them into her own unique way of teaching that’s tailored to different learning styles. She’s also bringing her own cooking philosophy to the classroom, with a strong focus on the basics.

“There are a lot of people cooking that don’t understand the basic premises of the science behind food and how it works,” she says. “So, my philosophy is to work with the basics, really know your culinary skills, and then diversify in your flavours and how things are done.”

Local sourcing and sustainable practices also feature prominently in her lessons. “It’s a subject near and dear to my heart. Every kitchen is trying to minimize waste; it’s a cost issue. By minimizing your waste, and reducing your carbon footprint, you’re going to inevitably work with local communities. By supporting local communities, you can lift

up the small businesses. I teach our students how to create a partnership with them. You don’t just say they’re your supplier; they’re your local growers, the person you rely on. The more you can engage with them, the better your food is going to be, because you let it speak for itself.”

She says imparting the story of local partners is achieved by dealing with direct partners, and teaching students and cooks how to use the products.

“Once you do that, I bring [the partners] in as speakers, have them come in and cook with us or take students to a farm or to the arboretum out in our own garden and have them harvest ingredients so they know what it takes. It has to be impressed upon young cooks and chefs that have grown up in an urban situation, what it takes to get, for example, an onion. People will throw away trims of onion or excess as they call it, but when they see what it takes to go from a seed to getting it to your table, you will never waste an onion again.”

SPEAKING OUT

During the pandemic, many of the the problems in the industry came to light, with many saying kitchens are broken and the entire regime mentality has to end. Chalmers says there was a time in the restaurant industry, even when she started 30 years ago, “when it was very hard. Man or woman, you sweat it out. And I think today, you still need to put the work in, but you need to be able to have open communication. Since the pandemic, cooks and chefs alike have realized, ‘hey, I matter. I’m important. I need balance, I can go somewhere else. But I choose to be here and I will give you my all here. But while I’m here, I’m not doing extra hours, and I’m not doing it for free.’”

Employers now have to sell themselves if they want to hire somebody, adding the change was inevitable but the pandemic sped it up.

Another change the seasoned chef champions relates to gender equality in, not just the kitchen, but the restaurant industry as a whole.

“I had to work harder, faster, longer, better and have more attention to detail than anyone beside me,” she says, crediting the ‘army mentality’ carried over from her time in the Canadian Armed Forces Infantry for

her approach to work. “I would know my job, and the person’s job next to me, so I could help them. As a woman in the kitchen, you’re often either seen as having a mothering nature, or you’re that hard-ass bitch and it’s hard to find the happy medium. Well, I did. I said, ‘I’ll help you, as long as you’re doing your part. But you have to want to help me as well.’

She says that in time, she was able to find that ebb and flow in the kitchen between men and women, “because I was quite often the only female, other than the pastry chef, in the kitchen. But coming from the Army, that was normal for me. The language was awful and everything was inappropriate, and it should have been an HR complaint, but I just pushed on.”

Chalmers says she’d like to say that today, kitchens are a better place — but she can’t. “If you look at how many Michelin-star women there are, how many females there aren’t on panels — there’s a token female or someone who is [LGBTQIA+] out of a panel of 15 or 20 people — it’s still not finding that balance.”

Interacting with her students, she says, has given Chalmers the opportunity to find out why there are so few women in the industry. “And my answer is, because [employers] want everything and it burns you out. You can’t do it all, I don’t care what everyone says. And until the gap is narrowed when it comes to what the expectations are for men and women in society, I don’t know that you can expect that to change. And that’s a bigger picture problem, right?”

But, she adds, within the restaurant industry, women are starting to stand their ground. “They’re taking their place, holding key positions and being respected more than they ever have in the past. I remember being asked about eight or 10 years ago, by a very prominent French chef in Toronto, ‘why don’t I just go home and make babies?’ And I said, ‘yeah, challenge accepted, you’ll never get me out of this industry. That was literally what I said out loud — and here I am.”

But she emphasizes that she’s not out to paint the restaurant industry with a bad brush, “because, honestly, the experiences, the like-minded, wonderful, kind-hearted people I’ve become friends with and networked with — it’s amazing and I wouldn’t change anything. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.” FH

STAYING THE COURSE

Four decades after its founding, C.W. Shasky remains true to its core values

BY AMY BOSTOCK

In 1984, when Charles Walter Shasky was 54 years old, he took a leap of faith and left his role as president and general manager of a major retail/ foodservice broker to start his own company. Now, 40 years later, C.W. Shasky & Associates Ltd. is one of Canada’s most significant food brokers, representing top foodservice brands such as TABASCO®, Patak’s, Rosina Foods and Monin to name a few.

Headquartered in Oakville, Ont., the family-owned company, whose portfolio includes category-leading manufacturers and brands both provincially and nationally, still maintains the same principles and set of core values laid out by its founder.

“Our core mantra or approach to satisfying our customers has always been based on our belief that quality stands for something,” says Daryl Lunney, vice-president Marketing & Business Development at C.W. Shasky & Associates Ltd., adding the company’s vision is

passion and commitment to the foodservice community and helping grow its brands.

That vision has resulted in numerous Broker of the Year awards and, more importantly, customer retention. In fact, one of the company’s first clients, the American Original

Clam Company (now Sea Watch International) is still part of the C.W. Shasky family.

And according to Mike Shasky, president & owner, C.W. Shasky & Associates Ltd., many of its long-term partnerships — such as Stanislaus, McIlhenny Company (Tabasco) and Rosina Food Products — are with family-run businesses whose values align with his company’s.

“I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but a lot of the organizations that we continue to prosper with are family-run type businesses, whether they’ve been around forever or around for a short period of time,” says Shasky. “It’s not something that we’re searching for, but we do seem to gravitate towards them.”

But success can be a double-edged sword, says Lunney, who cites M&A activity as one of the main reasons they stop representing clients. “We tend to have significant sustainable success on a lot of brands that we no longer represent and, in most cases, it’s because they’ve become targets of mergers and acquisitions due to that success.”

Another major challenge, says Shasky, was “getting through the pandemic, trying to manoeuver and figuring out our place in the world. Now, post-pandemic, those continue to be business challenges.”

“Our approach has always been [to have customers] see, smell and taste the difference quality makes,” says Lunney. “But that becomes a little bit more difficult if we’re operating in a virtual world. And all of a sudden, you layer in inflation, a shrinking labour pool, supply-chain obstacles, and all of a sudden, the face-to-face relationship, which to me is the essence of foodservice, becomes more challenging.”

Despite myriad industry challenges, 40 years later, C.W. Shasky remains relevant in the Canadian foodservice landscape, “because we deliver,” says Shasky. “We deliver a service and we continue to invest in the industry and our customers so we can stay relevant to what’s going on around us. I hate to use the word pivot, but we’ve pivoted to adapt to customer’s needs and wants.”

The company has invested heavily in its future, including its 25,000-sq.-ft. head office in Oakville, Ont. that boasts a state-ofthe-art 4,000-sq.-ft. culinary and mixology centre to offer customers a “see, smell and taste” approach to its products. Plans are also underway to add a studio café in partnership with one of its brands as a home base for

future innovation and training. “It’s all about education and providing a service to the industry,” says Shasky.

The team at C.W. Shasky also believe in being of service to larger community and have been long-time supporters of We Care, which helps send children with disabilities to fully accessible camps. We Care is comprised of more than 80 members sponsors from the foodservice and hospitality industry, whose membership fees cover all the organization’s administrative costs, which means every dollar donated and raised during annual events goes directly to sending kids or disabilities to accessible camps. We Care is Easter Seals Canada’s largest annual contributor. Shasky was a board member for many years.

