Ontario Restaurant News - March 2013

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estaurant News R March 2013 Vol. 28 No. 2

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Strong showing for Ontario at Gold Medal Plates

By Leslie Wu, editorial director

DANNY MEYER GETS HOSPITABLE AT NAFEM

GOING GREEN IN A LARGE SCALE KITCHEN

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CENTENNIAL COLLEGE GOES CULTURAL

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JONATHAN HUGHES HONOURED BY CAFP

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KELOWNA, BC—Marc St. Jacques remembers sitting around the Auberge du Pommier kitchen at 2 a.m. taste-testing the dish that would win him this year’s Gold Medal Plates Canadian Culinary Championship.

“Sometimes the best part of the tempura comes from the bowl after you’ve taken the stuff out to put it in the fryer,” the executive chef told ORN after his triumphant return from Kelowna in early February. “We had the idea to put black sesame seeds in tempura and just drip them into the fryer.”

The dish he plated for the grand finale—a foie gras terrine with white soy gelee, mirin and Meyer lemon juice, as well as roasted lemon curd and fresh lemon and the black sesame seed tempura and shisho— impressed judge James Chatto.

“To do foie was quite brave,” Chatto said to ORN. “There were only three or four ideas on the plate, but it was so well balanced and interesting. Soy and foie was a clever addition. It was like using a string quartet rather than an orchestra to make a musical point.”

St. Jacques and newcomer to the competition Jamie Stunt, head chef of Ottawa’s Oz Kafe, took the gold and silver spots at the podium this year, marking a strong showing for the province. Chef Milton Rebello of Regina’s Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza hotel placed third.

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Marc St. Jacques from Auberge du Pommier.

Photo by Cindy La.

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franchising@primerestaurants.com 1-877-694-8186 ext. 404 primepubs.com Client: Prime Restaurants

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1. From left to right: Jamie Stunt, Marc St. Jacques, Milton Rebello. 2. Stunt’s dish for the grand finale segment. 3. St. Jacques’ grand finale dish. All photos by Brian Chambers.

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Gold Medal Plates schedule for 2013 announced

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The 2013 Gold Medal Plates competitions will take place across the country as follows: Oct. 17: Halifax ( a return to the city for the first time since 2004) Oct. 24: Edmonton Oct. 25: Winnipeg Oct. 30: Toronto Nov. 1: Regina Nov. 2: Calgary Nov. 7: Victoria ( a change from Vancouver) Nov. 8: Saskatoon Nov. 14: St. John’s Nov. 18: Ottawa TBD: Montreal.

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Stunt’s grand finale dish of yak turned heads both with judges and attendees. Like many of the other competitors, Stunt changed his dish significantly between the regional competitions and Kelowna due to seasonality.

“We kept the beer [from Ashton Brewing Company] and the yak, but we ended up changing everything else,” Stunt said in an interview with ORN. “We didn’t want to use tomatillos flown in from Mexico rather than a great one from here, and we definitely didn’t want to serve a worse version of the same dish that we served at regionals.”

Stunt sources yak from Tiraislin Farms just outside of Ottawa for Oz Kafe. “We like to use it at the restaurant, and felt it’s a unique product that set ourselves apart from the other competitors. It was a strategic decision, plus yak is also really delicious.”

Stunt’s dish included tamari sauce, barley miso mayo, smoked boar vinaigrette, crisped barley, mushrooms, and a mussel shell with caviar, egg white and yolk and beer vinaigrette, said Chatto.

“He was the first guy to do yak for Gold Medal Plates, and I’m glad he did,” he said. “He surrounded it with a garland of flavours and textures, but everything made sense. Although it looked like he put a million things on the plate, there was

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a lot of thought behind it. Nothing was random.”

The black box round proved to be a challenge for both chefs, who had never done them before outside of practice rounds and job interviews. St. Jacques, senior sous chef Moto Nishimura and sous chef David Matus went over the allotted time by 18 seconds, which carried a stiff penalty (five per cent of points are docked for every 30 seconds after the 60 minute time limit.) “We figured we were out of the competition at that point,” said St. Jacques. “We had done well, but we had been told that if you run over, you can’t place in the top three.” Four chefs at this stage lost points, said Chatto, who advises future competitors to practice timing with a stopwatch and allow enough time for plating.

Although Stunt and his sous chefs Simon Bell and Mike Bednarz finished on time, they ended up using every second. On the advice of last year’s winner, fellow Ottawa chef Marc Lepine, Stunt’s team did four black box trials. “It does help, but only to a certain degree – if you have preconceived notions, it can work against you if you’re clinging to an idea.

You need to be flexible,” he warned.

This year’s black box items included red fife wheat flour, farmed sturgeon caviar, a strongly flavoured, firm goat gruyère, Tuscan kale, heritage Anjou pears, and bone-in shoulder and neck of lamb, according to Chatto.

The third hurdle to the podium was a wine pairing challenge, with Norman Hardie 2010 County Pinot Noir as the mystery wine. St. Jacques, a nondrinker, presented a shabu shabu inspired broth with beets, cabbage, mustard, fruit, and raw enoki mushrooms poured over sirloin.

“I wanted that first punch of flavour, but wanted to think about what sits on your palate after that bite,” said St. Jacques. “A lot of the time, that’s where wine pairings are delicious.”

Stunt served up a lamb tartare with a mixture of ground, seared and hand-cut meats, accompanied by roasted beets and a smoked turkey mayonnaise among the components, according to Chatto.

Ultimately, both chefs are proud to showcase their city’s cuisines on the national stage.

“I was happy to represent Ottawa well,” said Stunt, who was honoured by the support that the city’s chefs showed. “We had 28 different people come out to cover Oz Kafe when we were out west.”

St. Jacques was also appreciative of his staff ’s efforts. “It’s a great experience to see the team out there,” he said. “It’s not about the winning, but how they dealt with people, always being positive and extremely organized...it’s all the things you tell people that come into restaurants to cook. It made me very excited to get back into the kitchen and keep cooking.”

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Heinz bought out by Buffett-owned consortium PITTSBURGH—Heinz announced in February that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an investment consortium made up of 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway, helmed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013, said Heinz chairman, president and CEO William R. Johnson during a press conference on Feb. 14.

“We are mindful of how we got here. This will deepen our roots in Pittsburgh and build more loyalty in our brand,” he said, noting that

the company will remain headquartered in Pittsburgh.

There are currently 1,200 employees at the Pittsburgh location, said 3G Capital managing partner Alex Behring. When asked about 3G’s previous record of aggressive cost cutting, Behring said “we’ve been involved in a variety of fields in the past, and some had a lot of cost optimization and efficiencies.”

“Here, we’re just getting involved and have several months ahead,” he said. “This is a company that’s doing extremely well as it is and has been doing extremely well for a long time.”

The transaction, valued at $28 billion, which Heinz is calling the “largest ever in the food industry”, is still subject to approval by Heinz shareholders, receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The deal has been in the works since mid-November 2012, said Behring.

“I think initially, even probably a year from now, that nothing will change within the view from Pittsburgh, except not being listed in stock tables,” said Johnson. “We’re hoping for the ability to use this as a platform to sort of get bigger in the global food industry.”

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www.can-restaurantnews.com Editorial Director Leslie Wu ext. 227 lwu@canadianrestaurantnews.com Senior Contributing Editor Colleen Isherwood ext. 231 cisherwood@canadianrestaurantnews.com Assistant Editor Elaine Anselmi ext. 226 eanselmi@canadianrestaurantnews.com National Sales Manager Dave Bell ext. 230 dbell@canadianrestaurantnews.com Senior Account Managers Debbie McGilvray ext. 233 dmcgilvray@canadianrestaurantnews.com Joe Couto ext. 229 jcouto@canadianrestaurantnews.com Production Stephanie Giammarco sgiammarco@canadianrestaurantnews.com Circulation Manager Don Trimm ext. 228 dtrimm@canadianrestaurantnews.com Controller Tammy Turgeon ext. 237 tammy@canadianrestaurantnews.com How to reach us: Tel (905) 206-0150

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ach and every day, we all stop to take stock of how we’re achieving our goals.

Whether we judge ourselves by putting out a perfect plate of food, filling a dining room, or even just by completing an ever expanding to-do list, it can be the smallest of details that makes the difference between a successful or a miserable day.

In the hospitality industry, as in many others, mileage may vary when it comes to measuring success. Due to the high percentage of self-made entrepreneurs who started at the bottom of the restaurant food chain and now run their own businesses, the journey to the top for many of these men and women was an intensely personal one. And although ultimately the bottom line is an all-important metric in an operator’s life, what drives them individually is a different matter altogether.

“I made it a personal goal of mine not to focus on just being successful in making a lot of money; instead, I focused on the love and passion for food,” restaurateur Vikram Vij said recently during his keynote at the CAFP Vancouver Leadership Night.

This mindset was part of a learning process for Vij. He recounted how, when starting his restaurant on razor thin margins years ago, the difference between $98.50 and the $100 he needed to break even was a huge psychological barrier that he needed to cross, and how ringing in an extra $1.50 for naan at the end of the day would be a small step in making himself feel better.

