November/December 2020
November/December 2020 issue of Foodservice and Hospitality magazine.
November/December 2020 issue of Foodservice and Hospitality magazine.
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HOSPITALITY HEROES<br />
CANADIAN PUBLICATION MAIL PRODUCT SALES AGREEMENT #40063470<br />
MEET SEVEN HOSPITALITY HEROES WHOSE<br />
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INDUSTRY AND THE<br />
COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE ARE MAKING A<br />
DIFFERENCE DURING COVID-19<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong>
VOLUME 53, NO .10 | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong><br />
CONTENTS<br />
12<br />
21 SEGMENT SPOTLIGHT<br />
The pandemic has had profound<br />
effects on all segments of the<br />
foodservice industry<br />
HOSPITALITY HEROES<br />
30 PARAMOUNT FINE FOODS<br />
32 MAPLE LEAF SPORTS<br />
& ENTERTAINMENT<br />
34 BRANDING & BUZZING<br />
36 ONE RESTAURANT<br />
38 JEAN -FRANCOIS ARCHAMBAULT<br />
21<br />
42 JAGGER GORDON<br />
FEATURES<br />
11 CONFERENCE ROUNDUP<br />
Women in Tourism & Hospitality<br />
Global Summit goes virtual for<br />
the first time<br />
16 FISHING FOR<br />
SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS<br />
Restaurateurs are moving to simpler<br />
menus and local supply<br />
16<br />
45 PLUG & PLAY<br />
Combi-ovens can help keep<br />
operators afloat in challenging times<br />
49 AUTOMATION ACCELERATION<br />
Smart kitchen equipment has<br />
become a must-have in today’s<br />
uncertain environment<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
2 FROM THE EDITOR<br />
5 FYI<br />
12 FROM THE DESK<br />
OF NPD<br />
53 PRODUCT PREVIEW<br />
54 GOOD NEWS<br />
30<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 1
FROM THE EDITOR<br />
THE<br />
ART OF<br />
GIVING<br />
Understandably, after living in the Twilight Zone for<br />
the past nine months, there’s been a burning and<br />
collective desire to turn the page on <strong>2020</strong>. Of course,<br />
none of us has the ability to know whether 2021 will<br />
be a better year or a continuation of more of the<br />
same. Still, based on what the medical community tells us, we<br />
can expect that the next six months will be tough. So, let’s buckle<br />
up and ready ourselves with steely determination to prepare for<br />
the worst and hope for the best.<br />
While the holidays will be markedly different this year for all<br />
of us, with government-mandated restrictions still in full force,<br />
we can only make the best of a bad situation. Closer to home,<br />
our annual Pinnacle-Awards program has been temporarily put<br />
on hold this year, leaving us to pivot accordingly. For the first<br />
time in 32 years, we will not be shining the spotlight on<br />
excellence in foodservice-and-hospitality business operations.<br />
Still, while we cannot host and welcome 500 industry executives<br />
this year to the Royal York, we can continue to salute excellence,<br />
albeit in a different format and fashion.<br />
Coincidentally, when we launched the Pinnacle Awards<br />
in the late 1980s, one of its core tenets was a strong focus on<br />
community involvement. What better way to<br />
highlight this tenet than through this month’s<br />
Hospitality Heroes (see profiles starting on<br />
p. 29) featuring a well-deserved tribute to the<br />
people and companies that went above and<br />
beyond to lend a helping hand when COVID-<br />
19 unleashed its fury. Across the country, there<br />
are numerous displays of individuals, operators<br />
and suppliers, big and small, that put aside<br />
the day-to-day challenges spurred by the<br />
pandemic and galvanized their teams to help<br />
those at risk, those who lost their jobs, the<br />
vulnerable, one another and the community at<br />
large. And, while we may not be able to meet<br />
face to face this year, on <strong>December</strong> 4th, on<br />
what would have been the date for this year’s<br />
Pinnacle Awards, we’ll be able to share in the<br />
heart-warming and compassionate stories of<br />
these remarkable Hospitality Heroes through<br />
a virtual roundtable discussion featuring heroes from both the<br />
restaurant and hotel community.<br />
Given that restaurants and hotels have been amongst the hardest<br />
hit by the pandemic, this month’s stories are particularly heartwarming<br />
and speak to the industry’s ability to put the needs of<br />
others ahead of its own. Of course, that’s not news to anyone<br />
who has consistently witnessed the generous hospitality of this<br />
industry in the past. After all, this is an industry that is woven<br />
into the fabric of Canadian lives; this is an industry with heart.<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 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EST. 1968 | VOLUME 54, NO. 10 | NOV./DEC. <strong>2020</strong><br />
EDITOR & PUBLISHER ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
MANAGING EDITOR AMY BOSTOCK<br />
ASSOCIATE EDITOR DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
MULTIMEDIA MANAGER DEREK RAE<br />
ART DIRECTOR COURTNEY JENKINS<br />
DESIGN ASSISTANT JACLYN FLOMEN<br />
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/EVENTS<br />
CO-ORDINATOR JHANELLE PORTER<br />
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS<br />
DEVELOPMENT, U.S.A. WENDY GILCHRIST<br />
CIRCULATION PUBLICATION PARTNERS<br />
CONTROLLER DANIELA PRICOIU<br />
ADVISORY BOARD<br />
FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED NICK PERPICK<br />
FHG INTERNATIONAL INC. DOUG FISHER<br />
JOEY RESTAURANT GROUP BRITT INNES<br />
MTY GROUP MARIE-LINE BEAUCHAMP<br />
PROFILE HOSPITALITY GROUP SCOTT BELLHOUSE<br />
SOTOS LLP ALLAN DICK<br />
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS JUDSON SIMPSON<br />
THE MCEWAN GROUP MARK MCEWAN<br />
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH, SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY<br />
& TOURISM MANAGEMENT BRUCE MCADAMS<br />
WELBILT MARY CHIAROT<br />
To subscribe to F&H, visit foodserviceandhospitality.com<br />
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 3
Thank you<br />
for stepping up to the plates.<br />
Thank you, Hospitality Heroes, for your extraordinary<br />
commitment during extraordinary times to Canadians<br />
and the Canadian foodservice industry.<br />
From Lactalis Foodservice Canada.<br />
®
MONTHLY NEWS AND UPDATES FOR THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY<br />
LOSS OF<br />
A LEGEND<br />
Canada’s food community mourns passing<br />
of Anita Stewart BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
Canada’s food community was<br />
saddened and shocked to hear of<br />
the passing of Anita Stewart in<br />
October. As a cookbook author, food<br />
advocate and founder of Food Day<br />
Canada, she was a passionate and tireless<br />
champion of Canadian cuisine.<br />
Stewart authored 14 books on the<br />
subject of Canadian cuisine and was<br />
a respected and leading authority on<br />
the subject. She was instrumental in<br />
launching Cuisine Canada in the early<br />
’90s, at a time when local, regional<br />
cuisine was not de rigueur. Along with<br />
Jo Marie Powers, and as part of Cuisine<br />
Canada, she launched a national food<br />
conference called Northern Bounty,<br />
which legitimized Canadian cuisine. She<br />
worked closely with chefs, growers,<br />
fishers and suppliers to promote<br />
Canadian ingredients and dishes.<br />
In 2003, Stewart founded Food Day<br />
Canada, a day-long celebration on the<br />
holiday long weekend in August, where<br />
she motivated Canadians to celebrate<br />
Canada’s rich bounty. The idea was<br />
fuelled by the ban on Canadian beef<br />
due to Mad Cow disease. In an effort to<br />
help struggling beef producers during<br />
this challenging time, Stewart organized<br />
the precursor to Food Day Canada,<br />
which was originally called “The<br />
World’s Longest Barbecue,” aimed at<br />
getting Canadians to use beef products.<br />
In 2012, Stewart was appointed<br />
food laureate at the University of<br />
Guelph, with which she has had a long<br />
association. It was from that perch that<br />
she promoted the school’s culinary<br />
DAVID GARCELON,<br />
NOW GM AT THE<br />
FAIRMONT BANFF<br />
SPRINGS, BUT FOR<br />
MANY YEARS AN<br />
EXECUTIVE CHEF<br />
WITH FAIRMONT<br />
HOTELS, WAS A<br />
GOOD FRIEND OF<br />
STEWART’S DURING<br />
HIS TENURE<br />
AS CHEF.<br />
NO ONE HAD SUCH<br />
A BREADTH OF<br />
KNOWLEDGE ON<br />
THE SUBJECT OF<br />
CANADIAN CUISINE.<br />
SHE LEAVES US WITH<br />
A MASSIVE GAP,<br />
BUT THANKFULLY,<br />
HER WRITING WILL<br />
ALWAYS BE<br />
WITH US.<br />
contributions from its hospitality<br />
and agricultural programs.<br />
Earlier this summer, the<br />
university announced it would<br />
be building a new $1.33-million<br />
food lab named after Stewart —<br />
the Anita Stewart Alumni Food<br />
Laboratory. In a press release<br />
issued by the university during<br />
the summer, Stewart was quoted<br />
as saying, “We will be able to<br />
bring many of Canada’s locally<br />
inspired chefs, including winners<br />
from the University of Guelph’s<br />
Food Innovation Awards, to<br />
campus to showcase their<br />
talents, as well as the talents of<br />
our researchers. The broadcast<br />
capabilities are going to be<br />
phenomenal.”<br />
A day after her passing on<br />
October 29, Niagara Falls was lit<br />
up in red and white as a tribute<br />
to the Canadian icon. Since<br />
her passing, a who’s who of the<br />
foodservice community has<br />
spoken her praises, remembering<br />
an exceptional woman who<br />
mentored, advocated and<br />
educated so many.<br />
Stewart is survived by her<br />
four sons: Jeff, Brad, Mark<br />
and Paul, 12 grandchildren<br />
and the father of her children,<br />
Wayne Stewart. In lieu<br />
of flowers, donations would<br />
be appreciated to the “Anita<br />
Stewart Tribute Fund,” at the<br />
University of Guelph.<br />
In 2009, Stewart was inducted as an honorary lifetime member of the Canadian Federation of Chefs de<br />
Cuisine and last year was named as one of Canada’s national treasures by George Brown College. Nine<br />
years ago, Stewart was named to the Order of Canada.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 5
GOING<br />
VIRTUAL<br />
Toronto-based restaurant group Kinka Family is launching<br />
four virtual-restaurant concepts. The company has begun<br />
operating Toyko Sando & Chicken and JapaSando & Co. and<br />
will also introduce two additional concepts in late <strong>November</strong>.<br />
The two named concepts are available now on Uber Eats and<br />
DoorDash throughout Ontario and Quebec. Toyko Sando &<br />
Chicken offers pork, fish and chicken sandwiches made in<br />
a soy-sauce marinade; fried chicken wings; and original or<br />
‘Tokyo’ fries. JapaSando & Co. focuses on healthy offerings,<br />
including Japanese-inspired oven-baked sandwiches,<br />
house-made infused teas, genmaicha lattes, coffee and<br />
an assortment of house-made vegetable chips.<br />
THE NEW<br />
DRIVE-THRU<br />
Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) is modernizing the<br />
drive-thru experience at more than 10,000 Burger King and Tim<br />
Hortons locations, with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen beginning its<br />
own roll-out later this year. More than 40,000 digital screens<br />
are being installed with powerful ‘predictive-selling’ technology,<br />
integration with restaurant loyalty programs and the ability for<br />
remote, contactless payment. The in-house designed predictiveselling<br />
technology allows for promotions to be tailored based on<br />
previous orders, regional weather patterns, the time of day and<br />
other factors. The menu boards have also been designed with the<br />
ability to integrate loyalty programs, allowing for customized menu<br />
options to be displayed based on a customer’s favourite purchases<br />
and redemption history. This functionality is currently live and<br />
being tested at 30 locations in Canada with the Tims Rewards<br />
loyalty program. All digital drive-thru menu boards in the U.S. and<br />
Canada have been designed to accommodate loyalty integration via<br />
scanning, Bluetooth or near-field communication. The new menu<br />
boards have the flexibility to add immediate, remote contactless<br />
payment to allow guests to order and pay simultaneously and<br />
speed up drive-thru lanes.<br />
SECOND-WAVE<br />
IN OCTOBER,<br />
SKIPTHEDISHES UNVEILED<br />
ITS NEW SKIP REWARDS<br />
LOYALTY PROGRAM. WITH<br />
NO COST TO PARTICIPATE<br />
AND NO SIGN-UP<br />
REQUIRED, SKIP USERS<br />
NOW EARN POINTS ON<br />
EVERY DOLLAR SPENT THAT<br />
CAN BE REDEEMED<br />
FOR DISCOUNTS ON<br />
FUTURE ORDERS.<br />
NEW AVENUES<br />
Health-focused fast-food chain Mad Radish has expanded its brand<br />
family with the addition of Luisa’s Burritos & Bowls and Revival Pizza<br />
concepts. The new structure will combine the best elements of a typical<br />
ghost kitchen with the functionality of a customer-facing restaurant,<br />
with all three offerings available for order in-store at select Mad Radish<br />
locations and for home delivery across Toronto and Ottawa. Luisa’s<br />
Burritos & Bowls offers hand-crafted burritos made with fresh,<br />
internationally inspired ingredients and big, bold flavour, while Revival<br />
Pizza puts a modern and creative twist on the ultimate comfort food.<br />
The brands have stand-alone storefronts on Uber Eats, but are also<br />
available through the company’s app, which offers all three menus for<br />
contactless pick-up in a single order and will begin offering multi-brand<br />
delivery in the coming weeks.<br />
SUPPORT<br />
SkipTheDishes implemented initiatives to support restaurant partners through the pandemic’s<br />
second wave, offering a support package for affected restaurants in regions experiencing<br />
restaurant closures. These measures include a 25-per-cent rebate on commission for local,<br />
independent restaurant partners; zero-per-cent commission rate for new restaurants<br />
joining the network; additional marketing and order-driving initiatives; and app functionality that<br />
allows partners to diversify their menu offerings. “With pickup and delivery orders becoming<br />
a critical revenue stream for restaurants throughout the pandemic, Skip stands with our local<br />
partners throughout this new wave of restrictions,” says Kevin Edwards, CEO, SkipTheDishes.<br />
6 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong><br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
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OCTOBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 7
PIZZA<br />
PARTNERSHIP<br />
Mohamad Fakih, founder and CEO of Paramount Fine<br />
Foods, and celebrity chef Massimo Capra have partnered<br />
to launch the MAS.E.MO pizza concept. The concept is<br />
operated out of select Paramount locations in Toronto<br />
and Burlington, Ont. and features one-of-a-kind pizzas<br />
made with halal-only ingredients, which are available for<br />
takeout and delivery. The launch is part of the Paramount<br />
pandemic plan to broaden menu offerings and maximize<br />
the use of pre-existing spaces, resulting in the new brands<br />
Box’d, Cloud Kitchen and Krispo Chicken.<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
SOLUTIONS<br />
During Waste Reduction Week, Tim Hortons announced a series of new<br />
sustainability initiatives. Among these, the brand has stopped the<br />
practice of double-cupping and will instead offer guests a recyclable<br />
cardboard sleeve for its hot drinks. It will also introduce improved paper<br />
napkins made with 100-per-cent recycled fibre and use 25-per-cent<br />
less material in early 2021. The brand is also preparing to roll out new<br />
paper-based wrappers for sandwiches and bagels in January that<br />
are fully recyclable, while also cutting the use of paper by 17 per cent<br />
annually. And, Tim Hortons also announced a new<br />
partnership with TerraCycle’s zero-waste platform,<br />
Loop. The new program will be piloted in Toronto<br />
starting next year, offering guests the option of<br />
paying a deposit and receiving reusable and<br />
returnable cups or food containers with their<br />
order to reduce packaging waste.<br />
A&W REVENUE<br />
