PZ - May - June 2022

MAY/JUNE 2022

CANADIANPIZZAMAG.COM

PIZZA BY

THE LAKE

Ontario’s cottage country is delighting vacationers with wood-fired pizza

P. 12 What’s your pizza style?

P. 16 Pizzeria makeover on a

tight budget

P. 22 Staffing Q-and-A

possibilities for gluten-free crusts

Your pizzas.

Your styles.

Deliciously gluten-free.

Our Gluten-Free Pizza Flour Blend makes it simple to deliver the styles you want. Be inspired to create great-tasting thin crust, pan pizzas and flatbreads that appeal to consumers’ dietary preferences and lifestyle choices with our certified gluten-free flour blend and enjoy a piece of the pie.

Learn more at ardentmills.ca/gluten-free-pizza © 2022 Ardent Mills, ULC. All rights reserved.

May/June 2022 Vol. 28, No. 3

DEPARTMENTS 6

From the Editor Staffing shortage

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Industry News Movers, shakers, legislation and news you can use

12 The pizza chef What’s your style?

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16 Making Dough Makeover on a tight budget

20 Tools of the Trade New products

ONLINE

CONTENTS

Top 10 reasons to compete for Chef of the Year

COVER STORY

10 Pizza by the lake

Thinking of throwing your hat in the ring for Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year?

Whether you it’s at the first ever Pizza Summit West in Burnaby, B.C., June 6, or at Pizza Summit East in Toronto on Oct. 24, there are so many good reasons to compete.Find out why at canadianpizzamag.com.

Ontario’s cottage country is delighting vacationers with wood-fired pizza

By Andrew Hind

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13 Digital marketing grants How to access web marketing and development funding in Ontario

By Colleen Cross

14 Automating Una

COVER PHOTO:PIE WOOD FIRED PIZZA JOINT

How do you know when it’s the right time to automate? We talked with Una Pizzeria about why they turned to automation with great success.

By Colleen Cross

ON THE COVER

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18 Bakery Showcase highlights Get a taste of what’s happening in the baking industry in Canada with a look back at a highly successful return to networking

Pie Wood Fired Pizza Joint currently has four locations: two in Barrie, Ont., and two in Muskoka. See our cover story, “Pizza by the lake,” starting on page 10..

CANADIAN PIZZA · May/June 2022

CanadianPizzaMag.com

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FROM THE EDITOR

BY COLLEEN CROSS

May/June 2022, Vol. 28, No. 3

Staffing deep dive

T

he staffing shortage feels different this time. Almost everyone is experiencing it on some level – customers noticing long wait times included! It is widespread, it is urgent and it is not easy to solve.

Operators have few options to attract and keep good staff: • Pay them more • Provide benefits • Provide training and advancement • Be flexible with hours • Recognize their good work and talents • Look to different sources for hiring, e.g., sponsor a chef through the TFW program A recent story out of Penticton, B.C. brought this point home. A family-owned and operated Penticton, B.C., restaurant has been trying to sponsor a new pizza chef to come to Canada for two-and-a-half years, only to be denied by an immigration officer because the man’s reference in Italy also happened to have the same last name as the owners. The owners also were told that the applicant, who had worked for one restaurant in Italy for 18 years, was not experienced enough. With the help of a lawyer, it appears things have been straightened out. In a story published on Castanet, the owners seem resigned to waiting for the help that may not come and have closed during lunch hour to compensate for the shortage of staff.

Other pizzerias are in the same boat. Summer is here, customers are coming back, demand is up. Right now you’re faced with few options for getting the work done: • Change or shorten hours of operation • Reduce delivery services, requiring customers to pick up or dine in • Rely more on current employees • Remove seating to manage full service • Purchase equipment to help automate labour-intensive tasks That’s not even factoring in high and unsta-

ble costs for food, packaging, rent and other needs – and the decision of if and when to raise prices that many are having to make.

Some labour advocates do not call this a labour shortage. They call it a shortage of jobs that pay a living wage, hazard pay, child care, sick leave and health care. A study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives published a study in October 2021 called “Tipping point: Pandemic forced restaurant and bar workers into better paying jobs” predicts four shortterm trends: higher prices in sectors where the increase can be paid by consumers, such as fine dining, self-imposed restrictions in terms of hours or capacity; business models that are reliant on low-wage labour may no longer be viable; changing work practices such as automation, on-demand delivery and more technology in restaurants.”

That’s sobering talk for our industry. But we’ve never been in a crisis this acute.

In fact, these problems, which existed before the pandemic, may require major changes in the way restaurants operate. In April 2020, leading restaurateurs called for a reset – a change in mindset and priorities. The industry should be better, hold itself to a higher standard and be more sustainable. And by sustainable, they are not just talking about reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

They’re talking about a sustainable level of staffing, sustainable level of stress and workload to be handled by your (often bare bones) team. A sustainable way to find new employees that will be with you long term.

They argue speed, high production and filling tables should no longer be the Holy Grail or achieved at the expense of employees’ well-being.

It’s a huge shift that is well worth thinking about. Are you in this business for the long term? Do you plan to grow your business to other locations or retail outlets? Do you want to be a leader in this industry? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it is worth taking a hard look at your business model. | CP

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EDITOR Colleen Cross ccross@annexbusinessmedia.com 519-429-5227 SALES MANAGER Stephanie Jewell sjewell@annexbusinessmedia.com 705-826-2254 ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Kathryn Nyenhuis knyenhuis@annexbusinessmedia.com 416-510-6753 MEDIA DESIGNER Curtis Martin GROUP PUBLISHER, VP SALES Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexbusinessmedia.com

COO Scott Jamieson sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com

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SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada – 1 Year $ 26.50 (+ applicable tax) Best pricing (Can/USA/foreign) available online at canadianpizzamag.com Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information onbehalf of industry-related groups whose products and services webelieve may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive thisinformation, please contact our circulation department in any ofthe four ways listed above.

ANNEX PRIVACY OFFICER privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2374 No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2021 Annex Business Media. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication.

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canadian_pizza_magazine May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

INDUSTRY NEWS

ON THE WEB London, Ont., pizza pioneer Vincent Bondi dies at 93 | Penticton pizzeria employee-to-be denied immigration sponsorship over name match on application | FOR MORE PIZZA NEWS, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com

exciting pizzaiolos working today and their signature pizzas, sharing over 35 tribute recipes.