“That difference meant the world to me,” he said. “We all know, you can’t just be a great chef, you also have to be a positive businessman and cashflow is king,” he said.

BITS Publisher Steven Isherwood ext. 236 sisherwood@can-restaurantnews.com

EDITORIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL Mickey Cherevaty Executive Vice-president, Moyer Diebel Limited Neil Vosburgh President, Imago restaurants Inc. Marvin Greenberg President, S+H Realty Corporation Jack Battersby President, Summit Food Service Distributors Inc. Barney Strassburger Jr. President, TwinCorp Paul LeClerc Partner, Serve-Canada Food Equipment Ltd. Michael Stephens Director of Retail, Inventory and Wholesale, LCBO Ralph Claussen Director Food and Beverage Operations Woodbine Entertainment Group Adam Colquhoun President, Oyster Boy John Crawford Director of Sales-Canada, Lamb Weston Tina Chiu Chief Operating Officer, Mandarin Restaurant Franchise Corporation Matt Johnston Vice-president, Marketing, Moosehead Breweries Martin Kouprie Chef/Owner, Pangaea Restaurant Joel Sisson Founder and president of Crush Strategy Inc. Leslie Wilson Vice president of Business Excellence Compass Group Canada

Volume 28 No. 2 Ontario Restaurant News is published 12 times year by Ishcom Publications Ltd., which also publishes: Pacific/Prairie Restaurant News, Atlantic Restaurant News, Canadian Lodging News, Ontario Chains and the ORN Buyers’ Directory.

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S. Pellegrino names Canada’s Almost Famous chef TORONTO—The S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition named Canada’s regional winner, Jean-Christophe Comtois from École hôtelière de la Capitale in Quebec City, at the event in Toronto on Feb. 25.

The event challenged seven students from across Canada to create a signature entrée dish in two hours. Dishes were prepared for a panel of judges made up of industry and media experts.

The winning dish was a milk veal tenderloin, matsutake mushroom and “Tomme des Joyeux Fromagers” flavoured polenta. “When you put passion into what you do, great things can happen,” said Comtois. “I worked really hard to prepare for the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Canadian Regional Competition and it really paid off.” Comtois will go on to the finals competition in Napa Valley, CA in March. The finals will see the 10 regional winners face off for the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef title.

Rogers Centre restaurant changes TORONTO—The much anticipated baseball season will hold more surprises for Blue Jays fans than a dramatically changed roster.

Windows, the restaurant that sits at the far end of the Rogers Centre field in line with the batters-eye is undergoing major renovations, according to Andrew Stoeten for The Score.

A $250 million renovation at the stadium over the next decade will include major changes to the restaurant space, according to the Blue Jays and Rogers Centre president, Paul Beeston.

Initially, Stoeten said, the renovation will involve removing the glass enclosure making the space open-air and a throughway for all fans – not only those seated on the 200 level.

The space will also have tall tables and seating for fans to have food and beverages while watching the game.

Lower-calorie menu items lead to higher revenue, says U.S. report WASHINGTON—Restaurants offering an increased menu of lower-calorie food and

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beverage items have reported better business performance, according to a report by the Hudson Institute called Lower-Calorie Foods: It’s Just Good Business.

The report was released on Feb. 7 with studies taking place over five years, and showed that restaurants with increased lower-calorie options had better sales growth, a higher increase in customer traffic and overall higher food and beverage sales, when compared with restaurants with decreased lowercalorie offerings.

The report studied 21 chain restaurants between 2006 and 2011, including: McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Applebee’s, Olive Garden, Chili’s and Outback Steakhouse.

Starbucks expands its market TORONTO—The Seattle-based coffee giant will be expanding its reach of approximately 1,200 Canadian operations, adding another 150, according to the Toronto Star.

“It’s going to be a big year for us, we’re very excited,” Starbucks Canada’s president Annie Young-Scrivner told the Star. “It’s probably one of the years we’re going to open the most stores.”

The outlets will be a mix of standalone stores and operations within partnered stores such as Target and Safeway, said Young-Scrivner.

GFTC teams up for food safety GUELPH, ON—The Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC) that specializes in food safety training, certification and solutions announced its merger with US-based NSF International.

NSF is a global public health and safety organization that’s portfolio includes training and auditing of practices involving seafood, organic and global food safety certification, according to the Feb. 5 release. NSF operates globally through a network of auditors.

The Canadian operations will remain in the GFTC’s Guelph location, with the company now officially recognized as NSF-GFTC. “We share NSF’s same values and vision.

Our services are the ideal complement to

Restaurant mogul Danny Meyer, whose methodology of hospitality in upscale and casual dining have made him justifiably famous, told a roomful of NAFEM attendees how he tests himself and overcomes his own perfectionism. “It’s like when we were kids, trying to get 100 per cent on tests,” he said. “These days, I’m really happy not to be perfect, but thrilled to be excellent and try to be better every day.

That way you’re not putting the yoke of being perfect on the shoulders of your staff.”

Many of us have a daily battle with balancing the desire to be perfect with the reality of time constraints, and in doing so, perhaps we lose sight of the important targets.

After all, Meyer never forgets the time early in his career during a debate on menu printing methods, when an industry veteran stood up and said “Son, if you serve good food and treat ’em right, you could give them the bill on toilet paper and they’d still come back.”

Leslie Wu Editorial Director

BITES NSF’s excellence in providing food safety certification, auditing, training and technical services. We look forward to providing a broader array of food safety services to members and clients both domestically and abroad,” said Petra Schennach, GFTC president and chief operating officer.

Technomic defines what is healthy CHICAGO—In response to changing attitudes and ideas of healthy eating, Technomic has developed The Canadian Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report.

“There’s a shift happening in terms of what actually defines healthy for [consumers]. We’re seeing more consumers gravitate toward health halo claims – such as local, natural, organic, as well as whole-wheat and free-range,” said Darren Tristano, vice-president of Technomic. “Operators can leverage this growing interest in the health halo by developing the kinds of menu offerings that can underscore health without detracting from the taste perception.”

Some of the trend report’s findings include: • 81 per cent of consumers reported health as a priority. Of that, 10 per cent do not follow a diet but are health conscious, while 15 per cent try but are unsuccessful at eating healthfully.

• Gluten-free is the leading health-oriented descriptor on full-service restaurant menus.

• Of the consumers polled, 35 per cent said they would be more likely to visit a restaurant if they have healthy menu items, regardless of whether or not they order those healthy options.

• While health claims on menu items tend to lead to a perception of less favourable taste, such perceptions are actually enhanced by health claims such as unprocessed, real and fresh.

• Nine out of 10 consumers reported that statements such as low sodium, fat or cholesterol, as well as content descriptors such as full serving of fruit or vegetables and 100 per cent whole wheat, are understood as making food healthier.

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NAFEM

ORLANDO—“One of the things that no one told me when I started in this industry is that it’s a manufacturing business,” said New York restaurateur Danny Meyer during his keynote speech on Feb. 8 at The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers’ (NAFEM) biennial event.

“The stupid thing on our part is that we take the most expensive real estate to put our manufacturing plant on,” he joked.

Meyer spoke about his experiences opening New York landmarks Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern, and his development of the service model that made him famous. Author of the book Setting the Table: The Transporting Power of Hospitality in Business, Meyer is chief executive officer of Union Square Hospitality Group.

In developing a new way to look at fine dining service, Meyer said that the team’s mantra became “who wrote the rule?” “We asked ourselves ‘who wrote the rule that a three star restaurant can’t serve a BLT? Or offer counter seating?’” he said.

By offering service touches such as premium wines by the glass and as a house wine, and prizing first time customers at a time when special treatment was reserved for regulars, Meyer distinguished his upscale restaurants from the myriad of other offerings in New York.

“We paid attention to small details,” said Meyer.

If a guest asked where the bathroom was, chances were good that they were a first time visitor. Notes including where the guest sat, who their waiter was, and what they did for a living were recorded and used in reservation meetings to promote what Meyer called “planting like seeds in like gardens.”

People in similar industries would be seated within eyesight of each other. “If media people saw each other, they would think ‘this must be where media people eat’.”

Meyer still uses careful metrics to establish his points of focus in the restaurant. He divides his attention between 49 per cent performance and 51 per cent hospitality, stressing the difference between hospitality and service. “One size fits all in service and one size fits one in hospitality,” he said.

Meyer said that the 51 per cent tracks how you make the customer feel. “When measuring food, decor and service like Zagat, it leaves out hospitality,” he said. “You have to have great service or I won’t

go back, but it’s not enough by itself to bring me back.” He likened the situation to equipment functionality. “If your equipment doesn’t work, we’ll use it until it dies because I’ve invested in it, but will never come back,” he warned the room of attendees, many of them manufacturers and dealers.

On the show floor, exhibitors were optimistic and the second day of the show was as busy as the first. Some companies are seeing a return to investment in equipment in North America.

“A couple of years ago, investment was based on requirement. In Canada, there’s always an appreciation for quality, but there are more price-based purchasing decisions now,” said Mary Chiarot, vicepresident and general manager of Garland Canada.

