December 2017 Digital Issue
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MATCH<br />
MADE IN<br />
HEAVEN<br />
Soup-and-sandwich<br />
pairings are back<br />
in the spotlight<br />
The <strong>2017</strong> Pinnacle Awards <strong>Issue</strong><br />
ON THE<br />
MONEY<br />
Choosing the right<br />
payment-processing<br />
equipment for<br />
your restaurant<br />
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Browns Restaurant Group earns<br />
Company of the Year honours<br />
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VOLUME 50, NO.8 | DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong><br />
IN THIS ISSUE<br />
19 THE <strong>2017</strong> PINNACLE AWARDS<br />
Celebrating excellence in foodservice<br />
and hospitality<br />
20 COMPANY OF THE YEAR<br />
BROWNS RESTAURANT GROUP<br />
Vancouver-based BRG continues<br />
its upward trajectory<br />
26 REGIONAL COMPANY OF THE YEAR<br />
AROMA ESPRESSO BAR<br />
47<br />
The brand is taking the coffee-house<br />
model to the next level<br />
14<br />
30 ROSANNA CAIRA LIFETIME<br />
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD<br />
DONALD ZIRALDO<br />
His life’s work put Canada on<br />
the map as a premium wine-<br />
IAN McCAUSLAND [SCOTT MORISON COVER]<br />
FEATURES<br />
7 PASTA CHAMP<br />
Accursio Lotà wins Barilla Pasta<br />
World Championship title<br />
14 PERFECT PAIRING<br />
Soup-and-sandwich combos are<br />
back in the limelight<br />
47 PAY IT FORWARD<br />
How to choose the right<br />
payment-processing system<br />
50 GIN CRAZE<br />
Why gin is attracting new fans<br />
producing country<br />
36 INDEPENDANT RESTAURATEUR<br />
OF THE YEAR<br />
JANET ZUCCARINI<br />
Gusto 54 Restaurant Group owner/CEO<br />
is taking North America by storm<br />
40 CHEF OF THE YEAR<br />
JASON BANGERTER<br />
A commitment to local food fuels<br />
our Chef of Year’s culinary journey<br />
44 SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR<br />
McCAIN FOODS CANADA<br />
This iconic company remains<br />
hometown proud<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
2 FROM THE EDITOR<br />
4 FYI<br />
11 FROM THE DESK OF ROBERT CARTER<br />
52 CHEF’S CORNER: Alison MacNeil,<br />
Social Eatery, Calgary<br />
52<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 1
FROM THE EDITOR<br />
THE<br />
HUMAN<br />
TOUCH<br />
As we prepare to vault ourselves into a new year,<br />
we close off this one by celebrating excellence, just<br />
as we’ve done for the past 29 years, with the<br />
presentation of our annual Pinnacle Awards.<br />
By shining the spotlight on the people and<br />
companies that have done well over the past year, we highlight<br />
the success that is pervasive in the dynamic foodservice and<br />
hospitality industry. What would this industry be without the<br />
passion, dedication and commitment to excellence exemplified<br />
by our collection of winners — a group that includes operators,<br />
restaurateurs, chefs and suppliers.<br />
Clearly, people are the pulse of this industry. Regardless how<br />
pervasive and disruptive technology may become, without the<br />
human touch, foodservice operators can neither succeed nor<br />
thrive. What better way to recognize this than through our<br />
annual awards program?<br />
So, as we begin to wind down this celebratory year, marked in<br />
part by our year-long social-media photo contest called Made in<br />
Canada, whose finalists are showcased in this issue (see p.12),<br />
we also ready ourselves for celebrating yet another milestone<br />
— the magazine’s 50th anniversary.<br />
Hard to believe that in 2018 Foodservice<br />
and Hospitality will mark half a century of<br />
industry-wide coverage. Given the disruption<br />
that has occurred in the publishing industry<br />
over the past two decades, and the reality that<br />
some magazines have morphed into digitalonly<br />
publications or ceased publishing<br />
altogether, our ability to grow, expand and<br />
prosper during tumultuous times is quite<br />
humbling. It’s also a remarkable testament to<br />
our KML team and the industry we serve. And,<br />
in a year in which we will be celebrating our<br />
history covering this industry, how appropriate<br />
it is to launch the Foodservice and Hospitality<br />
Hall of Fame, paying homage to the operators,<br />
chefs and suppliers who have come together<br />
throughout the industry’s history to build,<br />
shape and move it forward.<br />
What better way to recognize these<br />
foodservice titans and ensure their continued<br />
legacy in the landscape of this important industry? We hope you<br />
stay tuned over the next few months as we profile these incredible<br />
individuals in both our magazine and on our website, where<br />
they will reside as a testament to all they’ve achieved in laying<br />
the foundation for a successful and vibrant future for all of us.<br />
Finally, in the spirit of the season, and on behalf of the entire<br />
KML team, we wish our readers and advertisers alike a truly<br />
wonderful holiday season — one marked by good health,<br />
happiness and, as always, a touch of magic. Happy Holidays.<br />
ROSANNA CAIRA rcaira@kostuchmedia.com<br />
@foodservicemag<br />
facebook.com/foodservicehospitalitymagazine<br />
instagram.com/rosannacaira<br />
NICK WONG, LOCATION PROVIDED BY VIA CIBO<br />
2 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EST. 1968 | VOLUME 50, NO. 8 | DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong><br />
EDITOR & PUBLISHER ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
ART DIRECTOR MARGARET MOORE<br />
MANAGING EDITOR AMY BOSTOCK<br />
ASSISTANT EDITOR DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR TOM VENETIS<br />
MULTIMEDIA MANAGER DEREK RAE<br />
GRAPHIC DESIGNER COURTNEY JENKINS<br />
SOCIAL MEDIA/EVENTS CO-ORDINATOR JHANELLE PORTER<br />
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER/U.S.A. WENDY GILCHRIST<br />
ACCOUNT MANAGER MARIA FAMA VIECILI<br />
ACCOUNT MANAGER ELENA OSINA<br />
ACCOUNT MANAGER CHERYLL SAN JUAN<br />
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT DANNA SMITH<br />
CIRCULATION PUBLICATION PARTNERS<br />
CONTROLLER DANIELA PRICOIU<br />
ADVISORY BOARD<br />
CARA OPERATIONS KEN OTTO<br />
CRAVE IT RESTAURANT GROUP ALEX RECHICHI<br />
FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED NICK PERPICK<br />
FHG INTERNATIONAL INC. DOUG FISHER<br />
FRESHII MATTHEW CORRIN<br />
JOEY RESTAURANT GROUP BRITT INNES<br />
KATIE JESSOP REGISTERED DIETITIAN KATIE JESSOP<br />
LECOURS WOLFSON LIMITED NORMAN WOLFSON<br />
WELBILT JACQUES SEGUIN<br />
SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM MANAGEMENT,<br />
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH BRUCE MCADAMS<br />
SENSORS QUALITY MANAGEMENT DAVID LIPTON<br />
SOTOS LLP JOHN SOTOS<br />
SOUTH ST. BURGER CO. JAY GOULD<br />
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS JUDSON SIMPSON<br />
THE MCEWAN GROUP MARK MCEWAN<br />
UNILEVER FOOD SOLUTIONS NORTH AMERICA GINNY HARE<br />
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Published 11 times per year by Kostuch Media Ltd.,<br />
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MONTHLY NEWS AND UPDATES FOR THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY<br />
LOCAVORES UNITE<br />
Local Food Innovation Symposium touts<br />
benefits of local-food systems<br />
BY ANDREW COPPOLINO<br />
LOCAL LEARNING The Local Food Innovation Symposium was a chance for<br />
experts and foodservice operators to brainstorm about local initiatives<br />
With a promise to<br />
encourage connections<br />
and discussion<br />
in support<br />
of building and<br />
sustaining robust, resilient local-food<br />
systems, the Local Food Innovation<br />
Symposium at the University of<br />
Guelph represented a broad range of<br />
ideas about “local” for foodservice<br />
operators to consider.<br />
Trends, millennials, new food<br />
models, authenticity in marketing and<br />
food security were only a few of the<br />
topics covered at the symposium, cohosted<br />
by Gordon Food Service (GFS)<br />
and the University of Guelph in<br />
October. The event saw participants<br />
take in “Trends, Tips & Motivations to<br />
Localize,” presentations from Ontario<br />
local-food leaders, academics and<br />
researchers. There were also displays<br />
of local ingredients and a panel of<br />
chefs — moderated by Anita Stewart,<br />
The<br />
planet<br />
will need<br />
to produce<br />
70<br />
per<br />
cent<br />
more<br />
food<br />
than we<br />
do now<br />
to feed<br />
humanity<br />
by<br />
2050<br />
the University of Guelph Food<br />
Laureate — discussing “good-food”<br />
innovations and best practices.<br />
Look up — way up.<br />
Vertical farming is gaining popularity<br />
in Ontario. The practice of producing<br />
food in vertically stacked layers, vertically<br />
inclined surfaces and/or integrated<br />
into existing structures will,<br />
in the future, contribute to an<br />
increase in local food — and more of<br />
it year round.<br />
Gregg Curwin, CEO of GoodLeaf<br />
Farms in Nova Scotia, stated the need<br />
for new local-food models, citing<br />
food scarcity, growing populations,<br />
more chemicals required to grow food<br />
efficiently, a decline in food quality<br />
as well as consumer concern for good<br />
health and proper nutrition.<br />
Vertical farming systems — including<br />
the 50,000-sq.-ft. facility currently<br />
planned for the Guelph area — “are<br />
here to stay,” Curwin said. “The health<br />
demand is powerful.” The systems<br />
are a “suite of technologies,” including<br />
LED lighting, mechatronics and<br />
robotics, seed genomics (with no<br />
spray and no GMOs), and a smorgasbord<br />
of data.<br />
Sobering comments from professor Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute and Research Chair in<br />
Global Food Security at University of Guelph, stressed local food has to be set within a context of global food<br />
security. He cited calculations that the planet will need to produce 70 per cent more food than we do now<br />
to feed humanity by 2050. He also stated that climate change and “weird weather” will define foods and<br />
flavours in the future. Finally, he stressed the sad truth that while we grow a lot of food, we also waste a lot.<br />
TRINA KOSTER PHOTOGRAHPY [LOCAL FOOD INNOVATION SYMPOSIUM]; iSTOCK.COM/THANAPHIPHAT [GLOBE ILLUSTRATION]; ISTOCK.COM/PONKRIT [GLOBAL VEGETABLE INFOGRAPHIC]<br />
4 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
HUMBER COLLEGE [HUMBER STUDENTS]<br />
It’s a heavy capital investment,<br />
but one that means local food, which<br />
captures and re-deploys carbon at the<br />
same time it enhances phytochemical<br />
nutrition, maximizes yield, boosts food<br />
quality and safety and tastes good.<br />
Authenticity and marketing<br />
Food-and health-marketing specialist<br />
Isabelle Marquis said the term ‘local’<br />
has a broad definition that allows for<br />
“creativity” for foodservice operators.<br />
It covers where food is grown<br />
(from zero to 100 kilometres), how<br />
it’s prepared and by whom and what<br />
ingredients it’s made with. Despite the<br />
capacity of the definition, Marquis<br />
stressed “authenticity” must prevail<br />
and corporate values must reflect<br />
an understanding of “local,” values,<br />
including supporting local organizations,<br />
reducing carbon footprints,<br />
peak freshness and flavour and the<br />
ability to offer unique products.<br />
“However, words and values don’t<br />
drive sales alone,” Marquis said, pointing<br />
to the need to pay attention to the<br />
“human factor” with both customers<br />
and staff.<br />
Today’s consumers are looking<br />
for convenience and healthy choices,<br />
according to Asad Amin, vice-president,<br />
Marketing, for Ipsos Canada.<br />
In discussing how local “fits in,”<br />
Amin presented simple socio-economic<br />
factors that are driving foodconsumer<br />
customers. Convenience<br />
in dining and food purchasing is<br />
paramount, but there are marked<br />
increases in “food exploration and<br />
experiences,” he said, adding, “these<br />
are increasingly important.”<br />
Consumption factors range from<br />
the growing farm-to-table experience;<br />
the decline of meat protein and nonmeat<br />
protein consumption in vegetarian<br />
and flexitarian diets; “mindful<br />
eating” and serving millennials —<br />
30 per cent of whom say local is critical<br />
to them when seeking food and<br />
restaurant experiences. They want<br />
fresh, local and organic food and they<br />
seek information about it through<br />
social media.<br />
RESTO BUZZ<br />
Gooseneck Hospitality’s latest<br />
project — Bells and Whistles — has<br />
opened in Vancouver’s Fraserhood/<br />
Cedar Cottage district. The beer hall<br />
and casual-dining concept features a<br />
3,000-sq.-ft dining room and seating<br />
for 150 guests. The beer hall offers a<br />
full bar, approachable menu and an<br />
interactive table-games room with<br />
complimentary happy hour from 2<br />
to 5 p.m…Chef Patrick Kriss and the<br />
Alo team have launched a casual<br />
Bar Buca spinoff of the popular Toronto finedining<br />
restaurant. Located on the<br />
ground level of the same building that houses Alo, Aloette boasts a modern diner atmosphere and a noreservations<br />
policy. The restaurant’s menu offers simpler food that is more accessible and budget friendly<br />
than its fine-dining sister — with no overlapping offerings…King Street Food Company is expanding the Buca<br />
brand to the Yonge-and-Eglinton and Yonge-and-St. Clair communities. The new locations will be helmed<br />
by chef Rob Gentile, who will design and curate the food program…Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B)<br />
launched its Canadian-inspired restaurant, Shift, at Saskatoon’s newly opened Remai Modern museum of<br />
modern and contemporary art. The restaurant is led by husband-and-wife duo, executive chef Jonathan<br />
Harris and chef de cuisine Suyeon Myeong. The pair bring a keen awareness of the importance of seasonal<br />
ingredients and plan to update the menu frequently in order to highlight the ever-changing conditions and<br />
unique bounties of the region.<br />
Opening a new restaurant? Let us in on the buzz<br />
Send a high-res image, menu and background information about the new establishment to tvenetis@kostuchmedia.com.<br />
CAREER KICK-START<br />
Humber College has introduced new certificate<br />
programs, designed for students who want to<br />
explore unique routes in the hospitality and<br />
foodservice industry. New course offerings<br />
include the Active & Healthy Senior Living<br />
Operations Certificate and Food Service<br />
Operations Certificate programs. The Active &<br />
Healthy Senior Living Operations program is<br />
ideal for those who already work<br />
in the senior living industry and<br />
want to increase their level of<br />
responsibility, or those who work<br />
in a related industry and want<br />
to shift their career paths. In<br />
addition to covering areas such as<br />
finance, operations management,<br />
marketing and human resources,<br />
this program emphasizes<br />
senior wellness, recreation and<br />
nutrition. The course is designed<br />
for students who want to gain hands-on<br />
learning that will prepare them for work in the<br />
foodservice operations industry. The program<br />
branches out from the traditional restaurant<br />
route and also focuses on food trucks, catering<br />
and retail-store operations. It offers students<br />
right out of highschool, who may not be ready to<br />
commit to a full-time program, an opportunity<br />
to get their foot in the door and prepare them for<br />
further studies.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 5
TAKING THE REINS Effective Feb. 16, Susan Senecal<br />
will assume the role of president and CEO of A&W Food Services of<br />
Canada Inc. and A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund. Senecal will be the<br />
company’s first fully bilingual CEO, as well as the first woman in the role.<br />
Senecal succeeds Paul Hollands, who will retire as CEO after 37 years with<br />
A&W — 13 of which were spent as CEO. Hollands will continue as chairman<br />
of the board of A&W. “It has been one of my life’s great honours to<br />
lead such a wonderful enterprise that has been on the forefront of positive<br />
IN BRIEF<br />
enRoute has named Quebec City’s Battuto<br />
Canada’s Best New Restaurant. The 20-seat,<br />
400-sq.-ft. Italian diner is helmed by chef<br />
Guillaume St-Pierre. Similarly, small, chef-run<br />
spots nabbed second and third place — Canis<br />
in Toronto and Bar Von Der Fels in Calgary,<br />
respectively…After raising more than $35,000<br />