Reinhart is best known for writing Bread Revolution, American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza and The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Three of his books have won James Beard Awards.

Pizza Quest has 192 pages and is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Toronto restaurants and cafés will have a chance to earn prestigious Michelin Stars as the internationally recognized Michelin Guide comes to Canada and makes its first stop in the city.

Michelin and Destination Toronto announced they are expanding the internationally recognized dining guide.

The first edition of the Toronto guide will be announced in fall 2022, with a selection of restaurants receiving honours. Inspectors award Michelin Stars – one, two or three – to “unparalleled” cuisine. They also bestow Bib Gourmand ratings on restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices and award the Michelin Green Star to restaurants involved in sustainable gastronomy.

In order to present a full and independent selection in the fall, Michelin inspectors already have begun visiting restaurants in Toronto, the organization said in a news release. They will continue during the next few months. According to Michelin, the inspectors are meticulous in maintaining their anonymity.

They make dining reservations anonymously and pay for all their 8

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ACQUISITION

General Mills to acquire pizza-crust business TNT Crust General Mills will acquire TNT Crust, a manufacturer of frozen pizza crusts for regional and national U.S. pizza chains,

PIZZA BOOK

TOP PHOTO: GEORGE PIMENTAL

First Michelin Guide Toronto to publish in fall 2022

meals to ensure they are treated the same as any other customer.

While selections remain fully independently determined by Michelin inspectors, Michelin is working with Destination Toronto on marketing and promotion activities only.

The upcoming Michelin Guide Toronto selection will be based on five criteria: 1) quality products; 2) the mastery of flavours; 3) the mastery of cooking techniques; 4) the personality of the chef in the cuisine; 5) consistency between each visit (each restaurant is inspected several times a year).

Peter Reinhart publishes new pizza cookbook and guide

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN FRAY

RESTAURANT RATINGS

food service distributors, and retail outlets.

TNT Crust manufactures partially baked, self-rising pizza crusts. It is currently a portfolio company of Peak Rock Capital.

The business reports double-digit compound annual net sales growth through food-service distributors and pizza chain operators over the past four years, with net sales totalling approximately $100 million US in 2021.

As part of the acquisition, General Mills will also acquire two manufacturing facilities in Green Bay, Wis., and one manufacturing facility in St. Charles, Mo. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

Peter Reinhart, a master baker, educator and pizza expert, has published a new cookbook and guide, Pizza Quest: My Never-Ending Search for the Perfect Pizza.

In the book, he profiles May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

INDUSTRY NEWS

BEVERAGES

Spritzer fastest-growing adult beverage in Canada Better-for-you beverages, premium pours and value-driven drinks are all appearing on Canadian adult beverage menus in response to consumer wants and needs.

Spritzer tops the list of fastest-growing adult beverages.

This is generally a lower-alcohol cocktail option made with wine and liqueur as opposed to a spirit, which suggests a growing trend of lower-alcohol options appealing to consumers.

Hard sparkling water/soda has also grown on menus, reflecting the rapidly evolving ready-to-drink category, even in the on-premise space.

With lower sugar and carbs, these seltzers are often lighter choices than other canned offerings, suggesting operators are increasingly looking to offering more healthful adult beverages.

Whiskey/bourbon straight is showing growth on menus, and many are small batch or special reserve, reflecting the rise of more premium adult beverage options.

Another premium selection growing on menus is craft beer, with consumers gravitating toward unusual flavours and variations.

Fastest-growing adult beverages include hard sparkling water/soda (+71%), adult coffee drinks (+20%), whiskey/bourbon straight (+10%), craft beer (+5%).

Value and function is also still an important factor, with

CANADIAN PIZZA · May/June 2022

adult coffee drinks increasingly appearing on menus, giving guests a boost of caffeine with their adult beverage, providing more bang for their buck.

SALES RESULTS

Pizza Pizza announces firstquarter 2022 results Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp. reported an increase of 13.6 per cent in same-store sales in its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2022.

The corporation indirectly owns the Pizza Pizza and Pizza 73 Rights and Marks.

Royalty Pool sales increased 13.6 per cent. Same-store sales increased 13.6 per cent. Adjusted earnings per share increased 12.3 per cent. The company’s restaurant network increased by three net locations and the Royalty Pool of restaurants for 2022 increased by two restaurants on Jan. 1, 2022.

Total Royalty Pool system sales for the quarter increased due to the continued re-opening of the economy and also more non-traditional locations reopened as the quarter progressed, the company reported.

“Our first quarter results demonstrate the strong value rooted in our brands,” said Paul Goddard, CEO, Pizza Pizza Limited. “In addition to increased sales through our already strong pick-up and delivery business, our brands experienced an increase in sales from walk-in traffic and the reopening of key, non-traditional stores, especially in sports venues, as government restrictions were lifted.”

ON THE WEB Penticton pizzeria employee-to-be denied immigration sponsorship over name match on application; RC Show highlights; Motional and Uber Eats launch autonomous deliveries in California | FOR MORE PIZZA NEWS, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com

CUSTOMER RESEARCH

Value and convenience still deciding factors for pizza, but under-35 customers expect more: Technomic Pizza consumers in Canada over 35 prioritize value, convenience and consistency, while those under 35 expect more from delivery, ordering options, coupons and high-quality packaging, according to a report by Technomic.

However, the importance of these factors has waned slightly since 2020, according to Technomic’s latest Industry Insights report.

Value and convenience are important to younger consumers as well, but this group expects more from operators.

Relative to consumers aged 35 and older, those under 35 place greater importance on elements such as delivery, ordering options, coupons and high-quality packaging.

When it comes to convenient ordering options, younger consumers prioritize mobile ordering capabilities such as smartphone-optimized websites and apps. While phone (“voice call”) orders still enjoy broad levels of usage, restaurant operators should invest in technology that helps younger generations of consumers to engage with restaurants as they prefer to.

Delivery and convenient phone ordering were significantly more important to those 18-34 than they were to those over 35.

The information comes from the Technomic Ignite Consumer

featuring the Technomic 2022 Canadian Pizza Consumer Trend Report.

INDUSTRY EVENT

Canadian Pizza Summit heads West The Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year Competition returns in 2022 and, for the first time, expands west!