It’s also heavily involved in the Canadian Culinary Federation, with its corporate chef, Chef, Ryan Marquis, currently serving as the association’s president.

“We’ve also invested heavily over the years in the up-and-coming culinary talent and students in the country through specific culinary school sponsorships,” adds Shasky.

He says one thing that the pandemic taught him was the importance of simplicity, necessity, excellence, speed, execution and accuracy. “Be there for your customers, and do what you say. And here we are, 40 years later, actually having some of the best years of our corporate history.” FH

Alittle sweetness goes a long way considering that Wow!

Factor Desserts has not only continued to operate, but grow. Currently, the company is building a new “freezing” warehouse in Mississauaga, Ont., close to Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport to better service Eastern Canada and the U.S.

“I’m so proud that we’ve come this far,” says Debbie Gust, president of Wow! Factor

THE WOW FACTOR

After 40 years in business, Wow! Factor Desserts cements its status as a Canadian industry icon

BY JENNY FEBBRARO

Desserts and second-generation owner. “Our footprint here in Ontario has had to expand, so this new warehouse is so exciting. It’s essentially a giant freezer.” While Wow! Factor doesn’t sell direct to consumers — chances are you’ve tried one of its desserts.

Working with distributors, Wow! Factor is sourced by multiple hospitality vendors — everything from hotels and restaurants (such as Boston Pizza) to colleges and universities (such as Western University) and major hotel

chains. That said, Gust demures when asked specifically about where you can find Wow! Factor. “We service a lot of restaurants and customers don’t necessarily know that their desserts are not made in-house,” she says. Gust admitted even she didn’t know the breadth of the company’s expansion — she was even surprised to sample one of Wow! Factors cheesecakes in a small restaurant in the Muskoka, Ont. region.

Founded in 1982, Wow! Factor was

originally known as the European Cheesecake Factory, though it sold the name early on in the company’s history. Gust grew up eating the desserts as her father owned the company. Formerly a senior VP in the oil-and-gas industries, Gust’s father happened to meet a couple at a Toastmasters International gathering (the organization helps train people in public speaking) who had just lost their jobs in the oil-and-gas industry and were passionate about baking. The couple began selling quiche and cheesecake out of their basement when Gust’s father offered to help the couple expand. The rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward 40 years and Wow! Desserts is still manufactured in Alberta’s Sherwood Park. “Our mantra, so to speak, is that we don’t have to be the biggest at all. I just want us to be the best at what we do and to serve people with excellence,” says Gust. “There are companies that are bigger than us, but sometimes to be the biggest, you have to sacrifice quality.”

While Wow! Factor Desserts still makes its original hits, such as carrot cake or key-lime pie, it is always innovating. One unexpected hit was the salted-caramel cold-brew cake launched just last year. “This was probably the best cake right out of the gate in terms of sales,” she says. The cake features a base of rich chocolate espresso cake topped with espresso and salted-caramel cream-cheese mousse, capped with another layer of fluffy espresso icing.

But Wow! Factor also catered to dietary needs before it was trendy. It was one of the first 10 companies in Canada to provide gluten-free certified options. “This wasn’t even a thing in previous years,” says Gust. “But I had a friend with celiac disease and she literally couldn’t try any of my cakes.” So, Gust went on to develop gluten-free options, in addition to vegan options for the vegan/vegetarian segment who could not have gluten.

Today, Wow! Factor stays ahead of the curve by developing halal recipes. The company is working to service the Muslim community (who cannot have traditional gelatin as it is made with

pork). In fact, Gust says that most Wow! desserts are halal-certified.

But the product Wow! Factor cannot seem to keep in stock is its rainbow-layered cake — each layer coloured with natural ingredients. “This rainbow cake has sold out across North America,” gushes Gust. “It’s a huge hit and a beautiful cake, too.”

Gust says she’s most proud of her company’s support of the Robin Hood Association, whose members with intellectual disabilities handfold each and every box that the desserts are packaged in. “This is a process we could easily animate,” says Gust. “But this is one way we can contribute to our community and that matters to us. Providing jobs to people with disabilities is at the core of who we are.” FH

THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT ARE BIGGER THAN US, BUT SOMETIMES TO BE THE BIGGEST, YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE QUALITY

from a solely traditional bricks-and-mortar approach to a subscription service during COVID.

Chaeban’s best-selling ice-cream products include Salty Carl, Rocky Ricardo, and Abir Al Sham, a traditional Syrian recipe using rose and orange water with pistachios. The company also promotes innovative products and connects with potential customers by participating in agricultural fairs and trade shows.

“[We] strategized and devised the ice-cream subscription model and it worked for the summertime, but I always knew ice-cream sales plummet in the winter, so I said, ‘Let’s start making cheese that we don’t have to age for so long and can [generate] a fast cash flow to help us in the wintertime,’” says the master cheesemaker. “We made four or five cheeses [including] ricotta, mascarpone, firm and soft creamy feta. Our Mediterani Soft Creamy Feta is now winning awards, which is amazing.”

Chaeban Artisan is a company that embodies social and environmental responsibility and its commitment to sustainability is evident in its holistic principles. The company’s five core values — caring for all people, being environmentally friendly, giving back whenever possible, making everything from scratch and supporting local producers — form the basis of its operations.

“Our products are 100 per cent all-natural [with] no artificial colours or flavours. They’re seasonally made and mostly gluten-free. We get our raw milk from a local farmer here in Manitoba. [Our overall space] is about 3,000 sq. ft., including the storefront where customers can sit with their families and have an ice-cream experience. We don’t have storage space, [so] we try to [sell] our products right away,” says Chaeban.

The company’s commitment to environmental sustainability is evident in its packaging, which encourages recycling and minimizing waste by utilizing re-usable 500ml glass jars for its ice cream and offering customers a $1 reimbursement incentive for returns.

The company also ensures inclusivity by providing access to washrooms for everyone, including people experiencing homelessness, emphasizing that they “care about people and not just transactions.”

Chaeban Artisan has also garnered partnerships with retailers, including Sobey’s, IGA, Safeway, Federated Co-op under the Gold Program, and independent, familyrun grocery retailers specializing in local and ethnic produce.

“Having your [partners] say, ‘We want you guys because we trust your brand, your ingredients, and the knowledge you have,’ means so much to us,” Chaeban says. “We’re just a family company making great products every day with great staff that [we] would consider family.”

Chaeban Artisan has now shifted its focus to concentrate on and perfect its award-winning soft cheeses while continuing to offer its ice-cream products. It’s collaborating with Co-Op to create a cream cheese flavour profile that will be launched shortly. Additionally, it’s hoping to expand into Ontario, Montreal, and eventually the rest of Eastern Canada.

“We want to focus on our cheese because it’s an all-year business. We put our hearts into our products, and I’m proud of everyone for how far we’ve come. When you do cream cheese, you can have a lot of fun [with] different flavours and really create something special.” FH

WE’RE JUST A FAMILY COMPANY MAKING GREAT PRODUCTS EVERY DAY WITH GREAT STAFF THAT [WE] CONSIDER FAMILY

Joseph and Zainab Chaeban

FRESH SQUEEZE

Chaser’s Fresh Juice Vancouver offers a taste of nature’s best

BY NICOLE DI TOMASSO

Chaser’s Fresh Juice Vancouver has grown from a small 800-sq.-ft. juice shop in Yaletown to one of British Columbia’s largest cold-press juice manufacturers and suppliers. Run by the Forster family, Chaser’s has garnered a loyal following among bars, restaurants, hotels and grocery stores.