for Covenant House Vancouver’s Sleep-Out<br />
event last year, the Joseph Richard Group (JRG)<br />
increased its commitment to Lower Mainland<br />
at-risk youth by raising funds through its<br />
own company-wide Sleep-Out event, held in<br />
November…Monarch & Misfits has opened its<br />
first Sweet Salvation franchise in Dubai. The<br />
new location marks the Sweet Jesus brand’s<br />
first unit outside of Canada. Sweet Salvation<br />
Dubai will offer the brand’s signature chefinspired<br />
pimped-out soft-serve ice cream, as<br />
well as milkshakes and an assortment of hot<br />
and cold beverages…Cara Operations Limited<br />
has entered into a purchase agreement to<br />
acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Pickle<br />
Barrel Group of Restaurants. The transaction<br />
is anticipated to close by the end of the year.<br />
The addition of Pickle Barrel will expand Cara’s<br />
portfolio of restaurants further into shopping<br />
centres where — aside from New York Fries —<br />
Cara’s brands have limited presence. Pickle<br />
Susan Senecal<br />
change for our industry and touches the lives of millions of Canadians every single week,” says<br />
Hollands. “Susan has been a large part of the growth and evolution of the company, and I am<br />
truly delighted that she will assume the strategic leadership of A&W into its next chapter.”<br />
Barrel’s successful catering business also<br />
adds a new sales channel for Cara…JW Marriott<br />
Hotels & Resorts and Time Inc.’s Food & Wine<br />
have announced the inaugural Venice Food &<br />
Wine Festival, to be held on May 3 to 6, 2018.<br />
The three-day event will take place at JW<br />
Marriott Venice Resort & Spa, located on the<br />
private island of Isola delle Rose and will feature<br />
immersive epicurean experiences showcasing<br />
Italian cuisine, wine and spirits — with a focus<br />
on the local Veneto tradition.<br />
PEOPLE<br />
François-Xavier Pilon has been appointed<br />
to the role of vice-president, Finance for<br />
Sportscene Group Inc. Pilon joined Sportscene<br />
Group in 2014, first as director, then as senior<br />
director, Financial Performance and Technology.<br />
He has also acted as interim vice-president,<br />
Finance…Mark G. Pacinda has retired from<br />
his role as the president and CEO of Boston<br />
Pizza International Inc. (BPI) and resigned as a<br />
director and CEO of Boston Pizza GP Inc. — the<br />
managing general partner of Boston Pizza<br />
Royalties Limited Partnership — and as an<br />
officer of certain subsidiaries of BPI. Jordan<br />
Holm, currently the executive vice-president,<br />
Marketing and Communications of BPI, will<br />
succeed Pacinda as president of BPI and as a<br />
director and the president of Boston Pizza GP<br />
Inc…Ocean Wise executive chef Ned Bell has<br />
released his first cookbook — Lure – Sustainable<br />
Seafood Recipes from the West Coast — coauthored<br />
by food writer Valerie Howes. The<br />
cookbook boasts 80 recipes, featuring 40<br />
varieties of sustainable seafood, designed for<br />
home cooks.<br />
COMING<br />
EVENTS<br />
JAN. 19 - FEB. 4 Dine Out Vancouver Festival,<br />
various locations, Vancouver. Tel: 604-682-<br />
2222; email: lpavan@tourismvancouver.com;<br />
website: dineoutvancouver.com<br />
JAN. 25-28 Guelph Organic Conference, Guelph<br />
University Centre, Guelph. Tel: 519-824-4120<br />
ext. 56311; email: goclocal@gmail.com; website:<br />
guelphorganicconf.ca<br />
FEB. 15 CAFP TOPs Celebration and Fundraiser,<br />
The Boulevard Club, Toronto. Tel: 416-422-3431;<br />
email: toronto@cafp.ca; website: cafp.ca<br />
FEB. 25-27 2018 Restaurants Canada Show,<br />
Enercare Centre, Toronto. Tel: 800-387-5649,<br />
ext. 7469; email: theshow@restaurantcanada.<br />
org; website: rcshow.com<br />
MAR. 17-18 Manger Santé et Vivre Vert, Centre<br />
des congrès, Quebec City. Tel: 438-405-8384;<br />
email: contact@expomangersante.com;<br />
website: expomangersante.com<br />
MAR. 23-24 Manger Santé et Vivre Vert, Palais<br />
des congrès, Montreal. Tel: 438-405-8384;<br />
email: contact@expomangersante.com;<br />
website: expomangersante.com<br />
FOR MORE EVENTS VISIT<br />
http://bit.ly/FHevents<br />
SUPPLY SIDE<br />
Collingwood Whisky has released the first<br />
instalment in its The Town Collection —<br />
Collingwood Double Barreled Canadian Whisky.<br />
The Collingwood Double Barreled Whisky<br />
features new tasting notes from its doublebarreled<br />
and extended maturation process,<br />
including notes of dry cinnamon, toasted oak<br />
and lightly dried orchard fruits…Chris Moreland<br />
is the new national director of Sales for<br />
Chesher Equipment Ltd., overseeing all regional<br />
Sales managers, directors and manufacturer’s<br />
rep agents. For the last year, Moreland has<br />
managed Chesher’s sales-management<br />
training program and is credited with<br />
expanding Chesher’s Ontario business, as well<br />
as providing culinary-development expertise in<br />
support of national accounts.<br />
6 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
COMPETITION COVERAGE<br />
PASTA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
Pasta<br />
PERFECT<br />
STORY BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
Leave it to an Italian pasta manufacturer to<br />
come up with the concept of a global pasta<br />
championship. In a country where pasta is a<br />
national obsession — and part of its culinary<br />
fabric — there are never enough pasta recipes.<br />
Barilla’s Pasta World Championship pitted 20<br />
young chefs from around the globe against<br />
each other to determine who could create the<br />
perfect pasta dish with the best new recipe.<br />
U.S.-based chef<br />
Accursio Lotà<br />
wins Pasta World<br />
Championship<br />
in Parma, Italy<br />
The sixth-annual competition<br />
got underway<br />
at Milan’s Palazzo del<br />
Ghiaccio and wrapped<br />
up in Parma at Academia<br />
Barilla — the international<br />
centre created by<br />
Barilla to spread awareness<br />
of Italy’s gastronomic<br />
culture worldwide. When<br />
all was said and done,<br />
Accursio Lotà, chef at<br />
Solara restaurant in San<br />
Diego, Calif., was crowned<br />
winner of the Barilla Pasta<br />
World Championship<br />
and presented with the<br />
Golden Tarella (die used<br />
to extrude pasta). Lotà,<br />
a native of Italy, won the<br />
two-day competition<br />
by beating out competitors<br />
from 15 countries<br />
(including Canada, which<br />
was represented by Joey<br />
Restaurants’ chef Connor<br />
Gabbott) and four continents<br />
with his “Seafood<br />
Carbonara,” an homage to<br />
the most celebrated and<br />
discussed pasta recipe.<br />
Lotà’s winning dish<br />
was a unique take on<br />
the traditional Italian<br />
recipe, featuring an explosion<br />
of baroque flavours<br />
and tastes of Sicily. The<br />
32-year old chef took the<br />
Carbonara concept and<br />
substituted the chicken<br />
eggs typically used in<br />
the recipe with seafood<br />
eggs. He then used green<br />
mandarins and red<br />
Mazara shrimps — classic<br />
ingredients from<br />
Sicily — to give the dish<br />
a Mediterranean flavour.<br />
As part of the dish, Lotà<br />
cooked seafood, scallops,<br />
red shrimps from Mazara<br />
del Vallo, cuttlefish and<br />
amberjack filet at a low<br />
temperature in guanciale<br />
fat to mimic the<br />
rich meatiness of pasta<br />
Carbonara, without eggs<br />
and dairy.<br />
Lotà, whose win was<br />
announced to thunderous<br />
applause from the<br />
audience said, “This success<br />
means a lot for me.<br />
It was so exciting to be<br />
chosen amongst the three<br />
finalists and winning has<br />
been amazing.” His dish is<br />
reflective of Lotà’s vision<br />
of the future of pasta. “I<br />
work abroad, but due to<br />
my Italian roots, pasta<br />
is already perfect in its<br />
simplicity. This is why<br />
the future of pasta, in my<br />
opinion, will be realized<br />
not only by reinventing<br />
pasta according to oneself,<br />
but by regenerating<br />
and reworking the classic<br />
accompaniments and<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 7
COMPETITION COVERAGE<br />
GLOBAL DOMINATION Competitors from around the world faced off for the title of Pasta World Champion<br />
sauces in new ways. This<br />
doesn’t mean destroying<br />
our traditions, but<br />
rethinking and reimagining<br />
both ingredients<br />
and techniques.”<br />
Lotà’s culinary journey<br />
began after graduation,<br />
when he was given the<br />
opportunity to work<br />
at the Four Seasons in<br />
Milan with Sergio Mei. At<br />
the age of 22, he moved<br />
to California where he<br />
had the opportunity<br />
to prepare a meal for<br />
President Obama. Today,<br />
he helms the kitchen at<br />
the Solare restaurant in<br />
San Diego, where he’s<br />
been selected Best Chef<br />
for the past three consecutive<br />
years.<br />
For Barilla, the<br />
140-year-old pasta<br />
company founded<br />
and headquartered in<br />
Parma, the Pasta World<br />
Championship is an<br />
opportunity to promote<br />
the popularity of pasta,<br />
the star product in its<br />
portfolio. According to<br />
Paolo Barilla, vice-chairman<br />
of the Barilla Group,<br />
“The Barilla Pasta World<br />
Championship has once<br />
again proven how important<br />
it is for promoting<br />
Italy’s gastronomic<br />
culture, the linchpin<br />
of which, is pasta. The<br />
championship rewards<br />
those that take our real<br />
cuisine abroad and was<br />
created to celebrate pasta<br />
and showcase its<br />
versatility, its ability to<br />
adapt to cultures and<br />
societies that differ<br />
greatly from one another,<br />
without losing its<br />
identity. In fact, pasta<br />
brings people together: it<br />
binds them and encompasses<br />
tradition and<br />
innovation alike.” FH<br />
The ABCs of The Barilla Group<br />
AT 140 YEARS OF AGE, the Barilla Group was born in Parma,<br />
Italy in a shop where pasta and bread were made. Today,<br />
the company is among the top food producers in the<br />
world, creating signature sauces in continental Europe,<br />
bakery products in Italy and crisp bread in Scandinavia.<br />
Barilla owns 28 production sites (14 in Italy and 14 abroad)<br />
and exports to more than 100 countries, including Canada.<br />
It produces 1,700,000 tons of food products annually, which<br />
are consumed the world over under the following brand<br />
names – Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Harrys, Pavesi, Wasa, Filiz,<br />
Yemina and Vesta, Misko, Voiello and Academia Barilla.<br />
The scale of what it does is “mind boggling,” as expressed<br />
by John Dickie, a British professor who hosted this year’s<br />
Pasta World Championship finals in Parma, pointing to the<br />
fact “it owns its own freight-train line to deliver the grains<br />
used in its production of pasta.”<br />
When the first shop opened in 1877, Pietro Barilla<br />
focused on making good food — today the company’s<br />
mission is “Good for you, good for the planet.” The company<br />
— now run by the fourth generation of the Barilla<br />
family — is committed to constantly improving its products,<br />
motivating consumers to adopt healthy lifestyles<br />
and improving food access. As part of that mandate,<br />
the company promotes sustainable supply chains and is<br />
intent on reducing the amount of CO 2 it emits, as well as<br />
the water consumed during production.<br />
Interestingly, while the fourth generation of the family<br />
is now at the helm, for a few years during the 1970s, the<br />
company fell out of family control. “In 1971, the company<br />
was sold by my father and my uncle, but it was repurchased<br />
in 1979,” Paolo Barilla told the audience of attendees<br />
at this year’s competion. He stressed the company’s<br />
mantra is to feed people what you would feed your own<br />
children. Barilla, who presented the award to this year’s<br />
winner, also stressed the importance of guarding tradition<br />
while acknowledging the importance of modernity. “We<br />
live in Italy and we’re proud of our country and our company.<br />
We are guardians of tradition but sometimes we get<br />
too lazy to look at the challenges. That’s our challenge —<br />
the adaption of tradition but the need to make it<br />
better.” And with that goal to make it better, the Pasta<br />
World Championship gives free rein to today’s young<br />
chefs to express themselves — to take an idea and offer<br />
a lot of solutions.<br />
And, if you think pasta is mired in tradition, think<br />
again. Barilla is working to dispel that notion with its<br />
BluRhapsody, a new exclusive 3D-pasta collection, born<br />
to impress both eyes and taste. The technology allows<br />
Barilla’s production team to use 3D printers to open up<br />
the future by creating new shapes. Three of those shapes<br />
were revealed at the dinner the night before the competition’s<br />
finale — Kalpis, with its amphora’s shape, Sphere<br />
and Salix. “We’re binding together contemporary technology<br />
with traditioon,” stated Barilla. “We’ve had shapes<br />
designed by tradition and we haven’t been able to design<br />
new shapes for some time. But with 3D, chefs will have to<br />
be the best interpreters of the future.”<br />
8 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong><br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
The Canadian Factor<br />
When Canadian chef Connor Gabbott<br />
decided to enter the Pasta World<br />
Champtionship, the Vancouver-basd<br />
product-development chef at Joey Restaurant<br />
did so for a couple of reasons. “I’m a very<br />
competitive person, so I initially entered<br />
purely for the challenge, plus I love pasta,”<br />
said Gabbott. As one of Joey’s development<br />
chefs, Gabbott and the test-kitchen team have<br />
been working on upping its pasta offerings<br />
“for a while now, so there’s been a lot of pasta<br />
cooking going on behind the scenes in the<br />
test kitchen. A lot of technique that went into<br />
my signature dish for the Barilla World Pasta<br />
Championship actually came out of the development<br />
of our new Pasta Pomodoro, which<br />
we just launched at select test stores.”<br />
As one of 20 competitors at this year’s<br />
pasta competition, Gabbott said his biggest<br />
challenge was timing. “We had exactly 60<br />
minutes; there was no window for error.<br />
I think a lot of chefs struggled with it; I know<br />
I could have used an extra two minutes at<br />
the end to put some finishing touches on<br />
my dishes.”<br />
The Canadian chef used his roots to<br />
develop a dish that represented sense of place.<br />
“I made a Canadian version of Wild Boar<br />
Ragu. I used a classic Neapolitan ragu as my<br />
inspiration and added some personal and<br />
Canadian touches. I’m very passionate about<br />
hunting and introducing friends and family<br />
to wild-game meat. It truly is the ultimate<br />
form of organic food and is a great renewable<br />
Canadian competitor Connor Gabbott<br />
from Joey Restaurant in Vancouver; (left)<br />
Gabbott executes his Canadian verson of<br />
Wild Boar Ragu<br />
Drake Commisary, Toronto<br />
Photography by Kayla Rocca<br />
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resource. Boar is something that lends itself<br />
very well to pasta and we have wild boar in<br />
Canada, so it seemed a fitting way to introduce<br />
people to it,” said the chef.<br />
“A traditional Neapolitan ragu has whole<br />
cuts of veal and pork cooked in the sauce.<br />
With the time constraints we had, I cooked<br />
my beef cut — chuck flat — in a pressure<br />
cooker. This reduced the time from two to<br />
three hours down to 35 minutes. I substituted<br />
wild boar in place of pork and presented it<br />
two different ways. I used a minced wildboar<br />
salami inside the sauce, just lightly<br />
sweated. With the salami being small, it isn’t<br />
super noticeable, but when eating the pasta<br />
it brings a great sour salami flavour to the<br />
sauce. Secondly, I made some wild-boar<br />
bacon crisps to garnish the top of my pasta.<br />
I brought all of the meat products with me,<br />
so it really was a Canadian ragu. The sauce<br />
was kept simple — a classic tomato sauce<br />
seasoned well with garlic, olive oil, salt and<br />
pepper. To garnish the plate, I made an olivewhipped<br />
ricotta for the plate and the top of<br />
the pasta was garnished with basil leaves,<br />
Calabrian chilies and a Quebec sheep’s milk<br />
cheese called Allegretto.”<br />
Though Gabbott didn’t place in the top<br />
three, he learned a great deal. “I learned a lot<br />
of new techniques; the competitors brought<br />