ROYALTIES INCOME<br />
FUND AND A&W FOOD<br />
SERVICES OF CANADA<br />
INC. HAVE ANNOUNCED<br />
THAT THEIR CHIEF<br />
FINANCIAL OFFICER,<br />
DON LESLIE, PLANS<br />
TO RETIRE. KELLY<br />
BLANKSTEIN HAS BEEN<br />
APPOINTED TO FILL THE<br />
ROLE OF CHIEF<br />
FINANCIAL OFFICER<br />
OF BOTH THE FUND<br />
AND FOOD SERVICES<br />
EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER<br />
3. LESLIE WILL REMAIN<br />
WITH A&W THROUGH<br />
JUNE 2021 TO ENSURE A<br />
SMOOTH TRANSITION.<br />
DOMINO’S PIZZA<br />
OF CANADA IS<br />
LOOKING TO FILL<br />
2,000 OPEN-STORE<br />
POSITIONS,<br />
INCLUDING<br />
DELIVERY EXPERTS,<br />
PIZZA MAKERS,<br />
CUSTOMER-SERVICE<br />
REPRESENTATIVES,<br />
MANAGERS AND<br />
ASSISTANT<br />
MANAGERS.<br />
MOVING<br />
UPTOWN<br />
Nuit and Jeff Regular are opening a new location of<br />
their renowned Thai restaurant PAI in Toronto’s Yonge<br />
and Eglinton neighbourhood. Spanning more than 12,000<br />
sq. ft., this expansive, two-storey location will boast<br />
two private dining-rooms and multiple private dining<br />
coves that can seat parties of four to 30, along with a<br />
separate takeout entrance and a stage for future livemusic<br />
entertainment. The decor will reflect the same<br />
fun, quirky vibe and atmosphere of its flagship Toronto<br />
location on Duncan Street. PAI Uptown will also feature a<br />
brand-new wine-and-bar program and new dishes will<br />
be introduced to the menu at both locations.<br />
FROM THE<br />
SUPPLY SIDE<br />
Oneida Hospitality Group (OHG) has appointed Rabco<br />
Foodservice Ltd. as its exclusive sales, marketing and<br />
distribution partner for the Canadian market. OHG offers<br />
an extensive portfolio of brands consisting of Johnson-<br />
Rose, Co-Rect, Focus Foodservice, Update, Tomlinson and<br />
Oneida. The addition of these brands to the Rabco portfolio<br />
of CFS Brands, San Jamar, Magnum, CDN, Dexter and<br />
Anchor Hocking, provides a comprehensive offering of<br />
kitchenware and tabletop products to the Canadian foodservice<br />
industry. “As part of our strategic plan for growth<br />
and to better align ourselves with the right resources for<br />
the changing Canadian market, we’re excited to partner<br />
with Rabco.” says Bryan O’Rourke, president of OHG.<br />
“The Rabco organization has grown into a substantial<br />
and sophisticated resource for the Canadian foodservice<br />
market and I’m very excited that Oneida Hospitality Group<br />
and our family of brands will be well represented.”<br />
8 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
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10 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY OCTOBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
CONFERENCE REPORT<br />
GLOBAL<br />
Perspectives<br />
Hospitality leaders share<br />
insights at WITH Global<br />
Virtual Summit<br />
BY AMY BOSTOCK<br />
AT Leadership Panel. The panelists, which included Janet Zuccarini, founder of<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
the fourth-annual Women in Tourism & Hospitality Summit, which took place<br />
October 14 and 15th as its first Virtual Global edition, Foodservice and Hospitality<br />
editor/publisher Rosanna Caira moderated a State-of-the-Industry Thought-<br />
Gusto 54 Restaurants; Julian Buffam, partner, New Castle Hotels and Resorts; Abigail Tan, CEO, St.<br />
Giles Hotels, U.K. ; and Don Cleary, president, Marriott Hotels of Canada offered inspiration and<br />
advice for surviving through crisis and navigating a post-pandemic landscape.<br />
As a restaurant owner, Zuccarini shared her feelings when COVID-19 hit. “I woke up one<br />
day and really had the fear of maybe losing everything.” But, she said, “fast forward to today<br />
and my team has done incredible work. And, we’ve been working with landlords and banks to<br />
send the message that we’re all in this together and we all need to work together. [Because] if<br />
everyone’s just looking to put money in their pocket, we’re all going to fail.” Zuccarini added<br />
that seven months later, the company is now at 70 per cent of its sales volume.<br />
At Marriott Hotels of Canada, Cleary said “we’re doing what we can to manage costs and<br />
are optimistic for the future. We’re going to have to persevere to get through this — and we<br />
will get through it. I’m very confident that people still want to travel — they want the<br />
experience travel can provide — but they have to be confident this virus is behind us.”<br />
For Tan’s team, it’s about working with and for their communities. “For the next six<br />
months to a year, it’s not about putting money in our pockets, but about how we can be good<br />
partners with society and community and all of us survive together. Not thrive just yet. So,<br />
we’re looking to work with different charities and the different councils in our area to see how<br />
we can help, since we have the resources — the rooms, the people — because we want our<br />
team to be able to come back to work and to work full time.”<br />
When asked what the future of hospitality looks like, Tan said the next 18 to 24 months<br />
will be very telling.<br />
“We’ll also see a shift in the way hotels are being used,” she said. “For example, the corporate/<br />
business traveller will not come back the same way they did before. There’s a lot of companies<br />
cutting big travel expenses, seeing it’s not necessary to travel and to stay in hotels as much as they<br />
did. So, it’s about how we start to target and change the use of our rooms and our public spaces<br />
and still be able to attract and maintain an occupancy and a revenue level.” FH<br />
Rapid Fire<br />
The Rapid-Fire session featured four fearless<br />
women leaders who shared their perspectives<br />
on how they broke barriers in their own lives<br />
and careers. The speakers included Christina<br />
Veira, mixologist/restaurant manager;<br />
Suzanne Barr, chef and advocate; Rhonelle<br />
Bruder, executive director, Project iRise; and<br />
Peggy Berg, founder of Castell Project.<br />
Veira spoke about the challenges of being a<br />
Black woman in the foodservice industry<br />
and the importance of compassion and<br />
empathy for not just others, but yourself.<br />
“Building resilience is also extending<br />
compassion and empathy to yourself and<br />
centreing that in how you navigate your life<br />
and your professional career. Sometimes that<br />
will look less linear than what you’re told to<br />
do, but not all systems are built for you and<br />
that ‘s not a bad thing. You can accomplish a<br />
lot by going that less-linear route.”<br />
Chef Barr shared the challenges of opening<br />
her first restaurant in Toronto and how it<br />
shaped her as a chef and person. “Sometimes,<br />
even in the moments you feel like you have<br />
to be Superwoman, you need to be saved. But<br />
I feel like it has taken me up to this point in<br />
my life to recognize and understand this only<br />
makes you stronger. Every moment makes me<br />
more curious to see what’s next and how I<br />
can impact the next generation.”<br />
Berg closed out the session by talking<br />
about her drive to help women and people<br />
of colour achieve equity in the hospitality<br />
industry and the importance of advocacy. “An<br />
advocate is someone who stands up for you<br />
when you are not in the room,” she said. “But<br />
advocates are an ecosystem…when someone<br />
advocates for you, you become an advocate<br />
for others.”<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 11
FROM THE DESK OF NPD<br />
THRIVING TH<br />
ADVERSITY<br />
FREEPIK.COM<br />
The challenges that the<br />
independent restaurant<br />
operator community has<br />
faced this year have been<br />
well documented in this<br />
magazine and elsewhere.<br />
There is much sad news for<br />
the industry, for neighbourhoods<br />
and, of course, for<br />
those whose livelihoods depend on these<br />
establishments. The fact is, the impact<br />
independent restaurants are feeling is not<br />
entirely due to COVID-19, though it certainly<br />
has accelerated the trend. The overall number<br />
of independent restaurants has been in steady<br />
decline in Canada for many years.<br />
WHERE WE WERE<br />
The NPD Group’s ReCount data from 2019<br />
shows the number of independent restaurants<br />
in Canada peaked in 2008, just as the<br />
economic crisis took hold and has been in<br />
decline ever since. Since 2015, their ranks<br />
shrunk by three-per-cent per year on<br />
average, or a net decline of about 7,000 units.<br />
Meanwhile, chains are on the rise, adding an<br />
average of one-per-cent new units every year<br />
since 2015.<br />
Even so, the performance of independent<br />
restaurants was not entirely negative. NPD’s<br />
CREST data reports that for the five-year<br />
period ending <strong>December</strong> 2019, independent<br />
restaurants had outperformed the market by<br />
a ratio of almost two times. Their share of<br />
overall restaurant visits went from just over<br />
21 per cent to almost 23 per cent. And, while<br />
independent restaurants hold a two-thirds<br />
share of the full-service restaurant (FSR)<br />
segment, they’re growing at a much faster<br />
pace in the quick-service restaurant (QSR)<br />
segment, where they now hold a nine-percent<br />
share. Do the math: fewer independent<br />
restaurants and more traffic equals more sales<br />
per unit or an increase of as much as onethird<br />
over this five-year period. While I’m not<br />
an operations expert, I know for certain this<br />
can’t be a bad thing.<br />
How is it that independent restaurants have<br />
been able to grow their business, even as<br />
locations were being shuttered? The answer<br />
is in the customer experience. NPD’s data<br />
sources confirm many consumers prefer to<br />
seek out local and authentic food experiences<br />
when they choose their restaurant destinations.<br />
Independent restaurants are better suited to<br />
provide those experiences and consumers have<br />
been responding with their visits, dollars and<br />
loyalty. This trend is most evident among the<br />
younger cohorts (under 35 years old), which<br />
have been driving many spending trends in<br />
recent years.<br />
On a related theme, CREST also reposts<br />
smaller chains (less than 500 units) have<br />
been growing their share of visits faster than<br />
the major chains (500+ units). These major<br />
chains may have a disproportionate share of<br />
the market and the foodservice landscape, but<br />
perhaps they don’t have quite the hold on the<br />
consumer’s psyche as we all thought.<br />
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW<br />
In the earliest days of COVID-19 in Canada,<br />
the foodservice industry was hit hard. As<br />
restaurants scrambled to adjust to the<br />
12 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
ROUGH<br />
CUSTOMER DEMAND FOR LOCAL AND AUTHENTIC FOOD<br />
EXPERIENCES IS DRIVING THE INDEPENDENT RESTAURANT SEGMENT<br />
BY VINCE SGABELLONE<br />
Vince Sgabellone is a<br />
foodservice industry<br />
analyst with The<br />
NPD Group. He can<br />
be reached at vince.<br />
sgabellone@npd.com<br />
uncertainty and new restrictions,<br />
consumers hid in their homes.<br />
Consequently, April foodservice-traffic<br />
declined more than 40-per-cent compared<br />
to the prior year. This figure had been cut<br />
in half by the end of August, thanks in large<br />
part to the industry’s ability to pivot to an<br />
off-premise service model.<br />
One might have expected the strongest<br />
performers during this time would be the<br />
major QSR chains. They were well established<br />
with off-premise infrastructure and<br />
were also less inclined to close their doors.<br />
To some extent, this did happen. But something<br />
else happened, too — people rallied<br />
behind local and independent operators.<br />
In the meantime, the very same small<br />
operators were quickly scrambling to<br />
re-invent themselves. In the FSR segment,<br />
independents were the hardest hit in the<br />
early months. Six months in, they’re<br />
pacing the segment’s strongest-performing<br />
chains, demonstrating the resilience and<br />
entrepreneurial spirit that pushed them<br />
into this business in the first place. In<br />
the QSR segment, the small but mighty<br />
independent operator group is holding<br />
its own, performing almost as well as the<br />
major chains. Interestingly, the mid-size<br />
chains (100 to 500 units) are performing<br />
strongest in both segments. By contrast,<br />
the major chains are negatively impacted<br />
by the disruption in consumers’ morning<br />
routines and the associated decline in<br />
breakfast and lunch traffic.<br />
Technology has been a lifeline for many<br />
operators and consumers during this period.<br />
Digital-ordering rates jumped from about<br />
five per cent of traffic to as much as 17<br />
per cent at the height of the restaurant<br />
restrictions. All operator groups have<br />
seen their digital-ordering rates skyrocket,<br />
but mid-sized chains lead the pack here.<br />
Clearly, this is a key factor contributing to<br />
their leading recovery rate. Interestingly,<br />
the independent-operator set is trailing<br />
when it comes to digital ordering, despite<br />
a five-fold increase in penetration. Instead,<br />
this operator set is using old technology —<br />
the telephone — to help fuel its survival<br />
plan, garnering almost one-third of all<br />
off-premise orders.<br />
Delivery is a key component of the<br />
new foodservice landscape. It represents<br />
approximately 20 per cent of all orders<br />
within independent and smaller chains.<br />
Once again, the major chains are the<br />
outliers here, instead relying upon their<br />
well-developed drive-thru infrastructure<br />
for their incremental business.<br />
It’s difficult to imagine (and even<br />
harder to accept) that the potential loss<br />
of restaurants — and particularly independents<br />
— as a result of COVID-19’s<br />
impact could result in several years of<br />
attrition in just a matter of months.<br />
Canada’s foodservice landscape will never<br />
look the same as it did just a few short<br />
months ago. But, smaller operators and<br />
independent restaurants’ ability to<br />
maintain and even grow their share<br />
during these difficult times reinforces the<br />
belief that the industry will rise from this<br />
crisis stronger than ever. FH<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 13
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for<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
OPTIONS<br />
RESTAURATEURS ARE MOVING TO<br />
SIMPLER MENUS AND LOCAL SUPPLY<br />
BY DENISE DEVEAU<br />
for sustainable seafood is far from<br />
the demand losing traction with consumers. But,<br />
as with all things pandemic related, there’s been a significant impact<br />
on the diversity and quantity of inventory across the board.<br />
Foodservice operators are doing their best to work around the<br />
complexities by adjusting menus, forging relationships with new<br />
verticals and going hyper-local with their seafood sourcing where<br />
they can.<br />
Sophika Kostyniuk, manager, Ocean Wise Seafood in Vancouver,<br />
says prior to the turnaround, sustainable seafood was booming.<br />
“Last fall, when things were still ‘normal,’ there was tremendous<br />
appetite for diversity of seafood on the market and supply chains<br />
opened up to meet demand. In 2018, we saw record volumes in<br />
seafood consumed per person per year.”<br />
The rise in seafood’s popularity grew from the diversity of offerings<br />
and growing demand for leaner protein sources. Fads such as poke<br />
bowls and sushi grew as North-American palates evolved. Up-andcoming<br />
species before the pandemic included halibut, spot prawns<br />
and geoduck giant clams.<br />
When the world turned upside down in March, it created instability<br />
in the supply chain, particularly for higher-end offerings, Kostyniuk<br />
explains. “Export markets shut down. The market wasn’t there to<br />
sustain the volumes harvesters needed to sell them. High-end<br />
restaurants were severely impacted.”<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER<strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 17
