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foodserviceandhospital ity.com $4 | NOVEMBER 2015
SUSUR LEE SHARES HIS EXPERIENCES IN BECOMING A CULINARY ICON
JOURNEY OFDISCOVERY
NET PROFITSCan you afford to serve sustainable fish and seafood? Can you afford not to?
VENERABLE VODKAHow this best-selling spirit can help boost profits TOAST MASTERSThey may not be flashy, but toasters are the workhorses of the kitchen
PLUSF&H ’s 2015 Hospitality Market Report
Bigger, Better and Bolder than ever!This is where Canada’s hottest foodservice products and services meet leading hospitality companies. Brands come to life. Trends are discovered. Experts heard. Ideas exchanged. Deals made.
If you’re looking to connect with top foodservice companies to find new growth opportunities for your operation, this is YOUR event.
Book your exhiBit space, Become a sponsor, or register now at www. restaurantshow.ca.
Hospitality UnleasHed
toronto enercare centre February 28, 29 & March 1, 2016
DiscOveR special
OppORtUnities in the Bar and Beverage,
coffee and tea, pizza, and specialty
pavilions.
Providing Quality Monin Flavourings, Service and Solutions
Monin, the global flavour leader since 1912, has been a trusted brand in Canada for over 25 years. To best serve this market, Monin is proud to now partner with C.W. Shasky & Associates as the exclusive Canadian importer of their premium flavouring products. These two family owned and operated companies with a tradition of excellence, join hands to deliver you the best quality products and custom solutions to take the ordinary to the extraordinary. Over 100 premium syrups, sauces, fruit purées and fruit smoothie mixes are available for cra�ing flavourful drinks and culinary creations.
For more information, call 1-844-829-9414 or visit our websites, www.shasky.com and www.monin.com.
015 Monin Shasky CFS Ad.indd 1 9/14/15 1:09 PM
Providing Quality Monin Flavourings, Service and Solutions
Monin, the global flavour leader since 1912, has been a trusted brand in Canada for over 25 years. To best serve this market, Monin is proud to now partner with C.W. Shasky & Associates as the exclusive Canadian importer of their premium flavouring products. These two family owned and operated companies with a tradition of excellence, join hands to deliver you the best quality products and custom solutions to take the ordinary to the extraordinary. Over 100 premium syrups, sauces, fruit purées and fruit smoothie mixes are available for cra�ing flavourful drinks and culinary creations.
For more information, call 1-844-829-9414 or visit our websites, www.shasky.com and www.monin.com.
015 Monin Shasky CFS Ad.indd 1 9/14/15 1:09 PM
THIS IS THE PLACETHAT BRINGS STUDENTS AND INDUSTRY TOGETHER.
Introducing the new location for food & beverage research, product development, industry events and product launches. – 215 King at the Centre for Hospitality & Culinary Arts –
Visit 215King.ca to learn more.
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 1FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
CONTENTSV O L U M E 4 8 , N U M B E R 8 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
12
3923
Features
12 NET PROFITS Can you afford to serve sustainable fish and seafood? Can you afford not to? By Sarah B. Hood 23 GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD Where to source Ocean Wise and MSC-certified fish and seafood
30 STEERING GROWTH Canada’s foodservice industry is poised for growth in 2016, but increased costs, a sluggish economy and lagging consumer confidence mean it won’t be without challenges By Amy Bostock and Jill Failla
39 JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY Susur Lee, chef and owner of Lee restaurant, Bent, Luckee, Lee Kitchen and the newly launched Fring’s, opens up about his meteoric rise to culinary fame in this excerpt from F&H’s Icons and Innovators breakfast series By Rosanna Caira
43 VENERABLE VODKA The best-selling spirit in the country is a great way for operators to boost profits By Alan McGinty
45 TOAST MASTERS They may not have the cachet of other appliances, but toasters are the workhorses of the kitchen By Denise Deveau Departments
2 FROM THE EDITOR5 FYI10 NEWSMAKER: Smoke’s Poutinerie11 FROM THE DESK OF ROBERT CARTER48 CHEF’S CORNER: David Forbes, Ciel! Bistro-Bar, Quebec City
2015 Hospitality Market Report page 30
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2 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Author Charles Dickens wasn’t
writing about the restaurant
industry when he penned the
opening of A Tale of Two Cities in 1859.
But his famous introductory sentence,
“It was the best of times. It was the worst
of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was
the age of foolishness, it was the epoch
of belief, it was the epoch of incredu-
lity,” could certainly apply to today’s
foodservice industry, where a tsunami
of conflicting trends are hitting opera-
tors — so much it’s often challenging to
understand what’s really going on.
As we near the end of 2015, restaurant
operators have only to look at their sales
receipts from the past year to determine
just how healthy the year was. Perhaps,
more importantly, they need to focus on
what looms around the corner for 2016
and prepare to deal with it.
This month’s Hospitality Market
Report (see story on p. 30) shows an
industry in flux. On the one hand, the
industry is evolving and growing, albeit
at a slower pace than most would like
to see. Perhaps more interestingly, the
industry is caught between two worlds,
one appealing to baby boomers — a
demographic that still carries a lot of
weight — and one increasingly focused
on the growing influence of millenni-
als. Furthermore, we’re living in a time
when technology reigns supreme, where
the rules of the game are changing faster
than we can adapt to them and where
what’s essential one day quickly becomes
obsolete the next. Welcome to the new
age of restaurant dining.
Certainly from my vantage point
as someone who covers the restaurant
industry, it’s fascinating to scratch below
the surface of a simple meal to observe
what works and what doesn’t and how
service factors into the overall dining
experience. So when I recently visited
two restaurants within a few days of
each other, and found both suffering
from a lack of attention to the menu, it’s
clear that despite how good the food and
service might be, there’s a host of other
issues that can detract from an overall
dining experience.
Unfortunately, as much as operators
scramble to be all things to all people,
many don’t pay enough attention to
the myriad details needed to succeed.
It’s baffling that though we live in the
information age, there’s a huge discon-
nect between what’s posted on a res-
taurant website, for example, and what
a restaurant actually delivers. So when
a customer visits a restaurant and is
primed to order a menu item they see
posted online, it would stand to reason
they should expect to find that dish on
the menu, and not be informed by a
seemingly frustrated waiter that the res-
taurant hasn’t served that dish for more
than two years (so why is it still on the
website?). Similarly, when a customer
orders a dish from a restaurant’s menu,
they shouldn’t have to learn from the
server that “oops I somehow gave you
a menu from a few weeks ago; we no
longer feature that dish.” Sure, mistakes
happen, and in the grand scheme of
things, they may not always seem like a
big deal. But, at the end of the day, what
customers should remember about their
dining experiences is a series of memo-
rable moments, not a bunch of failed
shortcomings.
Rosanna CairaEditor/Publisher
FROM THE EDITOR
For daily news and announcements: @foodservicemag on Twitter and Foodservice and Hospitality on Facebook.
The industry is caught between two worlds, one appealing to baby boomers — a demographic that still carries a lot of weight — and one increasingly focused on the growing influence of millennials
“
”
A TALE OF TWO RESTAURANTS
EDITOR & PUBLISHER ROSANNA [email protected]
ART DIRECTOR MARGARET [email protected]
MANAGING EDITOR AMY [email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR JACKIE [email protected]
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT DANIELLE [email protected]
MULTIMEDIA MANAGER DEREK [email protected]
DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER MEGAN O’[email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGNER COURTNEY [email protected]
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER/U.S.A. WENDY GILCHRIST [email protected]
ACCOUNT MANAGER/CANADA STEVE [email protected]
ACCOUNT MANAGER/CANADA MARIA FAMA [email protected]
ACCOUNT MANAGER CHERYLL SAN [email protected]
CIRCULATION PUBLICATION PARTNERS [email protected], (905) 509-3511
DIRECTOR JIM [email protected]
ACCOUNTING MANAGER DANIELA [email protected]
ADVISORY BOARDCARA OPERATIONS KEN OTTOCORA FRANCHISE GROUP DAVID POLNYCRAVE IT RESTAURANT GROUP ALEX RECHICHIFAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED NICK PERPICKFHG INTERNATIONAL INC. DOUG FISHERFRESHII MATTHEW CORRIN JOEY RESTAURANT GROUP BRITT INNESKATIE JESSOP REGISTERED DIETITIANLECOURS WOLFSON LIMITED NORMAN WOLFSONSCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH BRUCE MCADAMSSENSORS QUALITY MANAGEMENT DAVID LIPTONSOTOS LLP JOHN SOTOSSOUTH ST. BURGER CO. JAY GOULDMANITOWOC FOODSERVICE JACQUES SEGUINTHE HOUSE OF COMMONS JUDSON SIMPSONTHE MCEWAN GROUP MARK MCEWANUNILEVER FOOD SOLUTIONS NORTH AMERICA GINNY HARE
To subscribe to F&H, visit foodserviceandhospitality.com
Volume 48, Number 8 Published 11 times per year by Kostuch Media Ltd., 23 Lesmill Rd., Suite 101, Toronto, Ont., M3B 3P6. Tel: (416) 447-0888, Fax (416) 447-5333, website: foodserviceandhospitality.com. Subscription Rates: 1-year subscription, $55; U.S. $80; International, $100.
Canada Post – “Canadian Publication Mail Product Sales Agreement #40063470.” Postmaster send form 33-086-173 (11-82).
Return mail to: Kostuch Media Ltd., 23 Lesmill Rd., Suite 101, Toronto, Ont., M3B 3P6. Member of CCAB, a Division of BPA International, International Foodservice Editorial Council, Restaurants Canada, The American Business Media and Magazines Canada. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) of the Department of Canadian Heritage. Printed in Canada on recycled stock.
FOUNDER MITCH KOSTUCHFeb. 11, 1931– Oct. 23, 2014
If you’d like to see your sales and profits reach new heights, contact Piller’s Foodservice Sales.
We’re experts at helping your foodservice programs climb to their potential.
Foodservice Sales • 1-800-265-2628www.pillersfoodservice.com
If you’d like to see your sales and profits reach new heights, contact Piller’s Foodservice Sales.
We’re experts at helping your foodservice programs climb to their potential.
Foodservice Sales • 1-800-265-2628www.pillersfoodservice.com
HOW DO YOURSANDWICHES
STACK UP?
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HENRY’S 2016 TRANSIT
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147.6"
237.6"
40.3" 49.7"
100.7"
See Ford Store for complete details.
High: Roof Height: 110.1"Interior Cargo Height: 81.5"
Regular Body Length: 217.8" [219.9" – depending on roof height]
Long Body Length: 235.5" [237.6" with low roof]
Extended Body Length: 263.9"
Low: Roof Height: 83.2"Interior Cargo Height: 56.9"
Medium: Roof Height: 100.7"Interior Cargo Height: 72"
*Maximum payload and conventional hitch trailer towing capacity (when properly equipped) for Transit 350 SRW Long Wheelbase Medium Roof Van with available 3.5L EcoBoost engine, 3.73 ratio and 12,600 lb GCWR. **Maximum cargo volume behind 1st row on Transit 350 SRW Long Wheelbase Medium Roof Van. †Maximum payload with Transit 350 SRW Long Wheelbase Medium Roof Van, when properly equipped. ‡Maximum conventional hitch trailer towing capacity with available 3.5L EcoBoost engine on Transit Long Wheelbase Van, when properly equipped ©2015 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.
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Con gure the Ford Transit to your exact business speci cations. Choose from three different con gurations for body lengths, roof heights, and powertrains, as well as multiple con gurations for towing, payload and cargo capacities. After all, no one knowshow you like to work quite like you.
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FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 5FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
M O N T H L Y N E W S A N D U P D A T E S F O R T H E F O O D S E R V I C E I N D U S T R Y
WHAT WILL IT COST? The new initiatives will not come without a cost for the 1,000 McDonald’s franchisees that will be part of the Create-Your-Taste platform. “We’re talking about $200,000 per location so it’s not negligible for sure,” says COO Jacques Mi-gnault, of the investment required. “But the beauty is that when I go back to the transformation we undertook in 2011, and subsequent, it was a fairly significant investment as well, but it yielded significant sales increases for the next couple of years. I’ve had the chance to go coast-to-coast over the last three weeks, and to address every single group, and the level of enthusiasm in spite of the $200,000 invest-ment is incredible.”
FYI
In a bold move that promises to usher
in a brand transformation of the indus-
try’s leading burger chain, McDonald’s
Restaurants of Canada has introduced a
game-changing initiative that allows cus-
tomers the flexibility to customize their
menu options through the introduction of
self-order kiosks.
The “Create-Your-Taste” platform was
first tested in California and Australia and
rolled out late September at the chain’s
Victoria Park and St. Clair restaurant in
Toronto, with plans to incorporate it in
approximately 1,000 full-service units —
starting with 11 restaurants in the greater
Edmonton area.
In an interview with F&H magazine,
Jacques Mignault, COO, says the move is the
latest step in a transformation process that
began in 2011, when the behemoth modern-
ized its restaurants and “increased firepower
in the kitchen so that
we could have expanded
variety, more capacity and
change our drive thru,” says
Mignault.
With McDonald’s 50th
anniversary in Canada
looming on the horizon
in 2017, the chain’s new
platform will include kiosks
featuring tablets where
customers can build their
own premium burgers in
five simple steps, then take
a seat while they wait for
one of the staff to deliver the order right to
their table.
“This is really about creating an
unmatched guest experience; it’s about tak-
ing the experience to a whole new level, and
leveraging technology in a very effective way
to actually make the experience even more
enjoyable for our guests,” says the 40-year
veteran of the fast-food chain.
“The self-order kiosk is the part that is
innovative and new, and this is the game
changer from the industry point of view. It’s
the whole notion of Create Your Taste. The
fact that all of a sudden consumers can per-
sonalize their sandwiches to their personal
preferences,” says Mignault. As part of the
expanded offerings, guests will be able to
choose from 30 quality options including
five types of cheese, 12 toppings (including
guacamole, sundried tomato pesto, jalapeño,
and Sriracha) as well as two buns or a lettuce
wrap. A Create-Your-Taste burger will start
at $7, with an additional charge for toppings,
while a McDonald’s creation will range in
price from $6.99 to $9.26.
For critics who believe the changes will
add yet another layer to the ordering process
and slow down service, Mignault is confi-
dent it won’t happen. “There are incremental
steps for sure but we’re confident that [by]
leveraging technology the way we are, and
the way we’re deploying this entire exercise,
with training that is quite exhaustive,” the
process will be fluid. “It is a massive trans-
formation but one our guests are expecting,”
says Mignault. At the end of the day, “this is
about taking the McDonald’s that we know
and love even further.”
BUILD YOUR OWN BURGER In an effort to appeal to an increasing need for customization and convenience, McDonald’s launches Create-Your-Taste platform
BY ROSANNA CAIRA
MORE HANDS ON DECK As part of McDonald's Create-Your-Taste menu initiative, the average restaurant will have to add 10 to 15 employees to handle the demand the company anticipates. “We’re talking about [adding] 15,000 employees across Canada between now and the end of 2017,” says Jacques Mignault, COO. “Our workforce today is sitting at 85,000 employees strong; we will be at 100,000 by the end of 2017.”
6 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
COMING EVENTS
MORE EVENTS AT http://bit.ly/FHevents
OCT. 30-NOV. 7: World Wine & Food Expo, Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, N.B. Tel: 506-532-5333; email: info@ wineexpo.ca; website: wineexpo.ca
NOV. 4-8: Devour! The Food Film Festival, Wolfville, N.S. Tel: 902-679-0297; email: [email protected]; website: devourfest.com
NOV. 5: Friends of We Care Bowling Challenge, Spryfield Bowlerama, Halifax. Email: [email protected]; website: friendsofwecare.org/events
NOV. 6-7: Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival, Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton. Tel: 866-228-3555; website: rockymountainwine.com
NOV. 7-8: The Franchise Show, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver. Tel: 416-695-2896 ext. 242; email: [email protected]; website: thefranchiseshow.ca
NOV. 9: Ontario Food Tourism Summit, The Westin Prince, Toronto. Email: [email protected]; website: ontarioculinary.com
NOV. 19: Friends of We Care Bowling Challenge, REVS Bowling & Entertainment, Burnaby, B.C. Email: [email protected]; website: friendsofwecare.org/events
NOV 19-22: Gourmet Food & Wine Expo, Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Tel: 866-414-0454; email: [email protected]; website: foodandwineexpo.ca
NOV. 26: Friends of We Care Bowling Challenge, Planet Bowl, Etobicoke, Ont. Email: [email protected]; website: friendsofwecare.org/events
DEC. 4: The 27th Annual Pinnacle Awards, Fairmont Royal York, Toronto. Tel: 416-447-0888, ext. 235; email: [email protected]; website: kostuchmedia.com
SHAKE ON IT Fairfax Financial contin-
ues to expand its stake in
the restaurant industry,
acquiring a 45-per-cent
share in Toronto-based
The McEwan Group.