some great ideas. It was inspiring. But some of<br />
the biggest learnings about pasta came from<br />
my time practicing and refining my dish.”<br />
But the learning didn’t stop there. “I<br />
underestimated the level of food and talent<br />
that would be present at this competition. If<br />
I did it again, I would change the direction<br />
I took my dish in; bring more technical<br />
cooking aspects to my dish and push the<br />
boundaries of what a traditional pasta is. I<br />
went in focused on making a great classic<br />
pasta. Secondly, I made a decision during the<br />
middle of the competition to start cooking<br />
my pasta a couple minutes later than usual. I<br />
did this to make sure the pasta was nice and<br />
hot when it went to the judges. Looking back,<br />
it was the wrong decision; I should have stuck<br />
to the timing I had developed during my<br />
practice runs and used the extra time to refine<br />
the finished dishes.”<br />
Canadian competitor<br />
Connor Gabbott<br />
from Joey Restaurant<br />
in Vancouver<br />
Ultimately, he says, the learning was<br />
invaluable. Asked if he would compete again,<br />
Gabbott is unequivocal. “Absolutely. I’m not<br />
sure if Barilla takes competitors back two<br />
years in a row but I want redemption.” FH<br />
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FROM THE DESK OF ROBERT CARTER<br />
INNOVATIVE<br />
THINKING<br />
Are cannabis-infused drinks<br />
the next big thing?<br />
iSTOCK.COM/CREATIVE-FAMILY [CANNABIS DRINK]<br />
Micro-brew Share of Total Beer Servings<br />
18%<br />
21%<br />
17% 18%<br />
Total Canada Total West Ontario Quebec Atlantic<br />
In late October, Constellation Brands —<br />
the $42-billion company behind beer<br />
brands such as Corona and Modelo —<br />
announced it was betting on marijuana’s<br />
national legalization by agreeing to take<br />
a 9.9-per-cent minority stake in the $2-billion<br />
Canadian medical-marijuana company,<br />
Canopy Growth. The company, now known<br />
as Arterra Wines Canada, also announced<br />
plans to begin producing cannabis-infused<br />
drinks, which it could begin selling in Canada<br />
as early as 2019.<br />
While the announcement may have caught<br />
some people in the foodservice industry off<br />
guard, the company’s attempt to diversify its<br />
offering is exactly the kind of innovation the<br />
beer industry needs right now — especially<br />
when it comes to larger, multi-national brewers<br />
struggling to grow market share.<br />
With craft-beer showing the only significant<br />
growth within the beer category, the<br />
investment makes good business sense. The<br />
flood of micro-brews has helped to sustain an<br />
otherwise flat beer market — the micro-brew<br />
share of beer servings nationally has jumped<br />
from 12 per cent in 2013 to 18 per cent in<br />
<strong>2017</strong>, helping to expand total Canada beer<br />
servings by three per cent in the current year,<br />
according to NPD Group CREST data. And<br />
this increase in market share by independent<br />
craft brewers has<br />
come directly at the<br />
expense of the larger,<br />
multi-national players.<br />
Given the fact that<br />
gaining access to provincially<br />
managed liquordistribution<br />
networks can<br />
be a challenge in Canada,<br />
many of these craft brewers<br />
rely heavily on the foodservice<br />
industry to help distribute and<br />
market their products. That said,<br />
beer servings in foodservice have made a<br />
modest rebound over the last few years, especially<br />
in Western Canada, where micro-brew<br />
popularity is the strongest (see chart).<br />
As you might assume, volume is well<br />
distributed across all ages,<br />
however, the most influential<br />
group is younger adults<br />
aged 25 to 34. This group is<br />
now the largest and fastestgrowing<br />
cohort for beer.<br />
15%<br />
They are the most likely<br />
to order beer compared to<br />
other types of alcohol and<br />
are most likely to order<br />
micro-brews.<br />
The <strong>2017</strong> edition of the<br />
NPD Group’s Full-Service<br />
Restaurant (FSR) Dining Report confirms<br />
these consumption patterns are on-trend and<br />
expected to continue. Younger adults report<br />
enjoying the search for new and interesting<br />
food-and-beverage offerings when they dine<br />
out at FSRs. They’re also the most likely to<br />
be looking for local and Canadian offerings<br />
on menus — two notions that align well with<br />
micro-breweries. Conversely, these consumer<br />
preferences also make it harder for the larger<br />
multinationals to grow their share.<br />
Innovation has long been held up as a<br />
growth platform in a foodservice market<br />
struggling to add visits or grow real dollars.<br />
Meanwhile, consumers are constantly searching<br />
for restaurant brands that can offer experiences<br />
that are different and worthy of their<br />
food budget. An innovation platform that<br />
includes unique and adventurous offerings is<br />
an ideal way to stand out in an increasingly<br />
competitive market.<br />
This begs the question — could cannabisinfused<br />
beverages be the next big trend in<br />
the beverage and alcohol industry? For now,<br />
there are far too many uncertainties to know<br />
for sure; however, one thing is certain: innovation<br />
(in one form or another) is needed if<br />
the larger multi-national brewers plan to fend<br />
off the craft-beer assault. FH<br />
Robert Carter is executive<br />
director, Foodservice Canada,<br />
with the NPD Group Inc. He<br />
can be reached at robert.<br />
carter@npd.com for questions<br />
regarding the latest<br />
trends and their impact on<br />
the foodservice business.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 11
OUR INSTAGRAM WINNERS (from left) seasonal produce by @chefandrewevans; beetroot, daylily, Queen Anne’s Lace and wild rose by @chefbangerter; Canadian farmland by @eng<br />
Announcing the<br />
A CELEBRATION OF CANADIAN FOOD CULTU<br />
The Made-in-Canada photo contest has drawn to a close and we’re pro<br />
at this year’s Pinnacle Awards Gala held in Toronto. Throughout the y<br />
creative side by entering photos that reflect a typically Canadian them<br />
chefs, as well as quintessential Canadian restaurants. A big thank you to all<br />
OUR SPO<br />
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chack; brunch at @whatabagel by @wakeupeatthis; edible fried Maple leaves @canoerestaurant by @_alteredstate_; wild Pacific sockeye salmon with maple lentils by @cheftj80<br />
WINNERS of the<br />
RE THROUGH THE LENSES OF OUR READERS<br />
ud to present the winners, who took home Experience Canada grand prizes<br />
ear, Foodservice and Hospitality readers have been invited to tap into their<br />
e focusing on Canadian ingredients, products, menu items, Canadian-born<br />
of our contest sponsors for their support.<br />
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FOOD FILE<br />
Soups and<br />
sandwiches<br />
offer the<br />
perfect<br />
combination<br />
for healthconscious<br />
diners<br />
BY DENISE DEVEAU<br />
14 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
1<br />
3<br />
2<br />
4<br />
5 6<br />
iSTOCK/OZGUR COSKUN [TOP VIEW OF SOUPS, OPPOSITE PAGE]; AMY HO [ PORK JOWL BAO, RAILTOWN SMOKED-MEAT SANDWICH, MUFFULETTA]<br />
7<br />
8 9<br />
1. Railtown Café’s Muffuletta sandwich 2. Bowl of warm, seasonal flavours from Montreal’s Soupesoup 3. Breakfast sandwich from Pumpernickel’s 4. Soupesoup<br />
serves up classic Borscht 5. Ham and Swiss sandwich on ciabbatta at Soupesoup 6. Fragrant lentil soup from Montreal’s Soupesoup 7. Smoked-meat sandwich at<br />
the Railtown Café 8. Classic cream of broccoli at Soupesoup 9. Pork Jowl Bao from Heritage Asian Eatery<br />
The soup-and-sandwich combo has become a mainstay in the foodservice world. Some see it as a healthier option to<br />
heavier fast-food offerings, while others see a chance to explore different flavours and cultures. Others still have a<br />
hankering for classic combinations that bring back fond memories of family lunches.<br />
Though soups and sandwiches may seem like pedestrian menu items, they represent a wealth of opportunities for<br />
operators to apply their creative talents, whether they’re putting a new spin on a classic chicken-noodle soup or adding<br />
an ethnic flair to a pork sandwich.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 15
MC/TM<br />
A soup for all seasons<br />
The seasonal aspect of soup makes it an interesting menu offering.<br />
“Naturally, soup gains popularity in the fall and winter. When it’s<br />
a cold and rainy or snowy day, sales skyrocket,” says Tim Cuff, chef<br />
consultant with The Fifteen Group — a Vancouver-based restaurant-consultancy<br />
company.<br />
Soup has been a core business for Soupesoup in Montreal since<br />
it opened its doors 16 years ago. The restaurant offers a rotation of<br />
five to six soup options daily and the menu is updated seasonally<br />
based on the ingredients available, says Martin Trudel, president.<br />
Not surprisingly, 90 per cent of its sales take place during the<br />
lunch period. “Lunch is a time of day when people can disconnect<br />
and really enjoy a meal, but the time factor is important. They want<br />
a fast-paced option that’s healthy, rather than going for fast food or<br />
sitting an hour-and-a-half in a restaurant,” Trudel says.<br />
Soup is also the perfect way to balance the nutritional factor in<br />
meal planning, he adds. “You can pair a vegetable soup with a<br />
ham-and-cheese sandwich; or a hearty beef soup with a salad to get<br />
your protein.”<br />
With 200 soup recipes in Soupesoup’s library, there’s plenty of<br />
diversity. “People who come back several times want variety. They<br />
like to travel within a lunch menu and are looking for flavours of<br />
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Soup’s<br />
on<br />
Soup sales are growing,<br />
according to the latest statistics.<br />
The NPD Group data from August<br />
<strong>2017</strong> reports an increase of 1.6 per<br />
cent over the past 12 months, with<br />
the strongest growth in Western<br />
Canada and Quebec in the casual<br />
and mid-scale sectors.<br />
The under-35 age group is<br />
indexing lower, but starting to<br />
respond to new presentation concepts<br />
such as soup shooters, or<br />
pairings with artisan bread, cheese<br />
or beer, according to Sherrie Clark,<br />
brand manager, Campbell Soup<br />
Company of Canada in Toronto.<br />
“There’s an opportunity for operators<br />
to make soup more relevant<br />
for a sector that’s big on sharing<br />
when dining out.”<br />
With operators facing labour<br />
shortages, Clark reports a significant<br />
increase in pouch-format<br />
sales. “It’s a much easier solution<br />
for heating and serving. We’re also<br />
cleaning up labels on all frozensoup<br />
products as soup is seen as a<br />
healthier option.” (Technomic 2016<br />
data shows that 85 per cent of<br />
consumers would like restaurants<br />
to be more transparent about<br />
what is in their menu items).<br />
And don’t forget the garnish.<br />
Campbell’s own research shows<br />
adding a garnish can increase a<br />
soup’s selling price by upwards<br />
of 25 per cent. Examples include<br />
garlic chips, crème fraîche, horseradish,<br />
chives, cheese crumbles or<br />
tortilla strips.<br />
ON A ROLL<br />
Pancake Duck<br />
Roll from<br />
Heritage Asian<br />
Eatery<br />
the world. There are a lot of Asian<br />
and Indian influences in what we do.”<br />
In the case of high-end operators,<br />
soups are made from scratch and<br />
carefully considered, McDowell says.<br />
“Full-service operations are expected<br />
to have two soups. Upscale-casual<br />
[feature] more, since soup is often a<br />
first-course option.”<br />
Even with a classic such as chicken<br />
noodle, an upscale operator might<br />
make the pasta from scratch or make<br />
interesting shapes. “People want to<br />
know you made it,” says McDowell.<br />
At the Drake Commissary in<br />
Toronto, for example, chef de cuisine<br />
Jonas Grupiljonas’ chicken-noodle<br />
soup uses different flours — such as<br />
rye and caraway — for the noodles.<br />
For the most part, he prefers to prepare<br />
borscht and sour soups because<br />
they are more complex in flavour.<br />
The sum of its parts<br />
McDowell says the industry is seeing<br />
more well-thought-out, original<br />
sandwiches. But the appeal of sandwiches,<br />
beyond the taste and healthiness<br />
over other fast-food choices, is<br />
simple economics. “Customers don’t<br />
want to spend $30 on a full entrée at<br />
lunchtime. A sandwich made with<br />
freshly baked bread is always trend-<br />
iSTOCK.COM/PLOYCHAN [THAI NOODLE WITH PORK BALL IN BOWL, SOUP’S ON SIDEBAR]; AMY HO [ PANCAKE DUCK ROLL]<br />
16 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
FOOD FILE<br />
Sandwich<br />
fixings<br />
Sandwiches and<br />
soups are a blank<br />
canvas for chefs to<br />
get creative. Here<br />
are a few trending<br />
ingredients:<br />
ROOT VEGETABLES — beets are<br />
growing in demand alongside<br />
the usual carrots and parsnips<br />
Low-and slow-roasted meats —<br />
Whatever the cut, slow-roasted<br />
meats are becoming a highdemand<br />
menu option<br />
Porchetta – More chefs and<br />
consumers are rediscovering this<br />
traditional Italian salted boneless<br />
pork. Porchetta is roasted over<br />
wood and stuffed with garlic, rosemary,<br />
fennel and/or other herbs<br />
to add loads of savoury flavour<br />
ing.” He notes flavours such as mint,<br />
cilantro and rosemary are “hot flavours<br />
right now. People want [food]<br />
that pops with fresh herbs, aioli or<br />
a vinaigrette.”<br />
“In the past, sandwiches were just<br />
delicious and cheap. Now, they also<br />
need to be nourishing and healthy,”<br />
Cuff says. As such, top-quality<br />
ingredients are an integral part of<br />
the equation.<br />
When planning a sandwich menu,<br />
Cuff recommends operators look to<br />
the right sources, starting with the<br />
bread. “Find a good baker that makes<br />
good bread. That’s number-1.”<br />
A growing number of operators<br />
are looking for more traditional<br />
breads that use ancient grains and<br />
less-processed flours. “If you can get<br />
millet, flax, buckwheat or sunflower<br />
seeds, you get a great flavour profile<br />
and texture,” Cuff says.<br />
What goes on that bread is of<br />
paramount importance. When considering<br />
meat choices, Cuff suggests whole cuts. “If you have a whole<br />
chicken or beef-chuck roast you can get better flavour, moisture and<br />
texture.” Slow roasting is a great option for secondary cuts, he adds.<br />
“You get really flavourful meat that’s tender.” Cuff also stresses the<br />
importance of a good spread to hold it all together. “A garlic aioli is<br />
great because you can always do something unique with it,” he says.<br />
But, warns chef Dan Olson, of Railtown Café in Vancouver, operators<br />
have to be careful not to reinvent the wheel when it comes to<br />
sandwiches. “We don’t like to get too crazy. We focus on the ingredients<br />
first. “People are more educated when it comes to food and<br />
appreciate the quality of products where nothing is processed.”<br />
His menu is based on six proteins — beef, brisket, pork, chicken,<br />
turkey and salmon. He also offers a weekly special that plays on classics,<br />
such as an upscale version of Philly cheesesteak, meatball or<br />
Cubano sandwiches. The biggest seller, by far, is the chicken club on<br />
focaccia, he reports. “We also get a ton of demand for vegetarian and<br />
vegan sandwiches.”<br />
Every product is prepared in-house — from the bread and meat<br />
to the toppings and condiments. “We use our own rye bread for<br />
our Reuben, sourdough for smoked turkey and multi-grain for our<br />
salmon salad. The only thing we don’t make in-house is the glutenfree<br />
bread.”<br />
Railtown even makes its own condiments, including whole grain<br />
mustards. “We look for the perfect richness, sweetness and acidity to<br />
complement proteins without making the condiment the star attrac-<br />
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tion. Having 15 ingredients on a plate<br />
gets confusing.”<br />
The art of the sandwich<br />
Sandwich making has become an<br />
art form, says Soly Ziv, president of<br />
Toronto-based Pumpernickel’s. “It’s all<br />
about artisanal sandwiches made with<br />
high-quality bread and ingredients.”<br />
In response, Pumpernickel’s has<br />
introduced a line of slow-cooked roast<br />
beef and turkey sandwiches, as well<br />
