journey ofdiscovery...welcome to the new age of restaurant dining. certainly from my vantage point...

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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.

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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.

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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

[email protected]

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

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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.”


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.


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


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


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

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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

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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.


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

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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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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

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Do you have the Foodservice and Hospitality magazine App?With the Foodservice and Hospitality magazine app, you can access all the latest issues. View the entire issue page by page or jump directly to your favourites. All the departments and features you’ve come to know and love, all at the tap of a screen.

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Also check out the Hotelier magazine App

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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




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

®



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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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.



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



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


integrity period.

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final half page ad.pdf 1 10/7/2015 10:21:30 AM


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



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.


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


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.


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


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-


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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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


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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prix-fixe menus, lunch-service

deals and weekend brunches

moving forward.

RETAILER MEAL SOLUTIONS (RMS) UPDATE Technomic’s 2015 “Canadian

Retailer Meal Solutions


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


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

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26SAVE THE DATE

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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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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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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,

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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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FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY NOVEMBER 2015 45

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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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


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


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


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”

journey ofdiscovery...welcome to the new age of restaurant dining. certainly from my vantage point...

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