“We are pleased to be
joined by Fairfax. In a
short period of time,
they have come to have
a significant investment
in the Canadian restau-
rant industry,” said chef
Mark McEwan. “I look
forward to continuing to operate The McEwan Group for the long term with Fairfax as part-
ner.” The McEwan Group is comprised of four dining establishments: North 44, Bymark,
ONE and Fabbrica; two McEwan grocery stores and a gourmet catering division, all located
in Toronto. “Mark has created and grown his company, The McEwan Group, and the
McEwan brand with an entrepreneurial focus we look for in all of our partners,” said Paul
Rivett, president of Fairfax. “We are excited to be Mark’s partner in The McEwan Group and
Mark has also committed to providing us with expertise that will be beneficial to all of our
restaurant investments in the future.” The size of Fairfax’s investment in the group has not
been released.
COOKING THE BOOKS With interest in all things food con-
tinuing to grow at an obsessive rate,
the Taste Canada awards recently
attracted hundreds of food profes-
sionals to celebrate excellence in
food writing and publishing. Held at
Oliver & Bonacini’s Arcadian Court
in Toronto, the evening’s festivi-
ties were hosted by previous Taste
Canada winners Vikram Vij (Vij’s)
and Ricardo Larrivée (Ricardo maga-
zine and Food Network Canada’s
Ricardo and Friends). The 18th
installment of the awards focused on
the efforts of 69 cookbook authors.
For the first time, this year’s com-
petition also featured entries from
27 bloggers from coast to coast,
highlighting a new dimension of
food writing. The inaugural winners in
the Food Blog — Best Post category were
“Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnut,
Orange, and Saffron” by Allison Day, yum-
mybeet.com, and “Pizza Three Minutes”
by Christelle Tanielian, christelleisflabber-
gasting.com. The evening also celebrated
winners from the Taste Canada Cooks the
Books, where students from culinary schools
across the country competed for the title of
Canada’s Best New Chefs. George Brown
placed first and second in the competition
while Centennial College placed third.
FOOD AND FUN Vikram Vij (right) and Ricardo Larrivée hosted the Taste Canada Awards in Toronto
FYI
FYI
OBITUARIES
Fred DeLuca, co-founder
of Subway, died in early
September at the age of
67, two years after being
diagnosed with leukemia.
DeLuca opened his first
sandwich shop in 1956 at
the age of 17…John Bitove
Sr., founder of foodservice
and hospitality company
Bitove Corp., died in late
July at the age of 87. Bitove
was also part of the private-
sector consortium that
conceived and funded the
SkyDome (now Rogers
Centre) and was a Member
of the Order of Canada.
MAKING THE GRADE
Ian MacDougall, chef de partie at Model Milk in
Calgary was named the winner of the Hawksworth
Young Chef Scholarship Foundation award. Chosen
from a pool of eight finalists, the 23-year-old
won over judges with his dish of roasted squab
with lobster agnolotti,
nasturtium-braised endive
and squab jus, securing
the $10,000 grand prize
and the opportunity to
stage at a top international
restaurant. Second-place
winner, Cynthia Iaboni of
Le Serpent in Montreal was
named Le Creuset’s Rising
Star, taking home $5,000.
The scholarship, launched
by chef David Hawksworth
in 2013, helps jump-start
the careers of young Canadian chefs by giving
them the opportunity to cook for acclaimed chefs
and food critics. Judges for this year’s final round
included Mark McEwan of The McEwan Group in
Toronto, Normand Laprise of Toqué! and Brasserie
T in Montreal, Scott Jaeger of the Pear Tree in
Burnaby, B.C. and Anthony Walsh, executive chef
of Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants in Toronto.
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 9FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
FYI
RESTO BUZZ Toronto’s Habits Gastropub has been rebranded to reflect the pop-ularity of its in-house nanobrew-ery, launched earlier this year. Relaunched as Folly Brewpub, the more beer-focused resto fea-tures a new menu designed by chef/co-owner Luís Martins to pair with the line-up of beers created by brewers Christina Coady and Chris Conway. The new menu includes items such as beer-braised beef cheek with gnocchi, herbed cream and parmesan ($17) and a lime tempura-battered haddock filet with herb-salted fries and avocado tartar sauce ($15)…Toptable Group has opened a new extension of its Araxi Restaurant in Whistler Village. The new dual-concept property houses Bar Oso and The Cellar by Araxi and offers a variety of dining and meeting spaces. Bar Oso’s menu will feature Spanish-influenced small plates including chilled seafood, house-made charcuterie and a wide range of tapas.The Cellar by Araxi, designed to house meeting and private dining, boasts feature wine walls, a dedicated wine room and a show kitchen for interactive chef demonstrations.
Opening a new restaurant? Let us in on the buzz. Send a high-res image, menu and background information about the new establishment to [email protected].
Folly Brewpub
IN BRIEF
Air Canada has partnered with
chef David Hawksworth to
create in-flight business-class
menus inspired by Canadian
cuisine. The new menu is
served on international flights
departing Canada and in Air
Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge...
Noma chef René Redzepi has
teamed with Yale University to
head a new leadership institute
next spring. The MAD Institute at Yale will be an extension of
Redzepi’s Copenhagen-based
non-profit and think tank,
MAD…Taco Bell has launched
a new website that changes
the way its customers experi-
ence fast food. Ta.co allows
customers to create custom
menu items, order and pre-pay
online. The site also features
a nutrition calculator, digital
news feed and a product smart
search function…South St. Burger Co. has opened its first
unit in Edmonton at Oxford
Park Landing. The new 45-seat
location is the chain’s fourth
unit in Alberta…Canada Water Ice Company Ltd. plans to
open 80 Rita’s Italian Ice loca-
tions across Canada within the
next five years. The Trevose,
Pa.-based frozen treat shop
specializes in traditional Italian
ice, frozen custard and shakes.
Four locations have already
opened in Calgary, three within
Joey’s Urban restaurants...
Starbucks Coffee Company has
rolled out mobile pre-ordering
across the U.S. and select com-
pany-owned stores in Canada.
The new feature allows cus-
tomers to place and pay for
their order in advance through
the Starbucks mobile app.
PEOPLE
Pierre Rivard is
the new
president
and gen-
eral direc-
tor of
St-Hubert Group.
With
more than 30 years of experi-
ence in the foodservice industry,
Rivard first joined St-Hubert
Group as president of its food
division...Jean-Pierre Challet is now the executive chef of the
Fifth Restaurant in Toronto...
Daniel Cancino has become
the new head chef at Lamesa Filipino Kitchen in Toronto. The
former sous chef has premiered
a new menu and fresh take on
Filipino cuisine.
SUPPLY SIDE
Oakville, Ont.-based C.W. Shasky & Associates is the new
exclusive Canadian importer
of Monin premium flavouring
products. The partnership will
offer quality products and cus-
tom solutions for the Canadian
foodservice industry…Jackson,
Miss.-based Robot Coupe U.S.A. Inc. has appointed Kevin Keith
as its new national project man-
ager. Keith has been with the
company for 16 years and will
be responsible for creating and
promoting the brand’s market-
ing and promotional items…
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.-
based Small Talk Vineyards has released a new cider now
available in LCBO stores across
Ontario. Shiny Apple Cider features nine types of Ontario
apples.
RAISE A CONE Baskin-Robbins celebrated
its platinum anniversary,
marking 70 years of serv-
ing up fun, with anniversary
celebrations in Toronto and
Montreal. Each event offered
70-cent scoops of the brand’s
ice cream, with all proceeds
benefiting The Hospital for
Sick Children in Toronto
and The Montreal Children’s
Hospital Foundation.
“Families and children are
at the heart of why we do what we do here at Baskin-Robbins,”
said Natalie Joseph, spokesperson for Baskin-Robbins in Canada.
“Celebrating 70 years in North America is a big deal and we not only
want to involve our local communities, we want to give back to our
most precious customers.” Baskin-Robbins has been in Canada since
1971, but the brand’s history began with the opening of its flagship
shop in Glendale, Calif. in 1945. Today Baskin-Robbins Canada oper-
ates nearly 100 locations in Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec.
Pierre Rivard
10 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
NEWSMAKER
In its pursuit of “global domi-
nation,” Ajax, Ont.-based
Smoke’s Poutinerie has made
a name for itself here in Canada,
opening more than 100 locations
across the country since 2008.
As impressive as this achieve-
ment may be, it pales in com-
parison to the goals the company
has set for 2020. “We’re look-
ing to open 1,300 locations in
the next five years,” says founder
Ryan Smolkin. With a focus on
international markets and the
recent launch of two new con-
cepts under the Smoke’s brand,
the company’s expansion plan is
nothing short of aggressive.
The brand launched its hot-
dog-centred, dine-in Smoke’s
Weinerie last December in
Dartmouth, N.S. followed by
the first Smoke’s Burritorie in
Toronto in September. The new
concepts share the Smoke’s ban-
ner, mascot and are often in the
same neighbourhoods with the
Poutineries, but they occupy
their own separate spaces. “What
I always emphasize is that these
aren’t product extensions, these
are brand extensions and that’s
never been done before,” explains
Smolkin. Despite overlapping
target demographics, the Smoke’s
trio has already proven they can
complement each other without
cannibalization. In fact, Smolkin
reports notable sales increases
[12 per cent] at Poutineries shar-
ing the scene with one of its sister
concepts. “Believe it or not, sales
are up at Adelaide (in Toronto),”
he says. “We’ve only been
open two weeks now with the
Burritorie and at the Poutinerie
above it, sales are going through
the roof.”
Benefiting from Smoke’s
already existing brand recogni-
tion, the new eateries have sur-
passed first-year goals with 15
Burritories and 10 Weineries
already open or set to open by
year-end. This fast turn-around
is due in part to the brand’s
expansion through non-tradi-
tional channels — a strategy that
allowed the brand to open 35
units in less than two months.
“We’re doing facelifts and taking
over existing spaces in stadiums,
universities, colleges and amuse-
ment parks. Major airports are
going to be seeing some
stir-up soon,” Smolkin
boasts.
The company’s inter-
national expansion plans
are currently focused
on the Poutinerie arm of the
Smoke’s brand, targeting the U.S.
as well as the U.K., Australia, the
Middle East and Asia. Smoke’s
Poutinerie has started building
a presence in the U.S. with five
units already open across the
country and another 40 to 50
presold. “Everyone thinks we’ve
exploded, but we haven’t even
lit the wick of the dynamite yet,”
warns Smolkin. “The explosion is
now about to happen.”
CANADIAN INVASIONSmoke’s Poutinerie opened its
first state-side location in the
university town of Berkeley, Calif.
in December 2014. As many as 10
different states are set to be intro-
duced to this Canadian brand,
with entertainment hubs and
non-traditional locations acting
as the brand’s main entry points.
Smoke’s has already found itself
a home in stadiums such as the
Gila River Arena in Glendale,
Ariz. and Amalie Arena in Tampa,
Fla. Las Vegas has also received an
injection of Canadiana, with a
unit in Rick Harrison’s (Pawn
Stars) Pawn Plaza. l
SMOKING THE COMPETITIONSmoke’s Poutinerie’s Ryan Smolkin proves his brand is no one-trick pony BY DANIELLE SCHALK
AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION Ryan Smolkin cuts the ribbon at the first Smoke’s Burritorie on Adelaide St. in Toronto (left); Smoke’s Poutinerie has opened south of the border in locations such as Las Vegas (top); hip decor and great food draw customers to Smoke’s Spadina Ave. Poutinerie in Toronto
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Restaurants have struggled with declin-
ing lunch numbers for years but
there’s a light at the end of the tun-
nel. For the most part, total restaurant visits
for lunch on a per-capita basis in Canada
are now holding steady, with NPD CREST
Canada showing consumers made 1.7 billion
visits to restaurants for lunch during the year
ending July 2015, accounting for 26 per cent
of all visits.
The chart below presents a long-term
view of lunch performance and shows the
impact of the economic situation — high
unemployment in particular. However, the
times “they are a changing” and lunch traffic
is improving, with gains up strongly during
the most recent quarter (May, June, July ’15
versus May, June, July ’14). However, it will
be a battle for restaurant operators to capture
those visits as all industry segments attempt
to capitalize on consumers’ renewed interest
in visiting restaurants for lunch. Not only are
traditional QSRs and FSRs competing with
one another for lunch business, but also with
retail, on-site and fast-casual. So what will it
take to drive more traffic at lunch?
BRING ON THE BURGERSThe burger, which has racked up nearly
375 million orders at foodservice outlets in
Canada, meets a wide variety of restau-
rant customers’ needs. Burgers go from
simple and classic to high-end gourmet
and their perennial popularity, afford-
ability and flexibility means they will
become heavy artillery in the battle for
lunch visits. Additionally, operators can
still offer a beef menu item while offset-
ting higher beef costs.
In the U.S., burgers are also the catalyst
for driving increased lunch visits, with even
greater interest than in the past for ordering
burgers from full-service restaurants, while
at casual-dining restaurants, burgers have
allowed operators to level the playing field
on price. For example, the average price of
a burger at casual-dining is $9.02 compared
$5.62 at fast-casual. However, the gap closes
when considering fries typically come with
a burger order at casual-dining restaurants
and need to be purchased separately at QSRs
and fast-casual restaurants (at an average
cost of $2.89, based on NPD’s Checkout
Tracking research). At casual-dining restau-
rants, consumers also factor in the value of a
full-service sit-down lunch.
In Canada, burgers represent the largest
increase in lunch sales, with overall serv-
ings up three per cent for the year ending
July 2015, compared to 2014. Furthermore,
consumers were more interested in order-
ing burgers at nearly all foodservice venues;
casual dining was the only concept where
burger servings did not increase although
they are holding steady. In contrast, burg-
ers ordered at QSRs, which account for the
vast majority of burger servings, grew by two
per cent.
The casual-dining segment began market-
ing burgers more aggressively and became
much more price-competitive considering
the value received.
The burger military offensive did, in fact,
help casual-dining restaurants in the U.S.
gain ground at lunch in the year ending June
2015 — the segment’s first lunch-time traffic
increase in five years. On the other hand,
QSR lunch visits increased by only one per
cent in the same period compared to a year
ago. Clearly, FSRs in Canada, casual-dining
in particular, can take a cue from this mar-
keting initiative and capitalize on consumers’
growing interest in burgers, which should
go a long way in winning the lunch
war battle. l
Robert Carter is executive director, Foodservice Canada, with the NPD Group Inc.
He can be reached at [email protected] for questions regarding the latest trends
and their impact on the foodservice business.
FROM THE DESK OF ROBERT CARTER
LUNCH WARSOperators battle to improve lunch traffic
LUNCH VISITS PER CAPITATotal Canadian Commercial Restaurants
QSR FSR RETAIL
50
32 31 31 31
49 48 47
1312 12 12 12
YE July 2011
YE July 2012
YE July 2013
YE July 2014
YE July 2015
BURGER SERVINGS TRENDCanada — Total Foodservice
YE JULY 2015 VS 2014
1 02293Total
FoodserviceOn-Site Commercial
RestaurantsQSR Mid-scale Casual
Dining
30
47
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CAN YOU AFFORD TO SERVE SUSTAINABLE FISH AND SEAFOOD?
CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO? STORY BY SARAH B. HOOD
12 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
FOOD FILE
PROFITS
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
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FOOD FILE
ifteen years ago, as a youthful backpacker, Joshua Bishop signed on with a com-mercial fish-ing vessel, the type
known as a “longliner.” In those days, he didn’t know much about ethi-cal fishing practices, so he was shocked to learn how much bycatch is snagged on the many hooks of the long lines — and what happens to less desirable specimens.
WALKING THE TALK Ryan Johnson (above), owner of Vancouver-based Daily Catch Seafood Company, pro-motes sustainable practices in his business as well as in his role as an Ocean Wise Ambassador
“They wanted to catch the
prized tunas,” he says. “We saw a
wide variety of other fish come
on board. The big eye-opener
was the sharks; they would be
finned [have their fins cut off]
and just sink to the bottom of
the ocean alive.”
Having worked at Rodney’s
Oyster House in Toronto, Bishop
had plans to start his own oys-
ter house in Ottawa when he
returned from his travels. After
his “first-hand experience in
poor fishing practices,” he felt
the need to use the most ethi-
cally sourced products possible.
His dream of an oyster house
has grown and developed into
The Whalesbone Sustainable
Oyster and Fish Supply in
Ottawa, which provides ethically
harvested fish and shellfish to
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 13
There’s a hip new urban-Asian fusion thing going on, and
it’s called teriyaki. Kikkoman Teriyaki sauces let your menu
cross international trend lines, from Japan to Korea to the
West Coast, and it means everything delicious for your
customers and cool sales for you.
Right now, teriyaki is hitting the sweet spot in foodservice.
With a growing taste for bold fl avors and authentic global
infl uences, consumers named teriyaki among the top 10
fl avors they wanted more of on menus, according to the
NPD Group.