as a porchetta sandwich and a selection<br />
of gourmet breakfast sandwiches.<br />
“These are becoming very popular, even<br />
beyond the breakfast hour,” Ziv says.<br />
“McDonald’s has already been doing it.<br />
Others, like us, are upscaling them with<br />
ingredients like truffle and basil and<br />
fresh bread.”<br />
Wraps are maintaining popularity,<br />
particularly on the catering side, he<br />
adds. “People don’t want messy food.<br />
Wraps are very neat compared to<br />
holding a big sandwich.”<br />
Felix Zhou, chef and co-owner of<br />
Heritage Asian Eatery in Vancouver, is<br />
doing his own variation on a traditional<br />
theme with his French/Asian-inspired<br />
bao sandwiches. “What’s really in right<br />
now is pork-belly bao with house-made<br />
kimchi.” The beauty of a bao, he says, is<br />
that it’s easy to hold, lighter in texture<br />
and relatively economical. “People don’t<br />
want to have salad all the time. [Bao] is<br />
tasty, reasonably priced and offers good<br />
value. And you can pull flavours from<br />
anywhere to make them.”<br />
Putting it all together<br />
McDowell believes simplicity is key<br />
when putting a menu together. “We<br />
recommend a 10-to-25 item menu;<br />
keep within those bounds. That number<br />
includes soups and sandwiches. Then<br />
you can put your focus on putting out<br />
high-quality products.”<br />
In addition, says Cuff, operators<br />
need to think carefully about the pairings<br />
when planning menus. “If you are<br />
offering a grilled-cheese sandwich, you<br />
have to have a tomato soup. It’s like a<br />
marriage. You can’t have one without<br />
the other.”<br />
He adds that quick-service restaurants<br />
tend to go for something familiar<br />
but interesting. “It has to be tasty.<br />
Quick-serve shouldn’t mean cheap; it<br />
should mean quality that can be delivered<br />
fast. You want good-quality tomatoes,<br />
garlic, onions and cream rather<br />
than a can of tomatoes in a blender.<br />
Anything you put in your mouth should<br />
have layers of flavour.” FH<br />
JELGER+TANJA PHOTOGRAPHY [PORK SANDWICH]<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
This year marks the 29th anniversary of KML’s celebration of the best in<br />
foodservice and hospitality. Our annual Pinnacle Awards honour companies<br />
that have demonstrated not only business success over the last year, but<br />
also shown their commitment to the communities in which they operate.<br />
The following pages tell the inspiring stories of this year’s winners.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 19
SLUG HERE
COMPANY OF THE YEAR<br />
NOTHING<br />
TO<br />
CHANCE<br />
Led by founder and CEO<br />
Scott Morison’s singular vision,<br />
Browns Restaurant Group<br />
dares to be different<br />
BY CHRIS POWELL<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY IAN McCAUSLAND<br />
CEO Scott “Scotty” Morison<br />
of Browns Restaurant Group<br />
IT DEBUTED 13 YEARS AGO with a name randomly<br />
selected from a phone book, but nothing in the Browns Restaurant<br />
Group (BRG) journey since has been left to fate.<br />
Today, the Vancouver-based company finds itself closing in on<br />
annual sales of $150 million, with several new additions to its flagship<br />
chain, Browns Socialhouse, on tap and a series of complementary<br />
concepts in various stages of development.<br />
Along the way, it has become a beacon for would-be franchisees<br />
attracted by an enticing combination of steady year-over-year revenue<br />
growth and a dining concept — premium casual — that analysts<br />
say possesses considerable upside.<br />
From its conception to its current success, the company’s<br />
course has been assiduously charted by its founder and CEO Scott<br />
“Scotty” Morison, a veteran restaurateur and a member of the B.C.<br />
Restaurant Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014.<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 21
PROUD TO BE A<br />
TOP 100 COMPANY<br />
It was the mid-2000s when Morison — one of the founding partners<br />
of the enormously successful Cactus Club restaurant chain in<br />
1988 — came up with the idea for a new chain of casual restaurants.<br />
Based on a smaller footprint (between 2,500 and 3,000 sq. ft.), it would<br />
be a cross between a restaurant and a neighbourhood pub; franchiseeled,<br />
not corporately owned; and the chain would target mid-sized markets<br />
such as Kamloops, B.C. and Moose Jaw, Sask. in addition to major<br />
centres. Most importantly, it would emphasize quality and a distinctive<br />
customer experience, best exemplified by a “snowflake” approach to<br />
design that ensured no two restaurants were alike.<br />
But, while Morison had a clear vision for this new company, he still<br />
didn’t have a name. Then he flashed back to a CNN interview with the<br />
founders of upscale U.S. steakhouse chain Smith & Wollensky — who<br />
revealed they arrived at the name by each flipping to a random page in<br />
the phonebook and choosing the first name they pointed to. Intrigued,<br />
Morison adopted the same approach — only to immediately inform<br />
his wife Elizabeth that he needed a do-over. The first name he pointed<br />
to has long since faded from memory, although Morison jokes that it<br />
would have likely required his new restaurants to offer a terrific matzoball<br />
soup.<br />
The second name he pointed to, “Brown,” had no such associations<br />
— essentially providing a blank slate upon which Morison could<br />
imprint his fledgling chain’s values and identity. “Browns didn’t mean<br />
anything, which is why I really liked it,” he says.<br />
More than a decade later, BRG means plenty to customers, employees<br />
and a growing list of would-be franchise partners all clamouring to<br />
be part of a success story that is still being written.<br />
BRG is forging a singular path in the premium-casual category — a<br />
format boasting a “long runway for growth” according to a 2015 report<br />
from U.K.-based research firm Euromonitor International.<br />
Browns Socialhouse has grown quickly — it now boasts 65 locations,<br />
primarily in Western Canada — while maintaining double-digit<br />
revenue growth and posting EBITDA typically more than double the<br />
industry average.<br />
The company plans to open 20 new restaurants in Western Canada<br />
over the next two years, while Ontario is very much on senior management’s<br />
radar. It currently has one corporately owned restaurant in<br />
Oakville, with a new location slated for Ottawa.<br />
Its continued business success is an undeniable factor in a terrific<br />
12 months that have seen it overhaul the Browns Socialhouse menu,<br />
the ongoing development of two new chains — including a pizza-led<br />
concept called Liberty Kitchen — and continued corporate socialresponsibility<br />
initiatives.<br />
Fittingly, for a career restaurateur, many of Morison’s decisions<br />
relating to BRG are based on a gut feel. He’s openly disdainful of what<br />
he calls the “paralysis-by-analysis bullshit” employed by Browns’ competitors.<br />
“We don’t believe that’s the nuts and bolts of the business,”<br />
he says. “If you can’t feel it and you can’t smell it, you don’t know<br />
what you’re doing. I don’t care what the spreadsheet tells you. [My<br />
approach] is more intuitive, but grounded in practical experience.”<br />
THE TOP<br />
100
“There’s really nothing<br />
that hasn’t been<br />
thought through or<br />
[is] done by chance,<br />
whether it be design,<br />
music, lighting,<br />
or service. Everything<br />
is well thought-out”<br />
SCOTTY MORISON<br />
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Morison is content to leave the cold, hard business numbers to a<br />
seasoned senior-management team led by his two trusted lieutenants:<br />
president and COO Scott Ward and executive vice-president, Business<br />
Development Bruce Fox.<br />
Morison’s personal focus, refined throughout his more than 30<br />
years in the business, is on creating a singular dining experience.<br />
“There’s really nothing that hasn’t been thought through or [is] done<br />
by chance, whether it be design, music, lighting, or service,” he says<br />
with a hint of pride. “Everything is well thought-out.”<br />
Case in point: Morison is personally involved in selecting every<br />
song heard by Browns Socialhouse customers, whether it’s a dinner<br />
playlist featuring a combination of Sergio Mendes, Pitbull and Stevie<br />
Wonder, or a late-night playlist boasting Queen, Keith Urban, Johnny<br />
Cash and Ray Charles. “I categorize it and decide where it goes and<br />
what time of day it plays,” says Morison, who is known for his habit of<br />
“Shazaming” songs that intrigue him so they can potentially be added<br />
to the playlist. “I always look for what I call ‘eater-friendly’ music.”<br />
He also keeps a series of binders overflowing with clippings from<br />
trade magazines around the world, which he uses as inspiration for<br />
everything from Browns Socialhouse’s light fixtures to its fabrics and<br />
floor coverings.<br />
“Scotty’s view of the business is ‘If you can see it, touch it, hear it,<br />
taste it or smell it, then he owns it,’” says Fox, who joined BRG in 2008<br />
after spending nearly 18 years as president of the franchise-development<br />
consulting business Catalyst Hospitality. “When you talk about<br />
attention to detail, he’s way down in it. It’s details, details, details.”<br />
One of Morison’s habits is walking through a restaurant, noting<br />
not just what customers are eating and drinking, but gauging the<br />
mood at their table and looking for the tell-tale signs that provide a<br />
window into their dining experience. If guests are wearing a coat, for<br />
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BROWNS SOCIALHOUSE<br />
restaurant . bar . socialize<br />
The trademarks that appear are the property of their respective trademark owners.<br />
example, the temperature inside the restaurant is probably too cold; if<br />
they’re constantly scanning the room looking for a server to take their<br />
order, then the service might not be up to snuff.<br />
“I call it ‘old-school restauranting,’” he says. “I haven’t looked at a<br />
check average for my business in 30 years — nor will I. For me, the<br />
metrics are, are my franchisees and customers happy?”<br />
Based on BRG’s <strong>2017</strong> numbers, they are. The company is on track<br />
for a record $150 million in system-wide sales this year, despite economic<br />
headwinds in key markets such as Alberta (where it operates<br />
18 restaurants) and a general downturn for the casual-dining sector as<br />
a whole.<br />
In July, BRG announced it had secured a multi-product loan facility<br />
from CWB Franchise Finance that will be used to consolidate and<br />
refinance existing corporate debt as it looks to grow its Western-<br />
Canadian footprint and readies itself for a long-anticipated move<br />
into Eastern Canada.<br />
Morison says he is heartened by the warm reception Western<br />
Canadian chains such as Moxie’s, Earls and Joey have received in<br />
Ontario and anticipates franchisee demand will be high in Canada’s<br />
largest province.<br />
“Everybody loves what [West-Coast chains] do, collectively, so<br />
we can’t wait for restaurant operators to discover us and say ‘I’d like<br />
to become part of your team.’ If we get the same foothold in Ontario<br />
as we did in the west, we’ll do it all over again; it’s going to be<br />
hyper-speed.”<br />
Fox says there’s an informal hierarchy within BRG as it relates to its<br />
expansion strategy: B.C. first, Western Canada second. The company<br />
views Ontario as a “completely new country,” he says, while any plans<br />
for possible expansion into Quebec and the Maritimes are “off in the<br />
distance for us.”<br />
Closer to home, a new team headed by culinary director Damon<br />
Campbell and culinary development chefs Michael Steh and Kristian<br />
Eligh, has retooled the Browns Socialhouse menu, introducing new<br />
items while retooling customer favourites such as pizza.<br />
“It took about three or four months [for the new culinary team] to<br />
calibrate, which was understood to be part of the plan, and they started<br />
to introduce flavours, ingredients and new techniques and have<br />
evolved the [menu],” says Ward, who joined BRG as VP of Operations<br />
in 2009 and is now just a little more than a year into his new role as<br />
president and COO.<br />
Campbell, who was previously executive chef at Bosk restaurant in<br />
Toronto’s upscale Shangri-La Hotel, says much of the acclimatization<br />
period was spent determining the abilities of the cooking teams across<br />
the Browns Socialhouse network, while simultaneously learning an<br />
entirely new customer base. “The goal remains the same — putting<br />
out delicious food — but I do think that you’re cooking for a different<br />
audience, at a different price-point, so that’s an adjustment,” he says.<br />
“You’re essentially learning your consumer all over again.”<br />
Campbell and his team have also worked its way through the menu,<br />
making a series of subtle tweaks and changes, such as the addition of<br />
a new Ancient Grain & Kale salad and a Chili-Lime Fish Sandwich<br />
made with Icelandic cod. They also started making the white sauce for<br />
pizzas in-house and have changed the dredge mixture for the Spicy<br />
Crispy Chicken sandwich and the tortilla shells used in the Crispy<br />
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Campbell is also keen to introduce what he describes as “more<br />
composed” entrée items. The process got underway in October with<br />
the addition of three sirloin-steak-based entrées and Campbell hopes<br />
to add additional cuts based on customer acceptance and how well the<br />
culinary teams adjust to the new cooking requirements. “Introducing<br />
steak is a whole other skillset for the cooks, so I don’t think introducing<br />
four different cuts at once is the way to go,” he says.<br />
Next year will see an emphasis on both entrées and bowls for<br />
the lunch crowd. While Campbell is wary of making any substantive<br />
changes to the #28 Dragon Bowl — the best-selling item on the<br />
Browns Socialhouse menu — he hints patrons could see a “2.0 version”<br />
of the popular favourite.<br />
From a business perspective, meanwhile, a carefully managed<br />
growth plan is very much front and centre. Browns Socialhouse<br />
recently opened its newest restaurant in Winnipeg, across from the<br />
MTS Centre, while the parent company is currently developing a new<br />
pizza-led concept, Liberty Kitchen, with the first location set to open in<br />
Surrey, B.C. next spring.<br />
BRG is also developing a third concept, called Browns Crafthouse,<br />
which Ward says will emphasize craft beer and cocktails, scratch cooking,<br />
et cetera. The new concepts are designed to complement the<br />
Browns Socialhouse model and, in some cases, will be situated in close<br />
proximity to existing restaurants.<br />
Fox describes BRG’s approach to franchising as “guided ownership,”<br />
designed to help its partners succeed in an industry where roughly<br />
60 per cent of all new restaurants fail within the first three years. He<br />
credits the high success of BRG restaurants to the company’s insistence<br />
on working with experienced restaurateurs; BRG, he says, is “ruthless”<br />
when it comes to selecting franchisees. Fox typically receives anywhere<br />
from five to 10 franchise inquires a week, with only three or four a year<br />
ultimately ending up as a franchisee.<br />
“Guests deserve it,” Fox explains. “How would we dare put a<br />
franchise in the hands of someone who doesn’t know the business<br />
and say ‘You can learn it at the expense of the customers?’ There’s<br />
no way.”<br />
Currently, the 65 Browns Socialhouse locations are in the hands of<br />
approximately 20 franchisees, many of who are keen to add to their<br />
portfolio. One franchisee group owns seven locations and is in the<br />
process of building three more, while another is at five and is building<br />
another five.<br />
“We’re headed for 100 restaurants through internal growth,” boasts<br />
Fox. “We don’t need any outside parties to come in — we have enough<br />
momentum within the system to get us to that mark.”<br />
Morison insists he will continue adding to the story that began<br />
more than a decade ago. “I still feel like I’m in the first chapter of<br />
what this company is going to be one day,” he says. “We’re just getting<br />
warmed up.” He’s adamant, however, that Browns will continue to<br />
forge its own path in a business defined by copycats and conformity.<br />