“We were projecting that people would be buying lower, but it appears that people are buying up,” said Carrie Hoff, product line manager with Hobart.

“We’re starting to see a pick-up in the market and we’re hoping that 2013 will be a good year in the States and up in Canada,” said Michael A. Rice, director of marketing with Follett. “We like to think that people are looking at value added products, that have longer life cycle benefits focusing on safety and sanitation.

“The hospitality industry is back across North America,” said Deirdre Flynn, NAFEM executive vice-president. “What was pleasant was that we heard universally across North America from dealers and manufacturers that money is freeing up and people are making investments on the operator side or refurbishing their equipment on the noncommercial side.”

Although final analytics were not available at press time, Flynn said that attendance numbers heading into Orlando were two per cent above the last NAFEM show in 2011, with about 20,000 total projected visitors evenly split between attendees and exhibitors. More than 550 exhibiting companies took over 317,164 square feet of booth space.

Flynn said that a common trend at the show was equipment adapting to cooking methods that are becoming more popular across all types of food service outlets, such as those that can hold temperature, cook/chill, or sous vide. A focus on sustainability – such as more green products, energy conservation, and better traceability – as well as an emphasis on energy and labour savings will continue, said Flynn.

1. Restaurateur Danny Meyer. 2. What’s Hot, What’s Cool section. 3. Cooking demo. 4. Day two was busy on the floor. 5. Murray Meyer, senior product manager at Manitowoc. 6. Mary Chiarot, vice-president and general manager of Garland Canada. 7. James E. Betz, regional sales manager at Hamilton Beach. 8. Danny Collis, MAFSI president. 9. Tom Campion, NAFEM president. 10. Champion Moyer Diebel’s national sales manager Claude Millette (left) and vice-president of sales and marketing Scott Cherevaty (right). 11. Marketing communications manager Terry Toth and the Scotsman team. 12. New product gallery. 13. Carrie Hoff, product line manager, Hobart. 14. Robin Alfano, advertising manager of Hatco.

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New products: 1. Garland’s Master Series 36 inch Dual-Purpose Plancha griddle has three cast iron H-Style burners under each 12 inch section of the griddle plate.

The 99,000 BTUs can be used for searing of meats and other high temperature applications. Each burner is controlled by an independent high-low valve for control over more delicate proteins, such as fish or chicken.

The Garland Plancha is installed with a full-perimeter trough and mounted high for multiple access points.

Configuration options include ovens, refrigerated compartments and storage bases, and also as part of Garland cooking suites.

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NAFEM

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2. Hobart’s new LXe and Advansys LXe Undercounter Warewashers are designed for restaurant, bar, coffee shop and health care facility operations.

The LXe base model and Advansys LXe, which is available in high-temp and low-temp models are ENERGY STAR qualified.

The Advansys LXe high-temp model features energy recovery technology, which recycles hot water vapour produced during the wash and rinse cycle and uses it to preheat cold inlet water, reducing steam in the air.

Other features include PuriRinse—a fresh-water rinse after the chemical sanitizer cycle designed to remove chemicals that can have a negative impact on the flavour and presentation of the beverages when they are served—lower water consumption, deluxe strainer system and three different cycles: light, normal and heavy.

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3. Hatco’s new Flav-R-Savor Portable Holding Cabinet has electronic thermostatically controlled heat and humidity to keep prepared foods at optimum serving temperatures for hours. It includes an electronic control with digital readout,

a temperature range of 27° to 93°C and high efficiency humidity control, or a lower temperature range of 27° to 38°C to allow for proofing all types of breads.

The cabinet comes in standard black as well

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as a stainless steel option. It has an all stainless steel interior and includes a 6 inch cord and plug, 4 inch diameter casters with 5 inches clearance, stainless steel heavy-duty door with left-hand door hinge and a 3.8 L capacity water chamber.

4. The Vollrath Mirage Induction Rethermalizer uses induction technology to transfer heat, unlike water-based heating systems that require refilling.

The system monitors temperature and uses sensors to alert the operator when the contents need to be stirred.

An LED display panel allows operators to choose from various settings and features. Settings including: soup, cream-based soup, chili, and macaroni and cheese allow the Mirage to measure accordingly.

The Mirage has an 800 Watt rethermalizer and comes in both 7 and 11 quart models. It comes in both red and silver finishes.

5. Hamilton Beach unveiled its QSRfriendly blender system that minimizes dish use and cuts down on labour. The BIC2000, a part of Hamilton Beach Commercial, takes up minimal counterspace and comes with specially designed takeout glasses that alleviate the need for a blending jar. The same cup is used for blending and serving, allowing operators to put ingredients together, insert the cup into the machine and serve.

The BIC2000 has an automatic rinsing feature, as well as periodic sanitizing, allowing operators to continue on with drink service or tending to cash, rather than cleaning and removing used jars.

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DEC ODI NG THE D ATA

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Biting into the breakfast market

industry has remained relatively flat over the last five years and would have been in decline without the performance from this daypart.

By Ian Wilson reakfast is still the most important meal of the day. In the foodservice industry, the morning meal represents approximately 26 per cent of all visits.

While other dayparts are close in share, the morning meal is the only daypart that consistently grew over the last five years. The foodservice

O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

Changing consumer habits As the economy tightened, we witnessed a shift in consumer eating patterns. Canadians seemed to reduce spend at the higher cheque occasions. Full-service dining restaurant visits declined, while quickservice gained in popularity.

As well, the more expensive sup-

per visits seemed to have been replaced by the less costly morning meal purchases.

The increased popularity of the morning meal was the result of the convenience factor.

Customers strapped for time could purchase breakfast quickly and carry on with their day. QSR significantly benefitted from the convenience factor and controlled a 79.0 share of the morning meal daypart. This share has increased +3.5 share points over the last five years.

The key to convenience is portability, as 76 per cent of all QSR morning meal visits are consumed off-premise. Over 74 per cent of QSR morning meal visits occur during the week and 82 per cent are by adult only parties.

This strongly suggests that the

business consumer and students play an important role in the success of this daypart and should be targeted by QSR operators.

Coffee is a strong competitor The success of the morning meal has revolved around the purchase of coffee. Over 68 per cent of all QSR morning meal visits include a coffee. There are 38 per cent of QSR morning meal visits that contain only one item purchased. This would typically be the business consumer or student who purchased a coffee on their way to their destination.

While the purchase of two items accounted for 41 per cent of occasions, the consumption of more than two items only accounted for 21 per cent of purchases.

What does this all mean? It could suggest a couple of things.

Consumers could really only want a coffee in the morning or it could suggest that consumers are looking for other food alternatives. The top foods at this occasion are breakfast sandwiches, bagels, muffins, donuts and hash browns.

The health halo continues While many of these items would be considered indulgent items, there could be an opportunity for healthier alternatives. Currently, breakfast sandwiches are purchased at nearly one in every four visits. This is significant and should be a menu item at every QSR due to its popularity.

However, there could be more opportunities centred on the promotion of smoothies and other healthy alternatives that could increase cheques at this daypart and even more traffic.

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Family midscale versus QSR In competing with QSR at the morning meal daypart, family midscale restaurants have felt a negative impact. Family midscale

Ian Wilson is a director of client development in the foodservice industry for the NPD Group. The NPD Group has more than 25 years experience in providing consumerbased market information for the foodservice industry.

For more info, visit www.npd. com or contact ian.wilson@npd. com.

Morning Meal Demographics for QSR vs Family Midscale QSR

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81.9

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represented an 11 per cent share of morning meals and drove 2 per cent growth in the last year.

This is the first time that family midscale displayed positive growth at the morning meal daypart in the last five years. Over this timeframe, family midscale lost -2.4 share points of this daypart, as consumers switched to the more affordable and convenient QSR channel.

In order to compete, family midscales should focus on their core consumer and how to attract more from this demographic. Opposite to QSR, almost 91 per cent of all morning visits to family midscale are consumed on-premise.

As well, QSR only attracts 26 per cent of its morning visits on the weekend compared to 49 per cent for family midscale. Moreover, 24 per cent of family midscale occasions are parties with kids versus 18 per cent at QSR. All of this would suggest that family midscale restaurants are more about the experience of “eating out with the family”. More time can be taken on the weekends to enjoy your meal and not feel rushed.

As parties with kids have decreased at family midscale, there is opportunity to capture more of this demographic by targeting families. As well, another opportunity centres around the business meeting. Approximately 51 per cent of morning meal visits to family midscales are during the week. Targeting this consumer should also help revive the morning meal daypart at family midscales.

74.3

Family Midscale

On-Premise

Off-Premise

Adult Only Parties

Adult Only Parties

Weekend

Weekday

1 CREST®

YE November 2012 Total Canada

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91.0

76.1

49.2

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M A R C H 2 013

Bringing the Arctic to Canada’s capital city

By Elaine Anselmi, assistant editor OTTAWA—The National Arts Centre is celebrating Inuit culture and cuisine with a gala, A Taste of the Arctic. The event, held on Apr. 29, is a collaboration between the National Arts Centre (NAC) and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), an organization that represents the more than 50,000 Inuit people across Canada.