Before launching Chaser’s, husband-and-wife duo Al and Jill Forster owned and operated Forster’s Restaurants (seven locations) for approximately 30 years.

“We’ve always cared about the quality of the products we serve to our customers,” says Jill Forster. “We supported local producers and used as many fresh, local ingredients as possible. While there were great suppliers of B.C. and Alberta beef, fresh produce and VQA wineries to showcase on our menu, we noticed a large gap in the supply of fresh juice mixes to use in our craft-cocktail program. Hand-squeezing fresh juice for seven restaurant locations was costly and time-consuming.”

To address this gap, the Forster’s launched Chaser’s Fresh Juice Vancouver in 2013. Their daughter, Megan, is the general manager of Operations, and their son, Jamie, is the warehouse manager.

From the beginning, the emphasis has been on quality and integrity. Jill Forster says most produce is purchased from local farmers, such as spinach, ginger, berries, cucumbers, carrots and beets. Citrus is sourced from southern U.S. and limes are sourced from Mexico. The juices are made with upcycled fruits and vegetables, reducing food waste.

In 2020, the company expanded its service area to cover the entire province. In 2021, the company moved to an 11,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Abbotsford, B.C. with expanded bottling equipment, larger cold-press production equipment and a 2,000 sq. ft. fridge.

Jill Forster says there are more than seven servings of fruit and/or vegetables in a 500ml bottle of Chaser’s juice. Currently, the company offers more than 50 fresh juices for food-and-beverage (F&B) customers (two litre, one litre, 500ml and 250ml sizes) and more than 23 SKU’s of juices and blends for grocery stores in both 500ml and one litre sizes. Chaser’s also supplies 355ml juices to cafés, cafeterias and healthcare institutions, as well as food manufacturers of ice cream/ popsicles, breweries, bakeries and more.

Chaser’s freshly squeezed orange juice is the top seller at bars and restaurants. Other popular mixes for cocktail creation include Chaser’s fresh lime juice, lemon juice and ruby grapefruit juice.

“Why use the best spirits in a cocktail then top it off with a higher ratio of mix-toliquor with a lesser than ‘real quality’ juice? It’s like putting ketchup on a filet mignon,” says Jill Forster.

The company’s juices are supplied to most of the top hotels in Vancouver and more than 180 restaurants. Juices for F&B outlets are also

Our bottles are PET recyclable, as well as our caps and labels. All are returnable, Additionally, our juices are delivered to hotels and restaurants in the same fruit boxes we receive our products in, reducing packaging

sold in Victoria, Whistler and other shippable locations in B.C.

For more than 11 years, Chaser’s has implemented several sustainable practices into its manufacturing.

“Our bottles are PET recyclable, as well as our caps and labels. All are returnable,” says Jill Forster. “Additionally, our juices are delivered to hotels and restaurants in the same fruit boxes we receive our products in, reducing packaging.”

Fresh juices aren’t dry-shelf stable and need to be refrigerated, but can last from one to three weeks at F&B outlets. Grocery store juices are HPP cold pressurized to extend the shelf life of product to more than 150 days while maintaining all their flavour, nutritional value and enzymes.

Chaser’s had a humble start and continues to focus on a single shared goal — to create a product that’s not only delicious but also packed with nutrients and free from artificial additives. Beyond being a purveyor of fresh juice, Chaser’s has become a community hub in Vancouver.

“We’re a wholesale supplier of a fresh product to assist F&B to make quality beverages,” says Jill Forster. “Many of our restaurants and hotels receive accolades and we’re proud of them. Our job is to help them do that.” FH

MICHAL

F&H’s editor/publisher

Rosanna Caira sat down with the CEO of Scale Hospitality to discuss his journey in the hospitality industry and his experiences in building a restaurant empire through partnerships and innovation, emphasizing the crucial role of people and culture in success. This is an excerpt from the full interview, which took place on May 28th as part of the Icons & Innovators session at KML’s Top30-under--30 Summit.

Walking THE TALK

Hanif Harji has built a restaurant empire by putting his money where his mouth is

INTERVIEW

BY ROSANNA CAIRA

Rosanna Caira: Tell us a little bit about your hospitality journey.

Hanif Harji: As a first-generation immigrant, hospitality was never an option in my mind. Get educated, get a degree, become a doctor, lawyer, accountant — that's the kind of the path our family wanted for me. But unfortunately, my dad got ill when I was in university, and I started thinking about how I could take care of the family. Hospitality, food franchises, was

an option that was very real for us and we ended up buying a Second Cup location in 1997. I became immersed in the hospitality world, understanding systems and really looking at hospitality holistically. I realized you need to have the skill set to hire and train people properly, you need to have the skill set to find good real estate, acquire that real estate, negotiate a lease. You have to have design aesthetic, understanding how you need your store designed for

operational flow. You need to be financially savvy and understand how to make money — that was just all encompassing for me and I fell in love with the notion of being able to make people happy, serve great food and make a profit — all at the same time. [I chose] Second Cup because it was a really interesting time for specialty coffee. Starbucks hadn't entered the market yet. I felt that specialty coffee was a category that was growing and I wanted to be involved in an industry

that was in growth mode. And so, when the opportunity came up to be able to open a business, my first reaction was to go to Starbucks and try to get a franchise, which they very quickly told me ‘absolutely not’ since they weren't franchising in Canada. I had no credit history and was 20 some years old. But I persevered. I didn't take no for an answer and I found an alternative [in Second Cup] that had growth potential, a leadership team at that time that was open-minded to ideas and really helped me get engaged in the business. The biggest challenge for me at the time was finding financing because I was fresh out of school, had no credit history and never really had a job. But they were helpful. My uncles were in the hotel business in the limited-service space and they gave me some advice, introduced me to people and by hook or by crook, I got some financing and picked a location we felt had a ton of potential but was underserved.

RC: What are the biggest challenges of running a restaurant with partners?

HH: Managing expectations, communicating different paths each of you want to take along the way and really supporting each other and making sure we're there for one another as we grow our independent businesses as well.

RC: When you look at the structure of restaurants, what do you think is the most important element for success?

HH: It starts with people. Everything we do in this industry is stressful — recruiting, hiring, training, inclusiveness of the concept with the people that you

want to run the business. That’s at the core but everything matters. If you don't design the space right, if you don't communicate the message properly, if you cut corners, people notice, especially in such a sophisticated food market. My uncle used to say, ‘if you're driving on a road that's curving on a mountain and you don't have your headlights on, there's a very good chance you're going to fall off the cliff.’ And so, we do a concept read for every concept we do. We travel to different cities to see similar or inspirational concepts and we actually write out a full concept brief. We write out a draft menu, we talk about it, everybody goes and finds images that are inspiring for them and we try to pull it together — it's a collective process. And when the concept does come to life, the leadership team that was behind it really understands what it is we're trying to do and we’re all speaking one language.

RC: How would you define the corporate culture that you've instilled in your restaurants over the years? Is it being forced to change post pandemic?

HH: Culture is the key to successful hospitality organization. You have to be genuine in what you do and our goal is to be best in class. Everything we do goes through that brand filter — if it's not going to be best in class, we're not going to do it. If we can't achieve a certain level of expectation, we're not going to do it. Getting people involved, engaging them, giving them a voice — it’s really important to give young people a voice and an ability to express themselves, their creativity and their passion

Antonio Park

Chica

GILLIAN JACKSON RICK O'BRIEN

for hospitality. It's infectious, so it starts with me.