After all, it’s too late to start doing things by the book now. FH<br />
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REGIONAL COMPANY OF THE YEAR<br />
COFFEE 2.0<br />
Aroma Espresso Bar celebrates<br />
a decade of great coffee and<br />
even better food<br />
BY LAURA PRATT<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK WONG<br />
WHEN ANAT DAVIDZON was a student working toward her computer-science<br />
degree in Jerusalem, she would feed the effort with salads and sandwiches<br />
from a local coffee shop whose prepared-onsite cuisine she couldn’t resist.<br />
When she moved to Toronto to start on an MBA, she couldn’t bear the thought<br />
of leaving her discovery behind, so she decided to bring the shop with her.<br />
Aroma Espresso Bar — this year’s pick for F&H’s Regional Company of the<br />
Year — is an original purveyor of the twin fuels of modern life: coffee and goodfor-you<br />
eats. Its Ontario locations (44 by the end of <strong>2017</strong>), the majority of which<br />
are in the GTA, are bustling tributes to the stylish success story Davidzon — who<br />
co-owns the brand’s Canadian rights with Toronto financier Earl Gorman — and<br />
her team have cultivated for this Israeli organization’s overseas outpost.<br />
Ten years after Aroma opened its first Canadian location in Toronto’s Annex<br />
neighbourhood, Davidzon has just put the finishing touches on its 40th, in a bustling,<br />
bright, very urban corner-pocket in the shadow of the CN Tower, just this<br />
side of the Air Canada Centre. A gleaming stone floor offsets exposed ducts and<br />
brick walls adorned with framed food photos. At the front counter, a display case<br />
brims with bloated bureka and delicate alfajores — the famous caramel-cookie<br />
sandwiches from Peru. Customers here are a mixed bag, many having wandered<br />
in from a FanFest across the street, complete with superhero bodysuits and alien<br />
ears. But there are also families helping children tuck into fig-and-goat-cheese<br />
croissants and lentil soup, and road warriors reconciling laptops with fist-sized<br />
date pastries.<br />
Aroma’s wide-ranging Mediterranean-inspired menu has many highlights,<br />
including salads made with ancient grains most Canadians have yet to discover<br />
and sandwiches made with bread baked fresh onsite every day. Davidzon likes to<br />
tell a story about quinoa, and how, when Aroma introduced this now-pervasive<br />
rice alternative in 2008, she’d keep a bowl of it beside her at the counter, so she<br />
Anat Davidzon, managing partner,<br />
Aroma Espresso Bar<br />
26 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong>
could educate customers on its unfamiliar marvels. It was the same<br />
with kale, she says, and now with freekeh, an ingredient newcomer<br />
poised to be the next supergrain. “As a company, you need to have an<br />
innovative mindset,” she says of taking the lead on such novelties. “It’s<br />
got to be part of your values.”<br />
Along with bread, a raft of eclectic pastries (think Greek yogurt<br />
cherry danish and coconut-orange cake) are baked in the kitchen and<br />
everything is made-to-order — another distinction that separates<br />
Aroma significantly from its coffee-shop competitors, where food is<br />
wrapped in cellophane or has been sitting in a chilled plastic container<br />
for a day.<br />
Davidzon also decries the lack of ambiance on offer at many coffee<br />
shops. “I’d get a coffee and a sandwich and sit in the parking lot,”<br />
she remembers of her early Toronto coffee-drinking experience. It’s<br />
why she invested serious time and effort in her stores’ “modern look,<br />
slick design, comfortable seating and music.” Ten of the locations are<br />
licensed, with wine, beer and a Signatures drink menu with hot and<br />
cold drinks that can be spiked.<br />
Taken as a whole, these characteristics make up the “Aroma twist,”<br />
an approach to foodservice embraced by Aroma disciples that promises<br />
the unexpected. It’s including a hard-boiled egg on the avocado sandwich,<br />
for one. Or topping Moroccan-spiced chicken, black quinoa and<br />
brown rice with tahini yogurt (house-made, of course). At its heart,<br />
says manager of Marketing and Communications, Daniel Davidzon,<br />
the Aroma twist is applying techniques and ingredients that aren’t as<br />
common in North America as in Europe and the Middle East to foods<br />
from here.<br />
And then there’s the coffee, which isn’t just a critical ingredient in<br />
Aroma’s success, but a potential impediment to it. On the one hand,<br />
admits Daniel, the company struggled with the limitations the name<br />
imposed on the brand for the whiff it gave of being a coffee shop only.<br />
(A desire to, instead, showcase customers “eating huge salads out of<br />
ceramic bowls with real utensils” is what informs a franchise-design<br />
tenet that forbids papering the windows with posters.) The food-oblivious<br />
moniker, shrugs Davidzon, simply means “you have to invest a lot<br />
more resources in explaining what it is that you do.”<br />
On the other hand, says David Hopkins, president of restaurant<br />
consultancy The Fifteen Group, the coffee element of Aroma is at risk<br />
of being diminished by the company’s passionate emphasis on food.<br />
“Maybe they’ve got a huge coffee following that I don’t know about, but<br />
I know a lot of people who go to Aroma and it’s not for the coffee.”<br />
Ultimately, Aroma vies for consumer attention from both coffee<br />
shops and healthy-food purveyors, equally. Such extensive competition<br />
presents a tall order, says Davidzon, who admits to “waking at three<br />
every morning thinking about [my] challenges,” because Aroma has<br />
to tackle all the aspects of its competitors’ operations under one roof.<br />
“I have to train Jay to make the salad in this location and Tim to make<br />
the same salad in another.”<br />
The trick to ensuring that consistency, she says, is identifying qualified<br />
owner-operated franchisees, giving them tools and training, and<br />
CONGRATULATIONS!<br />
Kruger Products congratulates all those<br />
who have received recognition at the<br />
Foodservice and Hospitality <strong>2017</strong> Pinnacle Awards<br />
© <strong>2017</strong>, ® Registered and Trademark of Kruger Products L.P.
making them feel part of a family. When Semion Merzon opened his<br />
1,500-sq.-ft. Aroma franchise in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. in mid-<br />
2014, Davidzon, who was pregnant with her first child, came to the<br />
store on opening day to help. “She drove from Toronto, ran around<br />
the kitchen all day and worked shoulder to shoulder with me,” Merzon<br />
says. “She didn’t have to do that; there are a million other people she<br />
could’ve sent. It helped me a lot. I don’t know how it is with other<br />
franchises, but I wonder whether they have this connection.”<br />
Davidzon hastens to qualify Aroma’s competition as both doublebarrelled<br />
and non-existent. After all, there was a yawning absence of<br />
the type of concept Aroma loosed on the market when it launched in<br />
2007 — places where you could get high-quality espresso-based coffees<br />
and tasty, fresh-food offerings that went beyond a bagel and cream<br />
cheese. And it’s this combination, she contends, that continues to distinguish<br />
Aroma from almost everything else out there.<br />
“Outside of a few indie shops, it’s very difficult to find a full-service<br />
Italian espresso-bar experience where you can also have fresh, hearty<br />
food that’s made to order,” says Daniel, who is Anat’s cousin and joined<br />
Aroma in 2014. “You can go into Freshii and get an amazing bowl, but<br />
you’re not getting coffee there. Or you can go into Starbucks and have<br />
an amazing coffee, but your sandwich will be wrapped in plastic.” You<br />
bet, agrees Hopkins. “I can’t think of a concept that offers quality coffee<br />
as well as that level of quality of food offerings. They’re well set up<br />
for success because of that.”<br />
Still, Daniel acknowledges the landscape has changed since Aroma<br />
made Canadian landfall. “Now there are so many healthy-food places<br />
offering variations of the same thing that people can choose from.<br />
We’re aware of that.” But, he says, the company considers competition<br />
good for business because it ensures Aroma is on its toes.<br />
He points to the bowl trend and how Aroma sought to raise the bar<br />
with its Moroccan-Spiced Chicken and Grain Bowl, introduced as a<br />
temporary holiday item last year, but kept on in response to “phenomenal<br />
feedback.”<br />
Supporting the communities in which it operates has always been<br />
a key tenet of Aroma Espresso Bar, partnering with such diverse organizations<br />
as Children’s Aid Foundation, Unity for Autism, Baycrest,<br />
Women’s Brain Health Initiative, Lymphoma Canada, Lean In Canada,<br />
Mount Sinai Foundation and more.<br />
As for future growth, Aroma will continue to cultivate its growing<br />
catering program and “strategically open new locations in areas where<br />
we feel it will meet the customers’ needs.” The company is planning<br />
its first Vancouver store in 2018. But equally important to expansion<br />
is ensuring the current locations flourish inside the standards of the<br />
brand. “You have to create processes — and to execute, monitor and<br />
enforce them,” says Davidzon. “If you don’t, quality will be affected.”<br />
“We’re not done. There’s a lot more to do. People are more educated<br />
and they travel more. They care more about what they consume<br />
than they did 10 years ago. Whether or not we created that trend, it’s<br />
the reality. I hope we’re part of that. I hope that people get inspired<br />
by Aroma.” FH<br />
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SLUG HERE<br />
Donald Ziraldo, owner of Ziraldo Estate<br />
Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.<br />
and his son, Aspen<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD<br />
A RARE<br />
VINTAGE<br />
More than 40 years after<br />
starting his career as a wine<br />
producer, Donald Ziraldo<br />
remains the man who put<br />
Canadian wines on the map<br />
BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
DONALD ZIRALDO’S NAME IS synonymous with<br />
success. The 68-year old co-founder of Inniskillin Wines and<br />
now owner of Ziraldo Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake,<br />
Ont. has led a charmed life: he’s travelled the world, driven fast<br />
cars and rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous. But the<br />
gregarious entrepreneur will forever be known as the man who<br />
put Canada on the map as a producer of premium-estate wines<br />
and exceptional Icewines, as well as the country’s greatest wine<br />
ambassador. Along the way, the charismatic Ziraldo has garnered<br />
myriad accolades and awards, succeeding against all odds<br />
with uncharacteristic Canadian panache and flair.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 31
“The advantage<br />
of Icewine was<br />
it was Canadian<br />
and people<br />
could understand<br />
how a cold<br />
country like<br />
Canada could<br />
produce it”<br />
DONALD ZIRALDO<br />
Born in St. Catharines, Ont. to Fiorello and Irma Ziraldo, the eldest<br />
of three boys was raised in a close-knit Italian family in Niagara-onthe-Lake,<br />
where his father owned Ziraldo Farms & Nursery. When his<br />
father suddenly passed away when Donald was only 15, the teenager<br />
assumed increased responsibility on the farm and in the nursery. It<br />
wasn’t surprising he ended up enrolling in the agricultural college at<br />
the University of Guelph where he earned a BSc in Agriculture in 1971.<br />
It was a chance encounter with Karl Kaiser — a former teacher and<br />
Austrian immigrant who happened to show up at Ziraldo Nursery one<br />
day looking to buy some European grape varieties to make homemade<br />
wine — that spurred a chain of events culminating in the two men<br />
revolutionizing the Canadian wine scene.<br />
“Karl came to the nursery to buy hybrid vines,” recalls Ziraldo. At<br />
the time, most of the wines produced in Canada were made from the<br />
indigenous Labrusca vines — the same ones that produce Concord<br />
grapes. “He didn’t want those vines because they produced a sweet,<br />
foxy taste,” characteristic of much of the wines produced in Canada<br />
at that time. Kaiser had heard that Ziraldo had been experimenting<br />
with winter-resistant, hardy hybrids and propagating them in his family’s<br />
nursery for several of the area’s wineries, including Brights and<br />
Château-Gai. After buying the Friulan vines, Kaiser eventually returned<br />
with a sample of the wine he made from them for Ziraldo to taste. One<br />
thing led to another, with Kaiser ultimately proposing, “Why don’t I<br />
make it and you sell it?”<br />
It was the beginning of a relationship that would give rise to a new<br />
appreciation for Canadian winemaking. But it didn’t come without<br />
challenges. The duo approached the LCBO for a winery license, which<br />
had not been given out in Ontario since 1929. Persistence and determination<br />
fuelled the young Ziraldo, who found a friend and a mentor in<br />
General George Kitching, then head of the LCBO, who even provided<br />
Ziraldo with barrels to age the wines. “There was no grand plan,”<br />
recalls Ziraldo. “I was busy working seven days a week with my mom<br />
and two brothers but it seemed like a good idea.”<br />
It wasn’t until the duo produced their first wine, a Maréchel Foch,<br />
which placed first in a wine competition, that the partners realized<br />
they were on to something. The wine was produced from vinifera<br />
vines and Ziraldo and Kaiser were counting on being the first winery<br />
to introduce the varietal. But, a month before they planned to launch<br />
their wine, a TV commercial aired featuring Château-Gai’s Paul Bosc<br />
Sr., extolling the virtues of the first Maréchal Foch, and pre-empting<br />
Ziraldo and Kaiser. The partners were devastated. “Luckily,” recalls<br />
Ziraldo, “they produced so little of it, they ran out quickly, forcing consumers<br />
to buy our Inniskillin product. I always thank Paul Bosc Sr. for<br />
getting us started,” laughs Ziraldo.<br />
With Kaiser as the consummate winemaker — experimenting<br />
with varietals such as Riesling, Chardonnay and Gamay — and<br />
Ziraldo the astute marketer and voice of the fledgling company,<br />
Inniskillin not only succeeded, it thrived based on the partners’ philosophy<br />
that only premium grapes could produce premium wines.<br />
“We refused to do anything that was mediocre. Our dream was to<br />
make world-class wines.”<br />
“Finding a place for the table wines was a real struggle,” admits<br />
Ziraldo. In fact, it wasn’t until the company introduced wines produced<br />
from frozen grapes on the vine that success really took hold. “It<br />
was Karl’s idea and I thought it was the dumbest idea — I told him he<br />
was drinking too much of his own wine,” quips Ziraldo. “What is this<br />
frozen wine you’re talking about?” But Kaiser was right on the money,<br />
evidenced by Inniskillin’s strong showing in Bordeaux in 1989 and<br />
its momentous win in 1991 when it was awarded gold at VinExpo in<br />
Bordeaux and the Grand Prix d’honneur for its Vidal Icewine. “We got<br />
a lot of play from that,” says Ziraldo. “There was a real wow factor with<br />
the Icewine. You couldn’t go wrong. The advantage of Icewine was it<br />
was Canadian and people could understand how a cold country like<br />
Canada could produce it,” explains Ziraldo.<br />
At the time, it was unheard of for a Canadian wine to gain that kind<br />
of international acclaim. It was also unheard of for a Canadian wine<br />
company to market itself so well. “We came back to Niagara and all<br />
of a sudden we had double-decker busloads of Japanese tourists buying<br />
armfuls of the Icewine to bring back home. It grew from there. We<br />
were at the right place at the right time,” he says, pointing to the strong<br />
team that helped him. While it surprised even Ziraldo, he was astute<br />
enough to recognize the potential of the product and the power of the<br />
niche market they were creating.<br />
He was also one of the first wine producers to understand the<br />
importance of targeting restaurants. “I discovered sommeliers and they<br />
became our personal ambassadors,” recalls Ziraldo. “If they like your<br />
wine, they recommend it and the third-party endorsements are better<br />
than anything else.”<br />
Ziraldo’s influence on the Canadian wine industry goes well beyond<br />
32 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