And according to a 2012 Technomic MenuMonitor study,
teriyaki clocked a two-year increase of 22.9% in menu
mentions, thanks to its sweet, salty, craveable fl avor profi le.
The best part about teriyaki, though? Consumers consider
it both ethnic and familiar—so you can use it to enhance
everything from an all-American burger to on-trend Asian
noodle specialties.
Kikkoman created the nation’s fi rst bottled teriyaki sauce
more than 50 years ago, setting the standard for one of
America’s favorite fl avors.
Ride the Hawaiian wave. Serve a tasty loco moco rice plate, topped with teriyaki beef or chicken, a fried egg and brown gravy.
Go Cali style. Try a Pacifi c Rim teriyaki-glazed turkey burger and sliced ripe avocado on a pao doce Portuguese sweet roll.
Belly up to the bar menu. Teriyaki Bacon Candy—strips of bacon or pork belly brushed with teriyaki and then broiled and rolled in sesame seeds makes a great bar snack. Serve with Kikkoman Ponzu for dipping.
Tap into meatball madness. Serve a teriyaki meatball small plate or Vietnamese meatball banh mi sandwich.
Mayo makeover. Mix any Kikkoman Teriyaki product with mayo to create an instant Asian-cool condiment for sandwiches, fi nger foods and small plates.
Wake-up call. Bring Asian excitement to breakfast courtesy of a tamago rolled omelet with cheese and teriyaki-glazed ham on a fl uffy Chinese-style bing roll—or even an English muffi n.
Pancakes, pub-style. Hot on the radar is okonomiyaki, a savory grilled pancake popular in the pubs of Tokyo that takes all kinds of fi llings, with a glaze of teriyaki on top.
Pork perfection. Teriyaki adds just the right touch of sweet and authentic fl avor to braised or roasted pork loin for sandwiches, salads, ramen or stir-fried noodle dishes.
PB&T. Blend Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce or Glaze with peanut butter, sugar, Kikkoman Sriracha and a splash of lime juice to create a quick Thai-style peanut dipping sauce.
Craveworthy Korean. Add heat to teriyaki with hot pepper fl akes or chili sauce, and then marinate thin slices of beef for Korean-style bulgogi barbecue or the protein element in a bibimbap rice bowl. Try it on cross-cut kalbi ribs, too.
Ten Tips for Instant Teriyaki Cool
ADVERTORIAL
Why this time-honored favorite is cooler than ever
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Kikkoman is your key to Asian cool. For more information about our full line of contemporary Asian-inspired
sauces and seasonings, visit www.kikkomanusa.com.
Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce ProductsUse any of these Kikkoman Teriyaki products interchangeably to get your Asian cool on:
Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce: the super-versatile original: marinade, sauce, dressing and seasoning.
Less Sodium Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce: 47% less sodium than our regular Teriyaki Sauce.
Teriyaki Glaze: pre-thickened to brush right on cooked foods for instant sweet-savory appeal.
Teriyaki Baste & Glaze: gives foods authentic teriyaki fl avor and a lustrous sheen.
Teriyaki Baste & Glaze with Honey & Pineapple: sweet, tangy and tropical.
Sweet Soy Glaze: the ultimate Asian-cool sauce for BBQ, dipping, stir-fries and more.Teriyaki Bacon Candy Wraps with Kikkoman Wasabi Sauce
Live: 7.625 x 10.375"Trim: 8.125 x 10.825"Bleed: 8.625 x 11.375"
KIKKOMAN“Teriyaki 2.0 Advertorial”
4/C BleedUpdated October 2015
Prepared by Ketchum West, SF, CAWith production questions, please call
Jennifer Wallace, (415) 984-6108
16 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
the region’s restaurants. Among
The Whalesbone offerings are
shucked oyster trays for $30/
dozen and a Brown-Bag Lunch
menu featuring the Catch O’
The Day sandwich, a breaded
wild Pacific cod fillet with caper
and roast garlic mayo, caramel-
ized onions, mango hot sauce
and iceberg lettuce on a hand-
shaped bun from True North
Bakery around the corner; and a
seafood chowder of house made
fish stock, fresh and smoked sea-
food, potatoes, onion and celery.
From work on a New
Brunswick salmon farm and
raising shellfish in P.E.I., John
Bil moved into selling shellfish
wholesale in Toronto and in
2015 became co-owner (with
Victoria Bazan) of Honest
Weight, which is part wholesale
and retail fish shop, part full-
service restaurant.
The menu at Honest Weight
features Okonomiyaki, a savoury
seafood pancake of cabbage,
Nagaimo yam and fresh fish
that is pan-fried and topped
with bonito flakes, cured fish
and Okonomi sauce ($14) and
B.C. spot prawns cooked on the
flattop, with brown butter and
herbs ($16).
“It’s a quirk of history that
we still have wild fish out there;
we’ve accepted that every other
protein product is farmed,” he
says. “For me, the word sustain-
able doesn’t go far enough.”
Ned Bell, executive chef at the
Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver,
who presides over Yew Seafood
+ Bar, rode his bike across
Canada to raise awareness
about his own Chefs for Oceans
foundation, which promotes
National Sustainable Seafood
Day (March 18).
In their passion to wisely
shepherd the world’s stocks of
seafood, these three pioneers
are part of a growing wave of
consumers and foodservice pro-
fessionals increasingly concerned
about the oceans’ long-term
health.
And with good reason:
according to the United
Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)’s 2014
report “The State of World
Fisheries and Aquaculture,”
about 25 per cent of stocks are
being overfished; about 60 per
cent are being fished to their
limit and only about 10 per cent
potentially are able to produce
more. Since FAO started to
monitor the seafood supply in
1974, the proportion of depleted
stocks has risen, while the
proportion of underexploited
stocks has dwindled. Clearly, the
foodservice industry has a stake
in this issue and, many would
say, a responsibility to make
itself part of the solution. But is
sustainable seafood also finan-
cially sustainable?
Yes, says Bell. In addition to
being committed to sustain-
ability, “I’m also a capitalist, in
the sense that I have a business
to run. I’ve grown the business
from $6 million in 2011 to $10
FOOD FILE
HEALTHY CATCHAT HAPA IZAKAYA IN TORONTO’S LITTLE ITALY, the menu is packed with Ocean Wise-certified seafood options. The reason, says general manager Mackenzie Isobe, is “it’s healthier and has more nutritional value than farmed fish. Our philosophy is that if we won’t eat it then we won’t serve it.”
Since Hapa Izakaya’s menu includes sashimi-style dishes, Isobe says it’s important to have the highest-quality fish available — which his team feels is Ocean Wise-certified products from Canada’s West Coast.
The Ocean Wise-certified restaurant’s top sellers include halibut tacos made with B.C. halibut tempura, house made bacon bits, shoestring pota-toes and roasted jalapeño tartar sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla (market price); ahi tuna avacado salsa dip made with chopped Ahi tuna, avocado, tomato, onion and served with plantain chips ($10); and Japanese aran-cini, deep-fried halibut risotto balls with B.C. trout carpaccio, capers and dill aioli ($8).
Isobe says the Ocean Wise products do cost more and that means higher menu prices but “if people know what they’re eating and they under-stand the concept of Ocean Wise certification, they are willing to pay more.” — Amy Bostock
SPOT ON B.C. spot prawns (above) are a lesser-known, but proudly Canadian, sustainable menu option; Hapa Izakaya in Toronto serves up Ocean Wise-certified sashimi (top)
CATCHING UP FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, the Newfoundland and Labrador government made it impossible for chefs and operators to buy seafood from local fish harvest-ers. But, in late September, all that changed with new regula-tions under the Fish Inspection Act and Food Premises Act that allow operators to buy the catch of the day straight from the source. “Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a strong attachment to the sea and to its seafood resources. The regulatory changes announced will allow individual consumers and food premises to purchase fish directly from harvesters, and were devel-oped after targeted consultation with key industry stakeholders,” said Vaughn Granter, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, who made the announcement along-side chef Roary MacPherson and Andrea Maunder, Chair of the Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (RANL) at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland.
Under the new rules, food-service establishments must purchase a restricted buyer’s licence ($50) to purchase finfish, live crustaceans, squid, seal meat and scallop meat from their local purveyor up to 300 pounds, per species, per week. “This is a positive move, something that the industry has been asking for a long time,” said Luc Erjavec, VP, Atlantic Canada at Restaurants Canada. “This will allow restaura-teurs to offer customers the fresh-est seafood possible. Customers both local and tourists alike expect to be able to enjoy local fresh sea-food when dining in the province. Food tourism is a growing busi-ness in the province and this initia-tive will help promote its growth.” There is a catch: restaurants must submit a weekly report that details the quantities of fish purchased through direct sales, by species. — Jackie Sloat-Spencer
PHOTO
S: OCEAN W
ISE [HAPA IZAKAYA SASHIMI, B.C. PRAW
N]
PHOTO
S: OCEAN W
ISE [HAPA IZAKAYA SASHIMI, B.C. PRAW
N]
1-800-387-7422 www.highlinerfoodservice.com
New Battercrisp® Salmon Bites
An exciting alternative to chicken balls and nuggets, new Battercrisp® Salmon Bites are easy to prepare in the deep-fryer or oven and stay crispy and delicious, even when sauced! Seafood is hot and the possibilities are endless with High Liner Seafood Bites.
Ask your High Liner Foodservice representative for more information today.
18 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
FOOD FILE
million in 2014/’15, so we’ve
had extraordinary growth,” he
says. “You can run a profitable
restaurant or catering facility
[sustainably], on any scale. I
actually think it’s easier for the
smaller guys; they’re often more
connected to where their food
is coming from, because they’re
buying for themselves.”
At Yew, Bell says his top-
selling sustainable menu items
include Albacore tuna served
as a small plate of sashimi with
pickled jalapeño, avocado and
lime ($17) and Dungeness crab
tacos with radish sprouts ($26).
As with all supplies, smart
shopping is important. “Many
seafood items that are ranked
or certified sustainable aren’t at
a premium. That said, there are
some very exclusive niche prod-
ucts, like land-raised farmed
salmon, that currently demand
about a 30-per-cent premium,”
says Guy Dean, VP and CSO
of Vancouver-based supplier
Albion Fisheries Ltd.
However, “the data that we’re
seeing is that there’s been an
increasing demand for sustain-
able seafood that has grown over
the course of the past 10 years,”
Dean adds, citing a recent MSC
survey of more than 9,000 peo-
ple in 15 countries that found
41 per cent of consumers were
actively looking for sustainable
fish products in 2014, an increase
of five per cent since 2010.
“People will pay a premium,”
says Bil. “Because we’re a shop as
well as a restaurant, we don’t just
get high-end customers; we get
people on a budget, and they’re
still asking ‘Is this sustainable?’
Like it or not, it’s going to be-
come more common.”
Bil says the benefits go
beyond profit margins. “It’s not
a matter of ‘Is there a financial
benefit?’ There is, but if you as
an operator don’t spend the time
to educate yourself and can’t
answer the questions and train
your front-of-house to answer
them, you may be left with the
truly marginal customer.”
Both from a price perspective
and for sustainability, “we need
to start buying down the food
chain and looking at some of
the species that are so popular
in other parts of the world: sar-
dines, mackerel, anchovies — so
full of flavour and deliciousness
and high in Omega-3s,” says Bell.
In the search for alterna-
tives, some establishments will
be able to thrill their clientele
with an expanded range of
protein options that includes
lesser-known (and some proudly
Canadian) choices. Wild B.C.
spot prawns have been a good-
news story over the past few
years; now gooseneck barnacles
are generating interest.
They may be odd-looking,
but “they’re very popular in
Spain,” says Teddie Geach, sea-
food specialist with the Ocean
Wise program at the Vancouver
Aquarium. “They’re from a
small First Nations fishery out
of Tofino; they can only go to
specific rocks and take a certain
amount off those rocks,” she says.
“I would take a look at Salt
ABOVE AND BEYONDTAKING SUSTAINABILITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL
IN 2013, SIX NORTH AMERICAN SEAFOOD SUPPLIERS created an alliance to protect world fish supplies. Today, Sea Pact has nine members, which have contributed about $130,000 and generated another $670,000 in matching fund-ing to Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) and research into innovations such as using probiotics instead of antibiotics in aquaculture.
“We’ve funded more than eight different projects through our grant submission process,” says Guy Dean of Albion Fisheries Ltd., a Sea Pact founder. “Three projects have actually been completed, so we’re slowly making progress and making change within the industry.”
Among other businesses taking steps to demonstrate their com-mitment to fostering world seafood resources, the U.S.-based Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster and The Olive Garden, directly fosters FIPs, such as one involving the Honduras Spiny Lobster Fishery. The company also helped launch the not-for-profit Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Foundation in 2009.
Loblaw has implemented a sophisticated sustainable seafood initiative called Oceans for Tomorrow; Safeway, Whole Foods and Choices Market are among other food retail-ers that strongly promote their com-mitment to seafood sustainability.
New products are making it eas-ier to stay sustainable. Thisfish, an initiative of Ecotrust Canada and fish-ing industry partners, has launched a traceable line of canned sockeye salmon. It’s also tracing the first Fair Trade seafood (yellowfin tuna) as well as halibut and lobster from the West Coast of Newfoundland.
And eco-conscious bartend-ers, take note: small-batch craft cocktail mix Walter Caesar has become Canada’s first Ocean Wise-recommended Caesar mix, using only ocean-friendly North Atlantic clam juice in its recipe.
SUSTAINABLE WORK OF ART Dungeness crab tacos are a best-seller at the Four Seasons’ Yew Seafood + Bar in Vancouver
PHOTO
: YEW RESTAURANT [CRAB TACO
S]
PHOTO
: YEW RESTAURANT [CRAB TACO
S]
Let’s put your ideas in motionWhat does it take to move from idea to execution? It takes a partner ready to work a little harder, think a little smarter and never, ever settle.So whether it’s a new flavour, a new fry, or a fresh look at your business,Lamb Weston® is ready to make things happen.
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DESCRIPTION: Food Pendulum Ad - Media Edge/Kostuch BLEED SIZE: 8.375” x 11.125”
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FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
FOOD FILE
Spring mussels,” says Bil. “Savary
clams from B.C. They look
good, they present well. You
never see them on menus, but
we sell 50 pounds a week out
of the shop; the perceived value
is very high. They’re great for
pasta with clams — an excellent
Canadian alternative.”
In fact, the list of what is (or
is not) considered sustainable is
constantly changing. The aver-
age foodservice professional
couldn’t possibly afford the time
to stay current with all the new
developments. Luckily, help is
at hand in the form of several
trustworthy agencies that consis-
tently and thoroughly monitor
the state of the world’s fisheries
and aquaculture.
Internationally, the
best-known is the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC),
which certifies fisheries and
other bodies that handle the fish
at points in the supply chain
between the water and the plate.
“MSC has three indicators of
sustainability for our Fisheries
Standard: that the fish stock
is healthy, the environmen-
tal impacts are minimal and
the fishery is well managed,”
explains Céline Rouzaud, MSC’s
Marketing and Communications
manager – Canada.
“It is a very rigorous stan-
dard, in that below those three
pillars we have 28 individual
indicators of sustainability;
when a fishery is certified, it
must have a passing score on all
28 of those of those indicators,”
she says. In addition to fisheries,
other businesses like wholesal-
ers, retailers and restaurants can
receive Chain of Custody certi-
fication, which, Rouzaud says,
“ensures a rigorous measure of
traceability.”
A similar organization
exists to monitor farmed fish
and shellfish: the Aquaculture
Stewardship Alliance (ASA),
which certifies farms and sup-
pliers. The only ASA-certified
farms in Canada so far are
Cermaq Canada’s Bare Bluff
Farm and McIntyre Lake, both
in Tofino, B.C., and Marine
Harvest Canada’s Marsh Bay
Farm in Port Hardy, B.C.; all are
farming salmon.
The Monterey Bay
Aquarium’s Seafood Watch
program and the Vancouver
Aquarium’s Ocean Wise pro-
gram function differently. They
monitor seafood species in order
to inform potential purchasers
whether a product is sustain-
able, which “can be defined as a
species that is caught or farmed
in a way that ensures the long-
term health and stability of that
species, as well as the greater
marine ecosystem,” says Geach.
Ocean Wise applies four
criteria: abundance and resil-
ience of the fish, management
of the fisheries, limited bycatch
and limited habitat damage.
“Fisheries and seafood are such
a complex system that it’s really
hard to keep track,” Geach says,
“which is why programs like
Ocean Wise are so important.”
Ocean Wise restaurant part-
ners receive regular updates;
both Ocean Wise and Seafood
Watch provide mobile apps for
quick reference. Also, says Geach,
“restaurants have found that
when they put the Ocean Wise
seal [on their menus], those
items are outselling other items.”
“It’s not as simple as to take X
species off the menu and add Y
species back on,” says Bell. “But
these labelling systems are great,
because they’ve already done the
work for you, and then if you
choose to dive a little deeper,
you can.”