“Throughout the last three months I’ve been kind of immersing myself in [the Inuit] culture, through reading and speaking with people from the ITK who are from the North,” the NAC’s interim executive chef John Morris told ORN. Morris has been tasked with creating a menu that respects Inuit tradition but appeals to a more southern palate. “We’re bringing in a lot of cuisine we prepare here as well,” said Morris.

“It’s a North meets South mentality.”

Morris’ menu was tested by members of the media as well as the ITK at a tasting event on Feb. 11. He said the successful dishes include ingredients sourced from Rankin Inlet, NU, Cambridge Bay, NU and Iqaluit, as well as some additional ingredients from the Ottawa area.

“The plan is to have a wonderful evening of northern food, fashion and music,” said Rosemary Thompson, director of communications and corporate affairs, corporate secretary for the NAC. “We’re shining a spotlight on the different regions of Canada.”

“It was important to us [and the ITK] to have something that is truly of the North,” Thompson told ORN. Dishes include a smoked fish platter of Arctic char, turbot and potato croquettes, and seared rare tataki of caribou loin. Caribou liver terrine, curried Arctic shrimp, seal vol au vent and smoked goose breast will also be served as

canapés. Specialty stations will be serving up a ragout of hare and a muskox roast among dishes from the ocean.

“I didn’t just take one kick at the can with this menu for this event,” said Morris. He made numerous drafts and took input from members of the ITK to properly represent the Inuit cuisine.

“In some cases, I think I was mistaking what we think of as traditional aboriginal food as coming from the Arctic,” he said. One substitution Morris made was to use turbot for a white fish because it is commonly fished in the Inuvialuit region.

“Another comment [on Inuit traditions] was that they’re very resourceful and keen to utilize the entire animal,” said Morris. “They’re really respectful of nature, and they don’t want to waste a single thing.” Animal parts such as caribou liver became a part of the menu as a result.

“It was a unique challenge in that you have to take these two distinct cultures and try to bring them together and really respect the philosophy of the culture you’re putting on showcase but still make it palatable for the other,” said Morris.

One thing that he said really stood out in his research of Inuit cuisine is their respect for the purity of ingredients. Whereas southern chefs have a tendency to pair foods and enhance ingredients, the Inuit tend to eat foods raw.

“If they’re going out to eat seal or fish, they eat it pure and simple, the way it is,” said Morris.

“That’s great, but I don’t think it will go over that well at a gala in Ottawa.”

Morris got a start with his research from another upcoming event at the centre, Northern Scene, which runs simultaneously with A Taste of the Arctic, from Apr. 25 to May 4. Exhibiting 250 northern artists at 50 events over 10 days, the event will show-

Photos: Main: Terry Audla, ITK president and chef John Morris. Inset: Dish of northern berries from tasting event. Photos courtesy of the National Arts Centre.

case a sealskin fashion show, live performances and traditional food, said Thompson.

Morris described the mandate of the NAC’s restaurant, Le Café, as being the nation’s table and said this is another opportunity to embrace a distinct Canadian cuisine.

“The more I learn about any culture, the thing I’m always drawn to and attracted to is simplicity,” said Morris. “I think as chefs, too often we try to get in the way of that if we over manipulate food. It’s beautiful to see a culture that sees that beauty in simplicity.”

introduce more tastes of the Arctic to the Ottawa crowd. The event will pair up three teams of northern chefs with a local counterpart for a live cooking demonstration.

More fare from North of 60

Alongside Morris, local chefs will include Ross Fraser of the Fraser Café and Charles Part of Les Fougeres. The event will take place on May 1.

The National Arts Centre’s Northern Scene festival’s culinary event, North-South Fusion, will

The participating northern chefs are: • Whitehorse’s Michele Genest, author of the Boreal Gourmet; • Yellowknife’s Robin Wasicuna, of Wiseguy Foods; and • Iqaluit’s Rebecca VeeVee, host of The Laughing Chef.

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How to

By Elaine Anselmi

N

ot every bar has the capacity or the intention of becoming a brewpub. It’s a costly venture that requires space, extensive permits and above all, a savvy brewmaster. Rather than brewing on-site, some restaurants and bars offer a proprietary line of beer, brought in from an external brewery but unique to that establishment.

While those offering a proprietary line have an obvious association with that label, and brewing a line in-house builds a clear bond, some bars will also commonly align with a brew or brand, colloquially known as a “house beer”.

There are different methods of incorporating beer into a restaurant’s portfolio, but at the end of the day and at the bottom of each glass, the underlying goal is to keep customers ordering another round.

Making a profit with house brews “A chain like Earls gets far more involved with the process,” says Chris Goddard, president of the annual event Toronto Beer Week.

“Earls contract brews their house brand Albino Rhino through Muskoka Brewery.”

When the western Canadian chain made its move into Ontario approximately five years ago, they enlisted local Muskoka Brewery to supply its signature ale, Rhino (the ‘Albino’ prefix has been dropped from the name, says Earls beverage manager Cameron Bogue). Although Whistler Brewing Co. supplies Rhino for Earls restaurants from B.C. to Manitoba, the cost of transporting and shipping kegs to Ontario was cumbersome, says Bogue. Muskoka now supplies Earls with a pale ale and a lager under the Rhino label.

“The approach we took was taking the beer they’re currently using, take the style and doing some pilot brewing and test batches of our own,” says Muskoka’s founder and president Gary McMullen.

While Earls is under no obligation to label the beer as being anything other than Rhino,

Bogue says the coasters state that the beer is ‘proudly brewed by’ either Muskoka or Whistler. “It’s been a great partnership,” he says.

“We’re quite lucky that a huge percentage of our sales are from Rhino. There is some patronage to the brand because it’s unique, it’s ours,” he says.

As Rhino is available exclusively through Earls, McMullen says this can be an advantage.

“I think it’s a differentiator. The restaurant industry is competitive, so anything you can do to differentiate yourself is a positive,” he says.

Bars will often align with a brew that is not unique to that store, but still considered a house beer. “Sometimes a house beer is merely a house tap handle put on an existing beer,” says Goddard. “Usually that house beer price is positioned a little lower.”

The intricacy involved in brewing a single batch craft beer versus a non-microbrew drives the cost of the product up, says Goddard. He notes that customers are expecting to pay more for a craft beer and in the end, it is a more profitable pint for their point of sale—if the customer base is interested in putting out the extra cash for a handcrafted product.

“By virtue of the fact that the product costs more, it excludes some of the market,” says George Milbrandt, owner of C’est What? in Toronto. Milbrandt, who has years of brewing experience himself, likens brewing craft beer to making spaghetti sauce from scratch, versus using a can or jar: you start with each basic ingredient (tomato, vegetable and spice) and cook it down rather than adding in some extra ingredients to an already prepared sauce.

Milbrandt’s Front Street establishment has been serving craft beer and VQA wines exclusively for 25 years.

He says that despite some customers who are still looking for the big name brews, there is a new generation of beer lovers and brewers out there.

“Twenty-five years ago, we didn’t have much choice,” he says. C’est What? opened with eight beers on tap and a couple of cask beers and now has 39 lines in total, with 10 on constant rotation.

craft

a brand

Where craft meets mainstream At Ottawa’s Big Rig Brewery, brewmaster Lon Laddell has eight of his own beers on tap: six staples and two seasonal beers. Big Rig Kitchen and Bar’s own brand of beer is a popular draw for the restaurant and is in the process of getting put on shelves at the LCBO and Beer Store, Laddell says, but you can still find a variety of mainstream brands on offer.

“Upon opening, we thought we’d give the opportunity to customers who wanted to come in and have a bottle of Molson Canadian or Corona,” says co-owner Jimmy Zourntos.

“You can still get a Canadian or Coors Light on tap, but as we’re growing, we’re going to slowly diminish them.”

Earls Kitchen and Bar have a partnership with Labatt making it their core brand, says Bogue. “When coming to Earls, one of the first things I did was change our partnership.” He took exclusivity off the table, allowing the bar to stock other products as well as Labatt.

“I realized that only partnering with one company, we were thinking about ourselves and our partnership but forgot about the customer,” says Bogue. “[Labatt] being incumbent was definitely a challenge, but at the end of the day, we’re actually selling the same number of Labatt products, it’s just having a wider variety.”

Laddell says the diverse offering has served Big Rig well, since they can serve a customer one of the more common beers, as well as a sample of one of their own of similar style.

“We’re not excluding anyone, but we’re also educating people that are not in the craft beer world right now.”

Training and teaching Education is an important part of growing the craft beer industry, which is the mandate of the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB). As well as operating Muskoka Brewing, McMullen is the chair of the OCB, which represents more than 30 independent craft brewers. He says that as craft beers become more sophisticated, education in how to serve a beer with higher alcohol levels and proper pairings is important.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to try something new, for us to work with bars and restaurants and to let people have a good experience,” says McMullen. “Food pairings and things like that are really important for especially flavourful beers.”