Currently the top five go-to<br />
items continue to be tuna, salmon,<br />
shrimp, whitefish and cod. “There<br />
simply isn’t the diversity of supply,<br />
so restaurants are paring down their<br />
menus to just a few staple offerings<br />
to make them as broadly appealing<br />
as possible.”<br />
Peter McCallum, owner/<br />
manager of The Whalesbone Group<br />
in Ottawa, reports his restaurants<br />
are currently running at 50-per-cent<br />
capacity. This is relatively strong<br />
compared to some operations,<br />
because Ottawa has a preponderance<br />
of government and tech companies<br />
that have fared well. “We haven’t<br />
seen customers go to cheaper<br />
options. They don’t seem to be price<br />
conscious at all.”<br />
Not being in a coastal region<br />
however, shipping costs for<br />
sustainable seafood have tripled<br />
since COVID-19 began, McCallum<br />
reports. “Where there used to be 10<br />
commercial flights a day coming in,<br />
now there are two, making it more<br />
difficult to book space.” East-coast<br />
products are shipped in by truck,<br />
which helps to defray the costs. As<br />
for international shipments, “The<br />
cost is just too prohibitive.”<br />
Supply is also limited, largely<br />
because fishermen and growers aren’t<br />
catching as much. “If there isn’t the<br />
market, they’re not going to fish it.”<br />
To accommodate the fluctuations,<br />
his restaurants have changed their<br />
menus to a combination lunch/dinner<br />
in order to offer cheaper, moreaccessible,<br />
lunch-type items.<br />
Adam Colquhoun, owner/operator<br />
of Oyster Boy in Toronto, says his<br />
oyster orders have dropped from<br />
an average 27,000 a week to 6,000<br />
to 9,000. “Right now, we’re only<br />
doing takeaway and some small<br />
catering events.”<br />
Suppliers are feeling the collective<br />
pain of COVID-19 as consumption<br />
has seen a 60- to 90-per-cent decline,<br />
he says, adding he’s had to reduce his<br />
list from 17 to about five options.<br />
Restaurants are paring down their menus to<br />
just a few staples with broad appeal<br />
Since Colquhoun has not<br />
re-opened his restaurant, he’s<br />
foregone fresh fin fish, and now<br />
works with frozen items for easy<br />
takeaway offerings, such as fish and<br />
chips and tacos. “You can’t cook<br />
a fresh fillet and put it in a box<br />
because it will be overcooked once<br />
it’s delivered.”<br />
NAVIGATING<br />
COASTAL WATERS<br />
For many sustainable-seafood<br />
aficionados, Ocean Wise and Marine<br />
Stewardship Council (MSC) are<br />
considered to be the “right and left<br />
hand of sustainability,” says Ned Bell,<br />
co-owner and chef at Naramata Inn in<br />
Naramata, B.C. and chef ambassador<br />
for Vancouver-based Ocean Wise.<br />
He notes the West Coast is<br />
uniquely positioned when it comes<br />
to variety and supply of seafood.<br />
“East Coast is cod, lobster, scallop,<br />
shrimp and tuna. On the West Coast,<br />
the king is wild B.C. salmon<br />
followed by a number of other<br />
species important to the economy.”<br />
His own restaurant has been<br />
incredibly busy, he reports. “We’re<br />
serving a heck of a lot of B.C. seafood<br />
and charging accordingly so we can<br />
18 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong><br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
pay fair prices to the fishermen. There<br />
hasn’t been a single complaint.”<br />
In the last six months, he’s seen a<br />
decided uplift in community support<br />
for local produce. “There is a real hyper<br />
focus on supporting the region and<br />
small business.”<br />
Shane Robilliard, executive chef and<br />
Food-and-Beverage director at Fox<br />
Harb’r Resort in Wallace, N.S., says<br />
even though the East Coast has lagged<br />
the West when it comes to sustainable<br />
seafood, “We’re finally getting to a place<br />
where customers are appreciating it and<br />
willing to pay more. It used to be draining<br />
to try and get the message across,<br />
but it’s been exciting to see the education<br />
of the guest has finally caught up.”<br />
He reports that choice has been<br />
stable through the pandemic in his<br />
neck of the woods. “I’d say we’re at 85<br />
per cent of where they were last year in<br />
terms of revenues. But I do worry about<br />
some smaller suppliers struggling with<br />
lower volumes. I hope they can make it<br />
through all this.”<br />
Menu offerings such as locally<br />
farmed Sustainable Blue salmon have<br />
picked up over the last couple of years.<br />
“It’s one item that has skyrocketed. It<br />
accounts for up to 20 per cent of menu<br />
sales,” Robilliard says.<br />
He says another item gaining traction<br />
is Arctic char. “We added a locally farmed<br />
product at the end of July. It completely<br />
blew me away how fast it sold, so we<br />
immediately put it on the menu.”<br />
Popular sustainable staples also<br />
include longline halibut, fresh trout<br />
from the property’s trout farms and even<br />
octopus on occasion. “Of course, we go<br />
through mountains of lobster when it’s<br />
in season. This year, the cost is about<br />
$1.50 less a lb., which is nice to see.”<br />
Oysters continue to be a significant<br />
piece of business at Fox Harb’r Resort<br />
and Robilliard is doing his best to<br />
support the local suppliers, who he<br />
estimates have lost 30 per cent of their<br />
overseas sales and are down 50 per cent<br />
on their overall sales.<br />
it’s not only how<br />
you grow it, but<br />
also how well<br />
you can supply it.<br />
people selling to<br />
restaurants need<br />
to know if they can<br />
fulfill sales orders.<br />
[Operators] need<br />
that predictability<br />
to plan their menus<br />
and fixed costs<br />
Wade Scott, Quality Assurance<br />
manager for Fisherman’s Market in<br />
Halifax reports that for both shellfish<br />
and fin fish, volumes are somewhat l<br />
imited, but improving. “The market<br />
sucks up every pound we can ship.”<br />
Within three weeks of the lockdown,<br />
Fisherman’s Market’s sales dropped 70<br />
per cent, but then started to pick up to<br />
the point where it’s now down 40 per cent<br />
from the same time the previous year.<br />
Scott says they were fortunate in that<br />
they developed a crisis-management<br />
program early in the pandemic. “We did<br />
a quick inventory when lockdown came<br />
and ordered well ahead because of the<br />
slowness of delivery. We never ran out<br />
or had to refuse a client.”<br />
Fresh ideas<br />
Beyond coastal waters, sustainable freshwater<br />
seafood is having a surge of its own,<br />
as the number of aquaculture operations<br />
grows. St. Thomas , Ont.-based Susan<br />
Cole, board president of the Ontario<br />
Aquaculture Association and co-owner<br />
of Cole-Munro Foods Group Inc., says<br />
rainbow trout accounts for 93 per cent<br />
of freshwater-farm seafood supply in the<br />
province, followed by shrimp.<br />
Up-and-coming species also include<br />
tilapia, Arctic char and barramundi.<br />
Freshwater-lake wild catch is mainly<br />
yellow perch, pickerel and whitefish.<br />
Beyond the variety of options, reliability<br />
of supply is critical, Cole says. “It’s not<br />
only how you grow it, but also how well<br />
you can supply it. People selling to restaurants<br />
need to know if they can fulfill sales<br />
orders. [Operators] need that predictability<br />
to plan their menus and fixed costs.”<br />
She’s been excited to see a number<br />
of innovative approaches on the part<br />
of chefs and restaurants in areas such<br />
as meal kits and prepared meal services<br />
through retail partnerships. “Prior to<br />
COVID-19, 38 per cent of meals consumed<br />
were in restaurants. That went<br />
down to nine per cent during the height<br />
of the lockdowns, which meant turning<br />
more to retailers. Operators have had to<br />
really change their thinking and delivery<br />
mechanisms. Partnerships will be key.”<br />
Kostyniuk is also pleased to see<br />
operators applying a number of<br />
innovative approaches to promoting<br />
sustainable-seafood consumption.<br />
“People are going out of their way<br />
to stay in business and keep offering<br />
incredible food — whether it’s food<br />
trucks, food delivery, takeout or pickup.<br />
We’re seeing unbelievable resilience<br />
and a commitment to staying open.” FH<br />
Popular staples at Fox<br />
Harb’r Resort include<br />
longline halibut and fresh<br />
trout<br />
20 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
SEGMENT REPORT<br />
SEGMENT<br />
SPOTLIGHT<br />
EXAMINING THE PANDEMIC’S IMPACT<br />
ON FOODSERVICE SEGMENTS<br />
BY DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent<br />
economic crisis has had an undeniable<br />
impact on the Canadian foodservice industry.<br />
Shutdowns, health-and-safety measures<br />
and continued uncertainty have created a<br />
challenging environment for operators.<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER OCTOBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 21
DINER<br />
Confidence<br />
According to a survey released<br />
by Andia. work in August:<br />
• Canadians feel significantly<br />
safer eating at independent<br />
restaurants (35.5 per cent)<br />
compared to fast food (23<br />
per cent) or chain restaurants<br />
(11.1 per cent)<br />
• Canadians feel safer on<br />
patios (21.7 per cent) than<br />
indoor dining-rooms (10.2<br />
per cent)<br />
• More than half of Canadians<br />
(56.8 per cent) are still ‘only<br />
eating at home’<br />
According to Restaurants<br />
Canada’s Foodservice Facts <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
at the height of pandemic shutdowns<br />
(April <strong>2020</strong>), commercial<br />
foodservice sales plummeted by<br />
61.4 per cent compared to the<br />
previous year. And, with many<br />
Canadians working from home,<br />
locations in downtown cores have<br />
especially suffered, as has the<br />
breakfast daypart. Data from The<br />
NPD Group shows that, in April,<br />
breakfast traffic at quick-service<br />
restaurants (QSRs) fell 48 per<br />
cent year over year, while breakfast<br />
and lunch traffic at<br />
full-service restaurants (FSRs)<br />
plummeted more than 80 per cent.<br />
“Before the pandemic [38 per<br />
cent] of an average (Canadian)<br />
household’s food bill was devoted<br />
to foodservice. In March [and]<br />
April, it went down to nine per<br />
cent,” Sylvain Charlebois, professor<br />
of Food, Distribution and<br />
Policy at Dalhousie University,<br />
stated during the <strong>2020</strong> Terroir<br />
Symposium in September. “Now,<br />
based on our estimates, we’re<br />
at about 75-per-cent [retail],<br />
25-per-cent [foodservice].”<br />
In this environment, Nick<br />
Di Donato, president & CEO<br />
of Toronto-based Liberty<br />
Entertainment Group, says the<br />
focus of many has been finding<br />
ways to “minimize the losses so<br />
we can get through this period.”<br />
“Trying to pivot the business<br />
is one thing,” adds Ryan Moreno,<br />
CEO of Surrey, B.C.-based Joseph<br />
Richard Group (JRG). “But [we<br />
were] also trying to figure out, at<br />
the same time, what was going to<br />
be allowed.”<br />
Despite government support<br />
measures and efforts to pivot<br />
operations to suit the current<br />
climate, a Restaurants Canada<br />
survey found the majority of<br />
restaurants that were open for<br />
just takeout/delivery or onpremise<br />
dining were not turning<br />
a profit, with 68 per cent of FSRs<br />
and 51 per cent of QSRs reporting<br />
they were operating at a loss.<br />
Di Donato also points out<br />
companies and brands that<br />
had poured their resources into<br />
expansion prior to the pandemic<br />
have been left in a particularly<br />
precarious position. “Anybody<br />
who was on a rapid-growth curve<br />
is going to suffer exponentially,”<br />
he says. “They’ve allocated all<br />
their resources and funding into<br />
expansion and perhaps don’t<br />
have as much of a purse to hang<br />
on and keep things going.”<br />
As David Hopkins, president,<br />
Toronto-based The Fifteen<br />
Group, explains, the challenges<br />
faced by the industry’s various<br />
segments “are pretty much the<br />
same across the board.” He<br />
highlights reduced traffic,<br />
new safety procedures<br />
and<br />
exacerbated<br />
staffing<br />
challenges<br />
as key examples.<br />
“Managing staff, schedules<br />
and flow of traffic is<br />
always challenging in the best<br />
of times,” he explains. “Now it’s<br />
become even more of a full-time<br />
job just to manage that aspect.”<br />
And, while the entire industry<br />
is struggling and working to<br />
navigate the challenges created<br />
According to<br />
Restaurants Canada’s<br />
Foodservice Facts <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
54 per cent of licensed<br />
restaurateurs felt the<br />
ability to offer alcohol<br />
with takeout meals had<br />
a positive impact on<br />
their sales.<br />
GENERAL ASSEMBLY PIZA; TED CHAI PHOTOGRAOHY [STARUCKS]<br />
22 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
SPONSORED CONTENT<br />
Canadian Egg Farmers are<br />
Inspired by the Culinary Industry<br />
Chef Craig Flynn of Halifax, Nova Scotia<br />
Contributed by Egg Farmers of Canada<br />
The pandemic has forced us to think about<br />
farm to table in a different way. From<br />
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Times of adversity can weaken communities,<br />
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And just like the culinary industry, Canadian egg<br />
farmers continue to support our local economy<br />
by providing continued access to an affordable<br />
protein option in fresh, local, and high-quality<br />
eggs. Because ensuring our community has<br />
what it needs to keep going, kept us going.<br />
Chef Craig Flinn started his first restaurant<br />
to highlight the amazing local produce of his<br />
home province, Nova Scotia, and his support<br />
for local fare and his community didn’t stop<br />
there. “Despite a difficult year, I was fortunate<br />
enough to be able to spend time volunteering,<br />
including supporting community initiatives close<br />
to my heart.” Chef Craig’s story is just one of the<br />
countless untold experiences of Canadians in<br />
the culinary industry who found themselves in<br />
need and still found ways to give.<br />
The culinary industry knew the top priority was<br />
keeping its workers and the community safe.<br />
When Top Chef Canada winner and restaurateur<br />
chef Dale MacKay closed down his restaurants<br />
temporarily, he was able to take the opportunity<br />
to learn, re-connect and slow down for a moment.<br />
“Recently, I’ve had the chance to discover<br />
the local businesses right in my own backyard<br />
and learn about farming and local food producers.<br />
It has also afforded me the time to really<br />
consider my role as a chef and restaurant owner,<br />
the businesses I support and the community we<br />
collectively serve.” Chef Dale’s perspective shift<br />
is one shared by many in the community, taking<br />
that second gear reserved for a Friday night<br />
rush and re-purposing it to support the local<br />
community. It’s thanks to hard-working members<br />
of the culinary industry such as chef Dale that<br />
the majority of Canadians feel restaurants have<br />
successfully adapted to COVID-19 restrictions.<br />
Those who inspire, most often are inspired by<br />
others. Chef Flinn knows it will be a team effort<br />
to keep on the right track. “Though it’s been a<br />
challenging year for many across our country,<br />
I’ve been re-invigorated by how food producers,<br />
chefs and communities have come together to<br />
help one another. We’ve all had to adjust our<br />
work and daily lives, and I believe we will prevail<br />
stronger than ever, with a strengthened appreciation<br />
for one another.”<br />
Egg Farmers of Canada is proud to be a part<br />
of Canadian’s food industry and stand behind<br />
the culinary community. Together, we’ll help<br />
Canadians remember they’ll always find comfort<br />
in a good meal.<br />
eggfarmers.ca
y the pandemic, not all segments<br />
of the industry have been<br />
impacted equally.<br />
QUICK SERVICE<br />