“It’s all a matter of informing
yourself,” says Bishop. “The big-
gest obstacle is education.” lAt Bridor Inc., baking is a passion we have shared for generations.
450 641-1265 • 1 800 361-1450 • br idor.com
SOFT ARTISAN BREAD
BISTRO
CHERRY & GREEK YOGURT DANISH
CHOCOLATE AVALANCHE
Kostuch Media and Food Service NEW.pdf 1 2015-09-23 10:28:34 AM
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FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 23FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE
SEAFOOD
OCEAN WISE CERTIFIED SUPPLIERS IN CANADA (as provided by Ocean Wise)
Overfishing is the greatest threat facing our oceans today. In response to this threat, Ocean Wise and The Marine Stewardship Council consistently and thoroughly monitor the state of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture. These two organizations provide operators with the education and means to offer sustainable seafood options in their restaurants. Now, F&H ’s guide to MSC- and Ocean Wise-certified suppliers in Canada puts all this information at your fingertips.
COMPANY NAME WEBSITE PROVINCE
AlbionFisheriesLtd.-Calgary ........................................................................ albion.bc.ca.................................................................................................................... Alberta CentennialFoodservice-Calgary,Edmonton............................................ centennialfoodservice.com...................................................................................... Alberta CityFish .................................................................................................................. cityfish.ca...................................................................................................................... Alberta Meliomar.................................................................................................................. blueyou.com/page/ProgrammesArtesmar........................................................... Alberta MultiNationalFoods........................................................................................... multinationalworldsource.com............................................................................... Alberta SyscoFoodServicesofCalgary ..................................................................... sysco.ca/calgary.......................................................................................................... Alberta TheNewZealandKingSalmonCompany...................................................... kingsalmon.co.nz.......................................................................................................... Alberta 7Seas........................................................................................................................ 7seas.ca ......................................................................................................................... BristishColumbia AeroTradingPortEdward................................................................................. aerotrading.ca ............................................................................................................. BritishColumbia AlbionFisheriesLtd.-Vancouver,Victoria.................................................. albion.bc.ca .................................................................................................................. BritishColumbia AquafarmsJointVenture ................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia AquametrixResearch,UVICGeography....................................................... ............................................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia B&CFoods(Div.ofCentennialFoods)............................................................ centennialfoodservice.com/bnc ............................................................................ BritishColumbia BCSalmonMarketingCouncil ......................................................................... bcsalmon.ca ................................................................................................................. BritishColumbia BCSpotPrawns .................................................................................................... wildbcspotprawns.com ............................................................................................. BritishColumbia BeeIsletsGrowersCorp .................................................................................... fishchoice.com/seafood-supplier/bee-islets-growers-corp.......................... BritishColumbia Best.Salmon.Ever.Ltd. ..................................................................................... bestsalmonever.com.................................................................................................. BritishColumbia
The Ocean Wise conservation program, established in 2005 by the Vancouver Aquarium, is now Canada’s most recognized sustainable seafood program and the Ocean Wise symbol next to a menu or seafood item is the Vancouver Aquarium’s assurance of an ocean-friendly seafood choice.
BlundellSeafoods................................................................................................ blundellseafoods.com ............................................................................................... BritishColumbia C2CPremiumSeafoods(Div.ofCentennialFoods)................................... c2cpremiumseafood.com......................................................................................... BritishColumbia Calkins&Burke .................................................................................................... calbur.com .................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia CentennialFoodservice-Kelowna................................................................. centennialfoodservice.com/Kelowna................................................................... BritishColumbia CentennialFoodservice-PrinceGeorge,Richmond................................. centennialfoodservice.com...................................................................................... BritishColumbia CoastalShellfish................................................................................................... coastalshellfish.com.................................................................................................. BritishColumbia ColdfishSeafoodsCompanyInc. .................................................................... coldfish.ca..................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia DWayFoodsInc. ................................................................................................ dwayfoods.com............................................................................................................ BritishColumbia` DailyCatch ............................................................................................................ thedailycatch.com......................................................................................................... BritishColumbia DelicaSeaFishCoLtd...........................................................................delicasea.ca ................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia DollarFoodMfg.Inc. .......................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia Dusco’sFreshPastaandSauces....................................................................... dusos.com....................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia EmeraldSeaFarmsLtd...................................................................................... emeraldseafarms.com............................................................................................... BritishColumbia EstevanTuna........................................................................................................ bctuna.com.................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia EverseaInternationalTradingLtd.................................................................. everseainternational.com........................................................................................ BritishColumbia FannyBayOysters................................................................................................ fannybayoysters.com ................................................................................................ BritishColumbia FrobisherInternational...................................................................................... oceanmama.ca............................................................................................................. BritishColumbia GeorgiaStraightShrimpLtd............................................................................ ........................................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia GlacierViewSeafoods........................................................................................ oceanwise.ca/partners/glacier-view-seafoods.................................................. BritishColumbia GoldenEagleAquacultureInc.......................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/golden-eagle-aquaculture-inc................................... BritishColumbia GordonFoodService-BritishColumbia....................................................... gfs.ca............................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia GreatGlacierSalmon.......................................................................................... wildbcfish.ca................................................................................................................. BritishColumbia Ha’oomFisheries/Nuu-chah-nulthT’aaq-wiihakFisheries..................... haoom.ca ....................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia HaidaGwaiiShellfishCo.................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/haida-gwaii-shellfish-co.............................................. BritishColumbia HaidaWild............................................................................................................... haidawild.com.............................................................................................................. BritishColumbia HappyTroutLodge............................................................................................... happytroutlodge.ca.................................................................................................... BritishColumbia HardyBuoysSmokedFishInc.......................................................................... hardybuoys.com.......................................................................................................... BritishColumbia HollieWoodOysters............................................................................................ holliewoodoysters.com.............................................................................................. BritishColumbia HubCityFisheries................................................................................................ oceanwise.ca/partners/centennial-food-service/nanaimo............................ BritishColumbia IFCSeafood-BritishColumbia........................................................................ ifcseafood.com............................................................................................................. BritishColumbia IntegraFoodsInternationalCorp................................................................... integrafoods.com........................................................................................................ BritishColumbia IslandScallopsLtd................................................................................................ islandscallops.com...................................................................................................... BritishColumbia IslandSeaFarms.................................................................................................. saltspringislandmussels.com.................................................................................. BritishColumbia K.andM.EnterprisesLtd.................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/k-and-m-enterprises-ltd.............................................. BritishColumbia LittleCedarFalls................................................................................................... littlecedarfalls.com..................................................................................................... BritishColumbia LittleMissChiefGourmetProductsInc. ...................................................... littlemisschief.com..................................................................................................... BritishColumbia LittleWingOysters............................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia Lucky’s7OysterCo. ............................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia Mac’sOystersLtd................................................................................................. macsoysters.com........................................................................................................ BritishColumbia MichelleRoseFishing......................................................................................... michellerosecsf.com.................................................................................................. BritishColumbia MiracleSprings..................................................................................................... miraclespringsinc.com............................................................................................... BritishColumbiaMike’sSundanceSeafoodLtd............................................................................ westcoastselect.ca ......................................................................................... BritishColumbia NaturalGiftSeafoods......................................................................................... naturalgiftseafoods.com.......................................................................................... BritishColumbia NelsonIslandSeaFarms.................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia OceanMasterFoodsInt’lLtd. .......................................................................... oceanmasterfood.com .............................................................................................. BritishColumbia OceanRunSeafood............................................................................................. oceanrunseafood.com............................................................................................... BritishColumbia OceanfoodSales................................................................................................... oceanfoods.com........................................................................................................... BritishColumbia OdysseyShellfishLtd.......................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia OkanaganNationAlliance................................................................................. syilx.org.......................................................................................................................... BritishColumbia OkeoverOrganicOysters................................................................................... organicoysters.ca........................................................................................................ BritishColumbia OrcaSpecialtyFoods........................................................................................... orcaspecialtyfoods.com............................................................................................ BritishColumbia OrganicOcean....................................................................................................... organicocean.com....................................................................................................... BritishColumbia OutLandishShellfishGuildInc. ...................................................................... outlandish-shellfish.com.......................................................................................... BritishColumbia PacificNorthwestShellfishCo.Ltd. .............................................................. oceanwise.ca/partners/bc-shellfish-growers-association............................. BritishColumbia PacificProvider..................................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/bc-shellfish-growers-association/vancouver-2... BritishColumbia PentlatchSeafoodsLtd. .................................................................................... komoks.ca/pentlatch-seafoods-ltd........................................................................ BritishColumbia QueenCharlotteSeafoodsLtd. ...................................................................... qcseafoods.com........................................................................................................... BritishColumbia RaincoastTrading................................................................................................ raincoasttrading.com ................................................................................................ BritishColumbia RiverfreshWildBCSalmon ............................................................................... riverfreshkamloops.com........................................................................................... BritishColumbia
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM24 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015
COMPANY NAME WEBSITE PROVINCE
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 25FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
SailorsSeafoods................................................................................................... honeymussels.com........................................................................................................ BritishColumbia SalishSeaFoodsLtd........................................................................................... salishseafoods.ca........................................................................................................ BritishColumbia Sam’sWildSeafood.............................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia SawmillBayShellfish.......................................................................................... sawmillbay.ca................................................................................................................. BritishColumbia SeaAgraSeafoodLtd......................................................................................... seaagraseafood.com.................................................................................................. BritishColumbia SeaChangeSavouriesCanada......................................................................... seachangeseafoodsandgifts.ca.............................................................................. BritishColumbia SecwepemcFisheriesCommission................................................................ shuswapnation.org/departments/secwepemc-fisheries-commission...... BritishColumbia SingLobster........................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia SkipperOtto’sCommunitySupportedFishery........................................... skipperotto.com .......................................................................................................... BritishColumbia SmokeyBaySeafoodCompanyLtd. .............................................................. smokeybay.com........................................................................................................... BritishColumbia StellarBayShellfishLimited............................................................................ stellarbay.ca.................................................................................................................. BritishColumbia Sts’ailesDevelopmentCorporation-HarrisonMills................................. stsailesdevcorp.com.................................................................................................. BritishColumbia SyscoFoodServicesofKelowna,Vancouver,Victoria............................. syscokelowna.ca.......................................................................................................... BritishColumbia TargetMarine-NorthernDivine..................................................................... northerndivine.com................................................................................................... BritishColumbia TerritorySeafoodsLtd........................................................................................ oceanwise.ca/partners/territory-seafoods-ltd.................................................. BritishColumbia ThetisQueenSeafoods...................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/thetis-queen-seafoods................................................ BritishColumbia TotemSeaFarmInc............................................................................................. totemseafarm.com..................................................................................................... BritishColumbia TradexFoodsInc. ................................................................................................. tradexfoods.com.......................................................................................................... BritishColumbia W!LDOceanFish.................................................................................................... wildoceanfish.ca.......................................................................................................... BritishColumbia WeWaiKaiSeafoodCorp................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia WestCoastFishCulture/Agrimarine........................................................... westcoastfishculture.ca............................................................................................ BritishColumbia WillowfieldEnterprises ...................................................................................... willowfield.ca................................................................................................................ BritishColumbia AllianceSeafoodInc. .......................................................................................... allianceseafood.ca...................................................................................................... NewBrunswick BreviroCaviarInc. ............................................................................................... breviro.com................................................................................................................... NewBrunswick IslandFishermenCooperativeAssociationLtd......................................... acpi-ifca.com................................................................................................................ NewBrunswick LaMaisonBeauSoleil.......................................................................................... maisonbeausoleil.ca .................................................................................................. NewBrunswick GreenSeafoodsLtd............................................................................................. greenseafoods.com.................................................................................................... NewfoundlandandLabrador Afishionado........................................................................................................... afishionado.ca.............................................................................................................. NovaScotia AquaPrimeMusselRanch.................................................................................. aquaprimemusselranch.ca ...................................................................................... NovaScotia CanaquaSeafoodLtd. ........................................................................................ canaquaseafoods.ca .................................................................................................. NovaScotia EelLakeOysterFarmLtd. ................................................................................. ruisseauoysters.com.................................................................................................. NovaScotia FisherKingSeafoodsLtd. ................................................................................. fisherkingseafoods.com ........................................................................................... NovaScotia HighLinerFoodsInc........................................................................................... highlinerfoods.com .................................................................................................... NovaScotia ScotianHalibutLimited ..................................................................................... halibut.ns.ca ................................................................................................................. NovaScotia SustainableBlue................................................................................................... sustainableblue.com.................................................................................................. NovaScotia AllseasFisheriesInc............................................................................................allseas.net....................................................................................................................... Ontario AquaBlueSeafoodLtd....................................................................................... aquablueseafood.com................................................................................................. Ontario Caudie’sCatch....................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................ Ontario DailySeafood ........................................................................................................ dailyseafood.ca ........................................................................................................... Ontario Diana’sSeafood.................................................................................................... dianasseafood.com .................................................................................................... Ontario DOMInternational ............................................................................................... dominternational.com .............................................................................................. Ontario EdesiaFineFoodsLtd. ....................................................................................... edesiafinefoods.com ................................................................................................. Ontario ExportPackers...................................................................................................... exportpackers.com..................................................................................................... Ontario FindlayFoodsLtd.(Kingston) .......................................................................... findlayfoods.com ........................................................................................................ Ontario FirstOntarioShrimp........................................................................................... firstontarioshrimp.com.............................................................................................. Ontario FlanaganFoodserviceKitchener flanagan.ca ...................................................................................................... Ontario FlanaganFoodservice-OwenSound flanagan.ca ................................................................................................................... Ontario FlanaganFoodservice-Sudbury flanagan.ca ................................................................................................................... Ontario GordonFoodService-Ontario ....................................................................... gfs.ca ..................................................................................................................... Ontario HookedInc.(SupplyCompany) ....................................................................... hookedinc.ca ................................................................................................................ Ontario IcyWatersLtd. ...................................................................................................... icywaters.com.............................................................................................................. Ontario IFCSeafood-Ontario......................................................................................... ifcseafood.com............................................................................................................. Ontario ItsumoTuna........................................................................................................... freshahituna.com........................................................................................................ Ontario JimGiggie’sTroutFarm..................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/jim-giggies-trout-farm ................................................ Ontario KolaporeSpringsFishHatchery ..................................................................... kolaporesprings.com ................................................................................................. Ontario LovellSpringsTroutFarm................................................................................. oceanwise.ca/partners/lovell-springs-trout-farm ........................................... Ontario MacgregorsMeat&SeafoodLtd. ............................................ macgregors.com......................................................................................................... Ontario MaximumSeafood............................................................................................... maximumseafood.com.............................................................................................. Ontario MinorFisheriesLtd.............................................................................................. minorfisheries.net...................................................................................................... Ontario
®
COMPANY NAME WEBSITE PROVINCE
26 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD COMPANY NAME WEBSITE PROVINCE
MortonWholesale................................................................................................ mortonwholesale.com............................................................................................... Ontario NewChapterCanada........................................................................................... newchapter.ca............................................................................................................... Ontario OntarioNaturalFoodCo-op ............................................................................. onfc.ca............................................................................................................................ Ontario PlanetShrimpInc. ............................................................................................... planetshrimp.com....................................................................................................... Ontario PurvisFisheriesInc. ........................................................................................... purvisfisheries.com.................................................................................................... Ontario SandPlainsAquaculture ................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/sand-plains-aquaculture............................................. Ontario SeacoreSeafoodInc........................................................................................... seacoreseafood.com.................................................................................................. Ontario SubZeroImportsInc.......................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/sub-zero-imports-inc ................................................... Ontario SyscoFoodServicesofToronto ..................................................................... sysco.ca/ontario.......................................................................................................... Ontario ToppitsFoods ........................................................................................................ toppits.com................................................................................................................... Ontario WhalesboneSustainableOyster&FishSupply.......................................... thewhalesbone.com................................................................................................... Ontario TheCanadianCoveCulturedShellfish.......................................................... canadiancove.com...................................................................................................... PrinceEdwardIsland HalibutPEIInc. ..................................................................................................... halibutpei.ca................................................................................................................. PrinceEdwardIsland P.E.I.MusselKingInc........................................................................................... peimusselking.com .................................................................................................... PrinceEdwardIsland PrinceEdwardAquaFarmsInc. ...................................................................... peaqua.com .................................................................................................................. PrinceEdwardIsland W&RFisheriesLtd.............................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................ PrinceEdwardIsland AlimentsPearlmarkFoodsInc. ....................................................................... pearlmarkfoods.com.................................................................................................. Quebec Culti-MerInc. ......................................................................................................... petoncleduquebec.com ............................................................................................ Quebec EnGrosPierre ....................................................................................................... engrospierre.com ....................................................................................................... Quebec FermePiscicoledesBobines ........................................................................... lesbobines.com ........................................................................................................... Quebec GordonFoodService-Montreal...................................................................... gfs.ca/en/service-areas/montreal.......................................................................... Quebec IFCSeafood-Quebec ......................................................................................... ifcseafood.com ............................................................................................................ Quebec LagoonSeafoodProducts/FruitsdeMerLagon..................................... lagoonseafood.com.................................................................................................... Quebec LesPêcheriesNorref .......................................................................................... norref.colabor.com ..................................................................................................... Quebec Pec-NordInc. ......................................................................................................... oceanwise.ca/partners/pec-nord-inc ................................................................... Quebec Provender............................................................................................................... provender.com............................................................................................................. Quebec CentennialFoodservice-Regina,Saskatoon............................................... centennialfoodservice.com ...................................................................... Saskatchewan
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Whether you’re looking for daily news on the food-service or hotel industry, searching for resources to help you improve your business offerings or just eager to learn from the industry’s icons and inno-vators, our magazine websites and weekly digital newsletter offer compelling and relevant informa-tion that will keep you informed and educated. Visit foodserviceandhospitality.com or hoteliermaga-zine.com for daily news, feature articles or digital issues in their entirety, as well as video clips from our Icons & Innovators breakfast series and our re-nowned Pinnacle Awards. It’s all just a click away.