As you read this, we will be bringing you Pizza Summit West in Burnaby, B.C., at the Innovation Centre of our Host and Platinum Sponsor, Snow Cap Enterprises on Monday, June 6!

With the support of Snow Cap, Gold Sponsor Ardent Mills and Bronze Sponsor EM Bakery Equipment, we are able to give Canadian chefs a second location where they can compete for Chef of the Year. In 2022 we will name two Chefs of the Year – West (Burnaby) and East (Toronto), who will both win trips to compete at Vegas Expo in 2023!

Summit West features networking with pizza-focused sponsors and exhibitors, a chance to cheer on top chefs, and an informative talk by head chef and co-author of Modernist Pizza Francisco Migoya on “Pizza: From Past to Present” and pizza techniques all chefs can use to improve their results.

Judging for Chef of the Year Open are Francisco Migoya, Francesca Cavallo, Italian Chamber of Commerce West, and Martin Barnett, Baking Association of Canada.

Watch for details of the competition and coverage of our first Western Summit in the July/August issue of Canadian Pizza.

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COVER STORY

Ontario’s cottage country is delighting vacationers with wood-fired pizza

BY ANDREW HIND

O

ntario’s cottage country, north of the Greater Toronto Area, has been known for a great many things – crystalline lakes under azure skies, seemingly endless forest, resorts and cottages where family memories are made, the call of a distant loon waking the world – but great pizza wasn’t one of them.

Until now.

In recent years, several outlets specializing in gourmet wood-fired pizza have opened across the region north of Toronto.

These days pizza tradition meets innovation as these restaurants expand the area’s dining horizons and delight customers who’ve built up healthy appetites carousing in the sun.

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The Deck, JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort, Minett

Potential challenges of cottage-country pizza: • Luring people away from the lake • Seasonal demand patterns • Limited access to local ingredients

Muskoka wears its appeal proudly on its sleeve: it’s all about the beautiful, refreshing lakes that draw us like a siren’s call. Summer days revolve around them, so much so that people are reluctant to pull themselves away. Even to eat.

That posed a problem for JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort because everyone knows that a hungry guest is not a happy guest.

And, of course, every meal skipped is money out of the resort’s coffers. The solution was simple in concept, if not in execution: If you can’t lure people away from the water for meals, then you bring the meals to them.

It was a dilemma not exactly foreign to director of food and beverage

Shaun Crymble. He has worked at some of the finest resort restaurants in the United States, and before that but he cut his teeth at a small lodge in northern Ontario, where he cooked trout caught daily from the lake right outside the door.

“In 2015, we introduced a woodfired pizza oven to The Deck, our lakeside and poolside bistro setting,” Crymble says. “Wood-fired pizza is ideal for the setting because it bakes quickly, just 90 seconds in the oven, which means customers get their pizza in minutes. And because it’s fast and easy to produce, it streamlines The Deck’s kitchen and doesn’t stress our staffing levels.”

Efficiency is important. Between noon and 3 p.m. on an average summer day, the Deck makes 200 pizzas. But maintaining the high level of culinary standards for which JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort is famed is equally important. No dish other than wood-fired pizza could meet these seemingly contradictory requirements.

May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTOS: JW MARRIOTT

PIZZA BY THE LAKE

COVER STORY

The pizza oven was an immediate success and has become a focal point of lazy summer days at the resort.

Guests loved being able to get a delicious meal and return to their deck chairs, never straying from the water.

“The pizza oven creates a great vibe on The Deck,” Crymble says.

Crymble has also used the oven as part of team-building exercises. “We have a tasting day with associates to determine which pizzas go on the menu,” he explains. “Everyone makes a pizza and collectively they critique them.”

The Deck’s wood-fired pizza is now a calling card for the resort, an asset that lures summer guests as much as does its warm hospitality and many amenities.

PHOTO: MAURIZIO’S PIZZERIA

Pie Wood Fired Pizza Joint, Port Carling The first thing you notice about Craig Russell is his passion for pizza. The co-owner of Pie Wood Fired Pizza Joint loves a great-tasting wood-fired pizza, and it was the scarcity of places north of Toronto to enjoy them that led him to found the restaurant that currently has four locations (two in Barrie, two in Muskoka).

“Thin-crust wood oven pizza checks off a lot of boxes,” he says.

“The smokiness of the wood oven is a huge part of its appeal, it bakes quickly, and because its typically not overloaded with toppings we can be a bit more artistic.”

But it’s a pizza that Russell discovered was underrepresented – almost non-existent – north of the Greater Toronto Area. He wanted to fill that void.

After the success of two Barrie locations, Russell eyed Muskoka as the next frontier for wood-fired pizza.

“Muskoka had a lot of appeal for us.

It’s a location with a lot of activity and great energy, with lots of tourists from all over the world and seasonal residents from the GTA, so it’s a natural for a pizza style that’s fresh and exciting,” he explains. “Wood oven lends itself to the area – it’s artisanal, it’s CANADIAN PIZZA · May/June 2022

romantic and yet rustic, and there’s a real synergy between a wood oven and the forest that surrounds us.”

Russell took a leap of faith. Pie’s first restaurant was summer-only.

Perhaps appropriately given the area, the outlet was housed in a refurbished boat garage, in Torrance. It served its purpose, proving there was a market.

Furthermore, customer feedback made Russell certain a year-round restaurant was viable, despite the highly seasonal nature of Muskoka.

Late summer 2021 saw the opening of Pie in Port Carling, a hip and vibrant village that deserves its moniker “Hub of the Lakes.” It’s a full-service restaurant with a liquor licence and views of the water.

At the same time, Pie launched a pop-up location at Walker’s Point Marina, in boat-busy Gravenhurst, essentially serving as a boat drive-thru. It’s an innovation specifically geared to the Muskoka’s summer lifestyle and has proven to be remarkably successful.

“Muskoka was ready for woodfired pizza,” Russell explains.

Maurizio’s Pizzeria Maurizio Mascioli is an award-winning pizzaiolo, having competed and won medals on behalf of Canada at the International Pizza Championships. But he considers introducing thin-crust, wood-fired pizza to Parry Sound as among the accomplishments of which he is most proud.

“When you think of Parry Sound what jumps to mind is its beautiful scenery. You just naturally imagine there is beautiful food as well,” he says.