AND FAST CASUAL<br />
“The quick-service and fast-casual<br />
segments fared better through<br />
it all because they could pivot<br />
more easily to a delivery/takeout<br />
model,” says Hopkins. However,<br />
he adds, almost everyone is down<br />
compared to last year and the<br />
speed with which restaurants<br />
were able to shift their operating<br />
One of Burger King’s new designs<br />
features a suspended kitchen and dining<br />
room above the drive-thru lanes<br />
WE’VE NOTICED THAT<br />
CHAIN RESTAURANTS OR WELL-BRANDED<br />
PROFESSIONAL RESTAURANTS HAVE FARED<br />
MUCH BETTER. THE ONES THAT COME<br />
ACROSS AS VERY POLISHED AND<br />
BRANDED…TENDED TO FARE BETTER<br />
BECAUSE THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS VERY<br />
CONCERNED ABOUT HEALTH AND SAFETY<br />
AND THEY ASSOCIATE THAT BRANDED,<br />
PROFESSIONAL FEEL TO A RESTAURANT<br />
[WITH] A MORE-SAFE<br />
ENVIRONMENT<br />
model and share these changes<br />
also impacted performance.<br />
According to Foodservice<br />
Facts <strong>2020</strong>, while faring better<br />
than other segments, QSRs saw<br />
declines of 40.6 per cent in April.<br />
And, despite largely being well<br />
positioned to shift to takeout/<br />
delivery, 19 per cent of restaurants<br />
in the segment temporarily shut<br />
down all operations due to either<br />
their business model or location<br />
in a shopping mall.<br />
As noted in a Technomic<br />
Industry Insights report, pizza<br />
chains were among the segment’s<br />
best positioned to adapt to the<br />
COVID-19 landscape, emerging<br />
as the crisis’ “early winners” due<br />
to their well-established offpremise<br />
channels, including both<br />
in-house and third-party delivery.<br />
Reflecting this trend, Pizza Hut<br />
had systemwide sales growth of<br />
18 per cent during the second<br />
quarter of <strong>2020</strong> and a year-todate<br />
increase of 11 per cent.<br />
Other major brands reported<br />
significant sales declines, including<br />
Burger King and Tim Hortons,<br />
which saw Q2 decreases of 25 per<br />
cent and 33 per cent respectively.<br />
Similarly, A&W Food Services of<br />
Canada Inc. reported a 31.6-percent<br />
drop in same-store sales for<br />
Q2. KFC’s Canadian operations<br />
were less impacted, reporting a<br />
four-per-cent decline.<br />
On the other end of the spectrum,<br />
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen,<br />
which has been growing its presence<br />
in Canada, posted doubledigit<br />
system wide sales growth for<br />
the quarter (24 per cent).<br />
Aside from declining sales, the<br />
factor affecting this segment<br />
the most is the growth of<br />
contactless ordering. According<br />
to Technomic, many Canadian<br />
consumers expect these options<br />
to be offered at fast-food outlets,<br />
with more than 30-per-cent indicating<br />
online ordering via mobile<br />
or computer is an expectation.<br />
“There’s a lot more movement<br />
towards streamlined operations<br />
and [fewer] points of contact,”<br />
says Hopkins. “Prior to COVID-<br />
19, we were starting to see things<br />
like self-serve kiosks [rolling<br />
out at McDonald’s and Burger<br />
King]…And I think we’re going<br />
to see that happen a lot faster.”<br />
Offerings from Liberty Entertainment<br />
Group’s Don Alfonso 1890<br />
As an example, he points to<br />
Box’d by Paramount, which<br />
launched this summer and is<br />
touted as a fully automated<br />
restaurant experience. Toronto’s<br />
Naan & Kabob Group also<br />
launched the Cubby Smart<br />
Kitchen concept in October,<br />
offering five different menus<br />
served through a self-serve<br />
‘Cubby’ (digital locker) system.<br />
And, in recent months,<br />
Burger King and Starbucks both<br />
announced plans to implement<br />
new restaurant designs focused<br />
on convenience and improving<br />
the digital-customer experience<br />
in reaction to changing<br />
customer behaviours.<br />
FULL SERVICE<br />
Generally speaking, FSRs<br />
didn’t fare as well as their QSR<br />
counterparts. According to<br />
Restaurants Canada, the majority<br />
of FSRs temporarily closed<br />
through April following lockdown<br />
because many weren’t well<br />
positioned to shift to takeout/<br />
delivery operations.<br />
According to Statistics Canada,<br />
full-service restaurants saw a<br />
78.1-per-cent year-over-year<br />
decline in sales for the month of<br />
April. During this time, 47 per<br />
cent of restaurants in the segment<br />
were closed for the entire month<br />
and 65 per cent were closed for at<br />
least part of April.<br />
PAULA WILSON [DON ALFONSO]<br />
24 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
During the height of shutdowns,<br />
many, including Liberty<br />
Entertainment Group, took<br />
the time to assess their options<br />
before implementing an offpremise<br />
strategy. Its first focus<br />
was its casual Italian-food brand<br />
Cibo Wine Bar, which already<br />
had some delivery presence.<br />
“[We] increased the offers we<br />
had, did things to make it better<br />
[and] we even went into things<br />
that were never offered before,”<br />
says Di Donato, explaining that<br />
Cibo began selling cook-athome<br />
meals.<br />
While JRG also implemented<br />
new offerings — including meal<br />
and cocktail kits — as it shifted to<br />
off-site dining, Moreno says the<br />
company found itself in a somewhat<br />
more favourable position<br />
than some of its competitors, as<br />
its portfolio of public houses and<br />
upscale-casual restaurants already<br />
had established digital-ordering<br />
channels. The company had<br />
also launched its ghost-kitchen<br />
platform, Meal Ticket Brands, in<br />
2019, which Moreno credits with<br />
helping get the company through<br />
the shutdowns.<br />
“We were extremely lucky we<br />
had launched this delivery concept<br />
prior [to the pandemic],” he<br />
says. “We didn’t have to lay off<br />
any of our management across<br />
the company…they were the<br />
ones, from the front and back<br />
of the restaurant, operating the<br />
delivery out of our stores.”<br />
Moreno also credits its focus<br />
on more suburban locations in<br />
the Fraser Valley with helping JRG<br />
maintain demand at its restaurants,<br />
explaining these locations are<br />
more community focused and<br />
less reliant on tourism or office/<br />
business clientele.<br />
Di Donato points out that,<br />
generally, fine-dining restaurants<br />
were not well equipped to quickly<br />
pivot their operations during<br />
shutdown. But, after enhancing<br />
Cibo’s delivery offerings, the<br />
company began testing delivery<br />
for its Blue Blood Steak House.<br />
“We weren’t sure it would resonate,<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
Commercial Foodservice Sales, march and april <strong>2020</strong><br />
(vs. March and April 2019)<br />
-37.1%<br />
Total<br />
March<br />
-61.4%<br />
April<br />
because [it’s] high end, very<br />
expensive,” he says. But the company<br />
was ultimately surprised by<br />
its success. “People were getting<br />
tired of the same old food and<br />
were ready to have a special meal<br />
at home, so we filled that gap with<br />
Blue Blood.”<br />
“[COVID-19 has] forced a<br />
lot of restaurants that were<br />
never interested in online<br />
ordering [to] all of a sudden<br />
start scrambling and looking<br />
for a solution,” says Hopkins.<br />
“Now, if you don’t have that,<br />
you’re behind.”<br />
With the re-opening of<br />
on-premise dining, FSRs<br />
saw a significant increase in<br />
sales (dollars), which grew<br />
58.3 per cent in June from<br />
the previous month, according<br />
to Statistics Canada.<br />
However, the segment’s<br />
unadjusted sales for June<br />
<strong>2020</strong> were still down 51.8<br />
per cent in year-over-year<br />
comparison.<br />
And, with the return of cooler<br />
weather, full service is expected<br />
to see renewed challenges. “In the<br />
table-service [segment], whether<br />
it’s upscale-casual, casual-family<br />
or high-end dining, we’re going<br />
to see price increases over the<br />
next little while,” says Hopkins,<br />
citing the end of patio season and<br />
decreasing government support.<br />
“The only way that restaurants<br />
with reduced capacity can remain<br />
Full-Service<br />
Restaurants<br />
-49.3%<br />
-78.1%<br />
profitable is to increase prices.”<br />
ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS<br />
Given the current uncertainty<br />
and ongoing shifts in consumer<br />
behaviour, Charlebois says, “This<br />
blurring line we’ve been talking<br />
about for many years, between<br />
service and retail, is going to<br />
become even more interesting…<br />
COVID-19 just blew everything<br />
up — there’s no line anymore, it’s<br />
just food.”<br />
As an example, he points<br />
to Loblaws’ recent collaboration<br />
with Toronto<br />
restaurants for meal-kit<br />
offerings, adding<br />
he expects to see<br />
more initiatives<br />
Quick-Service<br />
Restaurants Caterers Drinking places<br />
-23.6%<br />
-40.6%<br />
-33.3%<br />
-74.7%<br />
-58.1%<br />
-90.5%<br />
Source: Canada/Foodservice Facts <strong>2020</strong><br />
like this in the future. The launch<br />
saw Loblaws add dishes from<br />
Burger’s Priest, La Carnita, Fresh<br />
Restaurants, Fat Lamb Kouzina,<br />
General Assembly Pizza, Kinton<br />
Ramen and Sala Modern Thai to<br />
its PC Chef Meal Kits direct-tohome<br />
delivery service.<br />
“Probably the most important<br />
While loosened<br />
restrictions and<br />
warmer weather<br />
created more<br />
opportunities for<br />
restaurants, many<br />
full-service<br />
restaurants continued to face<br />
challenges. Statistics Canada<br />
reported 32 per cent of FSRs<br />
were closed for part of June<br />
(compared with 44 per cent in<br />
May and 65 per cent in April)<br />
and 11 per cent were closed<br />
for the entire month of June.<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 25
Technomic estimates<br />
<strong>2020</strong> retail sales<br />
equivalent (RSE) for<br />
bars and restaurants<br />
in Canada will<br />
experience a decrease<br />
between 22 and 24<br />
per cent.<br />
thing happening<br />
right<br />
now is this phenomenon<br />
that I call<br />
‘the democratization of<br />
the food supply chain’ as a<br />
result of COVID-19. Because<br />
of e-commerce, everyone has<br />
access to the consumer,” adds<br />
Charlebois. “We actually are<br />
expecting online sales for food to<br />
triple this year as a result of the<br />
pandemic.”<br />
Many restaurant companies<br />
turned to HMR and meal-kit<br />
offerings to supplement revenue<br />
during the height of pandemic<br />
shutdowns. For example,<br />
TopTable Group, Oliver &<br />
Bonacini and Joey introduced<br />
grocery and meal-kit offerings<br />
for online ordering and delivery.<br />
Expanding on its cookat-home<br />
offerings, Liberty<br />
Entertainment Group launched<br />
a boutique grocery concept offering<br />
restaurant-quality products<br />
direct to consumers, as well as<br />
a selection of spirits and wines<br />
curated from its restaurants’ wine<br />
cellars.<br />
“We created a<br />
Cibo Market within<br />
our [Cibo] restaurants…because<br />
we had<br />
suppliers, we had food [and]<br />
we had the space,” explains Di<br />
Donato. “Those did fairly well,<br />
helped us get through,” he adds<br />
noting the new revenue stream<br />
helped mitigate losses.<br />
And, moving forward, Di<br />
Donato says the company is eying<br />
further moves into e-commerce.<br />
“[We plan to] continue looking<br />
for things like [Cibo Market],<br />
which are restaurant/hospitality<br />
related, but can get us outside of<br />
just being bricks and mortar.”<br />
Moreno notes “the innovation<br />
that we had [done] earlier certainly<br />
helped carry us through.”<br />
This innovation included an<br />
online liquor-delivery platform<br />
that had been in the works prior<br />
to the pandemic, which JRG was<br />
able to accelerate and launch<br />
quickly after lockdowns occurred.<br />
“We’ll continue to push down<br />
that road,” he adds, referring to<br />
delivery-focused initiatives within<br />
the company.<br />
In September, Toronto-based<br />
General Assembly Pizza launched<br />
a pizza-subscription service offering<br />
free home delivery for stacks<br />
of four to 10 pizzas, building on<br />
its line of frozen pizzas launched<br />
in the spring. While initially<br />
available to customers in Toronto,<br />
the brand plans to expand the<br />
service throughout Ontario<br />
in 2021.<br />
And, in October, Torontobased<br />
iQ Foods Co. launched iQ<br />
Essentials, offering a new line of<br />
ready-to-cook meals and snacks for<br />
front-door delivery once a week.<br />
And, while some operators<br />
continue to explore and roll<br />
out new e-commerce platforms,<br />
Moreno says the future of JRG’s<br />
meal-kit offerings is “iffy,” noting<br />
declining demand as most<br />
businesses re-opened. However,<br />
“direct to consumer is still<br />
something we’re looking at and<br />
plan to keep pushing forward,”<br />
he adds, highlighting the important<br />
role its food- and liquordelivery<br />
platforms have played<br />
in the company weathering the<br />
pandemic. “The direct-to-consumer<br />
[channels], regardless of<br />
COVID-19, was something that<br />
was coming anyway.”<br />
As Hopkins points out, the<br />
HMR and meal-kit market is now<br />
highly competitive and has even<br />
tighter margins than restaurants.<br />
And, with many caterers and<br />
restaurants seeing these markets<br />
as an opportunity, “that’s<br />
extremely challenging,” he says,<br />
“because there’s so many people<br />
trying to pivot to that.”<br />
MOVING FORWARD<br />
The disruption caused by the<br />
pandemic is expected to have a<br />
range of far-reaching impacts<br />
on the foodservice industry, not<br />
the least of which is the growing<br />
number of permanent closures.<br />
Charlebois says he anticipates<br />
approximately 30 per cent of all<br />
Canadian foodservice establishments<br />
could go out of business<br />
“by next year.”<br />
“For a very long time, our<br />
industry is going to be a lot more<br />
cautious,” says Di Donato. “I<br />
don’t think you’re going to see the<br />
rapid growth in a lot of areas that<br />
you’ve seen before in the food<br />
industry — because this could<br />
happen again.”<br />
“[The pandemic has] made<br />
the consumer a little more<br />
empathetic to restaurateurs<br />
and the hospitality industry, to<br />
understand how difficult our<br />
business is,” Di Donato adds.<br />
“I also think communities will<br />
realize how important our<br />
industry is to community.”<br />
Given the level of uncertainty<br />
felt within the industry, focus<br />
on diversification seems to be<br />
on the rise. A prime example,<br />
Paramount Fine Foods has<br />
launched four new concepts<br />
since June as part of its ‘pandemic<br />
plan.’ In addition to Box’d,<br />
Paramount has launched the<br />
Brampton Cloud Kitchen offering<br />
pickup and delivery; the friedchicken<br />
concept Krispo Chicken;<br />
and MAS.E.MO pizza in partnership<br />
with chef Massimo Capra.<br />
And, both Di Donato and<br />
Moreno credit their companies’<br />
diversified businesses as an asset<br />
that’s helped them weather the<br />
current crisis and pointed to<br />
further diversification as a key<br />
focus going forward.<br />
Speaking to the future of<br />
delivery and e-commerce<br />
offerings, Charlebois adds, “I<br />
don’t think there’s any going<br />
back…because people are<br />
getting accustomed to the service<br />
— and the service is getting<br />
better.” FH<br />
PAULA WILSON<br />
26 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong><br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
We’re in this<br />
together<br />
We salute the resilience<br />
and ingenuity of our food<br />
service and hospitality<br />
community.<br />
BLT CONSTRUCTION SERVICES | YOUR BUILDING PARTNER<br />
BLTCONSTRUCTION.COM
MEET SEVEN HOSPITALITY HEROES WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS<br />
TO THE INDUSTRY AND THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE ARE<br />