Goddard says knowledge is one of the advantages of a bar such as C’est What? that has been in the industry for so long. “[Milbrandt] is like the godfather of craft beer purveyors in this city,” he says. “He has a really educated staff who can say, ‘Hey, you want a pint of Canadian. We don’t have that but you might like this.’”

“You’re selling beers at a profitable price but also educating the consumer and introducing them to new beers,” says Goddard.

Building this sort of passion for beer and beer education is one of Laddell’s goals at Big Rig. “I try to impart some of the passion I have for the industry so we can have people on the floor that are passionate about the process,” he says. He hosts an informal training program with new staff, spending a few hours talking about the brewing process, but says his door is always open for questions.

“With every seasonal beer we do an education process and tasting,” says Laddell. “Opening eyes to craft beer is a great one of my passions.”

Toronto’s Bier Markt operators ensure that their staff is well versed in the beer menu – not an easy task with nearly 200 beers available, 45 to 50 of which are on tap depending on the location, says operating partner Robert Medal.

“We do a tremendous amount of internal training,” says Medal. The bar hosts approximately 12 beer and food training sessions per year for its staff. As well as in-house training, staff are required to take part in third party training through Prud’homme Beer Certification, “a fairly stratified training system for beer aficionados,” says Medal. Staff must have a minimum of level one Prud’homme certification which focuses on “brewing ingredients and processes, tasting concepts, pouring and serving concepts (including an introduction to draught systems) and food and beer pairings,”

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according to the training introduction. Medal says some of his team go on to acquire second or third level which certifies a beer sommelier.

“Consumers want to experiment. They’re wanting to try new things,” says McMullen.

“The secret is out: beer is very versatile.”

Evolution and experimentation

Defining craft: does size matter?

Initially, Medal says the beer offering was something that came quite easily to himself and his partners, so more focus was put on the food. “Anyone can go out there and buy 200 beers, put them in a fridge and sell them,” says Medal. “So we really started focusing on the food about nine years ago, developing a culinary program and high caliber, red seal chefs.”

In the last two or three years, he says the company has started to refocus on brews.

“Whereas it used to be all about food, food, food and beer was just there, we’re getting back into rejuvenating the beer menu and beer offerings,” he says. “We’re getting more dynamic with pairing food and beer.”

As well as offering a number of suggested pairings with each menu item, Medal says they are also making use of those paired beers when cooking.

“We saw how much time and effort people spent educating themselves on wine, and wine with food, and thought ‘why can’t we do that with beer?’” says Medal.

Laddell has taken the time to become involved in every step of the brewing process, all of the way down to planting his own hops.

When Big Rig opened, he worked with seed co-ops in his native B.C. to acquire varieties of hops that typically grew in Ontario in previous generations.

Laddell has some hops planted outside of Ottawa that will hopefully be in the company’s brews in coming years.

The flexibility and opportunity to experiment is afforded by the craft brewing industry, in part because of smaller batch sizes and rotating styles. “With seasonal lines, we can play and bring in specialty ingredients,” Laddell says. “Right now, we have a Scotch ale that uses smoked peat barley.”

This sort of experimentation translates well to a new and more open customer-base.

With a very vague definition of what exactly categorizes a craft beer – particularly with large multi-national companies buying up independent craft breweries – experimentation and innovation become a key characteristic.

“If people are being innovators in the market, handcrafting and making all-malt beers, and making different styles outside of the mainstream, then that would constitute a craft beer,” says Goddard.

Laddell says that while larger companies are buying out independents, “at least when they’re buying them out, they’re letting those brewers be. As long as they meet their market share, they’re giving them creative freedom.”

Although the province’s oldest craft brewery, Creemore Springs, was purchased by Molson Coors, North Western Ontario territory

manager Mark Bumstead says it is the classic and ultra-traditional Creemore mandate that restricts experimentation within the brand, rather than the multi-national parent company.

“That’s what we’re all about, making a quality product the way we’ve done it since day one,” he says. “[The purchase] didn’t change a lot, mainly because I think Molson wanted to help us but knew that we’ve been very successful in the past and wanted to leave us the way we are,” he says.

In 2011, Molson Coors launched a new division, The Six Pints Specialty Beer Company, under which Creemore Springs and its new label Mad and Noisy operate. “Whereas the Creemore motto is ‘100 years behind the times,’ Mad and Noisy allowed us to do new things and experiment in ways with trends,” says Bumstead.

Mad and Noisy is brewed in the Creemore facility in a 30 litre pilot system and is on offer

| 11

in nearly 100 restaurants across the province, says Bumstead. Although experimentation with different ingredients and processes does happen in large scale brewing, it is more feasible in small batches as it is logistically challenging to change over a whole set system.

Other than the time and some raw ingredients, Bumstead points out that experimentation is not a great cost to the brewery, and in the craft beer market, people are always looking to try new recipes.

Creemore has expanded their portfolio in the past 10 years to include a pilsner, urBock and Kellerbier, but Bumstead says they uphold their four-ingredient, copper-kettle method and products. “People would be shocked to see Creemore in the style of a big hoppy IPA,” he says. “I think Mad and Noisy is allowing us more freedom within our own company.”

Goddard says he isn’t surprised that the larger corporations have been making their way into the craft beer industry.

Continued on page 12

Clean lines, clean taste An important factor in keeping a crisp and clean tasting beer is a well-tended tap.

“The cleaning is a big expense, but clean beer is important to us,” says the Bier Markt’s operating partner, Robert Medal.

“You wouldn’t serve food off a dirty counter.”

For the company’s large offering of draught lines, depending on the location, Medal says there is a designated individual who is responsible for the maintenance of lines and inventory.

“Then we have a company that comes in and does draught cleaning and draught lines, and technical repairs like blown faucets,” he says.

There are services, such as those offered through The Beer Store, that maintain and install draught taps. With bars and restaurants offering more and more beers on tap, keeping the lines clean and running can become a fulltime job. “With [so] many draught taps, you really need a draught technician onsite to maintain that and make sure everything’s running smoothly,” says Chris Goddard, president of Toronto Beer Week.

“If you’ve ever been in a really big draught fridge, there are different regulators, different fobs, some are pushed with nitrogen, some with beer gas,” he says. “If you’re just a regular bartender, it could be overwhelming.”

“What lives in those lines is live bacteria,” says Medal. He takes the task of cleaning and maintaining lines seriously and says it was a factor in the number of taps put into each Bier Markt location.

“There is a manageability from build out cost to maintenance cost,” he says.

“The bullseye is 45 to 50 lines to provide an offering to our guests and balancing it with costs.”

George Milbrandt trains his staff and bar managers on the procedure around cleaning and maintaining the 39 draught lines at C’est What? “It’s such an important thing to do and after 25 years, we have it down.”

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Continued from page 11

“The big guys, even though craft is hurting them, need to find a way to play into that market,” says Goddard. The higher price point for craft beer, and limited availability make them a profitable sale that customers will go out of their way for.

“The philosophy behind it is ‘let’s create something at the bars that people will like,’ and some people really do like Rhino at Earls,” he says. “Some people will seek it out and it’ll keep them coming back.”

Milbrandt says with the small batch beers and tap rotations, customers could come to C’est What? and try a different beer every night.

“You get some wild beers, some really unique stuff,” says Goddard. “The bar tap is always rotating, they have small batches and it really drives customers back there because you have to keep coming back to drink it before it’s gone.”

McMullen says there is a real opportunity for restaurants to work with breweries on developing a beer offering that suits themselves and their customers. “With the growth of really specialized beers, such as imperial IPAs and winter beers, you’re going to be pouring a smaller serving size and a higher cost per ounce,” he says. “There’s more profit for the brew, and the restaurant and customer get a better product.”

Building your beer list Whether a beer connoisseur or a virgin of the brews is sitting at the bar, a beer tasting is a great way to engage patrons in new flavours and even teach them a thing or two about what’s on tap. George Milbrandt, owner of C’est What? gives ORN a look at his guidelines of beer tasting: First, have a good variety. “You’re not going to make a wine list with nothing but chardonnay,” he says.

He suggests going from the lightest to the darkest beer. Milbrandt’s starter is a full-bodied lager, the Saint Andre Vienna, but he also recommends Cameron’s lager or the Northumberland ale. Next in line is a Pilsner, such as Steam Whistle, followed by two wheat beers, one that’s fruitier or seasonal, and a traditional.

C’est What? has seven of its own beers brewed by County Durham Brewing. For a Canadian style bitter, Milbrandt suggests his own Al’s Cask Ale, which could also be swapped out for a double India Pale Ale such as Muskoka’s Twice As Mad. An American-style pale ale is next in line, followed by a British style dark ale. The end of the line is the darkest brew, a coffee-infused black ale or porter such as a Mill St. Cobblestone Stout.

Milbrandt says attention should be paid to the appearance of the beer, the aroma, the flavour, the finish and the overall likeability factor. He offers a table for numerically scoring each beer under every category.

Photos: Page 10: Guests at Bier Markt, photo courtesy of Bier Markt.

Page 11: Top left: Bartender pulls a pint at C’est What?