Post pandemic, unfortunately, we lost a big chunk of talent. People who've been in the industry for a very long time, who understood the nuances of our business, in order to survive, had to go find other jobs. And I'm sure they're excelling at that but there's a huge gap right now. And I’m seeing a big gap in training, so my partners and I decided we wanted to invest in both technology and training. We really felt that there are a lot of young people out there who want to get into the industry, but don't see a path forward. So, we’re working with local government, bringing in firstgeneration immigrants, going into communities and creating that path of hospitality for different cultures and young people who didn't see it and then putting in the time, energy and effort to train them the right way and build that next layer of hospitality.

RC: How do you continue to innovate in this industry?

HH: We don't innovate for the sake of innovating. There has to be a core passion for a project. And there's so many great restaurants in Toronto, it’s one of the most sophisticated restaurant

markets in the world as far as I'm concerned. We have extremely talented chefs and restaurateurs here.We have to make sure that if we're going to do something, it's going to be impactful.

RC: What is the hallmark of truly exceptional service?

HH: I wish I could say we were perfect, but we're far from it and we're learning every day about how we can improve our service. Standards of training is number-1. We hire for attitude and then we can train in just the steps of service. But really making sure that the precepts are very strong, people are in a great mood, the leadership team is continually supported. And I

think if you're in an ecosystem where everyone around you is in a happy place, and the chefs are happy, the food's coming out happy, you just generally become a happier person. And therefore, you treat your clients better and it's infectious. For us, really setting the tone pre-service is super important.

RC: What kind of leader would you say that you are? And what do you think makes a great leader?

HH: As a leader, I truly do lead by example. My passion for the industry, my desire to continually learn, meeting people and seeing what's happening globally and then bringing that back and

sharing it with the team or taking team with me. You know, we put our money where our mouth is, we work very hard — this industry is demanding. I try to be the first person there and the last person to leave as much as humanly possible. I’m very fortunate to have had, my entire executive team with me for over 13 years. So, they've evolved through the organization, they now kind of speak the language that I speak. We don't need translators when we're talking about service, design, cleanliness, culinary. We speak the same language and we push the same goal forward. And it’s important that I try to be as present as possible and try to engage with everybody as much as I possibly can. FH

Patria

Toronto Beach Club

A COMMON

Restaurateurs Simon MacRae and Darcy MacDonell discuss how they’re

INTERVIEW BY

COMMON PURPOSE

they’re working together to create Orillia’s most popular restaurant

ROSANNA CAIRA

Simon MacRae and Darcy MacDonnell

Rosanna Caira: You opened a new restaurant just as the pandemic was landing on our doorsteps. What fuelled your decision?

Simon MacRae: We were both looking to put a restaurant in the city of Orillia (Ontario). We both felt that it really deserved a restaurant of this calibre. That was towards the tail end of 2019, before COVID was a thing. So, it was already well underway and about to be open before that hit.

Darcy MacDonell: Like all openings, we had some delays, and delays pushed it into the end of February, when we had nine business days before we got shuttered [due to COVID]. So, it was as bad as it gets in that sense.

RC: How did you handle that as a new restaurant?

DM: We got very lucky. The community saw us opening and had a hunger for it, really so we were very supported. We did a lot of crazy and innovative things throughout the lockdowns, and no matter what it was we tried, people came and bought it or supported it. We were doing fondue dinners outside and people were coming in their snowsuits. And those dinners sold out in three minutes. We had a line around the corner for Sunday night roast takeout. We were very lucky with the support we had from the community. Without that, it wouldn’t have worked.

RC: Darcy, you’ve operated some great restaurants in Toronto. What made you move your concepts to Orillia?

DM: I was told by my wife that we were moving to Orillia [in 2017]. Simon’s wife, they met in the U.K. but she’s from Orillia, so he was dragged here by his

wife as well. And I commuted back and forth [to Toronto] for four years, while looking around and really trying to find the right location and the right idea. Unbeknownst to me, Simon was working on something in Orillia and people put us together. We joke that we speed dated for two months or so; we didn’t know each other but he had a nugget of an idea and an opportunity and I was able to come in and help.

SM: There were two things that really attracted me to the way that Darcy looked at restaurants. One was they had a big book in front of him with a dozen boxes also laid out and in those boxes were all the kinds of things that I cared about in restaurants, too. They were all things that would really delineate how the restaurant would look. And secondarily, I’d been around a bunch of different restaurants and different banks looking for money to set this up. Here was someone who also thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, yeah, this city needs a restaurant like this, this city needs a restaurant of this calibre,’ and didn’t have any of the same concerns that all of the banks had about where the nearest parking lot is, or how you’re going to turn operational profit within X period of time.

RC: Tell me a little bit about your food philosophy and what is it that you’re trying to promote through your food.

DM: First and foremost, we’re not chefs. We have a very talented chef (Ben Kersley) who has been with us since Day 1 and he’s now a minority partner in this restaurant. The three of us are equal partners at our new pub, the Hog and Penny. So, it’s a chefdriven restaurant. By and large, I would say it’s a farm-to-table bistro menu. We’re Feast On certified and other than some of the seafood, everything’s from Ontario. The

menu is divided between vegetables and proteins and it’s one of those small independent menus that changes a little bit every month, printed in house. Chef sticks to some basics, but we let him be creative. And he’s really grown in the role he’s in and it’s made us a better restaurant.

RC: How are you finding the supply-chain dynamics changing in recent years?

DM: It was very difficult at the beginning to get the ingredients we wanted up to Orillia because we were the only restaurant up there buying the food we wanted to buy, so, to be fair to suppliers and vendors, it maybe wasn’t worth their while at the beginning. In the early days, I would get deliveries at Farmhouse Tavern in Toronto on a Thursday, load it in my Jeep and drive them back to the restaurant because they weren’t delivering here. Fast forward four years, there’s more restaurants in and around the Orillia area that are using some suppliers that we want to be using so it’s gotten better for us.

RC: How are you marketing your restaurant?

SM: There are two key things that we focus on. One is making sure [customers] leave the restaurant having had a great time. The best marketing we can have is if someone has a wonderful experience here then they’ll tell like-minded people to come up and see. We also focus on making sure our social media and our online presence is a good reflection of the story of the restaurant and the experience one could have here. So, making sure there’s good photo content, reliable menu content and detail on the website on social media so people can get a realistic interpretation of what the restaurant experience is going to be like.

RC: With labour shortage being such a big issue today, are you limited being in Orillia in terms of finding staff or has it been easier for you to find people?

DM: It was hard in the beginning; the calibre of people we attract now is drastically different and much better than it was four years ago. What we’ve worked the hardest on, and are the proudest of, is that we strive to be the number-1 choice as a hospitality employer in the area. We have people driving in from Gravenhurst and Barrie (Ont.) to work for us — people that are real industry pros and want to be in this industry because they love it and are looking for the best place to work. We’re putting strategies in place to recognize and train employees and we spend a fair bit of time and money on the hourly staff.

RC: What are you doing to ensure that your staff are treated well, paid well and motivated?

DM: We need to sell ourselves to an applicant, right? We’re not interviewing people, we’re showcasing ourselves, always putting our best foot forward and saying ‘we want to convince you

there’s no other option.’ If we call people back for a second interview, we’re sitting them down and buying them dinner, letting them try our food and having either a cocktail or glass of wine, and having them talk to staff. So from Day 1, we’re spending the time and money to make it a clear choice for them. We do health-and-wellness benefits such as gym passes, physio and massage therapy for our staff. We’re lucky to be close to two ski hills so they can get a ski pass through the restaurant. Chef snowboards, I snowboard, some of our cooks snowboard, so we’re at Mount St. Louis three mornings a week before coming into work. Some of the team are big runners, a couple of go to CrossFit, it’s a pretty healthy culture in general.