MAKING A DIFFERENCE DURING COVID-19<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 29
Mohamad Fakih (left) is well-known in<br />
the industry for his philanthropic efforts<br />
Paramount Fine Foods continues its<br />
culture of caring through turbulent times<br />
BY AMY BOSTOCK<br />
Mohamad Fakih believes it’s<br />
easy to talk about principles,<br />
values and good things when<br />
everyone is doing well. But,<br />
says the founder of Paramount<br />
Fine Foods, a Toronto-based<br />
Middle-Eastern restaurant chain, “it’s so hard<br />
to maintain it and prove it was not lip service<br />
at the worst time for businesses, industry and<br />
people, when everyone is stressed.”<br />
Since the COVID-19 pandemic first<br />
impacted Canada back in March, Paramount<br />
Fine Foods, has been taking steps to ease some<br />
of the burden felt by its staff and members of<br />
its communities.<br />
“It’s about supporting each other and<br />
understanding everyone is experiencing<br />
hardship right now,” says Fakih, who is wellknown<br />
in the industry for his philanthropic<br />
initiatives. “We must come together as a community<br />
to best support one another and fight<br />
through this together as one strong entity.”<br />
Paramount committed early on to donating<br />
nearly 2,000 meals to food banks and shelters<br />
across the Greater Toronto Area to support<br />
the most vulnerable in those communities.<br />
The company also worked with Feed Our<br />
30 FOODSERVICE AND HXQOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong><br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Heroes, an initiative to support frontline<br />
healthcare workers through meal delivery.<br />
“We hope that through these initiatives<br />
we’re able to help and provide service to many<br />
people in need of support,” says Fakih. “It’s<br />
times like these where we must give to those<br />
in need and help provide for those who are<br />
taking care of us.”<br />
As COVID-19 continues to shake the<br />
industry, Fakih says, in his role as a leader,<br />
ensuring the safety and health of his team<br />
members continues to be a top priority.<br />
“There are so many stressors (professional<br />
and personal) our team members are dealing<br />
with daily. It’s important to let them know we<br />
appreciate and support their efforts,” he says.<br />
“You also need to remind your people why we’re<br />
doing all this, why we’re still standing, why we’re<br />
still smiling. We have others looking up to us as<br />
leaders and we need to lead by example.”<br />
He says being a strong leader through these<br />
turbulent times means being supportive and<br />
letting his team know they’ll get through it<br />
together. “Checking-in and celebrating the selfless<br />
contribution of individuals on my team<br />
during these unprecedented times [is important].<br />
It’s more important now than ever to keep<br />
your team engaged and motivated.”<br />
He also points to what he calls “purposeful<br />
optimism” as a way to help his team cope with<br />
the challenges presented by COVID-19. This<br />
means sharing short- and long-term plans<br />
and clearly communicating how each role<br />
within the team will contribute to the company’s<br />
future success.<br />
“[We need to show them] it can be done and<br />
be patient when it comes to any resistance we<br />
find within our team. It’s also very important to<br />
show how the least fortunate are surviving.”<br />
Acknowledging and appreciating the efforts<br />
of his team is accomplished in a number of<br />
ways, including sharing examples of restaurants<br />
and team members that go over and above.<br />
“Everyone celebrates these accomplishments<br />
because it’s a ‘win’ for the entire Paramount<br />
family,” he explains. “Our success is 100-percent<br />
dependent upon their passion and commitment<br />
to Paramount’s future.”<br />
While Paramount isn’t immune to the<br />
financial challenges brought on as a result of<br />
COVID-19, Fakih firmly believes continuing<br />
to give back and support important causes<br />
strengthens the company’s corporate culture.<br />
“At these uncertain times, we need to dare<br />
to care,” he says. “We need to support each<br />
other as we navigate the growing concern of<br />
the Coronavirus together. Paramount is going<br />
to do whatever we can to keep our guests,<br />
team members and communities safe.” FH<br />
There are so<br />
many stressors<br />
(professional and<br />
personal) our team<br />
members are<br />
dealing with daily.<br />
It’s important to<br />
let them know we<br />
appreciate and<br />
support their<br />
efforts<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 31
When COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the NBA and N<br />
BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
Chef Chris Zielinski,<br />
executive chef, MLSE helped<br />
co-ordinate an emergency<br />
plan when COVID-19 hit<br />
Earlier this year, when COVID-19<br />
turned the world upside down,<br />
many businesses were forced to<br />
shutter their doors while others<br />
pivoted accordingly. For Maple<br />
Leaf Sports & Entertainment<br />
(MLSE), whose focus on fun has helped<br />
build a thriving business while entertaining<br />
Toronto’s sports and music fans, the magnitude<br />
of the closure was immense, given its stable of<br />
products includes three high-volume<br />
restaurants, as well as concessions and corporate<br />
suites. The cancellation of both the<br />
NHL and NBA seasons was a grim reality<br />
for the team of employees who work at the<br />
Scotiabank arena. But, instead of sitting idly<br />
by and waiting for business to return, the<br />
brigade of 22 chefs turned its efforts to a new<br />
reality and, within days, the arena was re-purposed<br />
into a huge production kitchen feeding<br />
thousands of people in need.<br />
“We broke open an emergency plan where we<br />
shifted everybody we had here into rescue mode<br />
and donated 27,000 lbs. of food on that day,”<br />
explains Chris Zielinski, Culinary director, MLSE.<br />
The same situation unfolded across the city at<br />
restaurants and shelters, explains Zielinski. “All<br />
of a sudden there’s all this partially cooked food<br />
but nobody to cook it, nobody to serve it. That’s<br />
where the idea sprung out of,” says Zielinski.<br />
32 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
HL seasons, the team at MLSE pivoted to help the needy<br />
The team at MLSE wasted no time putting the<br />
company’s empty spaces to good use<br />
“Once I heard that, I said, we have something<br />
here that most of the city doesn’t have and that<br />
is space. We have the space to actually socially<br />
distance in the kitchen and in the arena.”<br />
Without skipping a beat, MLSE transformed<br />
the mammoth arena into Toronto’s<br />
largest meal-production facility, with access<br />
to six restaurant kitchens through the building,<br />
as well as the kitchen at BMO, which is<br />
also operated by MLSE. Almost overnight, it<br />
crafted a large-scale meal program to produce<br />
and deliver between 10,000 to 12,000 meals a<br />
day to community agencies, including Second<br />
Harvest, the Scott Mission and various other<br />
groups, to support the city’s most vulnerable<br />
as well as to thank Toronto’s frontline health<br />
workers and their families for their efforts.<br />
Being community minded isn’t a foreign<br />
concept for MLSE — it’s actually part of its<br />
DNA. The company’s efforts to support the<br />
community are well known through its<br />
relationships with various social agencies,<br />
including Second Harvest and La Tablée des<br />
Chefs, whose programs have allowed the arena<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
to increase the number of pounds of rescued<br />
food in one year from 20,000 to 50,000. “A lot<br />
of our staff were already super engaged with<br />
Second Harvest. A lot of them hate seeing food<br />
thrown out, like I do. We instantly had cheerleaders<br />
all over the building.”<br />
Cooking up huge volumes of meals<br />
required a huge production area, which shifted<br />
to the floor of the arena where employees<br />
and volunteers worked alongside each other<br />
(respecting physical-distancing parameters) to<br />
package up the meals, with about 250 dishes<br />
assembled hourly.<br />
As many of its part-time staff had to be laid<br />
off, a complement of 75 full-time F&B managers<br />
were “the ones who’ve been carrying the load<br />
on this,” says Zielinski, adding the initiative gave<br />
them a purpose during a difficult time.<br />
Despite the challenges that surfaced along<br />
the way, Zielinski says the buy-in from the<br />
industry and the city was amazing. “This was<br />
truly a Team-Toronto effort.”<br />
While the initiative was intended to end on<br />
June 15th, with the exception of the period<br />
leading up to the Stanley Cup playoffs, when<br />
Toronto was designated as one of four hub<br />
We broke open an emergency plan where we shifted<br />
everybody we had here into rescue mode and donated<br />
27,000 lbs. of food on that day<br />
cities, it’s still going strong. “For me, we’ve<br />
gone through all this work and developed this<br />
great system; we’ve got a lot of people helping<br />
us with donations. If the need is there, we’ll<br />
continue doing it.”<br />
Zielinski is thankful for the lessons this<br />
experience has taught him. “We have a lot<br />
of caring people at this company; we get the<br />
devotion of the entire city. The number of<br />
people who want to give back, who want to be<br />
part of something great, blew me away. You<br />
don’t know it until it happens.” FH<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 33
Branding and Buzzing used its resources to create a<br />
level playing field for struggling foodservice operators<br />
BY AMY BOSTOCK<br />
As seasoned marketers, Sean Beckingham and Marian<br />
Staresinic know the power of collaboration. So, when<br />
two of their foodservice clients approached them about<br />
helping Canada’s struggling restaurant industry during<br />
COVID-19, the duo immediately got on board.<br />
On April 15, about one month after restaurants were<br />
forced to close for on-premise dining, their Toronto-based agency,<br />
Branding & Buzzing, launched Canada Takeout — a grassroots movement<br />
that encouraged Canadians to support their local restaurants by<br />
ordering takeout.<br />
Under the hashtag #TakoutDay, the initiative harnessed the power<br />
of social media and digital marketing to draw attention to the plight of<br />
restaurateurs across the country and offer diners a way to help.<br />
“All our clients wanted to do something, but didn’t know what to<br />
do,” says Beckingham. “It didn’t make sense to spearhead anything on<br />
their own. When the [Ontario] government announced restaurants<br />
were able to do takeout and delivery, we got a call from Anna Stolee<br />
at McCormick Canada saying ‘I want to do something…I want to<br />
support [places] that are open right now’ and Marian and knew this<br />
was something we could get behind.”<br />
Vince Di Maria, division president of foodservice broker Affinity<br />
Group was the next to call and, from that conversation, Canada<br />
Takeout was born. “Vince helped bring dozens of brands/companies as<br />
partners to [the initiative],” says Staresinic.<br />
But this was not a typical campaign. For one, the team at Branding<br />
& Buzzing put it together in record time.<br />
“A typical campaign can be anywhere from six to 10 weeks of planning,”<br />
explains Beckingham. “Canada Takeout launched in a month.”<br />
The premise was simple — offer operators a no-cost way to advertise<br />
their takeout/delivery offerings and customers a way to find restaurants<br />
in their area. By visiting canadatakeout.com, diners can locate restaurants<br />
using the Restaurant Finder Map; sign up for exclusive newsletter, as well<br />
as “coming-soon-to-your-area” announcements; find opportunities from<br />
operators to save money on their takeout order; and view weekly<br />
restaurant round-ups featuring places to eat across Canada.<br />
The response has been phenomenal. In fact, as of August 31, there<br />
were more than 14,500 foodservice-operator listings on Canada<br />
Takeout and the campaign has built a following of more than 15,000.<br />
The website boasts 459,000 visitors and 756,000 page views, paid social<br />
for the campaign sits at 17,300,000 impressions and #TakoutDay has<br />
160,150,474 impressions.<br />
“It gave a sense of hope for everybody,” says Beckingham. “It gave<br />
everyone the opportunity to help — it gave sales reps reasons to call<br />
their restaurants to say, hey, this campaign is coming, so order your<br />
supplies’ and gave restaurants a sense of hope that they could start<br />
making food again. It was a very level-playing-field approach when the<br />
controversy was happening around third-party-delivery apps. [Canada<br />
Takeout] had nothing to do with delivery fees — it’s a free service for<br />
both users and restaurants.”<br />
While the campaign started with Wednesdays, Staresinic says they’re<br />
now trying to encourage people to “make any day takeout day.” And the<br />
Branding & Buzzing team is not content to rest on its laurels, making<br />
sure the campaign stays top of mind for people. To accomplish this, the<br />
team created thematic days such as Pizza Day, Soup Day and Curry Day.<br />
“It gave people a chance to celebrate a moment in time — especially<br />
in a time when there’s not a lot to celebrate,” says Beckingham.<br />
On a personal note, Staresinic says the Canada Takeout campaign<br />
was also a great opportunity for the Branding & Buzzing team. “[It]<br />
allowed us to work on something altruistically with our team. We<br />
always seem to be client and deadline driven, but with Canada Takeout,<br />
it was a Branding & Buzzing-owned initiative, so that allowed us to<br />
work with our team in a different way — allowed everybody on the<br />
team to get personally and emotionally involved. We worked 50 to 60<br />
hours a week for the first two to three months and we were all tired.<br />
But, it feels pretty damn good now, because we’re having this interview<br />
with you. Being recognized is so touching for me.” FH<br />
34 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
THE<br />
BRANDING<br />
& BUZZING<br />
TEAM<br />
MARIAN STARESINIC<br />
SEAN BECKINGHAM<br />
AIMEE COOK<br />
SHANLEY GIBB<br />
SPENCER REYNOLDS<br />
CASEY TELFORD<br />
NICOLE RASHOTTE<br />
Marian Staresnic and Sean<br />
Beckingham lead the team<br />
at Branding & Buzzing<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 35
Mark McEwan and his team stepped up early in the<br />
pandemic to help frontline workers<br />
As the COVID-19 pandemic<br />
took hold, Mark McEwan<br />
mobilized his team of<br />
professionals to help<br />
the community<br />
BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
Over the past nine months, stories of how<br />
COVID-19 has decimated the foodservice<br />
and hospitality industry have<br />
become legion. But amid the destruction,<br />
frustration and the fear, a wealth<br />
of good-news stories has emerged, proving even<br />
through adversity, good can ultimately triumph.<br />
Like all restaurateurs forced to deal with the<br />
wrath of COVID-19, Mark McEwan moved<br />
quickly to make tough decisions. Virtually overnight,<br />
he closed seven of his nine properties.<br />
36 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
I distinctly remember delivering meals to<br />
paramedics during the pandemic and it was<br />
amazing to see the dedication, commitment and<br />
positivity of these incredible paramedic units<br />
“It was tough, but we understood the safety<br />
precautions necessary and pivoted swiftly<br />
with our grocery and catering offerings. We<br />
invested in significant PPE training, signage,<br />
changed store structures, removed hot tables,<br />
integrated individual packaged meals and<br />
more to ensure stores were safe environments<br />
for our guests and team. We continuously<br />
updated our protocols and products as we<br />
learned more and continue to do so,” explains<br />
the astute operator.<br />
Through the upheaval, McEwan realized<br />