THE TOP<br />
100<br />
PROUD TO BE A<br />
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“I’ve always felt<br />
that I was put on<br />
this earth to do<br />
something… To<br />
be able to use the<br />
platform to allow<br />
people to get over<br />
skepticism that<br />
we couldn’t<br />
produce wines<br />
in a cold nation<br />
has been amazing”<br />
DONALD ZIRALDO<br />
his role at Inniskillin. He founded and chaired for seven years the<br />
Vintner’s Quality Alliance (VQA) — a legislated wine authority that<br />
produces a stringent code of regulations for Canadian-produced<br />
wines and ensures the premium quality and origin of Canadian<br />
wines. In the process, he helped raise the country’s profile as a wineproducing<br />
nation. He was also instrumental in creating the Cool<br />
Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute at Brock University, where<br />
he was its first co-chair — helping to solidify Niagara as an innovative<br />
cool-climate region. Bringing the marriage of food and wine together,<br />
Ziraldo also chaired the capital campaign for the Canadian Food and<br />
Wine Institute at Niagara College.<br />
Along the way, he’s received many distinctions. In 1998, he was<br />
awarded the Order of Canada for his role in promoting Canadian<br />
wines and received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Brock<br />
University. Additionally, he was voted one of the Top 25 Entrepreneurs<br />
of the 20th century in Canada by the National Post. “To be acknowledged<br />
by Canada is a true honour and to be voted amongst the Top 25<br />
CEOs, with 24 other men that I admire, is incredible,” says Ziraldo. In<br />
2004, Ziraldo was conferred Honorary Citizen of Fagagna, his father’s<br />
hometown in Fruili, Italy, where the dynamic businessman also owns<br />
a vineyard growing Picolit grapes. But he’s particularly proud that<br />
being a wine producer has given him a platform to do something<br />
significant. “I’ve always felt that I was put on this earth to do something…To<br />
be able to use the platform to allow people to get over<br />
skepticism that we couldn’t produce wines in a cold nation has been<br />
amazing.”<br />
Ziraldo’s work has been groundbreaking. According to iconic<br />
restaurateur Franco Prevedello, “Ziraldo is the real pioneer of<br />
the now great Canadian wine industry. Donald is the Canadian<br />
Robert Mondavi.”<br />
Though Ziraldo left Inniskilllin in 2006 after Constellation Brands<br />
acquired the company, he quickly realized retirement wasn’t for him.<br />
By 2007, he was back planting a new vineyard on the site of the original<br />
Inniskillin estate winery and, a year later, he launched Ziraldo<br />
Estate Winery, where, after much research, he’s turned his focus to<br />
organic and biodynamic wines and his attention to Riesling Icewine.<br />
Not surprisingly, the accolades continue. Earlier this year — 27 years<br />
after Inniskillin’s great win at Bordeaux — Ziraldo Estate Winery<br />
garnered the “Best-of-the-Best” Special Award for its Riesling Icewine<br />
from the Citadelles du Vin at Bordeaux’s VinExpo wine show.<br />
He also managed to find time to manage the Senhora Do Convento<br />
port winery in Portugal. As fate would have it, while managing the<br />
winery he met Victoria Gilbert, a documentary-film producer. In<br />
2012, they married and she became a partner in his business, as<br />
well as mother to their four-year old son, Aspen, named after the<br />
city where Ziraldo spent so much time indulging in his other<br />
passion — skiing.<br />
As someone who helped Canada develop its wine industry, Ziraldo<br />
is gratified to witness first-hand the growth in the Niagara region,<br />
where more than 150 wineries now dot the landscape, as well as in<br />
Canada, which now boasts a total of 500 wineries. But he’s frustrated<br />
that Canadian wines haven’t grown as much internationally, pointing<br />
to other, smaller wine-producing nations such as New Zealand —<br />
with a population of 4.7 million compared to Canada’s 35 million —<br />
as an example of a new-world wine producer that has achieved great<br />
success internationally. He hopes the next generation of winemakers<br />
will help remedy that.<br />
For now, he’s happy to share his industry knowledge, to serve<br />
as a mentor to the next generation of wine producers and to pay it<br />
forward. “I want to encourage and support young people and young<br />
winemakers,” says the man who paved the way.<br />
And, while Ziraldo Estate Winery keeps him busy doing what he<br />
does best, these days, he’s deriving the most joy from experiencing<br />
fatherhood for the first time at a later stage of his life. “I’m so blessed<br />
to have Victoria in my life. She’s allowed me to live life backwards.<br />
She’s a phenomenal mom and I’m enjoying helping to raise my son.<br />
I’m now happiest when working in my vineyards, with my son by<br />
my side.”<br />
Fittingly, he’s come full circle, raising his son on the same tract<br />
of land where he achieved so much success with Inniskillin and not<br />
too far from the farm where he himself was raised. “Who knows” he<br />
says with a tinge of pride in his voice, “maybe someday, instead of<br />
being a ski bum or a scuba diver, my son might want to be in the<br />
wine industry.” FH<br />
34 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
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INDEPENDENT RESTAURATEUR OF THE YEAR<br />
PURSUING<br />
PASSION<br />
Janet Zuccarini continues<br />
to define neighbourhood<br />
dining in Toronto and beyond<br />
BY DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK WONG<br />
TWENTY-SOME YEARS AGO, Janet Zuccarini was<br />
unexpectedly faced with an opportunity to take over a prime<br />
restaurant location in downtown Toronto — an opportunity that<br />
ultimately led her to move back to her native city, launched her<br />
career as a restaurateur and laid the foundation for the Gusto 54<br />
Restaurant Group.<br />
Despite opening her first restaurant, Cafe Nervosa (later<br />
renamed Trattoria Nervosa), in 1996, Zuccarini officially launched<br />
the restaurant group — of which she is owner and CEO — in<br />
2015 to encompass her growing roster of restaurant and hospitality<br />
ventures. Gusto 54’s portfolio currently includes five Toronto<br />
restaurants (including two with partners Jeff and Nuit Regular), a<br />
catering and commissary division and a recent expansion into the<br />
U.S. market with the opening of a restaurant in Venice, Calif. The<br />
company, which boasts more than 400 employees, recorded gross<br />
36 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
Janet Zuccarini, owner/CEO,<br />
Gusto 54 Restaurant Group
evenues of approximately $23.7 million in 2016.<br />
As the daughter of an equipment importer who supplied foodservice<br />
operations with espresso machines and other equipment,<br />
Zuccarini had one foot in the restaurant industry at a young age.<br />
However, she never thought this was the industry she would end<br />
up in.<br />
It was while visiting Toronto for a friend’s wedding — after moving<br />
to Italy where she received an MBA from Boston University in<br />
Rome — that her entrepreneurial journey began. “I wasn’t planning<br />
on moving back to Toronto, but that location [in Yorkville] became<br />
available and [I met with] my two partners…literally two weeks later,<br />
I was in the restaurant business,” she recalls. “It fell in my lap and, at<br />
that moment, I didn’t realize that this is absolutely my passion. I am<br />
really fortunate. I always knew I would work for myself, but I didn’t<br />
know what that [business] would be.”<br />
When Trattoria Nervosa — which focuses on home-cooked<br />
Southern Italian food — launched, Zuccarini had two partners and<br />
was leasing the space. Over the course of the restaurant’s first five<br />
years of operation, she bought out her two partners and began focusing<br />
on saving enough money to purchase the building that housed the<br />
restaurant when its 10-year lease ended. “I thought it was, strategically,<br />
a very important move,” she explains. “People said I was crazy…<br />
I bought it over market value but, at that point, I felt secure — that’s<br />
when I started to be open to the idea of ‘what’s next?’”<br />
The Yorkville restaurant, which boasts 75 seats plus a 45-seat patio,<br />
remained her sole focus until 2012, when she opened another Italian<br />
concept in Toronto’s King West neighbourhood — Gusto 101. And,<br />
increasingly rapid growth continued thereafter.<br />
“As a woman, I will confess that I was making room in my life to<br />
get married and have kids. When I saw that things were maybe not<br />
going that way, that gave me more energy to put towards the business,”<br />
Zuccarini explains. “Gusto 101 was a test. When we opened and<br />
it was successful, my confidence grew.”<br />
She soon partnered with the Regulars to open Pai Northern Thai<br />
Kitchen in 2014; launched Gusto 54’s Catering and Commissary<br />
Kitchen, coinciding with the launch of the restaurant group, in 2015;<br />
and an online boutique under the Gusto 54 banner went live in 2016.<br />
Gusto 54 has seen several further additions over the course of the<br />
last year, including its second collaboration with Jeff and Nuit Regular<br />
(Kiin); the group’s acclaimed entry into the L.A. dining scene (Felix<br />
Trattoria); and the November launch of Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen.<br />
This year also marked Zuccarini’s debut as a judge on Food Network’s<br />
Top Chef Canada.<br />
“It’s only made possible because of the incredible team that I have<br />
behind me now. My life has gotten easier,” says Zuccarini, noting that<br />
the formation of Gusto 54 Restaurant Group really allowed for this<br />
level of growth. “I might be the visionary — figure out the concept,<br />
the chef and what the design is going to be like — then I have an<br />
entire team I can pass the ball over to. They then descend on it and<br />
plug in all of our systems and procedures. We [now] have a whole<br />
CONGRATULATIONS<br />
Chef Jason Bangerter<br />
<strong>2017</strong> PINNACLE AWARDS<br />
CHEF OF THE YEAR<br />
CONGRATULATIONS<br />
to Janet Zuccarini of<br />
Gusto 54 on her<br />
Pinnacle Award Win.<br />
Manufacturing over 100<br />
different pasta’s we can satisfy<br />
your every need and have<br />
you coming back for seconds.<br />
Quality is unsurpassed as we<br />
use only the freshest and best<br />
available ingredients with no<br />
preservatives.<br />
THE PASTABILITIES ARE<br />
ENDLESS!<br />
OUR<br />
to University of<br />
Guelph alumnus<br />
Donald J.P Ziraldo,<br />
C.M., LLD,<br />
Ziraldo Estate Winery,<br />
Recipient of the<br />
Rosanna Caira Lifetime<br />
Achievement Award<br />
The Pinnacle Awards<br />
<strong>2017</strong><br />
905-891-0510<br />
www.ajlanzarotta.com<br />
416-259-2902<br />
queenspasta.com<br />
www.uoguelph.ca<br />
38 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong><br />
AJLanzarotta_SSC.indd 1<br />
<strong>2017</strong>-10-26 SSC.indd 9:52 AM1<br />
<strong>2017</strong>-10-13 UniversityofGuelph_SSC.indd 11:17 AM<br />
1<br />
<strong>2017</strong>-11-09 2:43 PM
protocol for opening a restaurant and it gets easier every time.”<br />
Opening in L.A. was a bit of a gamble, but the 100-seat Felix<br />
Trattoria is already a roaring success, counting celebrities such as<br />
Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow among its regular patrons. It has<br />
collected numerous accolades — ranking at the top of a number of<br />
best-new-restaurant lists for the city and even the U.S. as a whole.<br />
“I had to create a parallel life [in L.A.],” says Zuccarini. “Toronto is<br />
easy to build on — we have our infrastructure already set. We had to<br />
assemble a whole new team out there.”<br />
This team includes chef Evan Funke — a maestro of handmade<br />
pasta. “I wasn’t going to go [to L.A.] and only find a chef; it had to be<br />
somebody who already had a following,” notes Zuccarini. “I couldn’t<br />
just go in there as this Canadian woman and open up a restaurant in<br />
L.A. — it had to be a triple-A address with a triple-A chef.”<br />
The menu at Felix features focaccia with sea salt and rosemary;<br />
squash blossoms stuffed with fior di latte and green garlic; pizzas; and,<br />
of course, pastas, such as Trofie with pesto genovese and pecorino stagionato<br />
and gnocchetti riposo with oxtail ragu and mozzarella.<br />
Despite a variety of concepts, Zuccarini’s vision of creating<br />
transporting dining experiences is realized in each of Gusto 54’s restaurants.<br />
And, it’s this mandate that will continue to shape and tie<br />
together the company’s future endeavours. “I want to keep moving<br />
forward in all aspects of the business — food, decor, service, music —<br />
we want [to offer] the full package,” the restaurateur explains.<br />
This package also includes Gusto 54’s culture, which focuses on<br />
developing its employees and leaders within the company and being<br />
an active member of the communities that support it. The company<br />
has put a focus on feeding and educating children and impoverished<br />
communities through campaigns such as Margherita Mondays, which<br />
donates $1 from the sale of Margherita Pizzas and Margarita cocktails<br />
to Breakfast for Learning and St. Paul’s Catholic School. It also<br />
donates funds to organizations such as the Children’s Aid Society,<br />
Food for the Poor Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.<br />
With her latest concept, Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen, newly<br />
launched in November, Zuccarini plans to turn her attention to<br />
expanding in L.A. However, Torontonians can still look forward to<br />
new projects already in various stages of planning, including the longawaited<br />
Gusto 501 and an extension of Pai, which goes by the working<br />
title Same Same.<br />
“I feel very strongly that the next move for us as a company will be<br />
moving into the fast-casual [market],” Zuccarini says. “We are quickly<br />
getting a name for Italian food and pasta in L.A. and North America.<br />
I would like to capitalize on the great press that we have been getting<br />
and the talent of Evan Funke and turn it into something that has the<br />
potential to scale much more easily.”<br />
Despite Gusto 54’s expanding footprint, and thanks to her headoffice<br />
team, Zuccarini remains free to revel in her passions, including<br />
travel and divining the company’s path into the future. “I can kind of<br />
work from anywhere in the world right now — I have a lot of freedom.<br />
And, I hate to say it, but ‘hashtag-blessed.’” FH<br />
CONGRATULATIONS<br />
to this year's Pinnacle Award Winners<br />
from your friends and family at Zuccarini<br />
1335 Davenport Rd. Toronto (416) 537-3439 www.zuccariniltd.com
SLUG HERE<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
CHEF OF THE YEAR<br />
LOCAL<br />
LEGEND<br />
Chef of the Year Jason Bangerter<br />
draws inspiration from his own backyard<br />
BY AMY BOSTOCK<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK WONG<br />
Chef Jason Bangerter,<br />
Langdon Hall<br />
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR chef Jason Bangerter, you’ll probably<br />
find him in his garden, foraging in the woods around Langdon Hall or visiting<br />
local farmers. The self-proclaimed locavore has a culinary philosophy deeply<br />
entrenched in the terroir of Canada and is renowned for his commitment to<br />
home-grown cuisine.<br />
“I’m passionate about food, ingredients and the beauty of the ingredients,”<br />
says Bangerter, executive chef at Langdon Hall Hotel & Spa in Cambridge, Ont.<br />
“At Langdon Hall, I’ve been very lucky to have such a wonderful space that has<br />
a garden, foraging on property and farmers that are just 10 or 15 minutes away<br />
with some of the best greens I’ve ever used.”<br />
This passion can be traced back to Bangerter’s childhood and summers spent<br />
with his grandparents in Nova Scotia. “My grandparents are amazing cooks.<br />
There was always something cooking and, when the tide went out, we’d run out<br />
and dig for clams. We’d bring all the beautiful harvest back and cook it in the<br />
front yard over a fire,” he recalls.<br />
At home in Ontario, “we would end up on a lake, fishing for pickerel and<br />
pike, learning to fillet and having these great feasts,” he says. “My dad’s sister is<br />
actually a bit of a gourmand and loves to cook. My first experience with classic<br />
French cooking, like escargot, was at her condo when I was maybe three years<br />
old.”<br />