SM: We’ve be lucky recently, as well, to have the vast majority of applicants come to us. We put a piece on our website to say who we are, what we do, how we treat our employees and let our reputation hopefully speak for itself. And therefore, we now get about half a dozen applicants a week at this time. People emailing in to say we want to come work for you.

DM: We’re at a point now, the calibre of the staff is getting so good, the quality of people we’re attracting is getting so high, that if some of these people are still here in the fall, we may need to do something else just to appease our talent pool. To me, that’s a pinnacle achievement when you have to grow to offer more opportunities to your people. And we’re getting really, really close to that, which is exciting.

RC: How do you divide your roles? And how do you take advantage of each other’s strengths, and sometimes your weaknesses?

DM: It’s a long learning curve. We co-exist much better now than we did in the early days. In the beginning, you’re maybe bumping heads more often and pushing back and trying to find where someone stands on something. And we’ve always said from Day 1 that we disagree on 100 little things all the time, but we’ve always agreed on the big, really important core-value decisions. And we’ve always agreed on how we want to be perceived and what we want to achieve. We’ll bicker a bit back and forth, or someone digs their heels in on something that’s really trivial, but at the end of the day, we also understand that that’s getting to a better answer.

SM: There are two great opportunities within that. One is that so long as we don’t dig our heels in too much, you have two sets of ideas. I always joke that Darcy comes up with 90 per cent of the ideas for this place anyway and that sort of that idea generation is astonishing. But a big part of that success also comes from neither of us digging our heels and trying each other’s strategies and plans. The other big part of what makes it a success is when you recognize the talents of

each other. Therefore, we get to a solution often a lot faster, despite the fact that there’s more ideas in the pot to begin with.

RC: What would you say is your biggest challenge being in a partnership?

SM: My challenge is probably that by nature, I’m more cautious. I will overthink something and look for the unforeseen and consequences. Whereas Darcy is very much a ‘let’s go; let’s try it’.’ About 90 per cent of the time again, that leads to much better success as a business. There’s those scenarios where we’ll approach something differently, and having the flexibility to think ‘actually, I’m going to follow his lead on this one; I’m going to sit back and follow’ and that can be can be hugely beneficial.

RC: What’s been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned from your past restaurant experiences?

SM: One is the importance of restaurant culture and how that trickles down from ownership through senior leadership to middle managers and shift supervisors to the individuals on the frontlines, be it the servers, the cooks, the dishwashers, the bartenders. The other is work hard and be nice to people, and that’s a thing that I get up in the morning and say to myself, it’s a thing I’d say when I put my kids to bed at night. Because if you’re working hard and you’re being nice to people, then there’s very little that can go wrong. It’s a great philosophy for not just life but also for how one interacts with guests, customers, suppliers.

DM: I’ve had mentors and bosses that I’ve been lucky to work with, but from an entrepreneurial owner perspective, Peter Fowler at SIR Corp., Michael Bonacini and Peter Oliver at O&B and

then Charles Khabouth (INK Entertainment) all had two things in common. One is they were always adamant that music be loud. They wanted their places to feel energetic and alive at all times. And the other one that they had in common was the audacity to take risks and to do things, the audacity to sink a bunch of money into something or a new market. And that was a big impact on me for sure.

RC: How would you like to see the industry change in order for it to become more successful and more sustainable?

SM: Much of it is heading in the right direction, but one thing that a lot of restaurant businesses learned as they went into the pandemic in the middle of March 2020, that it should have been seen as an embarrassment, really, to the industry, the number of restaurants that weren’t able to make their rent check on the first of April, or even who weren’t able to pay their suppliers for the food that was in the fridges or their staff for the hours worked the week before. And there’s a certain financial accountability and cashflow awareness that the industry realizes it needs to improve going forwards. When it comes to staff, particularly for those back of house, we need to play our part to realize that these people do a huge invaluable job and adjusting that balance in the industry is huge. FH Click

Y Room t

ears from now, historians, looking back on this period in human history in pursuit of, say, a picture of our economic and social well-being, might hone in on Ontario’s restaurant industry, which offers a microcosmic view into our collective psyche during this patch of the still early, but post-COVID 21st century.

It’s in this snatch of history that we find society struggling to find its footing in an environment still doubled over from a pandemic amidst soaring costs, including an expensive labour and realestate market. And in this province, Canada’s most populous, we see reflected the general state of mind for a population that bent itself to societal constraints so vigorously that the knots remain to this day.

With the pent-up demand for on-premise restaurant experiences following the restrictions of the pandemic spent, consumers are settling into a new normal that’s less reactionary to the physical health of the population and more reactionary to its economic health.

“I would say [the Ontario restaurant industry] is in very tough shape,” says Ryan Mallough, vice-president of Legislative Affairs for Ontario, Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB). “It’s a sector that really hasn’t recovered from those three years of closing.”

To wit, the industry has endured a 100-per-cent growth in bankruptcies over the last year — most in the fullservice segment.

“We continue to get price increases from our suppliers, and they think we can absorb them,” says Domenic Primucci, president of Pizza Nova. “We can’t. That’s why restaurants aren’t making money. They don’t want to price themselves to the point that customers

won’t come. But it’s already happening. Customers aren’t coming.”

It explains why 65 per cent of Ontario restaurants aren’t making a profit right now; in 2019, just 12 per cent weren’t profitable.

“This is a real problem here in Ontario because the margins restaurants make are under five per cent,” says Primucci. “And [with so many] not making money, it’s very easy to be in the red here. One small thing, one repair could put you in trouble.”

It would also be easy not to see the scene’s woes, given that the industry’s every sector is exceeding the numbers generated in 2019. But, says Tony Elenis, president and CEO of the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association, “that doesn’t flow through to the bottom line because of the increased expenses, especially in food purchasing, which make up over 35 per cent of all purchases in a typical restaurant. Then over and above that, you have the price of labour going up.”

Labour now accounts for a quarter of total costs rather than a fifth, as it conventionally has.

FLAGGING OPTIMISM

It’s thanks to these price hikes, says Mallough, that “customers who used to come two or three times a week are now coming once.

“Those downtown sit-down restaurants in the major centres also had the hit of their clientele’s commuting patterns changing dramatically. They’re still figuring out how to adjust. That’s a real challenge. Optimism in the industry remains very low this year, well behind its historical average, so it’s going to be a struggle.”

Indeed, says Ken Otto, CEO of Redberry Restaurants, whose Burger King, Taco Bell, and Jersey Mikes

Value-driven offerings for Ontario’s struggling

BY LAURA

to Win

holdings might make it the biggest restaurant owner in the country. The level of optimism that permeated Ontario’s restaurant industry in late 2022 and 2023 isn’t so prevalent anymore. “Things have turned more cautious in the past couple of months,” he says. “The cost of living is catching up to people. Interest rates, mortgage renewals, rents in Toronto, the price of gas, et cetera. The [Ontario restaurant industry] is coming off a relatively buoyant period after the pandemic. It’s pivoting. People are looking for value. They’re interested in eating out — they have established behaviours. But they’re cautious.”

It’s why Redberry is re-visiting its menu and promotional strategies with an eye on value. “We’re telling our guest we understand the cost of living is high these days,” says Otto. Value’s the ticket, agrees Steven Molnar, partner and executive chef at Quetzal, an elevated Mexican restaurant in Toronto. “A lot of people don’t have the disposable income to spend on meals. Having a more approachable price point can attract clientele to come in.”

are key to success

Otto says his company has “had to increase prices reluctantly” to factor in massive food inflation and that, while consumers absorbed the price increases for a couple years, “now they’re pushing back.”