“In fact, options are somewhat limited, especially for pizza that isn’t from a box store. I decided to change that.”

Maurizio is of Italian descent – one side of the family hails from the south of the peninsula, the other from Sicily – and so he grew up with thin-crust, wood-fired pizza. It’s really all he knew. When he opened Maurizio’s Pizzeria in 2013, he was

excited by the prospect of sharing his love for this Italian staple.

“The beginning was a bit of a challenge because we had to do a lot of education for folks here. People only know what they know. Most simply weren’t familiar anything other than box store pizza,” he explains. “We had to think outside the box to get people to try thin-crust. They quickly came around because if you use highend ingredients like we do, each bite is like an explosion of flavour.”

The high-end ingredients Maurizio speaks of include best-quality cold-cut meats direct from an Italian butchery, fresh cheese, sauce and flour sourced from Italy. Vegetable toppings come from local farms as much as possible, but farming in cottage country is somewhat limited.

Maurizio – like all regional restauranteurs – has discovered local vendors might not always have the items, or the quantity, required.

Another challenge unique to restauranting in cottage country is the inherent seasonality. It’s feast or famine. “In the summer, with cottagers and vacationers, I work 90-hour weeks. Seventy-five per cent of my customers are seasonal,” he says.

“My staff and I unwind and take vacations after Thanksgiving when cottages are closed down and the summer masses are gone.”

“It’s a different pace of life up here, and it impacts business,” Mascioli says, “but I love it.” | CP Andrew Hind is a freelance writer from Bradford, Ont., specializing in food, history and travel. He is the author of 25 books and the proud father of one.

CanadianPizzaMag.com

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THE PIZZA CHEF

BY DIANA CLINE

Diana Cline is an award-winning pizza chef, a partner with Diana’s Cucina & Lounge in Winnipeg. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating operational systems and marketing to help operators grow their business strategically.

Contact her at diana@dianascucinaandlounge.com.

What’s your style?

Y

ou could say that every pizza ever made has a style, and every pizzeria has a signature style. From the crust to the sauce and chosen cheese blends. How did you develop yours? Do you tell that origin story in your marketing? Many old-school Italians I know say that their recipes came from their nonna.

Some pizza styles are regional, like New York, Chicago deep dish, Chicago stuffed crust, Chicago cracker thin crust, Detroit Pan, hand-tossed, pan, California, Roman, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Grandma, and gosh, more than I can mention.

Some styles of pizzas are indicative of the type of oven that’s used to bake them, such as wood-fired, brick oven and coal-fired. Wood- and coalfired pizzas are lightly sauced and topped. They also have distinctive charred spots on the crust. You can’t bake a traditional North American style pizza, loaded up with sauce, cheese and toppings in a 900 F degree wood-fired or 600 F degree coalfired oven.

Some say the water is extremely important to the style of pizza. New York-style pizzerias swear by it, and, if you’ve read any of the Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto’s research on water, you realize there could definitely be something to it.

Many pizza dough recipes call for a set hydration and a definitive fermentation period. Recipes like poolish, tiga and biga call for the recipe to be completed over a few days, rather than hours. Some dough recipes develop their flavours from beer, wine, or sourdough, or a signature starter that has been fed for as long as the pizzeria has been operating. These all make great origin stories.

Some pizza dough recipes call for special flours: high protein, 00, spelt, whole wheat, flaxseed, sesame seed, barley or a combination of them. You

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Some independent pizzerias have brought in a new style of pizza in the last two years, adding a new dimension to their menus.

name it, there’s a recipe for pizza dough using them. And then there’s a whole variety of new style of pizza crusts made with rice flours, cauliflower, coconut and/or almond flours.

Many of the latter cater to a gluten-free market, which has seen exponential growth since 2015.

Coming back to your style for your pizzeria, how would you define it? I’ve always said that at Diana’s, we specialize in great-tasting, gourmet pizzas, and I classify our style as a “North American style” of pizza: loaded with sauce, cheeses and toppings, on a handtossed crust. We currently make seven kinds of dough from scratch: original, 100 per cent whole wheat, Moosehead beer, crispy thin, dill pickle, cauliflower, and gluten-free, and the first three we offer in thin, medium and thick options for desired thicknesses. Years ago, we also offered a deep-dish style pizza, but when I reopened we didn’t bring it on the new menu.

Some independent pizzerias have brought in a new style of pizza in the last two years, adding a new dimension to their menus. From what I hear, Detroit pan style seems to be the new Grandma. As long as you have a standard type of pizza oven, meaning, one that can consistently hold a 500 F degree temperature, the main things you need for Detroit pan are the actual pans (8-1/2” x 12-1/4”), a sauce warmer, or a way to warm your sauce for this application, and a warm prep spot to allow the dough to rise, twice, in the pans.

I reached out to fellow independent pizzeria owner Thomas Schneider of Tommy’s Pizzeria in Winnipeg, who specializes in this style of pizza, to ask a few questions.

What attracted you to bring this style of pizza on your menu?

“I love the taste of it, the hardened

cheddar around the crust – it’s delicious. I like that it’s cut into square slices, and you can load it up with a lot of different toppings because it holds up better. And I like that the sauce is on top.”

What kind of equipment considerations do you need for Detroit pan?

“A lot of pans, and they’re not cheap.

I get them from LloydPans. Also, a sauce warmer, or a way to warm your sauce.”

What key ingredients do you stock specifically for Detroit pan?

“Lard, to line the pans. We put lard in the pans, then stretch out the dough in the pans, and let it rest at room temperature for a minimum of 18-24 hours. We only do 12 medium and 12 large every day, and when they sell out, they sell out. “

Tell me about the bake process for this style?

“Each one takes 30 minutes to make and bake. When we get an order for one, we start by parbaking the crust in the pan, then pull it out, top and cheese it, making sure the cheese is topped all the way into the edges and corners, then bake it some more. Finally, we ladle warm pizza sauce on top. The sauce has to be a certain temperature. You don’t want it to be cold, or room temperature.”

What would you tell other independent operators who may be thinking of adding this style of pizza to their menus?

“Make sure you do research and know how to do it properly. We use the same flour as we do for our other dough, a top-quality high-protein flour. We also use the same pizza sauce that we use for our other style of pizza, keep it simple.” | CP May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

TECHNOLOGY

DIGITAL MARKETING GRANTS How to access web funding in Ontario

resident operating a business in Ontario, a person or group of people 18 or older at the time of application, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.