the desperate need to lend a helping hand<br />
to the community. “At first, we did what we<br />
could at store level. The first hour of shopping<br />
was dedicated to senior clients, we offered 10-<br />
per cent off for seniors and frontline workers,<br />
free grocery delivery for seniors and individual<br />
meals for staff.”<br />
Through his grocery emporium, McEwan<br />
Fine Foods, he also donated to the Good<br />
Shepherd and The Seeds of Hope Foundation<br />
and produced meals for Mount Sinai Hospital,<br />
while working closely with Second Harvest —<br />
a group he’s actively supported for years. “We<br />
also sold products like Vodkow’s local and<br />
sustainable hand sanitizer, where with each purchase,<br />
they provided meals for Second Harvest<br />
and hand sanitizer for their delivery teams.”<br />
But it didn’t stop there. “At ONE<br />
Restaurant, we provided packaged meals for a<br />
variety of local groups, women’s shelters and<br />
paramedic teams.” In the local community,<br />
it worked with The Sanctuary, Church of the<br />
Redeemer and the 519. “We also created meals<br />
for The Interval House,” says McEwan, adding<br />
ONE Restaurant and The Hazelton Hotel<br />
worked in unison to prepare meals weekly for<br />
The Sanctuary and Church of the Redeemer.<br />
McEwan also offered virtual cooking classes<br />
to raise funds for various charitable groups<br />
and his team showed support for various<br />
industry initiatives, such as Canada Take Out<br />
and #SaveHospitality.<br />
Clearly, the impact of the pandemic has<br />
been multi-layered, but McEwan says it’s<br />
galvanized his team for the greater good.<br />
“At McEwan Fine Foods, our GMs, George<br />
Bachoumis and Eric McEwan, oversaw all<br />
logistics and any product delivery, while chef<br />
Kris Topping prepared all meals with his team.<br />
“At ONE Restaurant, executive chef Darby<br />
Piquette and head pastry chef Amy Tenn-yuk<br />
reached out to me at the start of the lockdown.<br />
They live near ONE Restaurant and<br />
saw, first-hand, the aforementioned community<br />
organizations at work. These two<br />
very talented chefs, along with chef Richard<br />
Hakim, were central in beginning our weekly<br />
food donations.” As momentum grew,<br />
McEwan’s director of Communications,<br />
Jessica Rodrigues, as well as The Hazelton<br />
Hotel’s managing director, Hani Roustom,<br />
managed further co-ordination and outreach<br />
with additional organizations. “Many<br />
of the deliveries were personally dispatched<br />
by chefs Darby and Amy. Jessica and Hani<br />
also hand-delivered to community centres<br />
and helped spread the word to gain further<br />
support. I distinctly remember delivering<br />
meals to paramedics during the pandemic<br />
and it was amazing to see the dedication,<br />
commitment and positivity of these incredible<br />
paramedic units.”<br />
While the pandemic has destroyed many<br />
layers of the foodservice community, the need<br />
to prevail has kept McEwan’s team focused<br />
on the greater good. “It was a hard time for<br />
everyone, but especially for different at-risk<br />
communities who really felt the effects of the<br />
COVID-19 crisis. We wanted to help where<br />
we could, give back to our guests who support<br />
us and show gratitude for the people keeping<br />
us safe. Many of the organizations we worked<br />
with also hold unique significance for our staff<br />
and creating these meals kept our teams active,<br />
which was good for mental health and morale.”<br />
Nine months after the pandemic sparked<br />
a global frenzy, there’s still no end in sight.<br />
“We’ve continued to feel the impact of<br />
COVID-19. When we were able to open, it was<br />
at half capacity on patios only, then reduced<br />
capacity indoors and we were then made to<br />
shut indoor dining with 24 hours’ notice,” says<br />
McEwan, who has been vocal about the need<br />
for stronger political leadership. “It’s been a<br />
roller coaster, but we’re dedicated to making<br />
our restaurants as safe as possible for guests<br />
and staff. We’re evolving. We’ll continue to<br />
work with our long-term charitable partners<br />
while providing a safe environment for our<br />
guests to enjoy our offerings.” FH<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 37
When COVID-19 hit the foodservice industry, La<br />
Tablée des Chefs brought it together to create meals<br />
for those in need<br />
BY ROSANNA CAIRA<br />
When the hospitality industry<br />
became one of the biggest<br />
casualties of the global COVID-<br />
19 pandemic earlier this year,<br />
it left a huge surplus of food<br />
with no home. “The hospitality<br />
industry was hit so fast that we needed first to<br />
recover a lot of food from closing establishments<br />
to direct towards food,” explains Jean-<br />
Francois Archambault, founder and director<br />
of the Montreal-based La Tablée des Chefs, a<br />
non-profit group focused on food-recovery<br />
programs as a way to feed those in need.<br />
But it didn’t stop there, says the tireless<br />
industry advocate. “Our school program,<br />
Kitchen Brigades, also had to stop because<br />
[the government] closed down the schools,<br />
so we needed to go virtual and try to reach<br />
kids in a different way,” he explains. “We also<br />
realized a lot of people would not receive the<br />
food they needed because of a shortage of<br />
volunteers in the community, mainly because<br />
of confinement.”<br />
Undaunted by the massive challenges,<br />
Archambault quickly pivoted. “We got our<br />
chefs involved in cooking for the community,”<br />
and launched Solidarity Kitchens, a food-prep<br />
initiative boasting more than 70 kitchens that<br />
prepped the meals and created more than two<br />
-million meals for the community in Quebec<br />
and other large Canadian cities — mainly<br />
Vancouver and Toronto. “We got the chefs<br />
back in their kitchens and more than 600<br />
tons of food donated in order to prep these<br />
meals and distribute them to food banks. It<br />
was massive; [we did] all that in five months,”<br />
boasts the father of twins. And, he launched a<br />
virtual Kitchen Brigades Workshop in order to<br />
reach teenagers at home.<br />
With razor-sharp focus, La Tablée des<br />
Chefs linked itself with the Food Security<br />
emergency committee and the Association of<br />
Food Banks in Quebec and also drew support<br />
from Vancouver and Toronto through Second<br />
Harvest. “We worked with the Minister<br />
of Agriculture in Quebec and Agriculture<br />
Canada to seek guidance and [to receive]<br />
funds out of emergency grants.<br />
38 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Led by Jean-Francois Archambault, the<br />
team at Montreal-based La Tablée des<br />
Chefs helped feed those in need during<br />
COVID-19<br />
We were able to get the whole industry mobilized and our team was at the heart of it, but we<br />
involved chefs, cooks, distributors, wholesalers, producers, food processors, farmers, food retailers,<br />
cold-storage-warehouse companies and transportation companies, hotels, restaurants and catering<br />
agencies — the entire foodservice industry<br />
“We were able to get the whole industry<br />
mobilized and our team was at the heart of<br />
it, but we involved chefs, cooks, distributors,<br />
wholesalers, producers, food processors, farmers,<br />
food retailers, cold-storage-warehouse<br />
companies and transportation companies,<br />
hotels, restaurants and catering agencies —<br />
the entire foodservice industry.”<br />
Like every other business, the La Tablée<br />
des Chefs had its own financial challenges to<br />
deal with through the lingering pandemic,<br />
but Archambault didn’t let that deter him.<br />
For the passionate chef-trained advocate, it’s<br />
always been about giving back — a tenet that<br />
fuelled him to found La Tablée des Chefs in<br />
2003, long before the topic of food waste was<br />
on anyone’s radar. Since then, his organization<br />
has helped distribute and feed more than<br />
three-million meals, primarily through foodrecovery<br />
efforts at some of the industry’s largest<br />
restaurants, hotels, sports arenas (including<br />
the Bell Centre and the Scotiabank Arena)<br />
and hospitals. In the process, he and his team<br />
have rescued food that would normally get<br />
thrown out and re-distributed it to those in<br />
need. He’s also developed culinary-education<br />
programs for more than 30,000 young people.<br />
And, equally as important in the process, the<br />
group has diverted 750 tons of uneaten food<br />
from landfills.<br />
“We’re always focused on the impact we can<br />
have and our mission to help. We thought the<br />
need would be greater [this time around], but<br />
the way we would be able to provide help was<br />
somewhat different because of the context.”<br />
Now, nine months after COVID-19 first<br />
blindsided the world, the health crisis continues<br />
to impact the community and businesses<br />
alike, which means much work still<br />
needs to be done. “We already know the need<br />
will be greater for at least 12 to 18 months,<br />
so are planning Phase 2 of the Solidarity<br />
Kitchens to produce another two-million<br />
meals to provide to food banks across<br />
Canada and mainly in Quebec. We’re also<br />
working on our virtual content to get teenagers<br />
active in the kitchens at home.”<br />
For Archambault, it’s all in a day’s work. FH<br />
MICKAËL A. BANDASSAK [JEAN-FRANCOIS ARCHAMBAULT]<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 39
Garland-Welbilt Canada acts on COVID-19 strategy<br />
with an outward focus s<br />
By Danielle Schalk<br />
Begets Support<br />
Garland-Welbilt Canada acts on COVID-19<br />
strategy with an outward focus BY DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
The company joined forces with<br />
its service partners to mobilize<br />
food delivery to those in need<br />
When pandemic shutdowns came into<br />
effect in March, Mary Chiarot, vicepresident<br />
& general manager, Garland-<br />
Welbilt Canada says her company saw<br />
“the whole pipeline come to a standstill.”<br />
But, rather than shut down completely,<br />
the Mississauga, Ont.-based<br />
company operated<br />
factories on reduced<br />
hours and adjusted to<br />
accommodate whatever<br />
demand remained<br />
from hospitals, institutions<br />
and retail. Our<br />
approach was less<br />
about hunkering down<br />
and being focused<br />
inwardly, but rather we<br />
focused outwardly,” says<br />
Chiarot. “Part of our<br />
success in the Canadian<br />
market is not just what<br />
we do every day [as<br />
a manufacturer], but<br />
our leadership position<br />
within the foodservice<br />
industry. And, we believe we have a responsibility to<br />
support the industry,” Chiarot explains, noting her<br />
philosophy has long been a pillar of Garland-Welbilt’s<br />
strategy. Among its key efforts is scholarships and bursaries<br />
to help develop the industry’s future leaders. But,<br />
in the face of sudden challenges created by COVID-<br />
19, this commitment was not only maintained, but<br />
greatly expanded.<br />
When considering how best to offer support,<br />
Garland-Welbilt’s industry partnerships, such as consultants,<br />
servicing partners and industry associations,<br />
as well as customers/operators, were top of mind. The<br />
company looked at how they were being impacted and<br />
searched for ways to “work closely with them in order<br />
to support them and, in turn, [have] them support us,”<br />
Chiarot adds.<br />
“We quickly tabled a bunch of things we could do<br />
and set out with our troops to try and reach out and<br />
drive some of those initiatives forward,” shares Jeff<br />
McMullen, vice-president, Sales, Canada at Garland-<br />
Welbilt Canada.<br />
Among the initiatives put in motion was outreach<br />
to community kitchens, including Community<br />
Food Centres Canada, offering additional equipment<br />
and support preparing food and meals. “We quickly<br />
reached out to partners like Gordon Food Service and<br />
Bridor…and asked for donations; they quickly ponied<br />
up and chef Geoff [Scott] produced those meals,” says<br />
McMullen. “In excess of 2,000 meals were delivered out<br />
of [the Welbilt Canada Culinary Centre] within the first<br />
30 days.”<br />
The company offered additional support communities<br />
by loaning equipment to charitable organizations,<br />
temporary kitchens and food centres. It also worked<br />
with its service partners to subsidize repairs and<br />
installation costs. These partners were also mobilized<br />
40 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
The team at Garland-Welbilt<br />
turned its focus outward when<br />
COVID-19 hit, introducing<br />
programs to help its clients<br />
survive the pandemic<br />
Part of our success<br />
in the Canadian<br />
market is not just what<br />
we do every day [as a<br />
manufacturer],<br />
but our leadership<br />
position within the<br />
foodservice industry.<br />
And, we believe we<br />
have a responsibility to<br />
support the industry<br />
to help deliver the meals prepared at the<br />
Culinary Centre.<br />
Recognizing the strain on restaurants,<br />
Garland-Welbilt also took action to support<br />
the industry’s displaced workers as a founding<br />
partner of the Canadian Hospitality Worker<br />
Relief Fund (CHWRF), which distributed<br />
more than $1-million in one-time, $500 grants<br />
to applicants from the industry.<br />
Chiarot describes the CHWRF’s creation as<br />
a grassroots initiative developed prior to the<br />
introduction of many government-support<br />
measures. “We used our resources, as well as<br />
our brand and our business name in order to<br />
bring more funds into that bucket of goodwill,”<br />
she adds.<br />
Other efforts included support for Canada<br />
Takeout’s #TakeoutDay campaign (see story<br />
p. 34) and the launch of a financing program<br />
to help cash-strapped operators access new<br />
equipment.<br />
“We worked on making it more feasible<br />
and economical for that operator to stay in<br />
business,” says Chiarot. This also includes<br />
“providing guidance and consulting to those<br />
operators that are re-thinking or re-inventing<br />
their business.”<br />
“We provided some demo equipment so<br />
[restaurants] could augment their foodservice<br />
to be able to get through and switch over to<br />
more takeout,” adds McMullen, pointing to an<br />
example of an Italian fine-dining restaurant<br />
that pivoted to a pizza-takeout concept.<br />
As the industry continues to face<br />
challenges, Chiarot says food insecurity will<br />
remain a main focus of the company’s support<br />
efforts, adding it’s been part of the company’s<br />
calling for more than five years. This will<br />
include “working with community kitchens,<br />
but not only address food insecurity by delivering<br />
fresh and hot meals, but also teaching<br />
people how to cook meals that are economical<br />
for their for themselves and their families,”<br />
she explains. FH<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 41
Jagger Gordon has<br />
expanded Feed it Forward’s<br />
network and operations<br />
to meet growing need<br />
BY DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
There has to be a<br />
change and the only<br />
way it’s going to<br />
change is if we all<br />
try together<br />
42 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Feed it Forward quickly expanded its reach<br />
in order to meet the rise in food insecurity<br />
during the pandemic<br />
Feed it Forward, launched in 2014<br />
by chef Jagger Gordon, was created<br />
to address the issues of food waste<br />
within the industry and tackle food<br />
insecurity. The Toronto-based nonprofit<br />
encompasses a 200-acre farm in Whitby,<br />
Ont., a pay-what-you-can grocery store and<br />
café in Toronto, a food-hamper program and<br />
mobile food-truck program.<br />
But, when government-mandated shutdowns<br />
came into effect in March, Gordon,<br />
says he was kicked into “battle mode” as he<br />
and his team worked to scale up operations to<br />
meet the need created by the pandemic.<br />
Despite his catering business drying up due<br />
to COVID-19, Gordon threw himself into filling<br />