But being a chef wasn’t on his radar. “I was on a ski trip and cooking for<br />
some friends. These guys said to me, ‘you should be a chef.’ And I laughed at<br />
them and said ‘why would I be a chef? This is what I do for fun.’ And that’s<br />
when it clicked.”<br />
So Bangerter packed his bags, left his job at a Penticton, B.C. ski resort and<br />
returned to Toronto where he enrolled in George Brown College’s Culinary<br />
Management Program. “I hit the ground running and that’s how it started.”<br />
It’s also how he met his mentor John Higgins, who led the kitchen at The<br />
King Edward Hotel. “After doing my research, [I found out] he was the top dog.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 41
I remember, it took me a good month to get an audience with this guy.<br />
I walked into the kitchen at The King Edward and it was just like that<br />
first scene in Ratatouille, with all these pots clanging, people yelling<br />
and flames.”<br />
Higgins encouraged Bangerter to pursue his studies and offered him<br />
the chance to work on weekends in the staff cafeteria. “From there,<br />
it just blew up. I fell in love with being at the hotel and being in the<br />
kitchen and I learned my job quickly.”<br />
Soon he started taking on jobs in other departments. “It got to<br />
the point where I’d finish a class and, if I had an hour break, I would<br />
just run across the street in my whites, join the kitchen and jump in<br />
anywhere. I’d work for an hour, then run back to my next class,” he<br />
says. “For the first year, I probably worked for free four days out of the<br />
week. And, for me, that was a huge bonus to my development. Kids<br />
coming out of the colleges were at the beginner level and, by that time,<br />
I was way further ahead — it was a great advantage for me.”<br />
Higgins continued to play a role as Bangerter’s career progressed.<br />
“He actually took me to help him, on several occasions, with the<br />
national culinary team and he gave me the opportunity to go to<br />
Europe for a short stint.”<br />
While he’s had a number of mentors along the way, including Anton<br />
Mossimann and Michael Bonacini, Bangerter says every person he’s<br />
ever worked with has inspired him. “I never think I’m better than anyone<br />
else so much that I can’t learn from them. And there are tons of<br />
macgregors F&S ad chef of the year.pdf 1 11/6/<strong>2017</strong> 9:54:14 AM<br />
other chefs that, indirectly, were an inspiration.”<br />
During almost a decade as a chef at Auberge de Pommier in<br />
Toronto, he constantly studied Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, Olivier<br />
Roellinger, Raymond Blanc, as well as Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller<br />
and Patrick O’Connell. “These chefs were a big inspiration,” he<br />
explains. “A couple of years ago, I won the International Rising Chef<br />
Award from Relais & Chateaux…All the chefs that I had looked up to<br />
were the ones that were handing me this award.”<br />
Bangerter says he still gets goosebumps just talking about it. “Now, I<br />
kind of feel like, okay, you’ve made it — these are colleagues now.”<br />
These experiences drove home the importance of mentorship in an<br />
industry Bangerter says can be cutthroat. “You can be humbled and<br />
learn something so important from a dishwasher,” he says. “Everyone<br />
has the opportunity to influence and inspire anyone in the kitchen.<br />
As you grow and develop in this career — and get to the point where<br />
you’re in a position like I’m at — there needs to be a big focus on the<br />
next generation and the people that work for you.”<br />
His advice to young chefs is “put your head down. Nothing comes<br />
quickly in this industry and you’ve got to prove yourself, work hard<br />
and listen. Everyone wants to be at the top and, to be at the top, you<br />
need drive.”<br />
“[Being a chef] is very confrontational and stressful,” he says. “It’s<br />
competitive, but the one thing that I’m teaching my staff, especially my<br />
senior staff and my sous chefs, is that their job is not to prove they’re<br />
better than everybody else — it’s to get everybody below you to the<br />
point where they could, potentially, be better than you.”<br />
CHEF<br />
OF THE<br />
YEAR<br />
Chef Jason Banger ter<br />
Congratulations Chef on receiving the<br />
prestigious Pinnacle Award.<br />
Macgregors Meat & Seafood Ltd., is<br />
proud of our partnership and thank you<br />
for your continued support.<br />
www.macgregors.com
Bangerter walks the talk in this regard. His team at Langdon Hall<br />
has had a phenomenal year — jumping from 29th place to 15th in the<br />
<strong>2017</strong> Canada’s 100 Best publication. In the same year, Bangerter was<br />
named Chef of the Year at the OHI Gold Awards and Langdon Hall<br />
was chosen to host the North American Relais & Chateaux Congress,<br />
welcoming more than 40 owners from Relais & Chateaux properties<br />
across North America and France.<br />
“I’m fortunate [Langdon Hall is] hard to get to,” he says. “People<br />
who work here are some of the best — they make the decision and<br />
sacrifice to work in a place that’s not near a major city and doesn’t<br />
have transit. It’s difficult to be a chef out here, but the people we get<br />
are dedicated and focused. I have talented people that want to learn<br />
and that puts pressure on me to be more on top of things, to be more<br />
hands on, to develop things more frequently.”<br />
It also makes it challenging, as a husband and father to two boys —<br />
nine and 11 years old — to achieve work/life balance. “My work is my<br />
life, but I have a life outside of work, too. I’ve got a wife and two kids<br />
and I have to make time to be a super-star at both,” he says.<br />
After nearly 25 years in the industry, Bangerter’s culinary philosophy<br />
has come full circle. “First and foremost, it’s an ingredients-first<br />
approach. When it comes to cooking, I’m cooking from the land and<br />
I feel like I’m getting a little bit weird in terms of using the land and<br />
connecting it to tell a story. For example, I have a tuna dish right now<br />
and I serve it on a tuna spine instead of using a plate. The same thing<br />
with things from the garden — I’ll pull something from the garden<br />
and serve it on leaves…it’s [about] connecting the earth and terroir to<br />
the food and showcasing that to the guest.”<br />
The chef stands firm in his support of local farmers, as well as<br />
ensuring his cooks are going to the garden and not only harvesting<br />
their own product, but understanding and respecting it. “It’s important<br />
to me to understand that no matter what [the ingredient] is — a fish, a<br />
pig or a plant — that we’ve taken that life and it’s our responsibility to<br />
do something really special with it and not waste any part of it.”<br />
It’s also about supporting the community, he stresses. “Why would<br />
I order tomatoes from California when I’ve got a farmer 10 minutes<br />
down the street that is growing better tomatoes and, by buying his<br />
tomatoes, the product is fresher. It’s going to taste better and we’re supporting<br />
our community. It’s Cambridge first, it’s Ontario second and<br />
then it’s Canada — the philosophy is fresh, local and sustainable.”<br />
Langdon Hall has deep roots in its community and Bangerter is<br />
a staunch supporter of local charitable initiatives, including RARE<br />
Charitable Foundation, Community Living Cambridge, Autism<br />
Ontario, Canadian Hospital Foundation, Sick Kids Hospital, the<br />
Cambridge Memorial Hospital Foundation and the STOP Community<br />
Food Centre, just to name a few.<br />
The next few years show no signs of slowing for Bangerter and his<br />
team at Langdon Hall, which recently opened a new wing with an<br />
event space that seats 120, eight new guestrooms and a new spa. But,<br />
he says, he’s up for the challenge. “I’m proud of where I am now, of the<br />
team I’ve built and what we’ve has achieved so far this year,” he adds. FH<br />
Congratulations<br />
CHEF JASON<br />
on earning this<br />
prestigious award!<br />
From your partner in success,<br />
info@mortonwholesale.com • mortonwholesale.com • 1-800-265-5663
SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR<br />
ROOTED<br />
IN<br />
SUCCESS<br />
McCain Foods Canada<br />
remains hometown proud<br />
BY AMY BOSTOCK<br />
PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK WONG<br />
ON THE BANKS OF the Saint John River<br />
in New Brunswick sits the town of Florenceville —<br />
French fry capital of the world and home to the global<br />
headquarters of McCain Foods.<br />
Founded in 1957 by Wallace and Harrison McCain,<br />
along with their brothers Robert and Andrew, McCain<br />
Foods’ processing plant was able to process 1,500 lbs.<br />
of potato products every hour in its first year of production.<br />
With only 30 employees, in its first year it was<br />
able to gross approximately $150,000 in sales. Today,<br />
the company nets global sales in excess of $9 billion,<br />
employs more than 20,000 people in 51 production<br />
facilities on six continents and sells one-third of the<br />
world’s frozen French fries.<br />
Jeff Veysey, vice-president of Foodservice<br />
Sales and Greg Boyer, director of Marketing,<br />
McCain Foods Canada (left)<br />
44 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong>
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
“Every step of the way,<br />
McCain has remained<br />
as proudly Canadian as<br />
we were on day one”<br />
JEFF VEYSEY, VP FOODSERVICE SALES<br />
This year, the iconic Canadian company is celebrating its 60th anniversary.<br />
“For 60 years we’ve provided restaurant operators with potato<br />
products they can proudly serve to their customers,” says Jeff Veysey,<br />
vice-president of Foodservice Sales for McCain Foods Canada. “We<br />
deeply value the long-standing relationship we have with Canadian<br />
restaurant operators as well as our distributor partners.”<br />
McCain’s business philosophy, he says, has never wavered. “Our<br />
goal is to support Canadian restaurant operators by bringing forward<br />
customized solutions developed by a committed team that’s always<br />
working with them in mind.”<br />
To that end, the company has invested more than $1 billion globally<br />
in the last year to help meet the strong demand for McCain products.<br />
In Canada, this includes expansion of its Coaldale, Alta. facility,<br />
which employs more than 200 workers, and a $65-million capacity<br />
investment in Florenceville, N.B. — the birthplace of McCain.<br />
“It’s been a big year for investment,” says Veysey. “This investment<br />
will bring additional production capacity to help continue to meet<br />
strong demand for the products in Canada and internationally.”<br />
Florenceville is also home to McCain’s Potato Technology Centre,<br />
utilized by all McCain companies around the globe and provides<br />
ongoing research as part of the company’s extensive investment in<br />
knowledge and research into the Canadian restaurant landscape. “We<br />
take a leading position on both the potato and the appetizer side of<br />
our business for new-product development,” says Greg Boyer, director<br />
of Marketing. “It’s grounded in a solid understanding of the foodservice<br />
channel and we do tons of consumer and operator research.”<br />
For example, recent research conducted by McCain shows 52 per<br />
cent of Canadians are eating more vegetables now than they did even<br />
a decade before. “What they’re looking for is something different —<br />
not just peas and carrots,” says Boyer. “We see tremendous growth<br />
in products such as cauliflower, so what we’ve done is take a look at<br />
[these] versatile vegetables, which are on trend, and determined how<br />
we could capitalize on those trends.”<br />
As a result, this year McCain launched its battered cauliflower bites<br />
to tap into that emerging trend. “We know operators are looking for<br />
something unique, differentiating and ownable, so we’re suggesting<br />
tossing them in their signature wing sauce. What that does is allows<br />
them to offer a vegetarian alternative to wings…they taste amazing<br />
and have a very low food cost.”<br />
The Spicy Battered Pickle Fry, under the Anchor Brand, also<br />
launched for foodservice this year. The cornmeal, horseradish and<br />
mustard-battered treat can be paired with a Caesar drink or used on<br />
top of a Montreal smoked-meat sandwich.<br />
Sometimes it isn’t about new products, but reimagining old<br />
favourites, says Boyer. “Consumer tastes are constantly changing and<br />
that’s an exciting challenge in the foodservice industry. It allows us to<br />
reposition our product line-up. We know taste preferences and eating<br />
patterns are cyclical and what we’re seeing right now is a big resurgence<br />
of Tater Tots. It’s a familiar comfort food that people sometimes<br />
forget about but then, when it’s on the menu, everyone wants it. We’re<br />
seeing restaurant chefs embracing that.”<br />
The company’s innovation isn’t limited to its products — which<br />
require more than 6.5 million tonnes of potatoes every year. On the<br />
technology front, it recently redesigned its website. “We know operators<br />
are busy,” says Boyer. “We wanted to make sure they could find<br />
exactly what they needed in just two clicks. For example, if an operator<br />
was opening a sandwich shop and only had ovens, they can search<br />
for product lines optimized for baking in an oven.”<br />
McCain Foods Canada’s products benefit from a strong network of<br />
more than 150 different farm families across the country. “They grow<br />
all of the potatoes we use in our products,” says Veysey. “We value our<br />
relationships with those growers and share different expertise with<br />
them. We have a strong agricultural team that works in partnership<br />
with them.”<br />
With five production facilities in Canada, Boyer says it’s important<br />
to work with farmers within the local communities. “We’re trying to<br />
keep our transportation and carbon footprint down and make sure<br />
we have access to fresh local produce to supply our plants.”<br />
Community is also at the core of the company’s charitable endeavors.<br />
“At McCain Foods Canada we strongly believe in making a difference,<br />
especially in the local communities in which we operate,” says<br />
Boyer. “With five locations across Canada, plus an office in Toronto,<br />
we have an opportunity to make a real difference — be it product<br />
donations, financial contributions or employee volunteer efforts.”<br />
McCain has partnerships with Foodbanks Canada in the communities<br />
in which its employees live and work, supporting projects such as<br />
school-breakfast programs and an annual holiday toy and turkey drive<br />
at the Florenceville facility, which provides meals to those less fortunate<br />
in the community. “This was started in 2007 by 10 employees<br />
and they helped 148 families,” says Boyer. “Over time, that has grown<br />
to 30 volunteers [who have] helped approximately 400 families.”<br />
The company also supports these initiative through its “Be Good.<br />
Do Good,” awards recognizing individual employees who have made<br />
significant contributions in the community.<br />
It’s all part of McCain Foods Canada’s commitment to its Canadian<br />
roots and the cornerstone on which the company culture has been<br />
built. “Every step of the way, McCain has remained as proudly<br />
Canadian as we were on day one,” says Veysey. “Our global headquarters/leadership<br />
remain in Canada so we’re proud of our Canadian<br />
roots and our investments in Canada. We continue to invest heavily<br />
in Canada.” FH<br />
46 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EQUIPMENT<br />
ON THE MONEY<br />
Finding the right<br />
payment processor<br />
for your restaurant<br />
impacts the bottom line<br />
BY ANDREA VICTORY<br />
Your restaurant works hard for its money and as<br />
a restaurateur, you know the value of a dollar.<br />
So, when it comes to processing payments, your<br />
restaurant needs more than just a terminal.<br />
Payment processing for consumers and merchants<br />
is a big deal. According to Payments Canada’s 2016<br />
Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report, in 2015, the<br />
payments market in Canada grew to 20.9 billion transactions<br />
worth more than $8.9 trillion.<br />
As a restaurateur, concerns go beyond simply accepting<br />
payments and having the most up-to-date technology. The<br />
impact of payment processing for restaurant owners can<br />
best be summed up by Dan Ferracuti, owner of Safari Bar<br />