BY BONNY KOABEL, CPA, CGA

You will need to complete the following: the Digital Main Street Assessment, the Digital Main Street eligibility quiz, the online training, the document Developing a Digital Transformation Plan.

T PHOTO CREDIT: © NIKOLAS_STOCK / ADOBE STOCK

he Digital Transfer Transformation is set to open again in June 2022. If you are in the process of redesigning your business’s website or implementing a digital marketing strategy, these costs may be partially covered by the Digital Transformation Grant funding program. Digital Main Street provides funding for training, advisory support and grants up to $2,500 to small businesses that are implementing digital marketing strategies.

What is the objective of the Digital Transformation Grant?

The Digital Transformation Grant is available in Ontario and provides small businesses with: • The digital literacy skills they need to execute their digital transformation by completing an online training course that provides the basics of how digital technology will transform their business for success • A grant of $2,500 to help execute their Digital Transformation plan How does a business qualify?

In order to qualify for funding your small business must meet the following criteria: • Has a permanent “brick-and-mortar” establishment in Ontario CANADIAN PIZZA · May/June 2022

• Employing one to 50 employees • Is not a home-based business • Is paying commercial property tax (commercially assessed), either directly or through commercial rent • Is a registered business in Ontario and/or is incorporated • Is open for business/operating at the time of application (not a startup) • Is open to the general public for walk-in and onsite purchases of goods and services – not a wholesaler or manufacturer • Is not a franchise, including those individually owned and operated • Is not a not-for-profit/ charitable organization • Is not renting office space on a temporary basis (month to month) • Is not in a shared workspace such as a hot desk or dedicated desk • Is not a purely online business To be eligible for funding, the small business must be owned by an Ontario

Under the Digital Main Street grant, the following costs are eligible: • Digital marketing costs including hiring a consultant, agency or per son to execute digital marketing • Website costs including redesign or improvement of existing website, development of a new website.

• Software purchases including graphic design software, productivity software (such as LastPass, Hootsuite, Dropbox), social media software (such as Hootsuite, Buffer), security software, purchases of other website-related software may qualify for funding. Businesses will need to be approved prior to software purchase; digital training costs, ongoing digital training course; hardware costs, which must be hardware deemed necessary for digital marketing expenses.

For more information, go to https:// digitalmainstreet.ca/digital-transformation-grant-4-0/ Bonny Koabel, CPA, CGA, is president of AKR Consulting Canada, a firm specializing in government grants, rebates, refunds, subsidies and tax credits.

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TECHNOLOGY

AUTOMATING UNA Labour-intensive tasks and need for consistency drove a move to automation for Una Pizzeria’s growing business

BY COLLEEN CROSS

pizza business?

According to Ron Mullins, Director National Bakery Accounts / Bakery Field Sales Manager for Reiser USA and Canada, there are several potential benefits of consolidating your pizza dough ball production at a central commissary facility, including labour savings, consistent quality and control over quality, less equipment at store level, less space required at store level, less training required at store level and controlled cost of materials.

“We have seen from our experience how optimization and efficiency results in increased profits,” Mullins said. “By consolidating production into a single facility, higher outputs can be managed at greater accuracy with fewer people.”

Mullins advises operators moving to a commissary model to consider versatility.

“When consolidating and automating, keep in mind that it’s important to purchase versatile processing

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Una Pizzeria expanded during the pandemic, and Reiser’s Vemag V500B dough divider has been instrumental in helping them save on staff time and achieve consistency across locations.

equipment. This will provide flexibility as the business, markets and opportunities are changing over time. When selecting equipment, allow room for growth. Look for equipment that offers a wide range of scaling capability to meet your needs. Consider a machine that allows you to grow in the future. Clean-ability and hygiene factors are of greater importance these days and you should always consider food safety. And, of course, machine service and support are always a critical factor once you have your machine in operation.”

Una expands, automates Una Pizzeria took that leap in 2021.

We talked with Kelly Black, co-owner, and Kayle Burns, executive chef, about why they turned to automation and how the process was for the team.

Human versus machine: 2 humans: two eight-hour shifts 1 machine plus 1 human: two hours

Una has three locations in Calgary, and recently opened a location in Banff. Three of the four restaurants opened during the pandemic.

Black said the labour and consistency challenges they were facing – common to so many restaurants in Canada – prompted them to seek an automated solution.

“Labour is a problem, especially in back of house. Add to that the ‘double whammy’ of competition with the oil industry for employees, and it’s a real problem.”

They turned their original 17th Avenue location into a commissary kitchen, he explained. “It’s a bit of a hybrid model. We had the space at our original location and we decided we could do certain things in bulk out of that location and ship them to other locations.”

May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTO:REISER

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here is a lot of talk about automation these days. But when is it time to consider adding automated equipment to your

TECHNOLOGY

Black said they have a dough baller – the Vemag V500B dough divider from Reiser – a commercial sized mixer and a commercial cutter that, among other tasks, prepares kale for their signature salads by cutting off the stems and chopping it down.

Why did they decide to automate?

“Certain things can never be replaced but some things can,” Black said. “The dough making process was taking two people each in eight-hour shifts to perform the monotonous task of rolling balls of dough.”

They still need a person to man the Vemag V500B, but now it takes one person about two hours. Operations are drastically improved.”

“That really was the decision maker for us – we simply can’t find people to do it anymore.”

Most of the additions were done during COVID: “Production of kale, meatballs, arancini and other menu items are the things we’ve turned to equipment to help us. That first year of COVID our take-out sales absolutely exploded.

We had the rare challenge of being really busy during that first year. Staffing also was really challenging – for example, we didn’t know if it was safe to bring in new people.

But also we had to scale up to meet the demand. That led to us looking outside the normal process.”

Automation has helped with efficiency and product consistency, something especially noticeable in their Banff location where doughs are delivered from the central commissary in Calgary.

“If we’d had to make it in the restaurant on site, it would have been difficult,” Black said. As it is, he reports customer say it tastes “just like in Calgary.”

Staff were quite excited about the new equipment.

Said Black: “Those are very monotonous jobs. They were being done well but it’s freed up the kitchen staff to learn other areas of the kitchen. That time in prep can now be done so quickly that they can learn butchery and other skills.”