the need he knew would arise. To start, the<br />
chef committed to making 30,000 meals out of<br />
pocket. But, he put out a call to the industry,<br />
which went viral on social media, and donations<br />
and additional support started coming in.<br />
“I knew, in our industry, that everyone was<br />
going to be shutting their doors and there was<br />
going to be a lot of product that needed to be<br />
utilized,” he explains. “I was able to open up<br />
three different operating kitchens that would<br />
continuously make meals with the food we<br />
rescued by the ton — we’re talking by the ton<br />
every other day.”<br />
At this time, the food-rescue organization<br />
was producing approximately 5,000 meals a<br />
day and was able to build up around 58,000<br />
frozen meals for what Gordon calls its emergency<br />
pre-made meal bank and distribute these<br />
through a roster of community organizations.<br />
As founder and CEO, Gordon is the heart<br />
of the organization, with his vision being<br />
executed through the efforts of the organization’s<br />
2,200 volunteers and partnerships with<br />
the likes of the Red Cross, Breakfast Clubs of<br />
Canada and Second Harvest, as well as a range<br />
of grocery, restaurant and supply partners.<br />
“What I’m so excited about is getting to<br />
watch this come alive through networking like<br />
this,” Gordon says.<br />
Additionally, Feed it Forward worked<br />
with Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports and<br />
Entertainment (MLSE) to distribute the<br />
meals the company produced through its<br />
meal-donation program (see story on p. 32)<br />
and is also making pet food from food waste<br />
because, as Gordon points out, there are many<br />
people who are struggling who have pets and<br />
“they’re going to feed their animal first.”<br />
As the crisis endures, the team continues<br />
to produce nutritionally balanced meals<br />
seven days a week. And, the founder explains,<br />
the next step is for others to take the Feed it<br />
Forward model and replicate it throughout<br />
Canada — especially as regions of the country<br />
begin shutting down once again.<br />
“I need to let chefs, restaurateurs, food providers<br />
and manufacturers know we need to<br />
work together,” Gordon says, stressing it needs<br />
to be a co-ordinated effort.<br />
Part of this will be facilitated by the<br />
upcoming re-launch of Feed it Forward’s app,<br />
which allows “any person in the world that<br />
has either cooked a meal or has something<br />
they need to utilize the opportunity to share<br />
it rather than destroy it.”<br />
The other piece of the puzzle is utilizing the<br />
framework Gordon has already established,<br />
which is available on Feed it Forward’s website,<br />
to set up similar and partner organizations<br />
beyond the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).<br />
“I would only hope to have this replicated<br />
by others that have the same vision, rather<br />
than have proprietorship over it anywhere<br />
else in the world,” the chef says, noting he has<br />
the GTA well in hand. “We have the idea, we<br />
have the freezer system, we know where the<br />
product comes from, we know where to put it<br />
and we now have the capability, through our<br />
website and app, [for people to be] able to ask<br />
for help.”<br />
As the initiative forges forward, a key<br />
challenge Gordon faces is the cost of the<br />
sustainable packaging Feed it Forward uses,<br />
with the ultimate goal being to establish a<br />
reusable-container system. But, he’s confident<br />
in organization’s future.<br />
“Together, we’ll move forward because<br />
there’ll be a lot of people finally wanting<br />
to donate to maintain our integrity,” says<br />
Gordon. “There has to be a change and the<br />
only way it’s going to change is if we all try<br />
together — the possibilities are endless working<br />
together…food is not a privilege.” FH<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 43
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EQUIPMENT<br />
PLUG<br />
PLAY<br />
COMBI-OVENS CAN HELP KEEP OPERATORS<br />
AFLOAT IN PANDEMIC TIMES<br />
BY DENISE DEVEAU<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER OCTOBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 45
The ever-versatile combi-oven<br />
is once again stepping up<br />
to the plate as restaurateurs<br />
adapt to running operations<br />
during the pandemic. For<br />
several years, the combi-oven has been an<br />
integral part of many kitchen operations,<br />
thanks to its versatility, ease of use and efficiency.<br />
But, these days, chefs are discovering<br />
even more reasons to leverage the intelligence<br />
and capabilities of these all-around workhorses,<br />
from reduced staffing and space restrictions,<br />
to menu changes and kitchen formats.<br />
One major issue influencing today’s operations<br />
is the shortage of labour and skills in kitchens,<br />
many of which are running at skeleton-staff<br />
levels. “Combi-ovens really allow for the entire<br />
production to be plug and play. They take out<br />
the guesswork for chefs,” says Louis-Philippe<br />
Audette, president of RATIONAL Canada.<br />
Blodgett’s line of universal<br />
combi-ovens<br />
Many operators are pivoting to combi-ovens<br />
at a time when dining-rooms are closed and<br />
they’re converting to takeout, reducing their<br />
menus and consolidating functions where<br />
they can, he says. “Combi-ovens not only help<br />
reduce waste, they allow chefs to work handsfree<br />
while taking care of other business.”<br />
They can also be monitored and operated<br />
remotely, Audette adds. “It helps to have that<br />
fluidity. When you have staff pressed for time,<br />
you want to maximize how much you can get<br />
out of a cooking device. It helps streamline<br />
production, because you can cook several<br />
items together and set times for each.”<br />
“One-chef kitchens can run a larger operation<br />
with less staff and rely on the equipment to<br />
make everything more efficient and profitable,”<br />
says Steve Meehan, corporate chef, Food<br />
Service Solutions Inc. in Mississauga, Ont.<br />
April Shaw, VP of Blodgett Combi Sales<br />
and Marketing in Essex Junction, V.T.,<br />
observes that many operators are streamlining<br />
their menus because they don’t have a lot of<br />
staff in the kitchen and are getting back to<br />
their core profitable products. “Combi-ovens<br />
are faster and don’t require micro-management,<br />
so chefs can do something else while the<br />
oven does the producing. That’s a huge<br />
portion of what’s going on today.”<br />
QUALITY AND QUANTITY IN ONE<br />
The cost savings can also add up when<br />
operations are running on shoestring budgets,<br />
says Mark McEwan, executive chef at Food<br />
Service Solutions. “With combi’s, not only<br />
can you produce high-quality food without<br />
a highly trained person to execute it, you can<br />
get up to a 20-per-cent higher yield on meat<br />
cuts versus convection.”<br />
Another key factor is consistency. By<br />
improving and creating systems around food,<br />
restaurateurs can cook with more consistency<br />
and less prep, he adds. “Someone can call in<br />
sick and you can still achieve the same quality<br />
on a regular basis.”<br />
With staffing at a minimum, an added<br />
bonus is that a combi-oven cabinet can<br />
accommodate multiple items at the same<br />
time, ensuring a consistent product every<br />
time with less skilled staff.<br />
“There’s so much programming you<br />
can do,” Meehan says.<br />
WHERE THE COMBI’S ARE<br />
As a result of the pandemic,<br />
the restaurant industry has<br />
experienced a rise in commissary/ghost<br />
kitchens. Owners<br />
of multiple restaurants are<br />
following the QSR trend of<br />
transitioning to remote kitchens<br />
to prepare food for transfer to<br />
the different locations.<br />
“Ghost kitchens are something we’re seeing<br />
a lot more of,” McEwan says. “Whereas it<br />
was typically takeout pizza or Chinese-food<br />
operations, now everyone is doing it to reduce<br />
the high overhead of brick and mortar so they<br />
don’t have to worry about location.”<br />
A combi-oven can do the work of a fryer,<br />
grill, convection oven and steamer in a smaller<br />
footprint. “Instead of six or seven pieces, now<br />
you might have one or two,” he says. “The<br />
icon-based screen is the same interface you<br />
find on a cellphone or tablet, so the learning<br />
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FRANK STÖCKEL [TOP LEFT]<br />
46 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
facilities are really jumping on board.<br />
We see a lot of growth in that area<br />
because the one good thing about<br />
combi technology is it automatically<br />
logs all HACCP data. It knows the<br />
temperature of every minute in the<br />
cooking process and constantly<br />
monitors that it is in the safe zone.<br />
That’s a huge benefit.”<br />
A CASE IN POINT<br />
Stephen Clark, executive chef at Chop<br />
steakhouse in Calgary, has long been<br />
a fan of combi-ovens for its prep-hall<br />
operation. Now he’s bringing them to<br />
GRATE<br />
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FOR YOUR<br />
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0<br />
The Lainox Naboo line of combo-ovens<br />
curve is much easier and the training<br />
much faster. You could take high-school<br />
kids and a combi-oven and create a popup<br />
ghost kitchen to create an efficient<br />
takeout model.”<br />
Ventless systems have also come to<br />
the forefront in these scenarios. “Ghost<br />
kitchens are the biggest new market<br />
sector right now. You can put them anywhere<br />
and create a modular-style kitchen<br />
with ventless combi ovens,” Shaw says.<br />
An added benefit is that the modularity<br />
of a ventless system allows kitchens<br />
to separate production areas to address<br />
sanitation and physical-distancing challenges,<br />
she says. “Ventless plays a huge<br />
part in that.”<br />
Combi-ovens are also selling more<br />
into supermarkets, QSRs and other<br />
restaurants trying to optimize<br />
operations, Meehan says. “Healthcare<br />
RATIONALE’s iCombi<br />
line takes the guesswork<br />
out of producing<br />
consistent quality,<br />
regardless of<br />
experience level<br />
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the cooklines. The chain just completed<br />
a renovation in Halifax and is opening<br />
a new Saskatoon location in <strong>November</strong>.<br />
“Both of those kitchens rely heavily on<br />
combi technology,” he says.<br />
It all started a year-and-a-half ago<br />
with a renovation in Richmond, B.C.<br />
He saw an opportunity to use combiovens<br />
to reduce their kitchen size and<br />
increase dining-room capacity. “We<br />
replaced a good chunk of equipment on<br />
our cookline with RATIONAL ovens.<br />
We still have a deep fryer and Montague<br />
[Harvard, Calif.] broiler, but everything<br />
else is done with the combi-oven. With<br />
the consistency and speed of those<br />
ovens, we knew it wouldn’t take long<br />
for people to learn how to make food.”<br />
The timing was ideal, given the onset<br />
of the pandemic, because they could<br />
let the combi ovens take the place of<br />
an extra person. “In a busy kitchen we<br />
usually have two people running the<br />
station. The RATIONALs with timers<br />
are the extra person now.”<br />
They’ve also played a key role in<br />
Chop’s takeout strategy “That’s where<br />
combi-ovens really help because one<br />
person can manage two stations. And<br />
we don’t find ourselves burning anything<br />
because it was forgotten. That’s<br />
been the biggest win for us. Even if<br />
there’s only one skilled person working<br />
three lines, it almost feels like they have<br />
a couple of friends with them.”<br />
The Halifax location is the smallest<br />
kitchen they’ve built to date. Part of<br />
that is due to having the combi-ovens,<br />
he says. It boasts one double unit for<br />
prep during off-peak times and another<br />
two that serve as sauté stations for<br />
appetizers. The overall investment was<br />
$75,000 all in.<br />
“Between the space we saved and<br />
the equipment we didn’t buy, we came<br />
out pretty close to even. That’s the cool<br />
part. We’re in the process of trying to<br />
quantify the ROI so we can convert<br />
other existing properties. This is not the<br />
time to be spending money we don’t<br />
need to. All of us really have to make<br />
sure we know what we’re doing first.”<br />
Economics aside, his favourite<br />
feature is the programming. “What I<br />
like most is the intelligent level controls.<br />
That’s where the magic happens.” FH
TECHNOLOGY<br />
AUTOMATION<br />
ACCELERATION<br />
Fun Fact:<br />
On a per-capita basis, Canada<br />
has adopted high-speed ovens<br />
at a much greater rate than<br />
the U.S., according to<br />
manufacturer data<br />
from Food Service<br />
Solutions.<br />
SMART KITCHEN EQUIPMENT HAS BECOME A MUST-HAVE IN TODAY’S UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT<br />
BY DANIELLE SCHALK<br />
FREEPIK.COM<br />
hifts within the industry have been accelerated<br />
as foodservice operators have been forced to reevaluate<br />
and pivot their operations, spurring new<br />
demand for technology and equipment.<br />
“As COVID-19 has changed the landscape<br />
for the industry, we’re starting to see a lot of<br />
foodservice companies start to shift their attention<br />
towards smarter, more-efficient equipment,”<br />
shares Charles Rothman, regional Sales manager<br />
and Social-Media manager at Mississauga, Ont.-<br />
based Food Service Solutions (FSS). “The entire<br />
industry, since March, has had to pivot in order<br />
to adjust with the current climate and find a<br />
viable way to be profitable.” He points to combiand<br />
high-speed ovens as key products that have<br />
seen recent demand spikes.<br />
Louis-Philippe Audette, president of<br />
RATIONAL Canada, also notes a marked increase<br />
in demand for kitchen automation and smart<br />
equipment. “This has been the toughest time for<br />
restaurants to navigate through, from many perspectives,”<br />
he explains, noting the business fluctuations<br />
and compounded staffing challenges created<br />
by the pandemic.<br />
And, while many had been eying smart kitchens<br />
pre-COVID-19, the operational and cost benefits<br />
they offer have pushed smart equipment into the<br />
spotlight. “At the end of the day, it’s about viability<br />
and profitability,” says Rothman. “Where smart<br />
kitchen equipment really stands out is in the key<br />
areas of restaurants’ ability to manage costs and<br />
drive revenue. Smart equipment eliminates the<br />
need for other pieces of equipment, which immediately<br />
makes [opening] a foodservice business<br />
more viable — lower overhead, less operating<br />
costs and smart technology is generally ENERGY<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 49
from the<br />
supply side<br />
STAR-approved equipment.”<br />
Certain equipment combinations<br />
(see sidebars) are designed<br />
to improve kitchen management,<br />
business operations and use of<br />
space. They also leverage the<br />
Internet of Things (IoT) to create<br />
greater efficiencies. With this builtin<br />
functionality, cooking processes<br />
require less oversight, freeing up<br />
staff for other tasks. “And, of<br />
course,” adds Rothman, “the biggest<br />
cost for the industry, outside<br />
of the cost of goods, is labour.”<br />
High-speed ovens, such as<br />
the Xpress Chef line also offer<br />
As the largest procurement organization in North<br />
America, we support more than 9,000 hospitality<br />
operators As in the Canada largest procurement and strive organization to deliver in North<br />
exceptional America, value we year support over more year. than 9,000 hospitality<br />
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access to access the products to the products and and services they need<br />
when they need them.<br />
when they need them.<br />
features such as remote menu<br />
management and connectivity<br />
to easily standardize and update<br />
recipes. Given these ovens’<br />