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Events
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NATIONAL DISTRIBUTORS/PROCESSORS BRITISH COLUMBIA
Canadian Fishing CompanyFootofGoreAve.Vancouver,BCV6A2Y7canfisco.com Integra Foods International Corp.P.O.Box521ShawniganLake,BCV0R2W0integrafoods.com Shafer-Haggart Ltd.1055WestHastingsSt.,10thFloorVancouver,BCV6E4E2shafer-haggart.com Viking Seafoods Ltd.12820TritesRd.Richmond,BCV7E3R8
MANITOBA
Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation1199PlessisRd.Winnipeg,MBR2C3L4freshwaterfish.comNEW BRUNSWICK
Cape Bald Packers Ltd. 2618AcadieRd.Cap-Pelé,NBE4N1E3capebaldpackers.com Captain Dan’s Inc. 341CheminCap-LumiereRichibouctou-Village,NBE4W1C9 captaindans.com
Edmond Gagnon Ltd.9QuaiDesRobichaudRd.Grand-Barachois,NBE4P8A4atlanticcanadaexports.ca/producer/edmond-gagnon-ltd-2
Gourmet Chef Packers Ltd.342MainSt.Shediac,NBE4P2E7gcpackers.comInternational Seafood & Bait Ltd.262Boul.JDGauthierShippagan,NBE8S1R1entship.ca L’Association Coopérative des Pêcheurs de l’Ile Ltée90,ruePrincipaleLameque,NBE8T1M8acpi-ifca.com/en
Mills Seafood Ltd. 5MillsSt.Bouctouche,NBE4S3S3millsseafood.ca Ocean Pier Inc. 20PattisonRd.Scoudouc,NBE4P3R4oceanpierinc.com
Open Blue Fisheries211GeorgeSt.Moncton,NBE1C1V8openblue.com
Paturel International Company349NorthernHarbourRd.NorthernHarbour,NBE5V1G6eastcoastseafood.com/company_paturel.php Raymond O’Neill & Son Fisheries221EscuminacPointRd.Escuminac,NBE9A1V6raymondoneill.ca
Westmorland Fisheries Ltd. 64GautreauSt.Cap-Pelé,NBE4N1V3westmorlandfisheries.ca/en NEWFOUNDLAND Barry Group Inc.415GriffinDr.CornerBrook,NLA2H3E9barrygroupinc.com Ocean Choice International 1315TopsailRd.StJohn’s,NLA1B3N4oceanchoice.com
Whitecap International Seafood Exporters84AirportRd.StJohn’s,NLA1A4Y3whitecapseafoods.com
NOVA SCOTIA
Bakers Point Fisheries Limited 33Baker’sPointRd.E.Jeddore,NSB0J1W0fishpackers.com/members/bakerspointfisheries
Bluenose Seafood Inc.339HerringCoveRd. Halifax,NSB3R1V5bluenoseseafood.com
Clearwater Seafoods Limited Partnership757BedfordHighwayBedford,NSB4A3Z7clearwater.ca Comeau’s Sea Food Ltd. P.O.Box39Saulnierville,NSB0W2Z0comeausea.com/fr
D.B. Kenney Fisheries (2014) Ltd. 301WaterSt.Westport,NSB0V1H0 dbkenneyfisheries.com
Fisher King Seafoods Ltd.267CobequidRd.,Ste.100LowerSackville,NSB4C4E6fisherkingseafoods.com
High Liner Foods Inc.Box910,100BatteryPointLunenburg,NSB0J2C0highlinerfoods.com
Louisbourg Seafood Ltd. P.O.Box5609Louisbourg,NSB1C1B5louisbourgseafoods.ca/home Merex Inc.1096MarginalRd. Halifax,NSB3H2O4saltfish.com
Oceanview Fisheries Limited 19Lenny’sLaneSambro,NSB3V1L5oceanviewfisheries.ca
Premium Seafoods Ltd. 449LowerRd.Arichat,NSB0E1A0premiumseafoods.ns.ca
Victoria Co-Operative Fisheries Limited 247NewHavenRd.Neil’sHarbour,NSB0C1N0victoriafish.com
ONTARIO
Bento Nouveau Ltd. 25CenturianDr.,Ste.208Markham,ONL3R5N8bentosushi.com
Central Epicure Food Products Ltd. 501GaryrayDr.Toronto,ONM9L1P9centralepicure.com
MSC-CERTIFIED CANADIAN SUPPLIERS (as provided by The Marine Stewardship Council)
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) works with partners to promote sustainable-fishing practices. MSC’s standards for sustainable fishing and seafood trace-ability seek to increase the availability of certified sustainable seafood and its distinctive blue ecolabel makes it easy for everyone to take part.
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
28 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Couprie, Fenton Inc.299CourtneyparkDr.E.,Ste.200Mississauga,ONL5T2T6coufen.com Dom International Ltd. 10GoldenGateCt.Toronto,ONM1P3A5dominternational.com Export Packers Company Limited107WalkerDr.Brampton,ONL5T5K5exportpackers.com
Grand River Foods 685BoxwoodDr.Cambridge,ONN3E1A4grandriverfoods.com Hai Yang International Inc.1220SheppardAve.E.,Ste.303Toronto,ONM2K2S5haiyangseafoods.com Janes Family Foods- Sofina Foods Inc.401CanarcticDr.Toronto,ONM3J2P9janesfamilyfoods.com Les Plats du Chef, Inc.575OsterLaneVaughan,ONL4K2B9cuisineadventuresfoods.com/plats-du-chef Marsan Foods, Ltd.160ThermosRd.Toronto,ONM1L4W2marsanfoods.com Ocean Food Company Ltd.3TurbinaAve.Toronto,ONM1V5G3oceanfood.ca/en/home.php
Sea Merchants, Inc.55VanscoRd.Toronto,ONM8Z5Z8atlanticcanadaexports.ca/producer/sea-merchant-inc TFI Foods Ltd.44MilnerAve.Brampton,ONM1S3P8taifoong.com
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Royal Star Foods Ltd.175JudesPointRd. Tignish,PEIC0B2B0royalstarfoods.com
QUEBEC
Crevette du Nord Atlantique Inc.139RuedelaReine Gaspé,QCG4X2R8crevettedunordatlantique.ca IFC Seafood Inc.5584desRossignolsLaval,QCH7L5Z1ifcseafood.com
Les Aliments Pearlmark Foods Inc. 4404LouisB.MayerLaval,QCH7P0G1pearlmarkfoods.com
REGIONAL DISTRIBUTORS
ALBERTA
Albion Fisheries Ltd. 332014thAve.N.E.,Bay5Calgary,ABT2A6J4albion.bc.ca Centennial Food Service C2CPremiumSeafoodBranchBay132,2880-45Ave.S.E.Calgary,ABT2B3M1centennialfoodservice.com
GFS Canada Company - Calgary290212TownshipRd.261RockyViewCounty,ABT4A0V6gfs.com/en
GFS Canada Company - Edmonton13511163St.Edmonton,ABT5V0B5gfs.com/en
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Albion Fisheries Ltd. 1900No.6Rd.Richmond,BCV6V1W3 albion.bc.caBlundell Seafoods Ltd. 11351RiverRd.Richmond,BCV6X1Z6 blundellseafoods.com Calkins & Burke Ltd.1500W.GeorgiaSt.,Ste.800Vancouver,BCV6G2Z6calbur.com Centennial Food Service -C2CPremiumSeafoodBranch12759VulcanWay,Unit138Richmond,BCV6V3C8Additional locations: Kelowna, B.C., Prince George, B.C., Victoria and Vancouver centennialfoodservice.com GFS Canada Company - British Columbia 1700ClivedenAve. Delta,BCV3M6T2gfs.com/en Hub City Fisheries262SouthsideDr.Nanaimo,BCV9R6Z5
Keystone Merchandising Inc.12-4751ShellRd.Richmond,BCV6X3H4 Lions Gate Fisheries Ltd. 4179RiverRd.Delta,BCV4K1R9lionsgatefisheries.com
North Delta Seafoods Ltd.6951-72ndSt.,Unit101Delta,BCV4G0A2ndseafoods.com
Oceanfood Sales Ltd.1909E.HastingsSt. Vancouver,BCV5L1T5oceanfoods.com
Pacific Point Foods Ltd. 1907733Ave.Surrey,BCV3S0L5pacpoint.com
Seven Seas Fish Co.12411VulcanWayRichmond,BCV6V1J77seas.ca
Sung Fish Company Ltd. 1795PandoraSt. Vancouver,BCV5L1L9sungfish.com
Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc.130-11388No.5Rd. Richmond,BCV7A4E7ntcltdusa.com/about
MANITOBAGFS Canada Company - Winnipeg310SterlingLyonParkwayWinnipeg,MBR3P0T3 gfs.ca/en/service-areas/winnipeg
NOVA SCOTIA A.C. Covert Distributors50ThorneAve.Dartmouth,NSB3B1Y5accovert.com
Fisherman’s Market International607BedfordHighwayHalifax,NSB3M2L6fishermansmarket.ca
GFS Canada Company – Atlantic38IndustrialParkDr.Amherst,NSB4H4RSwww.gfs.com/en Sambro Fisheries40Lenny’sLaneSambro,NSB3V1L5atlanticcanadaexports.ca/producer/sambro-fisheries-limited
True North Salmon Ltd. 874MainSt.BlacksHarbour,NBE5H1G6truenorthsalmon.com
ONTARIO
Allseas Fisheries Corp. 55VanscoRd.Toronto,ONM8Z5Z8allseas.net
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 29FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
GFS Canada Company - Ontario2999JamesSnowParkwayNorthMilton,ONL9T5G4gfs.com/enLa Nassa Foods215IndustryRd.Kingsville,ONN9Y1K9lanassafoods.com
Maximum Seafood189WestcreekDr. Vaughan,ONL4L9N6maximumseafood.com NWC Fish Limited6478YongeSt.NorthYork,ONM2M4J8
Parkinson International Inc. P.O.Box20010Perth,ONK7H3M6 Presteve Foods Ltd.20954ErieSt.S.Wheatley,ONNOP2POprestevefoods.com
Seacore Seafood Inc.81AvivaParkDr.Vaughan,ONL4L9C1seacoreseafood.com
Toppits Foods301ChrisleaRd.Vaughan,ONL4L8N4toppits.com
QUEBEC B. Terfloth + Cie (Canada) Inc.1WestmountSquare,Ste.500Montreal,QCH3Z2P9terfloth.com/en
Dubord & Rainville, Inc.4045Boul.PoirierSaintLaurent,QCH4R2G9dubord.ca/en
GFS Canada Company - Montreal550Louis-PasteurBoucherville,QCJ4B7Z1gfs.ca/en/service-areas/quebecGFS Canada Company - Quebec8000RueArmandViau,QCG2E2C2gfs.ca/en/service-areas/quebec
La Poissonnerie Cowie (1985) Inc.660RueBernardGranby,QCJ2J0H6cowieinc.com
Lagoon Seafood Products Ltd.1301,32ndAve.Lachine,QCH8T3H2lagoonseafood.com/en
Naeco 65BlainvilleSt.W. Ste-Therese,QCJ7E1X5
Norref 4900MolsonSt.Montreal,QCH1Y3J8norref.colabor.com
Sysco Québec1162555E.Ave. Montreal,QCH1E2K2syscoquebec.ca/accueil.cfm
SASKATCHEWAN
Centennial Food Service -C2CPremiumSeafoodBranch1309LorneSt.Regina,SKS4R2K2centennialfoodservice.com
A GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
integrity period.
C
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Y
CM
MY
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final half page ad.pdf 1 10/7/2015 10:21:30 AM
32 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
STEERING GROWTHCanada’s foodservice industry is poised for growth in 2016, but increased costs, a sluggish economy and lagging consumer confidence mean it won’t be without challenges
STORY BY AMY BOSTOCK ILLUSTRATION BY JEM SULLIVAN |
HOSPITALITY MARKET REPORT
Canada’s restau-
rant industry
is poised for its
25th consecutive
year of growth
in 2016, with sales expected to
grow by 3.8 per cent to $62 bil-
lion, according to a new report
from Toronto-based Restaurants
Canada. But it isn’t going to be
easy, says Chris Elliott, the orga-
nization’s senior economist. He
cites challenges such as surging
labour and food costs, as well as
higher rent and leasing costs as
cutting into an operator’s profit.
“We’re seeing more operators
saying food and labour costs
are having a negative impact on
their business,” he says. “In fact,
for Q3, 74 per cent of operators
said that food and labour
costs were having a nega-
tive impact compared to the
same period last year when
59 per cent said food and 57
per cent said labour.”
A huge increase but not
a surprising one, says Elliott,
pointing to a lower Canadian
dollar, which makes importing
food from the U.S. more expen-
sive. “Add rising beef prices
over the last couple of years and
now operators are seeing much
higher food costs.”
But while operators bemoan
the failing loonie, Aron Gampel,
VP and deputy chief economist
with Scotiabank Economics
in Toronto, says the weaker
Canadian dollar may actually
benefit the foodservice industry.
“We will probably see some pull-
back in expenditures but to a
great extent, looking from both
a regional and national perspec-
tive, there are offsets to it, such
as our sharply lower dollar rein-
forcing an increased tourist
attitude that Canada is back
on the radar for not only
American daytrippers but
international tourists as
well. Canada is still afford-
able, even for people from coun-
tries whose dollar may be low.”
The other big issue impacting
industry growth is staffing; in
2015, every province, with the
exception of New Brunswick,
saw an increase in minimum
wage, which in turn drove up
wages for all restaurant employ-
ees, resulting in higher payroll
taxes and more significant costs
for operators (see graph on p. 33).
“So overall, yes, the industry is
growing but costs are also going
up, basically in lockstep,” says
Elliott.
Despite these hurdles, Elliott
says the foodservice industry
saw sales increase over the last
few months. “The fact that sales
grew at all in 2015 — in spite of
economic recession, a sluggish
job market and consumer con-
fidence that’s going down every
month — is a big surprise.”
The results of Mississauga,
Ont.-based Boston Pizza reflect
that trend. The casual chain
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 33FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
HOSPITALITY MARKET REPORT
recorded positive sales growth of
1.1 per cent for 2015. “Through
to the end of Q2, we’re continu-
ing to see positive sales growth,”
says Steve Silverstone, EVP
Marketing, adding that Boston
Pizza will be opening an addi-
tional 12 to 15 stores in 2016,
bringing its total units to 380
across Canada.
Silverstone says the company
has seen some softening in the
northern Alberta market linked
to its economy but “that’s offset
by strong sales in other prov-
inces. We’re having some of our
best results in Manitoba and
Quebec and very strong results
in Ontario and B.C. — even
versus prior years.”
According to Elliott, B.C. and
Ontario were the main drivers
of foodservice sales growth in
2015. “Both provinces have seen
really strong growth in the last
couple of years due to generally
healthy economic activity, grow-
ing populations and housing
prices. It’s created a wealth effect
— people feel like they’re richer
and therefore they’re going out
and spending money.”
Alberta and Saskatchewan
didn’t fare as well, due largely to
the decline in oil prices and the
drop-off in commodity prices.
“We saw much weaker growth in
2015 than we did in 2014 from
these two provinces, which had
actually led the industry over
the past decade in terms of over-
all foodservice sales growth.”
Looking ahead, Manitoba
and B.C. are expected to lead
the way in 2016, with projected
growth of 4.3 per cent while
Newfoundland and Labrador
is estimated to grow by only
1.8 per cent. “Basically what
we’re seeing is slightly weaker
growth in 2016,” predicts Elliott.
“In 2015, commercial foodser-
vice sales were going to grow
by about 4.5 per cent; now in
2016 that’s going to moderate
to 3.8 per cent” (see graph on
p. 32). The reason, he says, is
that Ontario and B.C., the main
drivers of growth over the last
couple of years, will moderate to
a more sustainable pace.