Burns agreed. “They love it. Many of the staff have seen some pretty crazy changes in last five years. We keep trying to push ourselves and offer a better product. There are shorter shifts but there is lots of work to do elsewhere.”

Burns said he was often on site monitoring the large machine for the first two weeks. “We are grateful to have it.

We almost need another person to run it.”

They did some tweaking of the process to accommodate their bulk fermentation. “We used to ferment, then portion,” Burns explained. “Now we mix, portion and then ferment for 48 hours straight. It’s still a 48-hour ferment.”

They tested the crusts side by side and found the difference negligible and the weight exactly the same.

“It’s more consistent now, so it’s better. We take our time making changes knowing we’re making things better,” Burns said.

They bought the Vemag two to three weeks after opening in Banff, Burns said. “We were able to build up the business. Once the business was there, we could justify the expense.”

Paul Piattelli, Reiser sales representative, said, “They wanted consistency in their pizza, especially their dough.

They pride themselves in the quality of the dough. It has a different bite, a different texture. They wanted a central location. In terms of adding ingredients, that’s contingent on having a staff member. Also, paying two people was not cost-effective.”

Piattelli described the process of using the Vemag V500B, a bakery edition. “Essentially, you’re taking the dough you mixed and placing it in the hopper where two augers work simultaneously side by side. Dough is fed into the double screw, gently pumped and extruded to the machine outlet, and then precisely portioned using a Vemag guillotine cutoff attachment. From there, the dough portion goes into a conical rounder, starts at the bottom and runs in a backwards spiral, runs through the tunnel, rounds it into a ball and outputs it onto a conveyer,” he said.

Piattelli checked in after two weeks of setup. “It has saved labour but also achieved their goal of 100 per cent consistency,” he said, adding that included in the equipment purchase is local support and training, with 22 wellversed technicians who live in Canada.

Piattelli added that during the pandemic many business owners made the leap of faith toward automation or semi-automation. “Equipment never calls in sick. It saves them time and money. It also pays for itself within about two years, based on the volumes Una is doing.”

“That really was the Future plans decision maker for us – we simply can’t find people to do it anymore.”

– Kelly Black, Una Pizzeria

Piattelli also noted there is room for future growth, with Una’s machine operating at about 30 to 40 per cent of the machine speed it could do. In the future Black can see exploring more automation. “We recently launched a takeand-bake line. There’s a real opportunity to dig into that.

Shrink-wrapping and bulk label printing is another area worth exploring.” | CP

CANADIAN PIZZA · May/June 2022

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MAKING DOUGH WITH DIANE

BY DIANE CHIASSON

Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 35 years by providing innovative and revenue-increasing food service and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her at 416-926-1338, or chiasson@chiassonconsultlants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com

Six ways to give your pizzeria a makeover on a tight budget

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1. Make a great first impression No matter what, you must create a great entryway. First impressions matter. The best restaurants in major cities also set the stage for an incredible dining experience the moment you walk through the door. Your ideal design should first integrate the exterior appearance. The exterior of your pizzeria is the first thing potential customers see. Improving your front entry and creating a better first impression can be done on a small budget. Be sure that your entire exterior is clean and well identified with some branded 16

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Make sure the inside and outside of your pizzeria’s windows are washed regularly. It will not only be easier to see out of your windows, but it will also allow passersby to look in and see your pizzeria space and products.

Are you making the best use of your space, and is there dead space that you could put to better use?

signage. If budget permits, add some landscaping.

You would be surprised at how often windows are completely overlooked. Make sure the inside and outside of your pizzeria’s windows are washed regularly. It will not only be easier to see out of your windows, but it will also allow your passersby to look in and see your pizzeria space and products.

Give your exterior facade a fresh coat of paint. It’s amazing how a quick coat of paint can make a pizzeria look fresh and inviting. Next, see if you need to add a new visible front entry door. Finally, add additional lighting and signage, but above all, add something unique about the entryway to catch the eye of your customers.

2. Modernize your design by implementing a new colour scheme Paint can go a long way and is one of the easiest and most affordable ways

to change the look and feel of your restaurant. Old and chipped paint will make your pizzeria restaurant look run down and tired. Painting is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to change the look of your pizzeria. Simple changes like adding a fresh coat of paint, eye-catching wall art and crisp white shelves will go a long way.

Scrape off old paint and replace it with a coat of fresh paint that complements your concept and matches your existing décor and brand. Consider creating an accent wall where you will paint one wall with a bright colour to draw attention, and it will surely give your pizzeria a more modern look.

3. Improve poor lighting Changing or updating the lighting and amount of light in your pizzeria will greatly impact your restaurant ambience right away. First, check to see if your lights are too dim or perhaps you don’t have enough lights in the right places. A darker atmosphere may be May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTO CREDIT: © TETE_ESCAPE / ADOBE STOCK

ave you ever wished you could give your pizzeria a quick and inexpensive facelift? If you are a pizzeria owner, you know how fierce the competition is out there to get customers’ attention. A quick new look can make a huge difference to your pizzeria’s overall appearance and perception by customers.

Studies show that one very effective way to improve your sales and boost customer visits is to invest in a new look. Studies show that you can expect to increase sales by two to six per cent following minor remodelling.

Think about the first impression you want to create for your customers the moment they walk through your door. Next, think about the appearance of your building, furniture, counters and staff: all of these factors will affect the image of your pizzeria.

Updating your look doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Just making a few small changes will change how customers perceive your pizzeria.

Here are six quick and easy ways to give your pizzeria a makeover on a tight budget.

less inviting unless that’s what you are trying to create. Just remember that the type, size, and style of your lighting should tie into your pizzeria’s overall theme. More light will give your restaurant a bright and welcoming atmosphere and ensure that your customers can easily read your menu. You can also adjust the natural light coming into your restaurant with curtains and blinds.

4. Pay attention to details and rearrange your space It could be using the furniture you already have and rearranging your tables, chairs, and wall units in a totally new way to make a new space. Switching up seating would be a principal part of low-budget pizzeria design. Is your restaurant too cluttered? Are you making the best use of your space, and is there dead space that you could put to

better use? Pay attention to the small details when decorating your pizzeria restaurant on a budget.