versatility, Rothman says FSS has<br />
seen a spike in requests for this<br />
equipment across the country.<br />
Additionally, there’s the added<br />
benefit of the simplicity of use<br />
that comes along with the builtin<br />
technology. Along with the<br />
ability to program recipes and<br />
automate processes comes greater<br />
simplicity when training staff.<br />
“You’re able to bring in<br />
people with less experience at a<br />
www.foodbuy.ca<br />
www.foodbuy.ca<br />
lower cost and to efficiently train<br />
them to create recipes just as a<br />
higher-level chef would,” says<br />
Rothman.<br />
And, with the insights and<br />
analytics afforded by smart<br />
technology, further efficiencies<br />
can be achieved. Equipment can<br />
record health-and-safety data,<br />
monitor its functionality and<br />
provides alerts when cleaning or<br />
maintenance is needed. “What<br />
we’ll see more of in the future<br />
is more products becoming part<br />
of this connected hub,” says<br />
Danielle Forget, Marketing<br />
manager, RATIONAL Canada.<br />
“It’s allowing business owners to<br />
gain intelligence on their kitchen<br />
that was never possible before.”<br />
Beyond cooking equipment,<br />
smart kitchens encompass a<br />
range of other technologies<br />
that serve to further streamline<br />
back-of-house operations. For<br />
example, Boston Pizza began<br />
rolling out QSR Automations’<br />
ConnectSmart Kitchen graphicaldisplay<br />
system in Canada in 2018.<br />
The display system features<br />
kitchen video, programmable<br />
prep times and access to realtime<br />
production information to<br />
help handle workflow and ease<br />
communication in busy kitchens.<br />
Additionally, cubby/locker<br />
systems are being more widely<br />
lainox<br />
The Just Duet combo connects<br />
Lainox’s Naboo combi-oven and<br />
Neo — which can chill, slow cook,<br />
hold, thaw and proof. By utilizing<br />
the Lainox Cloud, together<br />
the two appliances help ensure<br />
the freshness and quality of each<br />
meal, enabling shorter wait times<br />
and space savings of up to 70 per<br />
cent. “It’s referenced as the world’s<br />
smartest, smallest kitchen,” says<br />
Charles Rothman, regional Sales<br />
manager and Social-Media manager<br />
at Mississauga, Ont.-based Food<br />
Service Solutions, which distributes<br />
Lainox in Canada. “This is one of the<br />
areas of our company — especially<br />
during COVID-19 — that we focused<br />
on heavily, because you can eliminate<br />
a tremendous amount of process<br />
[and] pieces of equipment.”<br />
RATIONAL<br />
RATIONAL has launched the iCombi<br />
Pro Line in Canada, improving upon<br />
its existing combi-ovens with higher<br />
productivity, shorter cooking times<br />
and lower energy consumption. The<br />
iCombi Pro indicates which foods<br />
can be cooked together and items<br />
can be prepared as quickly as possible,<br />
produced in the most energyefficient<br />
way or sequenced to be<br />
ready at a specified time. And, when<br />
combined with the iVario Pro and<br />
ConnectedCooking online platform,<br />
the combination — the iKitchen —<br />
covers more than 90 per cent of all<br />
conventional cooking applications in<br />
a smaller footprint.<br />
The multi-functional iVario<br />
Pro looks like a tilt skillet, but can<br />
boil, pan fry, sous vide, deep fry,<br />
pressure cook and perform lowtemperature<br />
cooking.<br />
50 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong>
Recognizing that the investment required to implement smart equipment is out of<br />
reach for some operators — especially in the midst of the pandemic — RATIONAL Canada<br />
recently rolled out a leasing program. “Maybe they can’t afford it without leasing but<br />
it’s the product that’s going to help keep their kitchen moving,” says Louis-Philippe<br />
Audette, president of RATIONAL Canada. “So leasing is going to be something that we’re<br />
very focused on making available to anyone who needs it.”<br />
considered as an order-pickup<br />
solution in the current environment.<br />
These systems allow<br />
food to be transferred directly<br />
from the kitchen to self-serve<br />
compartments accessed by customers<br />
and delivery curriers. For<br />
example, Cubby Smart Kitchen<br />
was recently launched in Toronto<br />
by the founders of Naan &<br />
Kabob Group. The virtual-kitchen<br />
concept, which offers five menus,<br />
features self-serve order kiosks and<br />
food cubbies. Box’d by Paramount<br />
— Paramount Fine Foods’ fully<br />
automated restaurant concept,<br />
which launched in Toronto this<br />
summer — also utilizes digital<br />
cubbies and shelves to identify<br />
orders and create a streamlined<br />
experience. “The state-of-theart<br />
technology used throughout<br />
Box’d will revolutionize and<br />
transform how consumers<br />
experience dining on-the-go and<br />
will help our guests feel safe,”<br />
says chef Tomer Markovitz, who<br />
developed the menu for Box’d.<br />
“With one chef per meal, all<br />
meals are sealed and delivered<br />
to sanitized, individual cubbies,<br />
which simplifies the process and<br />
keeps cleanliness and safety top<br />
of mind.”<br />
“In order to rebuild our<br />
industry and get back to solid<br />
ground, we need to either be able<br />
to keep our heads above water<br />
until we have a vaccine and<br />
normality again or we’re going<br />
to have to have other types of<br />
solutions in order to keep<br />
generating revenue from<br />
the public to keep<br />
everyone afloat,”<br />
says Rothman. FH<br />
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fiberglass design and rounded insulated<br />
corners promote a sanitary, easy-toclean<br />
environment and the durable, NSFapproved<br />
non-slip flooring system greatly<br />
reduces the risk of slips and falls. PKM’s<br />
portfolio currently offers three eight- to<br />
16-foot small refrigerated trailers, all<br />
with commercial quality, 54-inches wide<br />
refrigerator doors.<br />
polarleasingmobile.com<br />
NEW<br />
ADDITIONS<br />
FOODSERVICE SUPPLIERS UNVEIL NEW PRODUCTS<br />
TO HELP OPERATORS ACHIEVE SUCCESS<br />
THE<br />
VOLLRATH<br />
COMPANY<br />
Vollrath has launched a new line of<br />
1-Series Delivery Bags with two-inchthick<br />
insulation, durable construction<br />
with re-inforced stitching and heavyduty<br />
handles and straps. They also have<br />
a moisture-resistant outer shell, solid floor<br />
panels for rigidity and are collapsible for easy storage.<br />
vollrathfoodservice.com<br />
JASPR/FOOD SERVICE SOLUTIONS<br />
It’s possible for the COVID-19 virus to be<br />
passed on through contaminated air in<br />
heating and A/C systems, so it’s never been<br />
more important to ensure the air in your<br />
business is totally free from harmful bacteria,<br />
pathogens and allergens. To keep your<br />
staff and customers safe, you need to purify<br />
your air. Jaspr is not just an air purifier that<br />
helps keep your health practice safe, it’s a<br />
medical-grade air purifier that delivers the<br />
highest level of performance for the most<br />
affordable price.<br />
foodservicesolutions.ca<br />
OPENTABLE<br />
As restaurant doors re-open,<br />
chefs will be at the stove,<br />
customers will fill tables (even if<br />
they are a few more feet apart)<br />
and communities will come<br />
together. Whether you’ve been<br />
closed for weeks, are planning<br />
your re-opening or adapted to offer takeout and delivery, OpenTable can<br />
help you welcome back guests and re-build your business. OpenTable’s<br />
Open Door program is available with no subscription fees and no cover<br />
fees through March 31, 2021.<br />
restaurant.opentable.com/doors-open<br />
CAMPBELL’S FOODSERVICE<br />
Campbell’s Foodservice has introduced its new Bombay-Style Butter-Chicken Soup, which features a rich and creamy<br />
curry soup, accented with garam masala, cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. With butter chicken ranked as a top-ranked<br />
growth driver for ethnic cuisine in Canada, this is an on-trend offering to add to menus. In fact, butter chicken ranks<br />
number-1 among the ordered items through Uber Eats and number-2 through DoorDash across Canada. The fully<br />
prepared soup saves time and labour while ensuring consistency and is available in four-lb. packaging.<br />
campbellsfoodservice.ca<br />
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM<br />
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY 53
FEEL-GOOD STORIES FROM THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY<br />
The Power<br />
of Mentorship<br />
STARBUCKS CANADA SUPPORTING<br />
CANADIAN BLACK YOUTH<br />
In partnership with the Black Business and Professional Association<br />
(BBPA), Starbucks Canada and MentorCanada are offering 1,000<br />
young Black Canadians between the ages of 14 and 29 the opportunity<br />
to be part of a mentorship program called MentorME. The goal of<br />
the program is to equip Black youth with knowledge, guidance,<br />
resources and support to help secure employment, fulfill their<br />
potential in the workplace, build resilience and find resources for<br />
educational completion and achievement.<br />
Developed in partnership with the BBPA, SAY IT LOUD,<br />
MentorCanada and Starbucks Canada, MentorME has been created<br />
to address the needs of Black youth across specific industries,<br />
including literary arts, visual arts, culinary art, performing art,<br />
technology, social impact and innovation, fashion design and<br />
entrepreneurship, connecting young Black Canadians to adult<br />
mentors from various professional sectors.<br />
“The BBPA is committed to the wholesome development of<br />
members of the Black Community here in Canada,” says Nadine<br />
Spencer, president of the BBPA. “We have thousands of Black<br />
youth who are eager to access networks, resources and information<br />
that will accelerate their career and personal development. I’m<br />
pleased that the MentorME Program will serve as a platform to<br />
deliver these solutions to the members of the community waiting<br />
to receive them.”<br />
Earlier this summer, Starbucks Canada pledged $100,000 in<br />
funding to co-create and launch the MentorME program with the<br />
BBPA as part of its Canadian commitments to act against anti-<br />
Black racism. In addition to this funding, Starbucks will work with<br />
its employees and other organizations to help them apply to be<br />
mentors for the program.<br />
Great<br />
Egg-spectations<br />
On World Egg Day, celebrated October 9, Egg<br />
Farmers of Canada and chef Lynn Crawford<br />
celebrated the hard-working heroes and champions<br />
in the food sector who help deliver fresh,<br />
local, high-quality eggs to Canadians every day.<br />
To mark the occasion, Egg Farmers of<br />
Canada and Crawford produced a special video<br />
to share their appreciation for those helping<br />
provide local food items for all Canadians. The<br />
Feeding<br />
the Masses<br />
video features egg farmers from across Canada<br />
expressing their gratitude and shining a light<br />
on the many people who have stepped up in<br />
incredible ways in recent months.<br />
Supporting local communities has always been<br />
important to egg farmers and like many other<br />
Canadians, recent events emphasized the importance<br />
of doing what we can to support friends,<br />
neighbours and community members.<br />
CARGILL, FOOD BANKS CANADA RESPOND<br />
TO INCREASE DEMAND FOR FOOD RELIEF<br />
COVID-19 has escalated the urgency to address hunger gaps in communities around<br />
the world as families grapple with the economic impact of the global pandemic.<br />
According to a recent study, one in seven Canadians are affected by food insecurity as<br />
a result of the economic downturn caused by the virus. To help address the increased<br />
demand for food relief, Cargill has stepped up its efforts to ensure Canadians have<br />
food on their tables.<br />
To date in <strong>2020</strong>, Cargill has committed $3.5 million to food banks across Canada,<br />
with $2.1 million of the total giving specifically in response to COVID-19 relief efforts.<br />
This equates to eight-million meals distributed from British Columbia to Quebec. In<br />
addition to financial support, the company has donated 364,928 kg of product to local<br />
food banks through partnerships with organizations such as Food Banks Canada.<br />
“Cargill has been a long-time supporter of Food Banks Canada and the entire<br />
food-banking network, supporting not only financially, but with critical product<br />
donations,” sayd Chris Hatch, CEO at Food Banks Canada.<br />
For the last six years, Cargill and Food Banks Canada have worked to provide and<br />
training and resources to local food banks. In the face of the pandemic, the two<br />
organizations have looked for opportunities to reach out further in to the community.<br />
54 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER <strong>2020</strong> FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Connect with KML<br />
PRINT DIGITAL EVENTS<br />
Whether you’re looking for daily news on the foodservice or hotel industry, searching for resources to help you improve<br />
your business offerings or just eager to learn from the industry’s icons and innovators, KML offers compelling and relevant<br />
information that will keep you informed, inspired and educated.<br />
Great<br />
Magazines<br />
For more than 50 years, KML has been<br />
the foodservice and hospitality industry’s<br />
leading publisher, producing the most<br />
recognized magazine brands: Foodservice<br />
and Hospitality is published 11 times a<br />
year and features insightful analysis of<br />
the trends impacting the $90-billion<br />
industry, statistical reports that allow<br />
operators to benchmark and measure<br />
their own success, as well as profiles of<br />
the hottest concepts, restaurateurs and<br />
chefs in the industry.<br />
Hotelier magazine, celebrated its 30th<br />
anniversary in 2019 and is the hotel<br />
industry’s leading national publication.<br />
Published eight times a year, the<br />
magazine features timely stories on the<br />
trends making the news, highlighting the<br />
fastest-growing segments and the most<br />
successful brands and independents, as<br />
well as regular profiles on the movers<br />
and shakers in the dynamic hotel<br />
industry.<br />
Dynamic<br />
Digital<br />
Whether you’re looking for daily web<br />
exclusives, daily news delivered digitally,<br />
or special, dedicated newsletters<br />
featuring the latest restaurant and hotel<br />
openings, new product development<br />
and launches, or customized messages,<br />
we’ve got it all covered with an in-depth<br />
portfolio of digital offerings.<br />
Visit foodserviceandhospitality.com or<br />
hoteliermagazine.com for daily news,<br />
exclusive features and digital issues in<br />
their entirety, as well as video clips from<br />
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Engaging<br />
Events<br />
Are you interested in networking<br />
opportunities and/or learning<br />
opportunities from those in the know?<br />
Then KML’s events should be on your<br />
to-do list. We offer a range of events, from<br />
our Icons & Innovators’ breakfast series<br />
featuring one-on-one interviews between<br />
KML editor/publisher Rosanna Caira<br />
and the industry’s leading luminaries,<br />
to the renowned and respected Pinnacle<br />
Awards, our Housekeeper’s Forum as well<br />
as the Women in Tourism & Hospitality,<br />
WITH Summit.<br />
(N.B. During COVID, many of these events<br />
have pivoted to virtual events).
E21: Building A<br />
Food Community<br />
featuring Arlene Stein,<br />
founder & executive director<br />
of the Terroir symposium<br />
E22: The Long Haul<br />
featuring Ryan Smolkin,<br />
founder and president<br />
of Smoke’s Poutinerie<br />
E23. Shifting Gears<br />
featuring chef Ted Corrado<br />
E24. Passion Play<br />
featuring Connie de Sousa &<br />
John Jackson, co-chefs & partners<br />
of Char Restaurant Group<br />
E25. Taking Back the Tray<br />
featuring food activist<br />
Joshna Maharaj<br />
E26. Taste of Place<br />
featuring chef Ned Bell<br />
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN NOW!<br />
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