“Prices have gone up everywhere, whether you’re delivery, takeout, or in-store dining,” says Primucci. “If it costs people more to drive their car, that’s money they don’t have to spend at a restaurant. Things got better in the months coming out of the pandemic, but now costs have increased so much, people aren’t going back. They don’t call it a recession, but it feels like a recession.”

In point of fact, the country’s inflation rate slowed to 2.7 per cent in April 2024 — a three-year low but still problematic enough to curb restaurant visits in Ontario, which represents 42 per cent of the country in terms of restaurant visits — about the same as it did pre-pandemic.

“Economic conditions are overshadowing a lot of our discretionary spending,” says Vince Sgabellone, a foodservice industry analyst with Toronto-based market research firm Circana. “And restaurant spending is very discretionary.”

The triumvirate of food, labour, and property costs represents a powerful enemy to a thriving restaurant industry, and no more so than in Ontario, where the scene has meaningfully contracted in recent times. While traffic growth in the first quarter of 2024 was up two per cent over the same quarter a year ago, according to Circana’s CREST industrytracking database, these numbers in fact represent a slowdown given that, for the last 12 months, traffic growth in Ontario clocked in at a robust six per cent. The decline brings Ontario from a place where it was outperforming the country, into line with the rest of the market.

The contraction, says Sgabellone, is predictable, given the price of housing in Ontario, where some of the most expensive markets in the country reside. “As more and more rents and mortgages come up for renewal, more and more people are realizing they have to cut back.”

“All these costs are passed down to the restaurateur,” says Primucci, “and the restaurateur has no choice but to raise prices.”

“Every week we’re getting a note from a different vendor with a pricing increase,” says Ben Osmow, CEO and head of franchising for Osmow’s Shawarama. “That’s why we have to charge more.” Just back from a restaurant leadership

conference in Arizona, Osmow reports that inflation pricing across menus has gone up 27 per cent in the last couple years. But passing these hikes onto the customer is challenging at QSR and fast-casual spots where, says Osmow, consumers are paying attention. “If you go up four bucks on a plate at a dine-in restaurant, it’s not going to make people crazy. But in QSR, a dollar hike in price will.”

“You raise prices just a little bit and you lose customers — that’s always been the case,” Elenis concurs.

FULL-SERVICE LEADS SUFFERING

“It’s a challenging time,” says Elenis, “especially for traditional full-service concepts, who’ve increased menu prices — but not enough to mitigate the extra expenses. At the same time, there’s success for those who do delivery and quick service.”

QSR, Osmow agrees, “is definitely the segment to be in right now because of consumer spending habits.”

QSR restaurants are over-developed in Ontario, where they have a 73 per cent share, higher than any other province and the country at large, where QSR accounts for 67 per cent of the restaurant total.

The heavy concentration of QSRs, speculates Sgabellone, is as much chicken as egg. “Are they here because consumers demand it, or do consumers visit them because there are so many of them here?”

Regardless, various realities flow from this reality, he says. For one, it diminishes the prominence of independents, and the foothold in the industry they might otherwise enjoy in this province, given that full-service restaurants

are more likely independents than chains. And it’s worth remembering that independents were the more injured victims of the pandemic.

For another, it ups the competitiveness of the restaurant players in Ontario, as they jostle for locations and staff. And it features a scene in which Ontario restaurant customers are spending, on average, less per visit than restaurant-goers in other provinces.

THE TECHNOLOGY PIECE

Across the industry, about 35 per cent of sales now come from delivery. Technology extends blessings to this part of the business, including with apps, whose encouragement among customers to order from them rather than from third-party platforms can save restaurants meaningful money.

“Everyone’s trying to win market share from third-party delivery platforms,” says Osmow, who urges restaurateurs to cultivate a habit among their customers of ordering directly from their website, kickstarting it with promotions, contests, and freebies.

Pizza Nova has been re-developing its website and is poised to re-introduce an app with a loyalty feature. “We’re trying to get better at what we do with technology,” Primucci says. “People don’t necessarily want to speak to an order-taker over the phone — the new generation wants to do business that way. But technology isn’t cheap.”

Redberry is exploring technologies in utility optimization, including those that monitor water and energy usage. “Restaurants need to spend more time on that,” says Otto. He also celebrates the role of kiosks in making restaurants tighterrunning ships; Redberry is rolling out kiosks

in more than 50 Taco Bell and Burger King restaurants this year. It’s not about reducing labour, he clarifies. “Kiosks help re-deploy labour to productivity in the kitchen; it’s about increasing speed of service.” Kiosks also are good at increasing average checks thanks to their facility for “finding the best upsell.”

Beyond that, Otto adds, many big brands have digital apps for pre-ordering. “The app on your phone asks you a bunch of questions about ways to spend more money and you’re often saying yes,” says Otto.

THE GOOD NEWS

All is not doom and gloom in Ontario restaurants. According to Osmow, supply has become much more stable than it’s been in recent times, which were characterized by shipping containers held up at checkpoints and strikes at Canadian ports. “Supply was a problem in the heart of the pandemic,” he says. “But since November, things have been good. We’re no longer shorting products left, right, and centre, which is great.”

Osmow’s helps the scene by looking after its own raw material — deboning, slicing, packaging, and marinating it all at its 40,000-sq.-ft. production facility in Mississauga, Ont., before sending it on to its 160-plus stores.

At Pizza Nova’s 150 Ontario locations, Primucci is fighting back with training and coaching. “We’re working on getting better at the human level. We’re in the service business — you have to give great experiences.”

The best brands, says Osmow, have been able to use the downside to their advantage. He credits his restaurant’s app, loyalty program, and delivery promotions for its “very loyal and consistent customers. The best brands know exactly how to pivot in hard times.”

THE IMMIGRANT PIECE

Ontario’s current demographics represent an opportunity for restaurants looking to make a go of it in this province. Ontario is the most popular destination for immigrants (the province welcomed approximately 200,000 in 2023), and almost half the population of its capital city, Toronto, is made up of immigrants. This matters to restaurateurs for a couple of reasons. For one, immigrants tend to be younger, so their inclusion in our midst pulls the average age down. A

slew of demographic reports name younger generations as the ones most likely to eat out. The influx of immigrants also ups the population of potential restaurant staffers. “During the pandemic, it was hard to find crew members,” says Osmow, “but booming immigration makes it easy to find good talent. That’s definitely a plus.”

Finally, it increases the potential for a wide range of ethnic food offerings in this province. “We’re going to be seeing more global cuisine,” says Sgabellone, who cites an over-development of Asian and seafood restaurants in Ontario versus these categories’ national averages, and points to Ontario’s high ratio of Asian Canadians. “It’s an interesting opportunity, because this shift in consumers is demanding new products — and if they don’t find them in the existing operating base, they’ll start their own restaurants.”

That explains the Middle-Eastern movement, Osmow says, and the adjacent rush for bowls and their association with healthier eating. In the pizza universe, Primucci delights in the reality that you can “put pretty much anything on a pizza.” During the pandemic, Pizza Nova unveiled a hot-honey pizza, heralding a hot-honey romance that’s swept lots of food categories. “We’re always testing products,” Primucci says. “Product innovation is a meaningful way to increase business, especially with your loyal customers.”