Top right: Brewmaster Lon Laddell at Big Rig Brewery, photo courtesy of Big Rig Brewery.

Middle left: Bar at the Bier Markt, photo courtesy of Bier Markt.

Middle centre: Mussel and beer pairing, photo courtesy Bier Markt.

Bottom right: Kegs in refrigerator at C’est What?

All C’est What photos by Elaine Anselmi.

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M A R C H 2 013

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Photos: Left: (Left to right) Shyam Ranganathan, dean of the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture, Bal Arneson, host of the Food Network’s Spice Goddess, chef Juerg Roth, coordinator, and culinary instructor at Centennial College. Top middle: A Chinese dragon dance. Top right: A new range at the Culinary Arts Centre. Bottom middle: Two students demonstrate baking naan in the tandoori oven. Bottom right: Television units allow students to follow instructions in real time. Photos by Elaine Anselmi.

Centennial opens new Culinary Arts Centre

By Elaine Anselmi

SCARBOROUGH—Centennial College celebrated the official opening of their Culinary Arts Centre on Feb. 13 with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and cultural celebration that reflects the diverse school.

The $3.5 million new facility houses two professional kitchens and a bake shop lab in a total of 7,600 square feet. One of the kitchens splits a former conference room in half, offering an open kitchen, and dining or meeting space for hosting culinary events.

“This is a true testament to Centennial College’s commitment to provide our students with a world class education,” said Shyam Ranganathan, dean of the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture.

The centre is located in Centennial’s Progress campus Residence and Conference Centre and has

been under construction since June, said Ranganathan.

At the opening ceremony, two aboriginal students performed a traditional dance for onlookers.

A Chinese dragon dance and a salsa routine by the Canadian junior champions closed the evening.

Host of the Food Network’s Spice Goddess, Bal Arneson was on hand for the ribbon cutting and prior to the event spent an evening using the new facility for a special cooking class working from her own cookbooks, Bal’s Quick and Healthy Indian, and Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes.

“I love this, I want to live here,” Arneson told ORN while sampling some fresh baked naan.

“I love food from all different countries. What they’ve done here is created a curriculum that is international, but they’ve also brought in this traditional equipment from those places.”

The advanced kitchen offers television units

at each station that allow students to follow along with instructions in real time and connect to the Internet. There is a range of equipment such as a tandoori oven, smoker, brick-lined oven and wok line, allowing students to train on various international styles of cooking. “We are creating a program cluster with a specialization in international culinary arts,” Ranganathan told ORN. “We’re blending global cultures and global cuisines.”

The college has more than 4,000 international students, making the culinary centre suitable not only to Scarborough’s multicultural population, but also the school itself, Ranganathan said.

Centennial’s Culinary Management – International program, which started in January 2013, has seen a strong response from students to work in the new facility with a focus on regional cuisines, said Ranganathan. With a projection of 15 spots open for students, he said they now have 32 students split between two sections.

By Leslie Wu

Stratford says cheese Ruth Klahsen and her son Daniel Szoller, affineur at Monforte Dairy. Photo by Nora Camps.

STRATFORD—Ruth Klahsen is expanding Monforte’s reach from cheesemaking and retail to an osteria, opening in Stratford in April.

“When I go out to eat, I just want someone to give me what they like to eat themselves,” Klahsen told ORN in late February. Taking possession of the space March 1, Klahsen hopes to operate the 35-seat eatery as an extension of her long-running Monforte dairy and retail outlet on Jefferson Ave. in Toronto that she opened late last year.

“We’ve been looking for a place to do whey fermented products, and also introduce our cheese to the tourists that come to downtown Stratford,” she said, noting that it can be difficult to get those visitors out to the dairy.

Klahsen, the owner and lead cheesemaker at Monforte, is also a chef who has cooked at Stratford restaurants: Rundles, the Old Prune and the Stratford Festival’s Green Room restaurant.

The menu at the new Monforte on Wellington will include a couple of cooked dishes that will rotate from chef Phil Phillips, as well

“We’re giving a global learning experience to our students,” Ranganathan said. “The strategy was in seeing the demographics changing in Canada and the eating habits of consumers, people are more willing to try new things.”

He said the goal is for students to come out of the college prepared to work in restaurants, hotels, cruise lines and various establishments in the public and private hospitality industry both in Canada and abroad.

“We provide a cultural understanding by marrying global cuisines with histories,” said Ranganathan. Students also gain an understanding of cultural dietary laws, restrictions and a nutritional education. Committees are also being created within programs to work towards “greening” the curriculum, said Ranganathan. He called the facility a “niche learning centre of excellence” that will prepare students for their careers in the diverse hospitality industry. as charcuterie from Paganelli’s and Monforte’s cheese. A small beverage list will include beer from Railway City Brewing Company, cider from Waupoos Estate Winery and wine from Tawse Winery, Southbrook Estates and Featherstone Estate Winery. The location will also have a 35-seat patio and retail space.

In keeping with the casual theme, all the interior furnishings and décor will be from reclaimed materials, including furniture that will be repurposed by assistant professor Aziza Chaouni and a team of students from the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Although this extension marks a new direction for Klahsen, she hastens to add that Monforte will continue to supply chefs and operators, as well as maintain a presence at the markets that she loves. “Our mandate will always be markets,” she said. “I view this osteria space as a market…it’s all about the relationships.”

Monforte on Wellington, 80 Wellington St., Stratford, ON. (519) 814-7920 (Monforte Dairy).

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

COMING EVENTS Mar. 3-5: CRFA Show, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, ON. For more information, go to: www.crfa.ca/tradeshows/crfashow.

Mar. 3-6: COEX. Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa, Las Vegas, NV. For more information, go to: www.ifmaworld.com.

Mar. 4: FCPC Foodservice Interchange Conference. Mississauga Convention Centre, Mississauga, ON. For more information, go to: www.fcpc.ca/events/upcoming-events/FSI13.

Mar. 10-12: International Boston Seafood Show. Boston, MA. For more information, go to: www.bostonseafood.com.

Mar. 19-21: International Pizza Expo. Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV. For more information, go to: www.pizzaexpo.com.

Mar. 20: National Food, Tabletop & Supplies Show, Hotel des Seigneurs, St-Hyacinthe, QC. For more information, go to: www.gfs. com.

Mar. 27-30: Anuga FoodTec: The InternaOCB2507 Restaurant News Ad R1.ai

1

tional Trade Show for Food and Beverage Processing and Packaging, Cologne, Germany. For more information, go to: www.anugafoodtec. com.

Apr. 2: Flanagan Foodservice Annual Tradeshow, Kitchener Show, Kitchener Auditorium, Kitchener, ON. For more information, go to: www.flanagan.ca.

Apr. 8: Terroir 2013, Arcadian Court, Toronto, ON. For more information, go to: www.terroirsymposium.com.

Apr. 10: National Food, Tabletop & Supplies Show, Toronto Congress Center, Toronto, ON. For more information, go to: gfscanada. com/en/helping-you-succeed/foodshows.

Apr. 17-19: Canadian Produce Marketing Association Convention and Trade Show: Fresh Success, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, ON. For more information, go to: convention. cpma.ca.

Apr. 24: National Food, Tabletop & Sup-

2/21/13

4:29 PM

plies Show, ExpoCite Quebec, Quebec City, QC. For information, go to: gfscanada.com/en/ helping-you-succeed/foodshows.

Apr. 30 – May 2: SIAL Canada, the International Food & Beverage Tradeshow, SET CANADA, the National Food Equipment and Technology Tradeshow, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto, ON. For more information, go to: www. sialcanada.com.

May 1: Flanagan Foodservice Annual Tradeshow, Sudbury Show, Garson Community Centre, Garson, ON. For more information, go to: www.flanagan.ca.

May 7: Flanagan Foodservice Annual Tradeshow, Owen Sound Show, Owen Sound Bayshore Arena, Owen Sound, ON. For more information, go to: www.flanagan.ca.

May 18-21: National Restaurant Association Show, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. For more information, go to: cf.restaurant.org/ show/.

May 29-June 2: Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals National Conference, Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel, Richmond, BC. For more information, go to: www. cafp.com/conference/2013/.

May 29-30: Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit, Hilton Toronto Hotel, Toronto, ON. For more information, go to: www.restaurantinvest.ca.

GOT EVENTS? Email tips about your tradeshows, conferences and conventions to lwu@ canadianrestaurantnews. com.

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M A R C H 2 013

O

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A

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BeverageNews A MONTHLY REPORT ON THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

London’s own brew

Owners from left to right: Steve Nazarian, David Reed and Andrew Peters.

LONDON, ON—Craft beer fans in the London area will have the chance to grab a local brew with the opening of Forked River Brewing in April.

The retail store will have two signature beers that will be available year round, as well as one rotating seasonal beer, co-owner David Reed told ORN. While they are just in the final stages of acquiring the necessary manufacturing licenses, Reed said he has seen great support from the local community and bar industry. “Milos’ Craft Beer Emporium in town is huge behind this [ini-

tiative]. A lot of local craft bars in town are starting to promote local and craft,” said Reed. “That’s kind of our primary customer: craft bars looking for Ontario products.”