The following foodser-
vice segment update from
Technomic takes a closer look at
the Canadian foodservice land-
scape and outlines how each Top
200 restaurant sub-segment has
fared over the past year, detailing
current struggles and success
stories as well as future
challenges and methods for
remaining competitive.
34 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
QUICK-SERVICE UPDATEThe fast-food segment fared bet-
ter than casual dining in 2014,
with a total sales increase of 4.7
per cent. Despite rising competi-
tion from Retail Meal Solutions
(RMS) and fast-casual segments,
many quick-service chains are
still successfully growing their
businesses. The large fast-food
chains are particularly winning
by emphasizing coffee, with
the coffee café category seeing
the most growth of any quick-
service category in 2014 — a
sales increase of 7.5 per cent.
In particular, Tim Hortons and
Starbucks Canada — both in the
top three — have seen notable
sales growth since 2013.
FAST-FOOD COFFEE CAFÉ Though not a coffee café,
McDonald’s Canada is a fierce
competitor to this category, and
although the fast-food giant
has experienced declining sales
in the U.S., it’s making gains in
Canada by pushing its coffee
program.
Cafés are also ramping
up menu quality in response
to consumer demand, but
data from Technomic’s “2015
Canadian Bakery & Coffee Café
Consumer Trend Report” shows
that consumers won’t sacrifice
low prices and fast service for
quality. In 2014, Tim Hortons
pulled the Cold Stone Creamery
brand from its Canadian sites to
test express beverage lines, while
Starbucks Canada launched a
mobile order-and-pay service
and added more drive-thru sites
in Toronto.
Moving forward, a struggle
for this segment will be market
saturation, largely due to the
widespread segment leader, Tim
Hortons. New markets, from
international to non-traditional,
will present growth opportuni-
ties for fast-food chains.
QUICK-SERVICE BURGER & PIZZA
Burger and pizza fast-food cat-
egories both fared well in 2014,
as the second- and third-largest
growth categories, respectively,
following coffee café. Burger
chains are getting ahead by
advancing mobile-tech services,
releasing craveable burger LTOs
and bolstering build-your-own
burger options. Technomic’s
“2015 Canadian Burger
Consumer Trend Report” shows
consumers order their food
to-go for about half of fast-food
burger occasions, suggesting
they are looking for convenient
ordering and payment options.
In response, leading fast-food
burger chains are developing
more ordering, payment and
even couponing functions for
smartphones and other mobile
devices. The build-your-own
burger trend is led by Harvey’s,
which offers eight million poten-
tial ingredient combinations for
its burgers.
It is likely that both fast-food
and fast-casual pizza catego-
ries are stealing traffic from
the casual-dining Italian/pizza
category. Major fast-food pizza
developments include more
customizable crusts and sauces,
both for flavour enhancement
and to satisfy special-diet needs;
craveable and bold starters;
globally inspired pizzas; and
revamped websites, mobile apps
and loyalty programs. Expect to
see more “-free” pizzas — those
without artificial ingredients and
preservatives, antibiotics and
hormones — trend up.
QUICK-SERVICE SANDWICH Traditional sub sandwich chains
continue to face challenges. QSR
sandwich chains’ sales decreased
10.8 per cent overall last year
as Subway Canada, Quiznos
Canada and Mr. Sub experi-
enced declining sales in 2014
due to heightened competition
from premium and ethnic sand-
wich chains offering a stronger
point of menu differentiation.
There will likely be an emer-
gence of new non-traditional
and ethnic sandwich chains,
motivated by the success of Pita
Pit, which increased sales 19 per
cent last year. Moreover, current
sub chains will likely experiment
more with regionally and glob-
ally inspired sandwiches.
FAST-CASUAL UPDATEFast-casual chains are carving
out an increasingly wider niche
in the foodservice industry,
charting 8.5 per cent sales gains
in 2014 — more than any other
segment. Notable sales growth
categories for fast-casual chains
include pizza, specialty (includ-
ing Freshii and Mr. Greek),
Mexican and burger. Many of
these chains, whose growth is
largely driven by younger con-
sumers, feature customizable,
build-your-own fare with pre-
mium ingredients. Technomic’s
“2014 Canadian Future of
LSR Consumer Trend Report”
showed that far more younger
than older consumers visit all
fast-casual chains (see graph
opposite page) at least occasionally.
A major focus of the fast-
casual segment is transparency.
The “2014 Canadian Healthy
THE RACE FOR FOODSERVICE DOLLARS
BY JILL FAILLA, EDITOR, CONSUMER RESEARCH, TECHNOMIC |
S ales are up at restaurants in Canada for both limited- and full-service segments, charting four-per-cent growth overall in 2014 — an
improvement from 3.2 per cent in 2013. Top 200 restaurant chains experienced a slightly higher sales growth rate of 4.4 per cent last year.
HOSPITALITY MARKET REPORT
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000
7.2%
4.2%
3.1%
1.4%
4.8%
3.4%
5.3%
3.0%
4.8%
0.6%
3.2%2.9%
4.8%
4.1%
5.5%
4.5%
3.8%
COMMERCIAL FOODSERVICE SALES - CANADA(year-over-year nominal change)
SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA AND RESTAURANTS CANADA
preliminaryforecast
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 35FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Eating Consumer Trend Report”
shows that 53 per-cent of con-
sumers say they would like
restaurants to be more trans-
parent about what’s in their
menu items. This spring, Hero
Certified Burgers announced a
partnership with Beretta Farms
to begin sourcing only premium
100-per-cent Canadian beef.
Trendy and healthful bowls
are also helping this segment
push forward, such as Cultures’
Pan-Asian Bowl, Teriyaki
Experience’s Super Grains Vedge
Bowl and The Chopped Leaf ’s
Greek Bowl.
Technology and flexible-
service format are also giving
this segment momentum. While
some chains are experiment-
ing with food trucks, others are
launching ordering and payment
mobile apps.
FAST-CASUAL PIZZAFamoso Neapolitan Pizzeria
boasts the largest sales growth of
any Top 200 chain last year. The
ability for customers to choose
their own crusts, sauces and
toppings, while interacting with
a friendly employee is an engag-
ing and appealing service style
that is already a proven success
for other fast-casual categories.
The fast-casual pizza category
is positioned for future growth,
presenting further competition
for FSR pizza chains.
FAST-CASUAL MEXICAN Chipotle Mexican Grill, the
leading fast-casual Mexican
chain in the U.S., is expanding
slowly in Canada, with nearly
10 units to date. With its health-
halo claims and commitment
to transparency, Chipotle will
likely succeed in Canada against
its only two Top 200 fast-casual
Mexican competitors — Mucho
Burrito and Taco Del Mar.
Within the past year, Chipotle
achieved a 100-per-cent GMO-
free product line, rolled out a
vegan Sofritas protein (shred-
ded non-GMO Hodo Soy tofu
braised with chipotle chiles,
roasted poblano peppers and
assorted spices) and boosted
its commitment to local
food purchasing.
FAST-CASUAL BURGERThe fast-casual burger category
has ample room to develop and
expand in Canada. Reflecting
the fast-casual segment,
Technomic data shows that
younger consumers will drive
growth. According to the “2015
Canadian Burger Consumer
Trend Report,” 33 per cent of
consumers aged 18 to 34 visit
fast-casual burger chains at least
once a month, compared to 22
per cent of consumers overall.
Fast-casual concepts
featuring small, customizable
burger menus will also likely
find success.
MIDSCALE UPDATEMid-scale chains — family style
chains in particular — con-
tinue to hold their own by tout-
ing their value-driven, family
focused positioning. Family style
mid-scale chains grew sales 6.5
per cent in 2014. These restau-
rant visits are partially driven
by consumers with children and
many offer value-friendly kids’
menus, as well as children-eat-
free deals.
Breakfast visits are also an
important driver for the fam-
ily style segment. At least twice
as many consumers visit family
style restaurants as casual-dining
concepts for breakfast, but tradi-
HOSPITALITY MARKET REPORT
A GOOD YEAR FOR QSRsAccording to Toronto-based Restaurants Canada’s senior economist Chris Elliott, the QSR segment experienced the most growth in 2015. “It reflects what’s going on in the economy; we have a mild recession on top of a weak labour market on top of consumer confidence issues, so people are looking for something affordable.”
Even in Alberta, where the economy has performed poorly this year, there was a spike in QSR sales as people drifted over from the more expensive full-service restaurants. “QSR has really outperformed all the other segments and this is partly due to unit expansion but also the seg-ment itself has evolved tremendously over the past few years,” he says.
An increase in consumer education and demand for better quality has sparked a wave of innovative products, such as premium burgers, in the QSR segment.
The segment is also becoming increasingly competitive as QSRs no longer just compete against others in the segment but also grocery stores. “There’s just so much more competition for the food dollar and restaurant operators are reluctant to raise menu prices because there is a limit to how much more consumers are willing to pay,” says Elliott, though he cites surveys showing that 60 per cent of operators plan to raise menu prices over the next six months, up from 50 per cent last year.
SOURCE: Q2 2015 RESTAURANT OUTLOOK SURVEY, RESTAURANTS CANADA
Base: 907 consumers aged 18+ who visit fast-casual restaurants
Issues having the biggest negative impact on restaurant operators:
Food costs
Labour costs
Shortage of skilled labour
Credit card merchant fees
Weak economy
Bad weather
Shortage of unskilled labour
Liquor costs
Weak customer demand
Decline in tourists
Gasoline prices
Sales taxes
No factors
66%
66%
42%
37%
35%
25%
24%
22%
20%
16%
15%
13%
0%
Thai Express
Five Guys Burger & Fries
Extreme Pita
Edo Japan
Sushi Shop
Teriyaki Experience
Mr. Greek
Taco Del Mar
Wok Box Fresh Asian Kitchen
% Overall
Which fast-casual chains do you visit at least occasionally?(by age)
21%
18%
14%
12%
10%
8%
7%
6%
6%18-3435+
30%17%
26%
23%11%
15%11%
11%9%
7%
5%
5%
5%
11%
11%
9%
10%
15%
SOURCE: 2014 CANADIAN FUTURE OF LSR CONSUMER TREND REPORT, TECHNOMIC
tional casual-dining restaurants
win at dinner service. This is
largely thanks to the familiarity
of breakfast-focused family
style chains such as Cora
and Denny’s.
Fast food is family style
restaurants’ leading competi-
tor. Half of consumers say they
would have visited a fast-food
restaurant if they hadn’t visited
a family style restaurant on their
most recent dining occasion.
As a result of competition from
both fast-food and traditional
casual-dining chains, family style
chains are upscaling lunch and
dinner menus and expanding
operating hours to strengthen
later dayparts.
In the future, expect family
style chains to compete more
fiercely with fast-food chains for
takeout occasions by launching
and improving their own take-
out programs. Cora’s Breakfast
and Lunch is leading this trend
with its new Sunshine-To-Go
menu for guests to pick up
and take home. Family style
chains will also contend with
casual-dining chains for the
brunch daypart by upscaling
their brunch menu with
regional ethnic dishes as well
as adult beverages.
CASUAL-DINING UPDATEOverall, the Top 200 casual-din-
ing segment experienced modest
sales gains of 2.6 per cent in
2014. It is expected to continue
regaining its post-recession foot-
ing in the coming years. Casual-
dining chains with the largest
increases in sales — Browns
Socialhouse, Bier Markt and
The Canadian Brewhouse — are
varied-menu favourites among
the millennial demographic.
Technomic’s 2014 “Canadian
Future of FSR Consumer Trend
Report” reveals this influential
demographic is increasingly
looking for a unique restaurant
experience worthy of sharing,
and these chains are achieving
this through strong craft-beer
programs, shareable foods and
sports-viewing areas.
ADULT BEVERAGEAs mentioned, many traditional
and contemporary casual-dining
chains are now developing their
craft-beer programs in order
to attract millennials. Indeed,
the 2014 “Canadian Future of
FSR Consumer Trend Report”
finds that at least twice as many
younger consumers (18 to 34) as
their older counterparts say they
would be more likely to pur-
chase alcohol from casual-dining
concepts if these restaurants
served more craft beer. Beyond
craft beer, many casual-dining
chains are innovating other parts
of the adult-beverage menu and
experience in order to boost
traffic and sales. For example,
happy hour and other weeknight
drink specials are providing
millennials a fun, social occasion
at an appealing discounted
price point.
This past summer, Earls
Kitchen + Bar offered $5
Mexican-inspired cocktails on
Sundays and Mondays, includ-
ing its Michelada, made with
Corona, Valentina hot sauce,
lime and salty Maggi seasoning,
and its citrus-and-spice-infused
sangrita meant to be shot with
tequila. These drinks are also
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38 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
indicative of many cocktail
trends fuelling adult-beverage
innovation, including beer and
wine concoctions, ethnic ingre-
dients, and savoury and spicy
flavour profiles.
STRUGGLING CASUAL- DINING CATEGORIES
While millennial-friendly
varied-menu casual-dining
chains are thriving, Italian/pizza
(down 3.2 per cent) and seafood
(down 1.5 per cent) casual-
dining chains are struggling. As
previously mentioned, Italian/
pizza chain occasions are likely
being cut into by the successful
limited-service pizza categories
and will need to set themselves
apart as fun and engaging din-
ing destinations — and consider
upscaling the experience with
entertainment or specialty adult
beverages — in order to
remain competitive.
Alternatively, the casual-
dining seafood category is likely
being undercut by successful
steak chain competitors — most
of which also offer seafood dish-
es and cater to special occasions.
Seafood chains should promote
sustainable or local sources
applicable to their menu, in
addition to highlighting seasonal
boils and special items.
UPSCALE / POLISHED The upscale casual-dining sub-
segment comprises roughly
15 per cent of the total casual-
dining segment in terms of sales.
It consists of steak and varied-
menu categories, both of which
yielded noticeable sales growth
in 2014 (4.3 per cent and 7.3 per
cent, respectively). A few trend-
ing foodservice initiatives led by
this higher-priced subsegment
include loyalty clubs, seasonal
and prix-fixe menus.
The upscale subsegment
is also focusing on its adult-
beverage program, offering more
specialty seasonal cocktails and
alcohol-and-food pairings.
The upscale casual-dining
sub-segment will continue to
prosper as the economy recov-
ers, driven largely by younger
consumers. According to the
2014 “Canadian Future of FSR
Consumer Trend Report,” 35
per cent of consumers aged 18
to 34 visit upscale casual-dining
concepts at least once a month,
compared to 25 per cent of the
general population (see graph
on right). Look for these chains
to further experiment with
weeknight and seasonal
HOSPITALITY MARKET REPORT
How often do you purchase food/beverages from the following? Please include dine-in, takeout or delivery. (Once a month+)
Family style
Traditional casual-dining
Upscale casual-dining
20122014
% Overall
64%
55%
60%
54%
30%
25%
Base: 1,394 (2012) and 1,159 (2014) consum-ers aged 18+; base includes terminate data SOURCE: 2014 CANADIAN FUTURE OF FSR CONSUMER TREND REPORT, TECHNOMIC
60% of 18 to 34- year-olds
35% of 18 to 34- year-olds
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FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 39FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
prix-fixe menus, lunch-service
deals and weekend brunches
moving forward.
RETAILER MEAL SOLUTIONS (RMS) UPDATE Technomic’s 2015 “Canadian
Retailer Meal Solutions
Consumer Trend Report” shows
consumers increasingly view
retail foodservice as offering
higher quality, fresher and more
unique and healthful food than
its quick-service competition. In
fact, RMS purchases are often
made at the expense of fast-food
visits (see graph on p. 38), which
shows 46 per cent of consumers
say they are visiting fast-food
restaurants less often now that
they are purchasing RMS offer-
ings more often than they were
a year ago. This is likely because
retailers and fast-food chains
both fulfill quick and convenient
carryout occasions. The report
also reveals that consumers con-
sider supermarket RMS to offer
better value and cleaner prem-
ises than fast-food chains.
Due in part to an increased
focus on fresh prepared food at
retail outlets and the expansion
of these offerings to new retail
channels, Technomic estimates
retail foodservice grew 3.6 per
cent in 2014. The same RMS
report shows younger consum-
ers are steering growth, with
more younger (52 per cent)
than older (35 per cent) con-
sumers purchasing prepared
meals at retailers at least three
times a month.
RMS USAGE Overall, RMS purchases happen
more frequently at traditional
supermarkets than at other
retailers. Consumers are likely
more trusting of supermarket
prepared food than prepared
food sold at other retailers,
as they purchase groceries
and fresh foods from these same
supermarkets. The supermarkets
have also led prepared-food
innovation in Canada, offering
some of the first on-site
restaurants.
Younger consumers are also
driving RMS growth for retailers
beyond the supermarket realm.
In general, more younger than
older consumers have tried RMS
items from non-supermarket
retail segments, including mass
merchandisers, convenience
stores and drugstores. Some of
these retailers, such as c-stores
and drugstores, may satisfy more
convenient snacking occasions
for the younger demographic.