Otto thinks people are more experimental now, thanks in part to a restaurant industry that’s excelled at celebrating international flavours. “Spice is a big thing,” he says, and points to the Nashville hot flavour profiles dominating lots of menus. “Gen Z loves trying new flavours.” Both Taco Bell and Burger King have responded with more international offerings.

Personal touches are also meaningful to customers who may have balked at higher prices, says Nick Liu, executive chef and partner at Dailo, a 10-year-old Asian cuisine restaurant in Toronto’s Little Italy.

“I think the restaurants that are successful are the ones offering personal service, where you feel more connected to the restaurant, the servers are more guided toward the customer, instead of the bigger, factory-style restaurants.”

Dailo has enhanced its service, including the table-service presentation of some dishes. For example, when it added grilled

Moroccan scarlet prawn to the menu, it did so with ceremony. The server delivers this expensive, unique dish to the table, cuts up the prawn, and presents it on toast squares before spooning yuzu bonita hollandaise onto everyone’s plates. “It gives a wow factor,” says Liu. “Now we’re creating an experience and not just a dinner. That’s what people are looking for when they pick how often they go out now. They want to see how far their money can stretch.”

Dailo raised its prices at the beginning of 2023, when labour costs skyrocketed, as did so many Ontario restaurants but it opted not to raise them again in the fall, when prices

jumped again and lots of spots were closing. “We decided not to because it made me uncomfortable on a personal level; also, I thought the new year was looking up — the Canadian government was talking about interest rates and I felt things were going to get better soon and we could hold off and just take a small hit without having to gouge our customers.”

It was the right thing to do, Lui says, because they stayed busy in the winter weekends when competition slowed. “If you just hold the course, I’m hoping, once interest rates start going down, you’ll see people being more comfortable with spending a bit more.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Sgabellone predicts continued growth in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Southeast Asian restaurants, but believes chicken restaurants are set to rule the roost. “Chicken is having its day in Ontario in terms of market share,” he says. Mexican restaurants, burrito places, and taco joints also have an outsized share of this market, with chains looking to get established here before expanding into other parts of the country.

In the meantime, Molnar encourages restaurateurs to focus on how the pandemic changed the industry for the positive. Restaurant workers are better paid, staff is better cared for, the work-life balance is more acknowledged. “Employers are taking better care of their staff now. Hopefully that continues.”

Going forward, says Otto, restaurants should limit price increases and offer more value and product innovation to the plate.

“The growth we enjoyed in late 2022, 2023 will be tougher to get, but I’m optimistic that we can hold our own with a pivoting strategy of looking at other ways to get guests in the door. We’re very bullish on Canada, bullish on the industry,” adds Otto, who shares that Redberry is committing to build 500-plus restaurants in the next 10 years. “There’s room to grow and room to win.”

Primucci, too, is hopeful. “There’s a cycle of great economic times and recessionary times. Things will correct themselves and we’ll get through it.”

Elenis agrees. “This is a resilient industry. It will come back. Most operators know there’s a green light down the line. That’s the reason they open their doors, even though 65 per cent of them aren’t making any profit. It’s the hope.” FH

the foodservice industry, is sustainability,” says Sheivari. “Restaurants are becoming more sustainably conscious and working with local suppliers for everything from uniforms to packaging.”

Those concerns continue to back-ofhouse operations, says Shekarbani. “For line cooks, the choice used to be just polyester because it was the cheapest and didn’t change when washed. Now we are looking for sustainable lines that create less waste output when produced and include natural fibres or postconsumer fabrics.”

BACK-OF-HOUSE AUTONOMY

The rise of open kitchens, social-media exposure, and a new generation of workers that want more autonomy on the job, is breathing new life into the staid back-of-house attire that dominated the industry for decades, says Shekarbani. “We took for granted fashion was not a huge thing for back-of-house. But appearance has amped up over the last four or five years.”

The industry is moving away from a Eurocentric version of the culinary world, she adds. “There’s an encouragement of self-expression and movement away from homogeneity. Top chefs are now working in organic cotton t-shirts. Restaurants are taking pride in bespoke outfits and colours. It has to do with inclusion and getting rid of outdated colonial and gender-based systems. “

She is especially pleased to see uniforms being sized and adjusted to suit the female form. “I spent years swimming in uniforms not designed for my body that were easily three sizes too big. With more women in the profession, it’s important to have female specific uniforms.”

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

When putting a uniform program together, Spooner advises starting with understanding the concept and making your choices reflect that. “It sounds like common sense, but I’ve seen some misses. Listen to people you trust across a range of functions. They don’t all have to be on the frontline.”

Rather than getting deeply into overall design, go for more versatile

items that can easily be changed for different times of the days and types of service, he adds. At La Plume, for example, female staff wear a neckerchief that can be removed for evening service to show the pink collar. You don’t want your staff having to pay for day and night uniforms when you can simply use add-ons like scarves, ties, suspenders, or aprons that reflect the restaurant’s colours and style.”

Don’t overdo the branding on uniforms, advises Sheivari. “There’s so much you can add to bring personality to your brand without spending a fortune, such as fun messaging on a t-shirt, a simple band of colour on under the brim of a baseball cap. It’s easy to change the pocket colour or fasteners to match your brand colours. You can add a logo or pin or another little something to create an elevated look.”

Finally, make it easier for staff and managers to keep with the program. “Establish staff guidelines for staff to supply their own basics, offer some prepicked options and link them to the retailers, along with a coupon code,” says Ferrara. “It also helps to create a clear visual guide so management doesn’t have to police quite so much.” FH

Eye$ on Price

“Overall, adult beverage prices have risen 5.4 per cent in the last year,” shares Katie Belflower, editor at Technomic.

“Champagne/ sparkling wine saw the largest price increase at 34.8 per cent. Specialty drinks (up 5.8 per cent) and beer (up 5.7 per cent) also saw price jumps over the past year.”

Beverage menus need to deliver a balance of value and quality

BY DANIELLE SCHALK

THE 2024 Report

xciting flavours and exploration are among the top trends shaping cocktails and spirits of late.

But operators must not overlook the element of economic pressure and its influence on guests.

“They’re seeking great value when browsing the menus,” shares Chantelle Gabino, Beverage manager at Recipe Unlimited Corp. Jay Jones, bar development leader for B.C.based JOEY Restaurant Group, agrees. “Value doesn’t mean lower priced, value means overdelivering on what the guest’s commitment is financially,” he explains. “I don’t think the guest is necessarily looking to spend less. They just want to make sure that when they do spend, they’re getting bang for their buck.”

It’s also important to be cognizant of guests, evolving understanding of beverage-alcohol-products, as this is shaping their expectations when they choose to go out. “The guest is far more product intelligent,

has decided what they like and makes those decisions before they come in,” Jones explains.

Another trend influencing beverage offerings across categories is demand for premium products. “We’ve seen a pretty significant premiumization of the spirits that are requested and even the beers that are requested,” shares James Peden, director of Operations for Torontobased Liberty Entertainment Group (LEG). “People are willing to drink a little bit less, but like a way more premium experience — especially for bourbon and agave spirits like tequila and mezcal.”

And, as Peden notes, the growth in premium mezcal and tequila has been particularly significant. “In 2018 and 2019, you could sell some top-shelf tequila once a week or so, but now you have bottles of $90 tequila, like Casamigos Reposado, that you just can’t keep on the shelf.”

This shift in demand is wide spread in Canada and clearly reflected in Technomic’s Ignite Menu data, which highlights a 400-per-cent yearover- year increase in mezcal straight on Canadian menus, as well as 34.9-per-cent growth of tequila straight.