Forked River’s 3,000 square foot brewery has a 15-barrel fermenter, allowing for two main brews per day, and a seven-barrel fermenter for seasonal and one-off batches, said Reed. The lighter of the signature beers is the Capital Blonde ale, “a very approachable, easy drinking, but tasty beer,” said Reed.

Reed has been working on the recipe for the Capital Blonde for about three

years and has received various accolades for the brew, including two gold awards from the Canadian Amateur Brewers Association and Beau’s Pro-Am series.

The second, the Riptide Rye is a hoppy pale ale for the more adventurous beer drinkers. “The Riptide is a little more crafty, with English caramel malts and amber malts and the rye gives it a spicy peppery taste,” said Reed.

An engineer by trade, Reed and his two partners Andrew Peters and Steve Nazarian, both microbiologists, all took an interest in homebrewing separately, but now collaberate on the recipes for Forked River’s brews.

“As an engineer, it’s a great combination because brewing is a very technical process and engineering can be applied to that,” he said.

As well as a retail store offering bottles and growlers, the brewery will also have a sampling and tasting room for the public to come and try a beer.

With prices on par with the craft beer market, Forked River will be supplying kegs for the foodservice industry, said Reed.

45 Pacific Court, London, ON. (516) 6304756. www.forkedriverbrewing.com.

BR I E F S

Magnotta purchases the assets of Kittling Ridge VAUGHAN, ON—Ontario’s third largest winery, Magnotta Winery Corporation has expanded its portfolio to include Kittling Ridge Ltd. Vaughan-based Magnotta purchased the Grimsby-based winery’s assets including its signature icewine and brandy and Vidal Icewine in early February.

“This purchase allows us to add new stores to our chain and build on our over 20-year retail success while evolving the Kittling Ridge brand,” said Rossana Magnotta, president and CEO of Magnotta Winery Corporation in a Feb. 5 release.

The purchase includes Kittling Ridge stores located in Barrie, London, North York, Richmond Hill and Toronto that are expected to transition into Magnotta stores in the coming years. A number of Ontario grape growers are a part of the agreement.

Products under the Kittling Ridge brand will continue distribution through the LCBO, and in both domestic and international markets.

The company’s portfolio included Forty Creek Whisky, Prince Igor Vodka, Canada Gold Whisky, Bolivar Liqueur, Small Cask Brandy and Alpenbitter No. 7.

The news follows an announcement made last August, when Kittling Ridge said it was refocusing the company on its Forty Creek and other spirit brands.

Bartenders go global TORONTO—For the first time, Canada will be represented in the Diageo World Class cocktail training program. Through video submissions, bartenders will be selected to compete in three live mixology challenges for the title of Diageo Canada’s World Class Bartender of the Year.

The Canadian winner will go on to compete in the Global Final with bartenders from 50 countries. The winner of the finals will be named Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year.

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O N TA R I O R E S TAU R A N T N E W S

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MISSISSAUGA—The 8,000 square foot kitchen at the International Centre is going green, CEO Michael Prescott announced at a media tour of the facilities in mid-February.

The centre will use Bullfrog Power, a combination of wind and

hydro, as well as a green natural gas produced by decomposed organic matter found in the everyday waste stream.

Currently, the kitchen is the test area for the green energy push, said Trevor Lui, director of operations

and sustainability. “The food has got the largest reach of anything in the building,” he told ORN. “It’s the biggest touchpoint for our customers.

Unlike lights or signage, the food is a sustainability story that ends up on people’s plates, and they spread the word.”

The green energy initiative is part of a larger sustainability plan for 2013. A 400 square foot herb garden will be going up on the rooftop starting in March, said executive chef Tawfik Shehata to ORN. Rain barrels and compartmented planters will be used to grow lemon and pineapple mint, five or six varieties of basil, marjoram and savory for both decorative and edible purposes.

Shehata will also be working with local farmers to grow items such as mesclun specifically for use at the International Centre.

Naming fun at Oakville restaurant

By Colleen Isherwood, Senior contributing editor OAKVILLE—The Gingerman Social Eatery, which opened last year on Kerr Street in Oakville, has come up with some interesting names for their menu items. There’s the De Chook chicken sandwich, and the Tinamasu dessert, named after co-owner Tina Luciani.

One of the favourite dishes is called the Rusty Pumpkin burger. There is not a trace of pumpkin in the dish, however. It’s a gourmet burger made of AAA ground beef, topped with sautéed mushrooms, onions, cheddar cheese and peppercorn gravy.

And why did they call it the Rusty Pumpkin? Co-owner Don Wilson and chef Bradley Taylor just laughed. It turns out that Taylor came up with “rusty” and Wilson came up with “pumpkin”.

There’s no real reason for it, except possibly Wilson’s reddish hair.

The menu has a Caribbean flair with dishes like jerk pulled pork—a legacy of

Server Trevor Hessel, chef Bradley Taylor and co-owner Don Wilson with a Rusty Pumpkin.

Taylor’s 18 years spent in the islands.

Owners Wilson and Luciani come to Oakville via Vancouver, where they ran The Copper Tank Grill restaurant at West Broadway and Main St. They were attracted to Oakville

when they started a family. And, Don Wilson said, “Kerr Street is one of the better value streets in the area.”

Gingerman’s Social Eatery, 335 Kerr St., Oakville, ON, (905) 849-9898.

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M A R C H 2 013

A new taste for commuters at Union Station

By Elaine Anselmi TORONTO—Union Station is getting a major facelift and opening opportunities for foodservice operators to become a part of one of the most highly trafficked commuter hubs in Toronto.

Renovations are set for completion in 2016 but interested restaurateurs could be seeing their chance to get involved within two or three months, the project’s head lessee, Osmington Inc.’s president and CEO Lawrence Zucker told ORN. “We think this could become a real focal point for the city,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for restaurants and foodservice operators to expand their market.”

Of the 165,000 square foot expansion, Zucker said approximately 70 per cent of this will be foodservice. “Food is our anchor,” he said.

With increasing condominium development along the lakeshore, Zucker said that Union Station’s Front Street location in regards to downtown is changing. “Union has become the core of downtown rather than the fringe,” he said.

With the TTC, Metrolinx and VIA rail operating out of the station, more than 60 million people pass through per year, with that number projected to increase to more than 120 million commuters per year by 2021. “Union Station is so well positioned take advantage of those markets,” said Zucker.

The plan from here On average, Zucker said commuters will leave their office with just enough time to catch a specific train home – leaving as little time to idle around Union as possible. “What we’re hoping to do is change people’s habits,” he said. “Instead of eight minutes early, they’ll go 30 minutes early, or they’ll take the next train.”

His vision is a space that Torontonians will not only spend more time at while en route, but also go out of their way to visit. “There’s room here to do something tourism friendly. It’s like making this the Fisherman’s Wharf of San Francisco or Grand Central Station of New York,” said Zucker.

The rejuvenation of Union includes a wide selection of restaurants and cafés, retail offerings and services, a fresh market and public event space, said Zucker. The building sees such a broad demographic of people passing through the doors, and that already divergent group changes depending on the time of day and what events are on.

With the station’s lower level appropriately referred to as the “foodie level”, and the upper housing the iconic Great Hall as well as some food offerings, Zucker said the goal is for Union to be

representative of the city. “We see Union as the sort of front door for many people to Toronto,” he said.

Surrounded by traditional restaurants, a fresh market, located in the central area of the lower level, will offer fish, meat, cheese and produce, similar to the neighbouring St. Lawrence Market. “We don’t want to compete with St. Lawrence, but realize it’s a really great model,” said Zucker. The location and offerings of the fresh market will make it an easy stop for office traffic, as well as neighbouring condo-dwellers.

Also on the lower level, a more traditional style foodcourt is located in the south-west end, said Zucker. Here, tenants will each have their own kitchen space, and be tasked with offering a more upscaled design of their traditional concept, a look Zucker likens to the Eaton’s Centre or Yorkdale Mall’s renovated dining spaces.

At the north end of the lower level, currently in open-air running along Front St., two glass-covered moats will offer shelter for cafés and bars with patio-seating, said Zucker. “You can have a glass of wine under views of the city skyline.”

The York St. promenade in the north-east corner is designed as an Italian-style piazza, with space for four restaurants with patios, said Zucker.

The most high-end restaurant will likely be in the east wing of the main floor just off the Great Hall, he said. Here, 7,500 square feet will be open for a signature restaurant.

As well, a balcony built on the north end will house a two-floor, 5,000 square foot area where the public can have a coffee, beer or wine overlooking one of the more recognizable architectural cites in Toronto.

The way it works As a civic building, Union is subject to the

Floorplan of Union Station’s lower level. Coloured areas show various redesigned spaces. Photo courtesy of Osmington Inc. Top inset: Front St. West moat. Photo courtesy of Osmington Inc. Bottom inset: North wall of Union Station’s Great Hall.

regulation of the city. “If the city closes the station at 12:45 p.m., we close,” said Zucker. While retail operations will likely have shorter hours, he said as far as foodservice goes, they don’t want to see the station go dark at 6 p.m.