Food and beverage RMS pur-
chases tend to be convenient and
portable options. For the lunch
and dinner dayparts at RMS
locations, consumers would be
likely to purchase the follow-
ing food: chicken (64 per cent),
pizza (59 per cent) and sand-
wich wraps (54 per cent). For
beverages, they would be most
apt to buy fountain soft drinks
(38 per cent), hot or iced regular
coffee (38 per cent) and fruit
juice (30 per cent).
ONSITE CONSUMPTION Following a flourishing trend in
the U.S., more Canadian retail-
ers are growing their on-premise
prepared-food occasions, in
order to steal share from res-
taurants. Specialty retailers and
supermarkets, in particular, are
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setting themselves apart by
offering on-site dining options.
Longo’s, for example, recently
introduced a Nutella Crêperie
at its Maple Leaf Square out-
post in downtown Toronto,
serving made-to-order Nutella
crêpes. This past spring, Sobeys
Newcastle in North Edmonton
invited local customers to taste
a five-course menu created by
Sobeys’ in-store chefs; the move
was part of an ongoing market-
ing campaign aiming to prove
its RMS is just as good as
fine dining.
FUTURE OF RMSWith high-end grocers posi-
tioned to expand in Canada,
this will certainly have an effect
on the sales of RMS. Last fall,
Whole Foods announced plans
to quadruple the company’s
current Canadian store count.
Saks Fifth Avenue will open two
stores in Toronto next spring,
featuring an upscale retail food
hall. Italian gourmet retailer
Eataly also made headlines by
announcing expansion plans
for Toronto for 2017. In fact,
Longo’s Nutella Crêperie offers
competition to Eataly’s famed
Nutella Bar.
As more of these high-end
grocers enter and grow in
Canada, it will put increasing
pressure on current retailers
to upscale their existing RMS
programs.
Expect more specialty,
made-in-house fare, from
house-baked breads to house-
cured meats. Additionally, look
for more artisan coffee and
juice stations, such as McEwan
Foods’ superfood juice bar in
Toronto, which features ingre-
dients such as kale and aronia
berries. RMS will eventually
move from being fast-food
opposition to casual-dining
competition. l
HOSPITALITY MARKET REPORT
I am purchasing RMS from _______ more often than I was a year ago.
Mass merchandisers
Traditional supermarkets
Warehouse/club stores
Drugstores
Specialty food stores
Convenience stores
Upscale-fresh format supermarkets
19%
19%
17%
15%
14%
13%
10%
As a result, are you visiting any of the following less often?Select all that apply
n Fast food 46%n Upscale
casual dining 40%n Family style 36%
n Traditional casual dining 35%
n Cafés or coffee shops 28%
Base: 336 consumers aged 18+ who are purchasing RMS more often at any location than they were one year agoSOURCE: 2015 CANADIAN RETAILER MEAL SOLUTIONS CONSUMER TREND REPORT, TECHNOMIC
Dec. 4, 2015 the fairmont royal york
v is it kostuchmed ia .com for more informat ion and to purchase t ickets
26SAVE THE DATE
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FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 41FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Susur Lee, chef and owner of Lee restaurant, Bent, Luckee, Lee Kitchen and the newly launched Fring’s, opens up about his mete-oric rise to culinary fame in this excerpt from F&H’s Icons and Innovators breakfast series
INTERVIEW BY ROSANNA CAIRA
ICONS & INNOVATORS
JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY
ROSANNA CAIRA: What was the ‘aha!’ moment when you knew you wanted to cook?SUSUR LEE: I knew I had a
skill. While I was cooking in
Hong Kong, I realized that my
work could really go interna-
tional. I loved cooking and knew
my skill could make me a living,
provide for my girlfriend and
pay rent. So [cooking] became
the only thing for me — there
was no other mission. I remem-
ber my mom saying to me when
I was a kid “When you look
for a job, since you’re not good
in school, make sure you find
somewhere that can feed you.”
RC: Who were your early influ-encers — people who made an impact on you?SL: My friend who worked at
Lindey’s, a Jewish restaurant [in
Hong Kong]. I went to visit him
and he said ‘I want you to try
this potato apple pancake’ — it’s
actually latke, which I learned
after moving to Toronto. I never
cooked when I was a kid, I just
loved eating, but I went home
that day, turned on the wok, put
some oil in it and decided I was
going to make latkes. I put the
latke on the wok and it started
to smoke up the whole house,
because the wok is so thin you
can never make a potato pan-
cake in it. That day I learned an
important lesson about being a
chef — you have to know your
tools. It’s not just about creating
something. From the thickness
of pots and pans to the right
utensils, those are foundations I
learned thanks to my friend.
RC: When you opened Lotus it became one of the top res-taurants in Canada. What were you trying to create with that restaurant?SL: Before [I opened Lotus] I
was working for other restau-
rants but found it boring, cook-
ing the same dish over and over
again. I said to myself, when I
have my own business I can do
whatever I want. So it was about
freedom for me — freedom of
For video clips from the complete interview with Susur Lee, visit foodserviceandhospitality.com/category/media/icons-and-innovators-videos/
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42 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
my own expression of the things
I love to do. With Lotus, I felt for
the first time like I could do the
things I wanted to do, experi-
ment, make mistakes and also
repeat the same mistakes and
make it better. I would say Lotus
was my studio during that time.
RC: Opening a restaurant like that must have been a huge financial undertaking. How did you do it?SL: When I first came to
Canada, there was only one mis-
sion — to work
and save money.
So at first I
rented the space
and saved — I
grew up in a very
humble family so
saving came very
naturally to me.
As the business
grew, I borrowed
money from
the bank, which
was really risky,
especially since
I hadn’t estab-
lished myself
yet. But I didn’t
think about
the risks — if I
failed I was still
me, I still had a skill. It was just
me and my wife at the time so I
had nothing to lose.
RC: Was it hard to get people turned on to something that was so different at the time?SL: Not at all. Canadians are
the most open-minded when it
comes to food. If you’re talking
early days, everybody was still a
new immigrant and really sup-
portive of new things. When I
was doing new things, I didn’t
think of it as doing new things
— just something I put together
from the East and learned from
the West. After, the writers called
it ‘fusion food’; that gave me
a guide and I started to focus
more on that [fusion] concept.
RC: In terms of corporate culture, how difficult is it to achieve what you want when you have more than one restaurant?SL: When I worked for myself I
didn’t have too many meetings, I
just told people what to do. Now
I employ quite a few people and
they have to understand what
I’m thinking, but still be cre-
ative. I always tell them even bad
ideas are good ideas. For me,
running a business is 60 per cent
creativity and 40 per cent cor-
porate. Corporate provides the
foundation of consistency, stan-
dards and discipline. Coming
from the old-school mental-
ity — and I would never lose
that — there has to be mutual
respect between the front- and
back-of-house. What the kitchen
creates the front has to sell —
it has to have a cycle. My chefs
have always been very kind,
very stern and hardworking and
over the last 10 years many have
become successful restaurateurs
and chefs. They are happy, free
and independent —that’s
one achievement I really feel
good about.
RC: Recently the issue of sexual harassment in restau-rants has made headlines. How do you deal with that in your restaurant?SL: I have always been very
strict about that from day one.
Not only about sexual harass-
ment but also drinking and
drugs — those things will make
a restaurant fail. I always remind
my staff that they are profes-
sionals and I want them to act
like one. You want to be a chef;
act it. I have cameras [in my
restaurants] but it’s not about
watching you and what you
do; it’s about keeping everyone
safe. Friendly reminders have
always worked in my restaurant.
You have to [be a father figure]
because you are protecting
your business and those kind of
things are very contagious.
RC: How has your relationship with food evolved over the years?SL: Well, it’s called discovery
for me. When I was as a kid and
you put a bunch of toys on the
table next to a plate of food, I
would go for the food first. I was
born with that — the motiva-
tion, excitement and, of course,
the culture, because I live both
[Asian and Canadian]. I have
travelled to so many different
places — I make special trips to
visit chefs because it’s so great
to see their specialties, to be
exposed to what they do, what
are they thinking, not just about
making that plate but about how
they see food. I am still finding
myself every day. I’m learning —
I’m still a student.
RC: Your dishes are complex. How do you convey that to people who have to execute them in the kitchen?SL: It’s very easy for me to teach
them. It’s like a bee and honey
—when I put the honey down
the bee comes in and they start
learning. It’s easy to teach people
if they love something. I’ve had
chefs come into my kitchen and
say they have 10 years’ experi-
ence but when you see them
cooking, you can see they don’t
have the love and when you try
to teach them, they don’t get it.
I can inspire my staff because
I still love what I do; I’m still
bringing things to my kitchen
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FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 43FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
to share with them and show-
ing them new exciting things.
I bring the experience to them
and then I share the experience
with my guests. I am lucky to
have staff who have helped
make me successful.
RC: What are today’s biggest food trends?SL: It’s hard for me to say
because I don’t really follow
trends. I just do the things I do
and create what I create. But I
do see a trend I call ‘lazy eating,’
with lots of flavours. What that
means is everything is mashed
into the sandwich or everything
in one bite with lots of flavour
and lots of sauces. Things can
be very random — the food
doesn’t even make sense — but
people like it. There is so much
of that kind of thing that food
becomes secondary. Personality
is the thing they really want to
draw attention to and ultimately,
there are many great chefs doing
this style of food and it works
for them. But it doesn’t last. It
doesn’t have a memory where
people say ‘I want to go back
to that.’ It doesn’t really stick in
their minds.
RC: Today’s millennials are health conscious and chefs are under pressure to have nutritional labelling on certain dishes. Where do you think that trend is going?SL: There is so much informa-
tion out there so people can
really understand where the
product comes from. Shows
like Master Chef Canada teach
the audience about nutritional
value and the healthiest ways to
cook food — those things are
great for the younger generation
that wants to eat healthier, bet-
ter quality food and know a lot
[about nutrition] so they can
tweet about it. I believe healthy
eating is going to become a little
bit simpler — there are so
many choices and people want
to go back to simplicity and
comfort foods.
RC: Does the local food trend impact how you cook? Do you buy locally or from outside of Canada?SL: Buying local is great but my
food is from the East and West
so I can’t do everything local.
I’m happy we live in a country
where we can have ingredi-
ents shipped from Thailand or
Vietnam but still get things such
as dairy, locally. For example,
I get the thinnest rice paper
brought in from Vietnam and
it’s so thin you don’t have to
dip it in water — that’s a really
great thing. Things have been
improved by innovations from
other countries; products have
improved because the educa-
tion is getting so high. It’s great
to explore that as a chef and be
able to offer diners new food
inspiration and an interest in
learning about new ingredients.
RC: As creative as you are, and every chef wants to be, at the end of the day the res-taurant is a business and has to make money. What busi-ness lessons have you learned during your career? SL: As a businessman, you can’t
stop when something isn’t work-
ing. If there is failure, it doesn’t
matter, you can just open
another [restaurant]; it means
you have another opportunity
to start a new business. For me,
opening a restaurant is about
time and place — the sun and
moon have to line up. Especially
if it’s not a cookie-cutter restau-
rant but a new concept. Finally,
your staff has to understand the
concept and how to promote it.
I am not good with numbers but
I understand one thing about
restaurants — waste. Where
is the waste happening? It can
be as simple as kitchen staff or
front-of-the-house wasting nap-
kins. It might sound like you’re
nickel-and-diming, but it’s not
just about money, it’s also not
good for the Earth so education
is important.
RC: How would you describe your television experience? Has it changed your day-to-day business?SL: I don’t like doing a cook-
ing show by myself; I never had
that personality. I enjoy doing
shows like Master Chef Asia and
Chopped Canada, where I can
help inspire other chefs. I learn a
lot of different techniques from
[the contestants], too. On the
last season of Chopped Canada,
ICONS & INNOVATORS
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44 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
for example, a contestant was
using scotch bonnets with sour
cream — it was the best thing,
you should try it — so of course
I shared that experience with
my kitchen. It creates a cycle
of inspiration.
RC: You and your children work together and your wife is involved in designing your restaurants. How has this impacted your relationship with them? SL: My wife is really tough, in
a good way, when it comes to
design ideas. We’re both good at
different things and you have to
leave somebody that is good at
what they do alone to do it. But,
at the same time, it’s important
to share ideas. You may be work-
ing together and business is one
thing but family is so important.
I try to ensure our relationship
doesn’t suffer because of work.
RC: When you look at how your sons run the business, do you see a lot of you in them or do they approach the busi-ness differently? SL: I like the fact they say ‘Dad,
I want to talk to you about this.’
It means they need my advice
and I love that. Sometimes, they
do it their way and that’s great
— even when I don’t agree. We
have a family unit when work-
ing together in the business and
I think it’s important to show
your staff that you have a strong
unit that can’t be damaged.
RC: You recently opened a new restaurant with Toronto hip hop artist Drake. Is that your concept or your son’s? SL: That’s more my son. I
planned the menu and he said
‘I don’t like this, take that off;
I don’t like the writing, you
should put that in’ and I’d
say okay — that’s my job. After
so many years of working with
me, I wanted to see, when
they do things on their own,
what is the right and wrong
way for them? What is beauti-
ful for them, what is successful
for them, how they run with
the staff or how they organize
things. I did remind my son that
training costs a lot of money so
my staff that worked at Lee have
become some of the managers
at Fring’s. I remember listening
to my son telling the staff we
hired ‘This is a business, you’re
not coming to party with Drake.
Let’s be professional.’ They
understand the mentality of
being in hospitality; it’s a
professional job.
RC: You have been in the business for a long time. But it sounds like you’re constantly learning and are still passion-ate about the business. How do you get inspired to innovate these days? SL: I get up in the morning and
think about what I saw in my
kitchen — certain dishes that I
feel could be better, even though
it has been on the menu for a
few months, and I start work-
ing on that dish. Then I talk to
my chef, order certain ingre-
dients and start to rebuild that
dish. Inspiration doesn’t have
to be brought in from the sky
or be new, you can work with
something that is already there,
recreate it and bring something
new in again. For me, recreat-
ing something provides really
big inspiration every day. Then,
when I start travelling, I start
to think about new dishes. I
love doing promotions such as
the oysters four different ways
at Bent or the seafood promo-
tion during TIFF. Those are the
things I like to create to get the
chef inspired.
RC: Do you change your menus often?SL: I do specials a lot. I think it’s
important to keep your kitchen
and your staff fresh in order to
have a healthy business. But I
also want to make sure I have
dishes that people always love
and keep coming back for.
RC: How do you define leadership? What makes a good leader today?SL: I recently had a great talk
with my son about the word
compassion and understanding
your staff. When you have bad
things happen, or make a mis-
take, it’s not because you were
purposely making a mistake,
it’s because you didn’t know.
I always remind him that you
have to give people chances, to
make them feel they are taken
seriously before they will take
you seriously. For them to have
a healthy working relationship,
that leadership has to be based
on understanding how that per-
son feels. Find out what’s going
on. Talk to them like a person.
Humour them and challenge
them. At the same time, you
have to be stern and understand
how not to cross that line. I
always tell my chef ‘I am going
to provide you with every single
thing you need, so please do a
good job.’ Most of the time, I
told my son, it’s not about what
your boss thinks of you, it’s
what the employees think of you
that makes you a good leader.
Hospitality is a team effort.
RC: What makes for good service?SL: I tell my staff they have to
be humble and kind at the same
time and have good informa-
tion. It has to come naturally
— you have to speak from the
heart. Good service is about
really great knowledge, especially
when you have food that is
less common. You have to tell
people, this food has this ingre-
dient and texture. But you don’t
want to bore them, either. You
have to give them direct infor-
mation, then you move on —
people don’t have much patience
these days. l
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POURING FOR PROFITS
Vodka currently domi-
nates the country’s spirit
category, according to
Statistics Canada. In B.C. and
Quebec, it also reigns supreme,
while in Ontario, it holds the
number-2 position, according to
the respective liquor boards. But
vodka still offers great poten-
tial for bar managers to look
for both margin improvement
through higher-value cocktails,
or upselling to premium brands
that continue to gain strength in
the market.
HOW IT ALL BEGANSmirnoff started the western
world’s vodka boom in the
1940s, when Anglo-American
entrepreneur John Martin
bought out the holder of the
Smirnoff patent, who had been
struggling to sell his virtu-
ally unknown vodka. Smirnoff
is now the top-selling brand
with more than twice the
sales of runner-up, Absolut, at
the Liquor Control Board of
Ontario (LCBO).
Freddy Diaz is a consultant
with Collectif 1806, a group of
bartenders from across the U.S.
who consult on the spirits and
cocktail scene. He says vodka
really started taking off through
a marketing sleight of hand.
“Look into the story of Smirnoff
White Whisky,” says Diaz.
“This involved putting whisky
labels and caps on the vodka.”