5. Fix, paint or replace outdated counters, wall units and furniture Old, dingy and chipped counters and furniture will make your restaurant look run down and tired. Carefully check for any cracked, scratched, chipped, outdated or clunky pieces of furniture, wall units and counters. You can now go to antique shops, flea markets, second-hand stores or simply online to search for eclectic pieces of furniture and display items. It’s easy to find suitable furniture pieces that are modern, attractive and budget-friendly. Inexpensive, minimalist shelving is an easy way to add function and style to a modern interior.

Have fun playing around with different con-

figurations and shapes. You could start a little to-go area using this new shelving.

6. Hang colourful wall art pieces Why not turn your pizzeria restaurant into a part-time gallery? You could have an eye-catching wall by showcasing the artwork of local or lesser-known artists. It will not only enhance your eating experience but will also support your community. What about making an eye-catching statement wall? Try to focus your energy and talent on a single small space. You could use some colourful wallpaper or ask one of your local artists to paint a fun, colourful mural.

Updating your look doesn’t have to be complicated or costly. Just making a few small changes will change how customers perceive your pizzeria! | CP

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INDUSTRY EVENT

BAKERY SHOWCASE BUZZ Bakery Showcase 2022 was the setting for long-overdue connections

BY COLLEEN CROSS

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akery Showcase 2022 was the place to be for Canadian baking professionals.

Between the well-attended education sessions, the busy trade show floor and the main stage, attendees had no shortage of ways to connect, learn and be inspired.

The Baking Association of Canada – which recently opened up more specific categories for BAC members, including Chocolatier, Pâtissier, Artisan Baker, Market Baker and Pizza, and Hotels and Resorts – welcomed well over 1,500 attendees plus speakers, staff, sponsors and exhibitors.

Communication important to your business Keynote speaker Justine Martin, owner of Guilty Pleasures Bakeshop in Sudbury, Ont., shared practical advice on how to improve and make the most of communication skills including leveraging earned media to promote your bakery. Martin, who had considerable professional experience in communications before starting her baking career, described why these skills are crucial to a bakery’s success.

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In two demos sponsored by California Raisins and the Peanut Bureau of Canada, chef Nelita Silva demonstrates four unexpected ways to use raisin paste, raisin juice, peanuts and peanut butter in your baking, and how to incorporate raisins, peanuts and peanut butter into functional baked goods.

Attendees were treated to an in-depth conversation with Mahathi Mundluru, finalist on the Great Canadian Baking Show, where she described what it was like to bake competitively under pressure and delved into the thought process behind some of her innovative flavour profiles.

Tackling the challenge of hiring and retention A panel of experts came at the issue of “Thriving in a Labour Shortage” from different perspectives, all providing useful insights and strategies.

The focus was on how to get grants and other recuperating funds for your bakery, how to find and keep skilled employees and how au-

tomation can help your bakery be efficient and less dependent on skilled labour.

Bonny Koabel, CPA, CGA, said many bakeries aren’t aware there are grants available to help them recoup some of the costs associated with staffing, including grants to help pay student tuition and grants to help bakeries automate. Koabel is president of AKR Consulting Canada, which specializes in government grants, subsidies and tax credits.

Doug Henderson, regional sales manager for Apex Motion Control, emphasized that people will be the one topic constantly on the table at every company in every industry.

Henderson said automation is an option bakery businesses of all sizes May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

INDUSTRY EVENT

might consider to fill the jobs he describes as the “three Ds: dirty, dull and dangerous.”

Karen Horton is a recruitment specialist helping businesses connect with the right talent for managerial needs as well as a hiring coach to franchise owners and independents. Horton said it’s time to turn from “the Great Retirement” to “the Great Retention” by focusing on the needs of employees, including offering them morale support and acknowledging their need to support their mental health.

Trends Loyal readers of Jane Dummer’s Final Proof column got a treat as the Registered Dietitian and longtime columnist presented a look ahead at baking trends and suggested ways operators can make the most of these shifts in the market. In one of many insights, Dummer pointed to sourdoughs, multi-grains, the addition of prebiotics and the addition of nuts and seeds as ways to appeal to customers wanting to improve their digestive health.

Buzzing show floor On the show floor, attendees enjoyed demonstrations at the main

stage. Baking professionals learned edible image techniques they could use to create impressive designs on cakes and cookies for corporate clients (with award-winning cake artist Justine Martin), professional techniques for shaping and scoring your artisan bread (by Master Baker Marcus Mariathas) and how to bake sweet profiteroles or savoury gougères while better understanding the relationship of fats to cannabinoids (by Chef Patrick Newton of the Food Network).

Westside Bakery of Edmonton was revealed as our new Inspirational Bakery of the Year! Bakers Journal and founding sponsor Ardent Mills together congratulate Leeanne Tucker, president of the wholesale commercial bakery that grew out of a desire to chase a dream and snowballed when Tucker and husband and business development and marketing manager Travis Blake, put their focus on the community.

Attendee inspired Attendee Susan Cavanaugh, who recently started her own business, Bake and Create, in Windsor, Ont., said, “It is so helpful to find all the products I learned about at school in one place. I need the full two days to take it all in.”

The next Showcase is set for May 14-15 in Vancouver. | CP

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TOOLS OF THE TRADE

FLOUR BLENDS

Ardent Mills launches gluten-free and keto-friendly flour blends in Canada Flour-milling and ingredient company Ardent Mills has launched a certified gluten-free flour blends and keto-friendly flour blends for Canadian baking and pizza businesses.

According to Ardent Mills, its keto-friendly flour blends can be used as a replacement for conventional flour without compromising taste, texture or functionality, while its new gluten-free flour blends offer ease of use for a variety of formats.

The new flour blends will be available for purchase directly through Ardent Mills Canada and bakery and food-service distributors across Canada.

The new products include: Gluten-free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour, which is suited for retail bakeries, wholesale bakeries and food-service operators, and can be used as a one-to-one replacement for conventional flour in most recipe applications without compromising taste, texture or functionality.

Gluten-free Pizza Flour Blend, which is designed to help food-service and pizza chain operators deliver fresh, great-tasting, gluten-free crusts, including thin, flatbread and pan pizzas.

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Keto-Friendly Flour Blend, which is designed for bread and bakery manufacturers as a keto-friendly flour blend for a broad range of bread and baked goods. The blend was formulated to achieve the right balance of dietary fibres and grains without nuts or nut flour and does contain gluten, which allows customers to run on their current equipment without significant changes.