& Grill and Drums & Flats in Toronto. “Payment processing<br />
is a huge expense. When we first opened it was probably<br />
a 50-50 split as far as people paying cash as opposed<br />
to credit, and now it’s probably 90-10 as far as credit cards<br />
go. Nine out of 10 transactions are either credit or debit —<br />
there’s very little cash anymore.”<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 47
CHOOSING WISELY<br />
Often, restaurant owners seek<br />
recommendations from their<br />
POS provider when choosing a<br />
payment processor. Alex Barrotti,<br />
founder & CEO of TouchBistro<br />
— an iPad POS that integrates<br />
with nine different payment processors<br />
— explains that restaurants<br />
often look to them during<br />
the sign-up phase to help find<br />
a solution. “We base it on their<br />
needs. If they are a quick-service<br />
restaurant, then we might go with<br />
Contactless payment<br />
options have been a<br />
game-changer for<br />
restaurants<br />
one solution; if they are a fullservice<br />
restaurant and they need<br />
mobility or payments at the table,<br />
then we would go with a different<br />
solution. Not every payment<br />
partner today has a full suite<br />
of offerings.”<br />
READ THE FINE PRINT<br />
Crucial to finding a processor<br />
is understanding the fine print.<br />
Wolfgang Guembel, founder &<br />
president of Lock Street Brewing<br />
Company in St. Catharines,<br />
Ont. knows the feeling of getting<br />
burned. “There’s fees on the<br />
back-end that you don’t see until<br />
you get your statement. The [processing<br />
company] will say they<br />
have the lowest fees per card, but<br />
when you look at your statement,<br />
there can be handling fees, or<br />
some kind of generic processing<br />
fee that’s a lump sum.”<br />
John Morgan, director of<br />
Independent Solution Providers<br />
at FI & Partner Management<br />
for Moneris, warns to check for<br />
extra costs up front. “Make sure,<br />
as a restaurateur, you understand<br />
[whether] there are any costs<br />
from a third party. Ask, ‘when I<br />
pick you as a restaurant system<br />
and I pick you as a processor and<br />
your two systems are talking to<br />
each other, are there any additional<br />
costs involved?’”<br />
He also stresses the importance<br />
of knowing your responsibilities<br />
before signing on the dotted line,<br />
“Make sure you know going in<br />
who does what if something goes<br />
TAP AND GO Choosing the<br />
right payment-processing<br />
solution saves operators time<br />
and money<br />
wrong. If the pin pad breaks, or<br />
appears to not be working, where<br />
is the problem? Is it the network;<br />
is it the restaurant system, or<br />
is it a processor problem? As a<br />
restaurateur, you shouldn’t have<br />
to spend any amount of time<br />
figuring that out. Make sure you<br />
understand the support model<br />
going in.”<br />
PROTECT YOURSELF<br />
Ferracuti says that when it<br />
comes to fraud and chargebacks,<br />
it can be confusing determining<br />
when you’re protected and<br />
when you’re not, as a merchant.<br />
“Unfortunately a lot of it you<br />
iSTOCK.COM/DGLIMAGES [CARD PAYMENT, BOTTOM LEFT]; SQAURE [TERMINALS, TOP AND INSET]<br />
48 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EQUIPMENT<br />
iSTOCK.COM/RATMANER [MOBILE PHONE PAYMENT]<br />
THE NEXT WAVE<br />
Mobile payments and<br />
digital wallets are gaining<br />
traction in restaurants<br />
Launched in October 2015,<br />
Starbucks was the first national<br />
retailer to offer its own mobilepayment<br />
technology and loyalty<br />
program. Today, its Mobile Order<br />
& Pay is available at almost 1,000<br />
Canadian stores and boasts more<br />
than 1.2 million active Canadian My<br />
Starbucks Rewards members. Mobile<br />
payments through the mobile app<br />
now represent 20 per cent of all<br />
in-store transactions in Canadian<br />
Starbucks stores.<br />
But the mobile experience isn’t<br />
just for big companies with custombuilt<br />
apps. The rise of chip-and-pin<br />
technology means mobile payments<br />
such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and<br />
customers paying with digital<br />
wallets are accepted wherever tap<br />
technology is available. Demand is<br />
on the rise as consumers become<br />
accustomed to paying with their<br />
phones. The good news is<br />
that many restaurants<br />
can already accept<br />
mobile payments from<br />
guests with their current<br />
contactless terminal.<br />
don’t realize until it happens to<br />
you. You have the conversations<br />
and it’s all good until you actually<br />
get somebody that disputes<br />
the card or you get a fraudulent<br />
card or whatever you may have; it<br />
really is something you learn by<br />
experience. Unfortunately, most<br />
of the time you end up on the<br />
wrong end.”<br />
Ferracuti has taken a handson<br />
approach to protecting his<br />
business. “If someone swipes a<br />
credit card, we are actually not<br />
protected by the credit company<br />
if it turns out that the card is<br />
fraudulent. So, we’ve taped over<br />
our swipers,” he says. “Luckily it<br />
doesn’t happen very often and<br />
with the pin-chip technology, it<br />
hardly happens at all anymore.<br />
Since pin-chip technology has<br />
been in place, we’ve seen a huge<br />
reduction as far as disputes of<br />
payments. It’s a better system.”<br />
CONTACTLESS PAYMENT<br />
The good news is that contactless<br />
payments are on the rise.<br />
“Contactless is booming in<br />
Canada. Almost all payment<br />
cards in Canada are contactlessenabled<br />
and almost 85 per cent<br />
of Moneris retailers — including<br />
restaurants — are now accepting<br />
contactless payments,” says<br />
Morgan.<br />
Tap-and-pay in the foodservice<br />
businesses is becoming standard<br />
across the board for both restaurants<br />
and guests. In October<br />
of this year, U.S.-based Square<br />
launched its contactless and chip<br />
reader in Canada, making it possible<br />
for foodservice businesses<br />
to accept debit and Interac, credit<br />
cards and mobile payments with<br />
the Square system.<br />
THE FUTURE IS NEAR<br />
Beyond the increase of tapand-pay<br />
technology, consumers<br />
and merchants alike are seeking<br />
seamless solutions. “There’s a<br />
line blurring between the solution<br />
and the payments,” Barrotti<br />
notes. “A lot of our customers are<br />
more bothered by the fact they<br />
have to talk to one person for the<br />
software, another for the payment<br />
and a third for the hardware —<br />
they just want it to come from<br />
one source.”<br />
It seems that’s already becoming<br />
reality. With the recent launch<br />
of its contactless and chip technology,<br />
Square removed the final<br />
barrier to becoming a full POS<br />
solution for the restaurant industry.<br />
Previously, Square wasn’t an<br />
option outside of pop-ups or<br />
off-site events, as accepting debit<br />
or mobile payments wasn’t a possibility<br />
— only credit cards could<br />
be swiped. Now, with all payment<br />
options on the table, a free POS<br />
app for iPads and a low one-time<br />
cost-per-reader ($59), the high<br />
expense of payment processing is<br />
getting a run for its money.<br />
THE BOTTOM LINE<br />
Though praised for its innovation<br />
and low cost, new solutions for<br />
the payment-processing industry<br />
aren’t necessarily going to see a<br />
sweeping takeover in foodservice.<br />
For one, restaurant owners often<br />
have a long-term contract with<br />
their current payment processor<br />
that will need to run its course.<br />
Ferracuti has been through multiple<br />
systems and spent years<br />
troubleshooting with one before<br />
switching to a different option —<br />
even though that meant signing<br />
on at a higher cost. “For me, it<br />
all came back to reliability. The<br />
3G units were a little bit more<br />
expensive on a rental basis, but<br />
they saved us so much more in<br />
customer satisfaction that, to me,<br />
it was worth it.”<br />
Guembel, a fan of Square, initially<br />
tried out the system in his<br />
brewery, but switched after three<br />
months because the solution<br />
didn’t accept debit at the time.<br />
“Messaging and just managing<br />
the expectation of the customer<br />
goes a long way. If you’re going<br />
to trend toward something new,<br />
whether that’s going paperless,<br />
Apple Pay or Square, take the<br />
time to make it really clear to<br />
the consumer upfront. The time<br />
to teach [customers] that you’re<br />
doing something new is not at<br />
the time of payment.”<br />
Now that Square accepts debit<br />
and mobile payments, Guembel is<br />
excited, “It’s forward thinking and<br />
I love that about it.” FH<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 49
POURING FOR PROFITS<br />
GIN CRAZE<br />
A new generation of drinkers is enjoying gin<br />
BY TOM VENETIS<br />
Gin has traditionally been<br />
seen as a drink your father<br />
enjoyed — a reliable<br />
staple, but not something<br />
that newcomers to the<br />
world of spirits gravitate towards.<br />
But, in recent years, the spirit has<br />
grown in popularity as newer and<br />
younger drinkers (18 to 35 years<br />
old) take to this venerable drink and<br />
more brands and varieties come to<br />
market. Today’s gin aisles feature a<br />
wider selection of products from<br />
around the world, as well as a growing<br />
number of small local distillers.<br />
This appeals to the younger millennial<br />
and Generation-X crowds, who<br />
otherwise wouldn’t drink gin.<br />
“Consumer choice today has<br />
never been as great as it is now,” says<br />
Jeremiah Soucie, president and head<br />
of distilling with Kinsip House of<br />
Fine Sprits in Bloomfield, Ont., (formerly<br />
66 Gilead Distillery). “If you<br />
look at the LCBO, one of the largest<br />
purchasers of spirits and alcohol in<br />
the world, five years ago they may<br />
have only had a half-dozen [gins],<br />
and they would have been the big<br />
brands. Now, you see them bringing<br />
in smaller and more interesting<br />
brands from around the world and<br />
within Canada.”<br />
Alanna Bailey, category manager<br />
of White Spirits with the LCBO,<br />
says gin has been growing steadily<br />
Fan Favourites<br />
The most popular<br />
gin brands<br />
at the LCBO<br />
BOMBAY<br />
SAPPHIRE<br />
TANQUERAY<br />
BEEFEATER<br />
HENDRICK’S<br />
DILLON’S<br />
UNGAVA<br />
GEORGIAN BAY<br />
MALFY<br />
KING’S LOCK<br />
CONESTOGA<br />
in Canada. “In Ontario, we have had<br />
compounded double-digit growth<br />
over the last several years,” she says.<br />
“The great thing about gin-category<br />
growth is we have seen strong growth<br />
in all areas of the category.”<br />
According to the most recent<br />
LCBO Year in Review, 2016-<strong>2017</strong>, gin<br />
ended the year at $84.2 million in<br />
sales, gaining 9.2 per cent. The report<br />
also showed gin consumers continue<br />
to gravitate to premium- and deluxepriced<br />
products, which rose eight per<br />
cent and 31.5 per cent, respectively.<br />
This is mirrored in other provinces,<br />
such as B.C., where gin recorded<br />
sales of $11,701,294 in the fiscal<br />
<strong>2017</strong>/2018 Q1 — up from Q4 sales<br />
of $7,928,163.<br />
Bailey says while premium brands<br />
continue to do well, one of the great<br />
stories for gin is the growing popularity<br />
of varieties made by small,<br />
local distillers across Canada.<br />
Peter Hunt, president and master<br />
distiller with Victoria Distillers<br />
in Sidney, B.C., says drinkers are<br />
attracted to smaller, artisanal distillers<br />
such as his because many are<br />
open to trying the unique flavours.<br />
Take its popular Victoria Gin, which<br />
balances its flavour of juniper with<br />
notes of citrus, floral and spice, or<br />
the company’s Oaken Gin, which<br />
takes the classic Victoria Gin and<br />
matures it in oak to give vanilla and<br />
caramel notes.<br />
Soucie works with local growers of<br />
grains and adds local herbs, lavender<br />
and hops to the Juniper’s Wit Gin.<br />
Nova Scotia’s Ironworks Distillery’s<br />
gin uses Nova Scotia juniper berries,<br />
and rosehips, combined with<br />
an infusion of balsam-fir bud eau de<br />
vie. Quebec-based Ungava’s gin uses<br />
Labrador tea, cloudberry, Nordic<br />
juniper and other botanicals.<br />
“Customers want to see and try<br />
more complex flavour profiles with<br />
their gin, similar to the whisky category,<br />
where you can taste the differences<br />
in the source of origin and the<br />
flavours the distillers bring to their<br />
product,” adds Bailey. FH<br />
iSTOCK.COM/IGORR1 [MAIN COCKTAIL IMAGE]; LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD OF ONTARIO [LIQUOR BRANDS]<br />
50 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
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CHEF’S CORNER<br />
PERFECT FIT<br />
Chef Alison MacNeil brings her<br />
home-cooking style to Calgary venue<br />
BY TOM VENETIS<br />
When Calgary’s Telus Spark science centre<br />
sought to revamp its foodservice operations,<br />
the venue’s management tapped<br />
celebrity chef Roger Mooking to be its<br />
culinary director and rebrand its on-site<br />
restaurant to Social Eatery by Roger Mooking. Mooking<br />
then set out to find a local chef to help bring his vision<br />
to life.<br />
For chef Alison MacNeil, it was the perfect fit. “I<br />
liked what they wanted to offer, which was better,<br />
healthier food choices . . . with less of an emphasis on<br />
pre-fabricated foods.”<br />
As chef de cuisine, MacNeil manages the kitchen in a<br />
very hands-on manner. “I’m active in the kitchen, as I’m<br />
usually doing the breads in the morning and making sure<br />
everyone is ready to go,” she says.<br />
The tag-line for the restaurant, ‘Home Cooking with<br />
a Global Twist,’ also aligned with MacNeil’s cooking philosophy.<br />
“It’s important to cook fresh food, from scratch,”<br />
she says. “[I would] describe my cooking style as comfort<br />
food. My background is part Italian so I cook lots of pas-<br />
BITS&BITES<br />
Favourite<br />
food memory:<br />
“Fresh pasta.”<br />
Favourite<br />
ingredient:<br />
“I love to cook<br />
with what is<br />
fresh and<br />
in season.”<br />
Favourite Culinary<br />
Destination:<br />
“Northern<br />
Spain.”<br />
tas and I like to cook French cuisine<br />
— peasant dishes that are comforting<br />
and warming.”<br />
MacNeil’s approach was forged in<br />
her childhood home, where cooking<br />
was part of family life. “I can’t<br />
remember a time when I wasn’t cooking.<br />
We cooked every day and when I<br />
got into highschool I already know I<br />
wanted to go to culinary school.”<br />
MacNeil entered the culinary<br />
program at the Southern Alberta<br />
Institute of Technology (SAIT).<br />
Following graduation in 2002,<br />
she apprenticed at the Wildwood<br />
in Calgary under Joseph Wiewer<br />
and Roghelio Herrera, followed<br />
by two years at Toronto-based<br />
Teatro restaurant under executive<br />
chef Dominique Moussu. She<br />
then moved to Canadian Rocky<br />
Mountain Resorts, where she spent<br />
six years helping to develop the<br />
foodservice and hospitality businesses.<br />
In 2014, she and her husband, chef John Michael<br />
MacNeil opened Black Pig Bistro, a Spanish-themed<br />
restaurant in Calgary. “I wanted to bring Spanish food<br />
to Calgary and when we opened, we were voted as the<br />
number-1 restaurant in Calgary. I could not have been<br />
happier.” She sold the restaurant to her business partner<br />
in 2015.<br />
Social Eatery is focused on fresh food and working<br />
with local providers for ingredients. The menu changes<br />
with the seasons in order to highlight the fare of local<br />
farmers — fresh berries in the summer and root vegetables<br />
in the winter, for example. Popular items include<br />
baked-daily cheese buns made with aged Canadian cheddars<br />
($3.88); the Stacked Sandwich featuring 10oz. of<br />
shaved Alberta beef ($15.88); and the Spolumbo’s sausage<br />
on a bun ($7.88). The menu also features many vegan,<br />
vegetarian and gluten-free foods, as well as a kid-inspired<br />
menu. “Now, we are giving people freshly prepared<br />
foods — foods that are not your standard cookie-cutter<br />
approach. It’s been very well received by everyone.” FH<br />
COLIN WAY [ALISON MACNEIL PORTRAIT]; iSTOCK.COM [BITS & BITES]<br />
52 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY DECEMBER <strong>2017</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
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