Martin then added an advertis-
ing slogan that doesn’t sound
very exciting at all: “Smirnoff
White Whisky — No Smell, No
Taste.” But it worked, and soon
Americans were mixing the
vodka with everything. Diaz says
the next jump was the Moscow
Mule (vodka and ginger beer
served in a copper cup), the
first “big” vodka cocktail in the
1940s, created by Martin and his
bar-owner friend Jack Morgan.
Since then, the number of vodka
cocktails has exploded, and even
venerable old cocktails such as
the gimlet and martini, which
traditionally used gin, are now
often made with vodka.
“Vodka is a great gateway to
cocktails,” says Gord Hannah,
head bartender at Toronto’s
Drake Hotel, which operates
several bars and restaurants and
sees long line-ups for its clubby
weekend events. He says that
while younger people rarely
VENERABLE VODKA The best-selling spirit in the country is a great way for operators to boost profitsBY ALAN MCGINTY
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46 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
POURING FOR PROFITS
like gin or whisky on their first
taste, most feel comfortable with
vodka and are happy to try new
vodka-based cocktails. “So I say,
take advantage of that openness
and introduce them to new
flavours like vermouth, amaro
or bitters,” says Hannah.
The clientele at the Drake
skews high end, but, says
Hannah, “vodka-and-soda is our
top-selling drink.” Hannah also
says branding and marketing
is more important for vodka,
as that’s often what drives cus-
tomer choices. At the super-pre-
mium/deluxe end, the Drake’s
top sellers are Ketel One, Grey
Goose and Belvedere, but “Tito’s
Handmade, from Texas, is gain-
ing popularity,” says Hannah.
“It’s the ‘new’ vodka. Another
one that’s growing — and inter-
estingly without any marketing
at all — is Absolut Elix.” The
high-end entry from Swedish
producer Absolut is a “secret
trend” according to Hannah, and
at around $44 retail, it’s right up
there in price.
According to Keeley Rogers,
media relations coordinator
for the LCBO, vodka sales as a
whole have been stable over the
last few years, but “consumers
are trading up. Super-premium
vodka saw the most significant
growth at 35 per cent in fiscal
2014/15. It is the only vodka cat-
egory to see double-digit growth
over the last five years.” With
its slick marketing campaigns
and glamorous image, custom-
ers understand that premium
brands cost more, but they are
increasingly willing to pay.
Trevor Kallies, beverage direc-
tor for the Donnelly Group,
which operates 17 bars and
restaurants in Vancouver, advises
taking advantage of brand
awareness. “People still call out
for their brand, but can be open
to suggestion and the bartender
can have a lot of influence.
It’s a good opportunity to
upsell.” Currently, in Vancouver,
Absolut is a brand leader on
the bar scene.
Kallies adds that new and
revived vodka cocktails should
appear on drinks lists regularly,
and that it’s time to pare down
or dump the “martini menu”
with its litany of flavours. He
says the classic martini (vodka
or gin, vermouth, lemon or
olive) is making a big comeback.
In the group’s livelier bars, he
says “vodka-and-soda rules,
especially with the weekend
party crowd.”
FLAVOURED VODKASAccording to LCBO’s Rogers,
flavoured vodka sales have “nor-
malized” since the confectionary
flavour boom of a few years
ago. The recent introduction of
Ciroc, which performed excep-
tionally well with its flavoured
products, offset some of the
general declines in the larger fla-
voured vodka subset in Ontario.
Rogers says customers are
returning to core flavours and
brands, a trend bartenders are
also noticing — and are pleased
about. “I can make you a
better, fresher lemon or rasp-
berry vodka, so why order a
pre-flavoured in a bar?”
says Hannah.
In Vancouver, flavoured
vodkas remain popular and
Kallies is seeing traction from
newer flavours such as cilantro
and grape. Regarding another
popular vodka variation, Kallies
says he doesn’t even stock vodka
coolers. “They’re more retail, for
home consumption, and they’re
big with the younger, clubby
demographic. If someone asks
for a vodka cooler, I’m going to
ID them.” At the Drake, Hannah
feels the same about Smirnoff
Ice, which remains a top-seller,
but he suggests steering custom-
ers to better, fresher in-house
options, such as a Vodka Collins.
With its position as the
number-1 spirit in bars, classic
vodka cocktails such as mar-
tinis, Bloody Caesars, Bloody
Marys and — yes, still —
Cosmopolitans, will sell them-
selves, but, says Hannah, “make
sure you have at least one new
vodka cocktail on the menu
and make it challenging.
Introduce people to new
flavours and ingredients.
Next time they may try other
cocktails with some of those
ingredients. Not only is this
good for customer experience,
your profit margin will
be higher.” l
FROM THE SUPPLY SIDE: PUR GOLDWhen Montrealer Nicolas Duvernois worked in a restaurant about 10 years ago, he noticed premium vodkas gaining ground. He wanted to add a premium Canadian brand, but there wasn’t one — so he took matters into his own hands.
The first bottles of Pur Vodka didn’t hit the shelves of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) until 2012. “From day one I went for high quality,” says Duvernois. “We didn’t have the marketing budget to go up against Smirnoff or Absolut, so I knew we had to make our customers our ambassadors. Our water is from a glacial spring and we triple-distill for
smoothness.” But it was a tough sell.Jessica Harnois, a consultant sommelier with the Opimian Society wine club, was
a buyer for the SAQ until 2011. That year, she was sent a sample of the Pur. “It was just outstanding. It doesn’t burn and it’s very smooth.” She was on leave but called a colleague at the SAQ and said “You have to buy this.” He said “No need for another vodka, it won’t sell.” By the time Harnois was back a few months later, Pur had won two awards from the World Vodka Masters in London and the SAQ was willing to take it on. Pur is now the number-2 premium vodka in Quebec, behind Grey Goose, and production has risen from 900 cases in 2009 to a projected 12,500 this year. It is cur-rently available in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, and launches in B.C. this fall.
MIX AND MATCH New and revived vodka cocktails are helping drive sales growth
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 47FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EQUIPMENT
Toasters are
the unsung
heroes of the
kitchen — churning
out finished product
around the clock at
coffee shops, bagel
kiosks, casual-
dining restaurants,
institutional settings
and self-service kitchens.
“Everybody has them,”
says Paul Leclerc, sales
manager for Serve-
Canada Food Equipment
Ltd. in Toronto. “They’re
just one of those com-
modity items.” But
toaster choices
should not be
taken lightly.
Reliability, size,
output (slices per
hour), types of control
(digital versus analog)
and energy consump-
tion all play a part in the
selection process.
The conveyor style
toaster is the dominant
model in the industry
for high-capacity needs.
A mainstay for decades,
conveyor toasters have
evolved to become sleek-
er, more energy-efficient
machines that
can produce up
to 1,000 slices of
toast per hour and range
in price from $700 to
$7,000, depending on
the output, features, size
and functions.
Russ Bellerose has
spent more than three
decades in the toaster
business and played a
key role in new product
design and develop-
ment for a number of
companies, including
20 years with Holman.
He says conveyors have
come a long way from
the “old, energy consum-
ing clunkers” that were
around in the mid-1900s.
“They used to be 100 lb.
units with big steel bar
tracks. Nobody cared
about safety, heat output
or energy consumption
— and they could barely
produce a couple
hundred slices per hour,”
says Bellerose, who is
currently president
of Belleco, Inc. in
Saco, Maine.
Today’s models are
much more streamlined
and productive, made
of lighter materials (e.g.
stainless steel versus
heavier steel for the
track bars) and con-
sume a fraction of the
power they used to, he
notes. One key technol-
ogy that moved the
category forward was the
introduction of cooling
fans that bring air into
the machine from the
outside and circulate it
between the inner and
outer walls without the
use of insulation while
TOAST MASTERSThey may not have the cachet of other appliances, but toasters are the workhorses of the kitchen BY DENISE DEVEAU
A SMARTER TOASTER The Hatco Intelligent Toast-Qwik Conveyer unit (above) can toast to a customer’s exact specifications while Waring’s more tradi-tional unit (right) makes perfect toast and bagels everytime
48 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EQUIPMENT
moving out the hot air.
This expedites the toast-
ing process and increases
production in a smaller
footprint, while improv-
ing safety.
Perhaps the biggest
change in conveyors
in recent years is the
increased capacity and
element options. The
main elements of choice
are metal sheath (a.k.a.
calrods) or quartz.
Pricing for either is
similar. While calrods are
more durable and less
prone to damage, quartz
is 10 per cent more ener-
gy efficient and heats up
much more quickly.
Some newer systems
have automatic shut-
off features that can
be retriggered with a
pre-set timer, Bellerose
explains. “That’s a nice
premium feature. In the
near future we can expect
to see them turn on to
full power automatically
when they detect a slice
on the entry rack and hit
full production in sec-
onds without delay.”
The one caveat with
conveyors is they tend
to get hot, Leclerc says.
“Some now have cool-
touch features so users
don’t burn themselves.”
Most models today
also have energy-conser-
vation modes, enabling
users to put the systems
on standby when not in
use, Leclerc adds.
Energy consump-
tion is an issue that is
increasingly impor-
tant for operators like
Steve Michalopoulos,
vice-president, Brand
Development for
Chairman’s Brands in
Toronto. Its Eggsmart
restaurants are equipped
with Holman QCS2-
800 systems from
Star Manufacturing
International Inc. priced
between $1,400 and
$1,600. Each unit features
a burn guard and cool-
to-touch exterior.
While capacity contin-
ues to be a number-1 fac-
tor in making his choices,
Michalopoulos says ener-
gy efficiency is moving
up the list. “Hydro bills
aren’t getting any lower.
It’s similar to investing
in lighting. You want
something more energy
efficient.” Reliability and
quality also matter, given
that toasters are running
constantly. “We typically
don’t expect to get more
than seven years out of
each one.”
Alex Zilberberg, presi-
dent of The Bagel Stop
in Toronto, says the com-
pany recently switched
to Holman QCS2-600H
high output conveyor
toasters, which can pro-
cess up to 600 slices per
WHAT’S UP WITH TOASTERS?As with any kitchen appliances, there are pros andcons to any type of toaster. Here is a brief overview of available toaster options:
CONVEYOR|• ideal for high-capacity needs• widely used by different kinds of operations includ-
ing chains, larger hotels and breakfast restaurants• can deliver up to thousands of slices an hour • available with either metal sheath (calrod) or
quartz-heating elements • adjusts conveyor speeds depending on colour (the
faster the belt, the lighter the toast)• can generate a lot of heat• requires dedicated wiring• may require ventilation depending on the location
POP-UP TOASTERS|• ideal for low-capacity toasting needs • often the toaster of choice where space is limited• typically used in small coffee shops, limited-
service hotels, or breakout areas at universities, hospitals or nursing homes
• typically not suitable for artisan breads or buns• available in standard and industrial grade models
CONTACT TOASTER |• strictly for chains with high-production needs• creates a different texture for buns • toasts using surface contact compared to infrared
or dry air
FAST AND FURIOUS A&W’s Hatco Toast-Qwik ITQ 100 (below) toasts bread products at a consistent speed of 35 seconds
COMING UP TOAST Pop-up toasters like Hatco’s four slice commercial toaster (right) can produce 200 to 1,000 slices per hour while conveyer toasters like the TQ-400 (below) average 360 slices per hour
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 49FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
EQUIPMENT
hour at its 21 locations.
Each unit costs around
$1,200 and measures
14.5" W x 22” D and
15.5" H. Heat shields are
installed around each
toaster for added safety
at an additional cost of
$600 per unit. “Every
outlet has one or two
depending on its size and
the volume needed.”
Having used con-
veyors since the com-
pany started in 1987,
Zilberberg says new
models use less energy
and are safer for workers.
He estimates the lifecycle
at about six or seven
years. When choosing a
supplier, Zilberberg says,
“It all comes down to
reliability and service. In
our business, 99 per cent
of everything customers
order is toasted. Toasters
are an integral part of
our operations.”
Vancouver-based
A&W Food Services of
Canada Inc. has Hatco
Toast-Qwik ITQ 1000
units for all its new
sites and replacement
units. Tyler Pronyk,
director, Distribution,
Equipment & Packaging
says the units can toast
bread products at a
consistent speed of 35
seconds. “We’ve worked
with many brands over
the years,” Pronyk says.
“Hatco is a great partner
because of the quality,
reliability and customer
service they bring to
the table.”
The prevalence of
conveyors for the big
jobs doesn’t mean pop-
up style toasters have
no place in foodservice
settings. Industrial-grade
models can be a valuable
asset for lower volume,
smaller footprint and/or
self-service areas. Not to
mention, they use far less
energy than a conveyor,
Leclerc notes. “With pop-
ups you’re only consum-
ing power when you’re
actually using the toast-
ers, while conveyors typi-
cally run all day. Some
operators will use a com-
bination of a conveyor
toaster for peak times
and a pop-up toaster for
slower periods.”
Pop-up toasters can
produce anywhere from
200 slices per hour up
to 1,000 or higher and
cost $300 to $2,000.
Heavier duty toaster
models require dedi-
cated wiring and outlets.
Typically, pop-up toast-
ers use ceramic elements,
although Waring has
recently introduced a
mica element, which
extends the longevity
of the appliance (up to
three times the cycles
compared to typical
commercial brands,
according to manufac-
turers’ claims), Leclerc
reports.
Last, but certainly
not least, on the toaster
roster are vertical contact
toasters, which have the
specific job of toasting
buns within 20 seconds.
As the name suggests,
rather than using radiant
heat, buns make contact
with the surface and are
sealed as they go through
so they don’t absorb
grease. “McDonald’s,
Burger King, Wendy’s —
they’re all using contact
toasters,” Bellerose says.
“It’s a huge market.”
Whether opting for
conveyor, pop-up or
contact, toasters are here
for the long haul. And,
while they may not
offer the cachet of
other kitchen equipment,
they’re an appliance
operators count on to do
the job right. l
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CHEF’S CORNER
While working as a waiter, David Forbes discovered a passion
for the restaurant industry. Seduced by the energy and
excitement, he abandoned his journalism studies to seek a
career in the culinary arts instead. “For me, cooking seemed like the
right thing,” Forbes explains. “I had a lot of energy and [restaurants]
could ground my energy.”
Forbes attended Montreal’s l’Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie
du Québec before taking his first job preparing brunch at Café
Eldorado. He spent several years in Montreal kitchens, working under
William Frachot at Caprice de Nicolas as sous-chef at Leméac.
Returning to his hometown of Quebec City, Forbes exercised his
creativity as chef at Le Café du Cloché Penché and at Le Cercle before
meeting Cirque du Soleil co-founder Daniel Gauthier, who brought
Forbes on to the Le Massif de Charlevoix project to work on the con-
cept for Les Labours — the local-focused restaurant at Hôtel La Ferme
(now Le Germain Hotel Charlevoix) in Baie-Saint-Paul.
Through it all, Forbes’ career — as well as his food — have
remained deeply rooted in Quebec. This, he explains, is because of the
deep cultural connection he feels with food. “For me, food has to stay
personal. Cooking is cultural; it’s like singing. You can take influence
from other people, but you wouldn’t see someone like Neil Young try-
ing to do Indian-style singing,” he adds. “My culture is about where I
live and what people are growing and talking about.”
Today the 42-year-old chef can be found creating his Québécois
fare at Groupe Restos Plaisirs’ Ciel! Bistro-Bar — the new rotating
restaurant atop the Hôtel le Concorde in Quebec City. “It was an
opportunity that picked me up out of the field and brought me to the
top of the city,” Forbes quips.
Since opening last October, the chef and the team at Ciel! have
faced their share of challenges. “It was a really interesting learning
curve,” he says. “We started with a whole new team and the kitchen
upstairs is small for what we have to do.”
Despite the growing pains, Ciel! has landed on the shortlist for
EnRoute magazine’s “Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2015.” As the
restaurant’s executive chef, Forbes has been delighting guests with
dishes such as mackerel gravlax with radishes and cauliflower ($10),
a ravioli of butternut squash with corn mousse ($24) and braised veal
cheeks served with parsnip puree, sunchokes and armillaria mush-
rooms ($28).
When all is said and done, the most rewarding part of his career is
the way food brings people together. The chef has acted as a catalyst
in multiple projects by introducing people with similar interests, such
as connecting a young aquaculturist with a friend who was struggling
to source Canadian salmon large enough for smoking. “For me, that
is probably the greatest accomplishment — forming relationships and
making our food culture in Quebec stronger.” l
PHOTO
S: RENAUD PHILLIPE [DAVID FORBES], DREAM
STIME.CO
M [BITS & BITES]
BITS & BITES
VIEW FROM THE TOPDavid Forbes takes regional cuisine to new heights in Quebec City BY DANIELLE SCHALK
What is your favourite ingredient? “Vegetables”
Hobbies: “Right now, building barbecues”
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be? “A para-medic, a psycholo-gist or a daycare worker”
Mentors: “A lot are friends — cooks that are friends. I learn a lot through my exchanges with them”