Keto-Friendly Pizza Mix, which was developed for food-service and pizza chain operators, this easy-to-use mix was designed for simple back-of-shop operations and is suitable for most crust formats while still providing great taste, texture and crunch. ardentmills.ca

BEVERAGES

Aperol Spritz Ready to Serve available in Quebec and Ontario Aperol Spritz Ready to Serve is now available in Ontario and Quebec.

The pre-mixed orange cocktail is made in Italy to replicate the unmistakable bittersweet taste, carbonation and vibrant colour of the well-known Aperol Spritz. Featuring the original and unchanged Aperol recipe made with citrus oil infused with precious herbs and roots, as well as sparkling wine and soda, each individual bottle contains the Italian aperitif in a single-serve format.

Aperol Spritz Ready to Serve

When it comes to new ingredients, equipment and services, Canadian Pizza keeps you in the know. For more on new products for the pizza industry, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com

is nine per cent ABV and is available to purchase in packs of three 200-millilitre glass bottles across Quebec starting in April for the RRP of $15.90, and will be available in Ontario in May for the RRP of $16.95.

PACKAGING

aperol.com

OVENS

Hot Rocks Ovens serves artisan pizzas at Ford F-150 electric truck test drive Hot Rocks Ovens recently baked artisan pizzas for guests at the Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck test drive May 3-6.

The four-day event was held at Singing Waters Vineyards in Comfort, Texas, which recently added the Hot Rocks oven to its kitchen to serve stone-baked pizza for a large number of guests. Members of the media and 50 Ford engineers and staff attended the event, where they enjoyed freshly baked Hot Rocks pizzas and food provided by local restaurants.

During a demonstration of the benefits of an electric truck, the truck even powered the Hot Rocks oven, using the built-in 9.6-kilowatt outlet in its bed.

The Hot Rocks oven is made of granite, giving pizza a stonebaked, artisan quality, while producing large quantities quickly.

The company says the oven bakes pizza in half the time of traditional stone ovens, thus allowing pizza makers to serve more customers in their pizzerias and keep up with third-party orders, takeout and deliveries.

The Hot Rocks oven can produce 645 pizzas per hour.

It requires less skilled labour to operate, alleviating some of owners’ labour and training costs. hotrocksoven.com

Pizzaround containers suited to catering World Centric has introduced two-piece Pizzaround containers it says are suited to pizza and catering as well.

PizzaRound is now available in a two-piece version with more sizes to improve pizza delivery and added flexibility for other uses like catering and events.

The design wicks away grease and keeps crusts fresh, the manufacturer said. It is fully compostable in a commercial facility.

Two-part containers allow for more versatility and can be purchased as separate lids and trays. worldcentric.com

PACKAGING

Square funding for restaurants Square has launched Square Loans in Canada, a service that gives restaurants and small businesses quick and simple access to funds and eliminating another major pain point associated with running a business.

Square Loans requires no paperwork, no red tape and has flexible, clear repayment terms. squareup.ca May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

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Advertisers Index

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2022-06-03 9:10 AM

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STAFFING

MOTIVATING AND RETAINING STAFF Q-and-A with Forno Cultura of Toronto

BY BAKERS JOURNAL STAFF

A

t Bakery Showcase in April, a diverse and engaged industry panel considered how the baking industry is educating the next generation of bakers. Topics included what’s working and not working in baking apprenticeship programs, the staffing needs of large and small bakery businesses and how more short courses in specialized areas might serve bakery staff and employers alike. Naturally, talk turned to staffing challenges such as hiring and retention (watch next issue for more on the panel).

Following the session, panellist Andrea Mastrandrea shared his thoughts on staffing challenges and how to motivate and retain employees.

Mastrandrea, a third-generation baker and professional architect, founded Forno Cultura in 2013, an Italian wholesale and retail artisan bakery and fine food emporium with six locations across Toronto that he runs with partner Laleh Larijani.

Which positions are most difficult to fill?

All positions. It’s not just a matter of finding enough good candidates. It’s a matter of finding enough candidates, period.

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There’s been a shift in the workplace and the availability of workers.

They’re not coming back anytime soon. The pandemic was an editing of sorts. Those who were maybe not 100 per cent committed to the industry left, went back to school or went on to other industries. Those who remain, I think, are a concentrated, serious professional group. It’s a slower buildback but a better one.

Have you raised your wages/ salaries significantly?

We were always quite proactive – we were always one or two dollars above the minimum wage. When the minimum wage started going up, we were already there. It’s one of our most important values and it helps us attract and retain good staff.

How do you reward or keep employees motivated?

I was a big proponent of R&D and of offering employees the chance to constantly work on new ideas. It took a while, but I found the opposite was happening. I realized not a lot of people were interested in that. They wanted a clear understanding of what their day, week and month will look like.

I was basing this priority on what I would want in a workplace. Now I try to understand what they need. We try to support that with systems and structures. For example, four years ago we started taking out teams from our King Street location and putting them into more specialized production spaces. We gave them a specific bread lab space and a wood-fired oven.

“We’re interested in people who have interests outside of the business.

We’re thinking long term and there is a balance there.” – Andrea Mastrandrea, Forno Cultura

There are things we think are important – competitive salaries and good health plans – which staff don’t necessarily even know they need. Also, we’re quite interested in people who have interests outside of the business.

We’re thinking long term and there is a balance there.

We’ve always been supportive, taking key staff to food shows in Europe, supporting them to pursue professional programs in school such as MIT for business, for example. And we are flexible with schedules: they need to work with both parties to be sustainable.

I think people learned during the pandemic that they had very little security. We tried to instil some security in this unusual situation. We were quick to communicate with staff, open to ideas and we were able to retain a good core of our staff.

What role does technology play in managing employees?

Over the years, we went from verbal to email communication to texting and group chats. We started adopting a lot of apps being used even outside of the work environment.

We’re getting a workforce that does not retain info. We are relying more and more on upper management, who understand the pre-technology world and the science behind baking.

It’s when technology fails and you have no access to information that you understand where your skill level is at.

When you navigate and problem-solve, that’s when you find out what you’re able to do. That hasn’t changed. It’s more important than ever. | CP May/June 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

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