If possible, Zucker said they will ideally be able to block off the east or west wing and control traffic in those areas allowing restaurants and bars to operate through full evening hours.

“The city has planned [Union] as a transit facility first,” said Zucker. Traffic in the station has been found to come 60 per cent from the east side and 40 per cent from the west side. “Our retail is geared towards pulling people from these areas,” he said. “We see the foodcourt as probably being one of the most populated areas, so it’s designed that the highest traffic, pulled from the TTC, goes through everything else into the foodcourt.”

Zucker said, the market is also intentionally situated for people going to condos, or home on the trains.

As for other businesses within the area, Zucker noted that while nobody likes competition, he doesn’t see the development having a strong negative impact on nearby restaurants.

“There’s enough traffic going through Union now,” he said. “We will cater to a market that

doesn’t currently exist – they’re going home for dinner.”

A call for proposals The first phase of renovations should be complete in 2014, said Zucker, with another phase approximately every nine months after. On that note, he said, “within the next three to four months we will be looking at applications for space.”

“Some big name chefs in Toronto have shown interest,” said Zucker. With minimal publicity on the open spaces, he said there is currently demand for approximately half a million square feet.

“We’re still trying to figure out what the right mix is,” he said. “We don’t want to create competition within Union.”

“We’re looking to take a chance on a smaller business,” said Zucker. “Someone with a great concept and great people behind it. It isn’t about charging the highest rent.”

The Marketplace

1-303-447-3334

www.can-restaurantnews.com

18 | After six years, Claudio Aprile is closing Toronto’s Colborne Lane to focus his efforts on his Origin restaurants and the soon to be opened Trillium in Pearson Airport’s Terminal 3.

“It’s one thing to know when to open a restaurant—when you get that urge to take the risk and leave the confines of a very comfortable job as an employee—but it’s another thing to know when to end something,” Aprile told ORN. “It was a tough decision. We’ve been talking it over in the past year, and we knew something would happen, whether it was a regeneration of the brand or whether the brand would end.”

Ironically, Colborne Lane just finished its most successful financial year, said Aprile. “The accountant asked me, ‘are you crazy? It’s performing well and there’s no debt. What are you doing?’

But Colborne Lane for me was never about a money move or the bottom line. It was about wanting to do something innovative and right now I need to focus on Origin Bayview Village.”

The 30 staff affected by the Colborne Lane closing have all been offered jobs at Origin locations.

The next step for Aprile is to open The Ontario Hostelry Institute named the honourees for its Gold Awards Dinner held on April 18 at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto, as well as its list of the top 30 industry members under the age of 30.

Gold Awards Dinner

a very small, very high end restaurant that’s focused on innovation within the next few years, he said. “Right now, I can’t focus on that sort of place, which would take 100 hours a week to do right.”

He hinted that there may be a shift in the outlook at Origin, which was initially designed as a polar opposite to Colborne Lane’s aesthetic. “We’ve learned a lot of great technique at Colborne, which we’ll be incorporating into Origin, without changing the fast paced spontaneity of the restaurants,” said Aprile.

Ultimately, Aprile views the decision to close Colborne Lane as a positive. “Everything ends,” he said.

“There’s nothing worse than someone who doesn’t know when to go away – now it’s time for us to say something new.”

attained a significant stature and reputation throughout their career, said CAFP president Angelo Colalillo during his introduction.

Hughes has more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing in both foodservice and healthcare spent working at foodservice players such as Nestle, Campbell’s, Aramark, Compass Group Canada and currently Zast Foods.

“I’m following in the footsteps of many great food executives in Canada and look very forward to representing Toronto in Vancouver,” said a surprised Hughes during his acceptance speech.

The award is traditionally announced in April, but the CAFP moved it to coincide with the branch’s largest annual event. Each branch winner will go on as a contender for the national award presented annually.

The Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals Toronto honoured Jonathan Hughes with the Food Executive of the Year Award during the 39th annual Top Management Night.

The award is given to an association member who has contributed to the advancement of the industry and

Carmine Aquino is the new chief operating officer (COO) with the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA).

Aquino has more than 30 years of experience in the foodservice industry and has been with the CRFA for 10 years moving from manage-

The Egg Farmers of Ontario named Bill Mitchell as the organization’s new director of public affairs.

Prior to this posting, Mitchell served in a similar role within the agricultural industry with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

With more than 20 years of experience spent working on both media and government relations on behalf of the farm organizations, Mitchell is well prepared to manage corporate communications, government relations and public affairs for the Egg Farmers.

Mitchell’s role will reach to the Egg Farmers of Ontario’s various marketing programs aimed at both continuing and growing egg consumption in the province.

Tourism Management, Ryerson University.

Chef: Lynn Crawford, co-owner/chef, Ruby Watchco.

Supplier: Hart Melvin, founder, Gelato Fresco.

Artisan: Mario Pingue (Jr.), general manager, Niagara Food Specialties.

James Cushinan, food and beverage services manager, Delta Chelsea Hotel Toronto.

Nicole De Athe, events training manager and supervisor/assistant events manager, O & B Events.

Puneet Dutt, member services duty manager, Granite Club.

Brilynn Ferguson, photographer, writer, editor, cookbook co-author, baker.

Anna Katharina Fischer, media coordinator, Food Day Canada.

Vivian Fleet, sustainability coordinator, Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Jasmine Gfeller, assistant manager, Café Boulud, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto.

Justin Heyninck, managing partner, Earls Kitchen and Bar. Missy Hui, sous chef, Fabbrica.

David Humphrey, associate asset manager, Westmont Hospitality Group.

Brady Kinnell, head sous chef, Joey Restaurant Eaton Centre.

Matthew Krupa, sous chef, Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa.

Jeffrey Letvenuk, marketing and media manager, Pillitteri Estates Winery.

Danielle Lundy, corporate sales manager, The Fairmont Royal York.

Timothy Mackiddie, estate chef, Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery.

Meaghan Misener, food and beverage manager, Shangri-La Hotel Toronto.

Ayla Neilly, general manager, Service Inspired Restaurants Corporation – Signature Division, Reds Wine Tavern.

Peter Niculescu, executive chef/coowner/manager, The Naked Sprout Restaurant.

Krystina Roman, communications specialist and account manager, Rosewood Estates Winery & Meadery.

Kirsti Stubbs-Coleman, program manager staffing Canada, Starbucks Coffee Canada – Canadian Head Office.

Helena Walicki, sales coordinator, Starwood Hotels & Resorts – Toronto Metro Market.

Charline Bianchi, front office manager, Hotel Le Germain Toronto.

Michael O’Sullivan, assistant executive housekeeper, Park Hyatt Toronto.

Platinum awardee: Isadore Sharp OC, founder and chairman, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Top 30 Under 30

Gold award honourees: Foodservice Chain Operator: Jeff Fuller, president and CEO, Joey Restaurants.

Independent restaurateur: Bob Desautels, founder, Borealis Grillhouse & Pub. Hotelier: David Smythe, general manager, Lord Elgin Hotel.

Media/ Publishing: Anne Desbrisay, writer, author, food critic.

Educator: Dr. David Martin, director, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and

Tina Aprile, convention services manager, The Westin Habour Castle.

Cindy Arman, owner/ chef Babi & Co. – Indonesian Street Food.

Amanda Bayly, senior event coordinator, Malaparte, O & B Events Katie Butterill, owner and farmer, Smallholdings, Moorefield c/o Mapleton’s Organic Dairy.

Luis David Calero, chef de partie/ cuisine, patisserie, Atelier Restaurant.

Natalie Ciarallo, event manager, TD Bank Wealth Management.

Shannon Corrigan (Thompson) owner/operator, general manager and kitchen manager, The Lancaster Smokehouse and Hog Tails BarBQue.

ment positions within Groupex to president in 2007.

Among the CRFA directors that will now report to Aquino is another recent appointment, the director of member development, Jim Manz.

As COO, Aquino will oversee tradeshows, membership and sponsership and other operational aspects of the CRFA.

PEOPLE

Photos: Top: Claudio Aprile. Photo by Paula Wilson.

Bottom: Jonathan Hughes. Photo

by Brendon Zhang.

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A PROUDLY CANADIAN COMPANY

13-02-08 15:55

Leavoy Rowe Beef Co. "Your Tailors in the Meat Business"

Leavoy Row TAB

Wellington County Premium Ontario Corn-Fed Beef is traditionally pasture-raised by your neighbours, in the premiere cattle growing areas of Southern Ontario and harvested within 100 miles of the G.T.A. Wellington County Beef is hand-selected from CANADA PRIME and Premium CANADA AAA Beef, and then aged a minimum of 28 days to offer the very best local meat program available.

Federally Inspected

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For more information please contact us at sales@leavoyrowe.com 905.272.2330 1.866.444.7974

Leavoy Rowe Beef Co. 2576 Wharton Glen Avenue Mississauga, Ontario L4X 2A9

HACCP Recognized

EST. #577 CANADA PRIME & PREMIUM AAA EXCLUSIVELY