In our last technology segment, we explored data management solutions, and in the one prior, we covered inventory management. This month, we talked with experts about the latest e-commerce solutions for restaurants and how they have evolved to address the ever-changing needs of operators and guests alike. As we did so, we couldn’t help noticing a common theme.

ECOSYSTEMS

Where it concerns digital data, be it inventory tracking, point of sale (POS) systems, real-time performance tracking or e-commerce solutions — including your website and online ordering — modern financial services platforms such as Square and Lightspeed are moving toward building all-in-one ecosystems where one platform fulfills all a restaurant operator’s digital needs.

There are many benefits to this approach; all-in-one platforms consolidate front of house, back of house and online data management technologies into a single system, dramatically streamlining operations and eliminating the need for multiple data entries across disparate systems. On the e-commerce side, when operators use an all-in-one solution that integrates online ordering, delivery and payments, they also benefit from greater scalability as their business grows. “The products we build are scalable so we can grow along with restaurants, not give them tools they don’t need,” explains Anna Reynolds, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Square eCommerce.

MODERN CONTENDERS

Companies like Lightspeed and Square offer restaurateurs all-in-one e-commerce solutions called Lightspeed eCom and Square Online, respectively. They both allow operators to accept and manage orders online and in person and let customers use self-serve ordering with a QR code. Square Online and Lightspeed eCom also make it easy for

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL

There are benefits to integrating e-commerce and all your digital needs in a single all-in-one platform

BY ERIC ALISTER

operators to build their own website with pre-built sets of high-quality website templates. “Combined with additional customizable features such as colours, fonts, layouts and buttons, restaurant owners are able to create nearly infinite combinations of designs to create a really unique and on-brand website that reflects their in-person ordering experience,” explains Reynolds.

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION

Since Square and Lightspeed already have a comprehensive set of on-premises digital services, the companies are able to combine this with their e-Commerce services to provide a full ecosystem of products, so restaurateurs can manage both their online and offline businesses from one place. “The best kinds of technology solutions are ones in which we don’t even realize we’re using it,” says Grant Macdonald, Chief Concept Officer at Kotsu Ramen & Gyoza, and Lightspeed customer. “As great as Lightspeed has been for us, we don’t think about it day to day. It’s just one of our tools. It’s like picking up a knife in the kitchen. It does its job consistently, it does it well and it helps us spend our time focused on what really matters for our business.”

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

With financial services platforms such as Lightspeed and Square moving toward all-in-one solutions that consolidate all digital tools into one integrated platform, restaurant owners can now leverage a single ecosystem to keep their whole business in sync — and as the business grows, it has the option to adopt additional tools from that ecosystem, rather than having to onboard multiple platforms from different vendors, which creates more complexity for a business and more work for those running it.

According to Reynolds, when business owners rely on a mishmash of digital tools from various providers, they often sacrifice the seamless interoperability that an all-in-one solution allows as different companies’ products rarely work well together. And when there is interoperability, it often requires a lengthy process of manually creating integrations in contrast to everything simply working out of the box. “At the end of the day, sellers shouldn’t need to be hyper-aware of the restaurant tech they are using; when it’s designed right, it should just work.” FH

Delysees Luxury Desserts leverages Square's ecosystem of solutions

JOSHUA EXCELL

Born in the countryside region of Isaan (Northeast Thailand), Nutcha Phanthoupheng was raised living the authentic farmto-table dining experience at home.

“My love for food was inspired from a very young age,” she says. “Growing up, I learned to fish and forage for mushrooms, wild honey, insects and even lizards. [Every] evening, my family and I would come together to prepare meals using the fresh, natural and organic ingredients we had gathered. This experience, being at my mother's elbow and acting as her ‘sous chef,’ truly ignited my passion for traditional Thai cuisine. The rich, aromatic flavours and the communal joy of cooking became a fundamental part of my identity.”

Prior to entering the restaurant industry, Phanthoupheng was a registered nurse and learned about the impact of food on health. Eventually, she obtained her MBA and became a cancer researcher at Princess Chulabhorn Hospital in Bangkok.

Upon moving to Vancouver in 2014, Phanthoupheng missed the authentic Thai food that she grew up with and pursued a career as a professional chef. She returned to Thailand and enrolled in private courses with Michelin-starred chefs Chumpol Jangprai (R-HAAN) and Vichit Mukura (Khao).

Over the years, Phanthoupheng has earned her Thai Cuisine diploma from The Blue Elephant in Bangkok; certification from the

ROOTED IN TRADITION

Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng brings family recipes into modern fine dining

BY NICOLE DI TOMASSO

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok Cooking School and the MSC Thai Culinary School; and carving certificate from Bussaracum Royal Thai Cuisine.

“My culinary style is deeply rooted in Royal Thai cuisine, but I aim to bring traditional family recipes into a modern fine-dining setting,” she says. “This involves adhering to the exquisite rules and plating techniques of Royal Thai cuisine while incorporating my own creative flair and contemporary ideas.”

In February 2021, Phanthoupheng opened Baan Lao Fine Thai Cuisine in Steveston, B.C.

“At Baan Lao, meaning ‘our home,’ we believe in the superior taste of fresh, organic, and natural ingredients,” she says. “Understanding the origin of our food and respecting the environment are crucial to us. Service and atmosphere are as important to us as the food itself.”

Phanthoupheng’s signature dinner-experience menu, From the Fields of Thailand to the Shores of Canada, chronicles her life journey and includes familiar protein sources from her childhood. Priced at $290 per person, standout dishes include Phat Thai King Mang Kon (Lobster Phat Thai); Kaeng Matsaman Nuea Kwai (Water Buffalo Tenderloin Massaman Curry); and Wan Wan Kanom Hwan Chef Nutcha (Chef Nutcha’s Childhood Memories).

In just three years, Baan Lao has been named one of Canada’s Best New Restaurants and featured on Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list in 2022. It also received the Thai Select Signature certification, the highest honour from the Ministry of Commerce for the Royal Thai Government. In November 2022, Phanthoupheng became the first Thai chef in Canada to be named Maître Rôtisseur by La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. Locally, she has been voted Best Chef in Vancouver for three consecutive years in the Golden Plates Awards. Baan Lao has won six awards each year, including Best Restaurant Overall, Best Fine Dining, Best Hidden Gem, Most Romantic and Best Thai.

“I aim to ensure the continued success of Baan Lao and my amazing team,” she says. “Personally, I want to keep elevating Thai cuisine in Canada and North America. I have some exciting plans in the works, which I look forward to sharing as they develop.” FH

HOSTED BY ROSANNA CAIRA

Check out the Table Talk podcast to listen to conversations between Foodservice and Hospitality’s editor and publisher Rosanna Caira and industry leaders speaking about the issues impacting the dynamic foodservice industry.

FEATURED PODCAST GUESTS

E74. A COMMON PURPOSE

SIMON MACRAE & DARCY MACDONELL PARTNERS, THE COMMON STOVE, PICNIC TAPAS & WINE, AND THE HOG AND PENNY PUB, ORILLIA, ONT.

E73. SHAPING THE MINDS OF FUTURE LEADERS FRANK MENEZES

PROFESSOR & PROGRAM COORDINATOR, HOTEL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM MANAGEMENT GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE

E72. A LABOUR OF LOVE JONATHAN GUSHUE CHEF & PARTNER GUSHUE BELANGER HOSPITALITY SERVICES

JENNIFER BELANGER PARTNER

GUSHUE BELANGER HOSPITALITY SERVICES

E71. A PASSION FOR HUMANITY MEERU DHALWALA CO-OWNER AND CHEF VIJ'S RESTAURANT

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