i s h c o m p u b l i c at i o n s s i n c e 19 8 6
P A C I F I C / P R A I R I E October 2016 | Vol. 22 | No. 5
N AT I O N A L
C O V E R A G E
regional
F O C U S
$ 5 . 9 5
What’s the CAtch? expectations have changed for seafood
Rewriting the
cafeteria cookbook
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By Bill Tremblay
Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40010152
REGINA — Moe Mathieu’s career bucket list has led him into an unusual setting for a chef who has cooked in several world-class restaurants. In July, Mathieu began work as the foodservice manager at Luther College at the University of Regina. As a former Luther College High School student, his new position allows him fulfill his goal of working at his alma mater. “This was on my list of goals and I had to cross it off,” Mathieu said. “Working for my alma mater was really important to me.” His career goals also include working at a Michelin star restaurant (he completed stages at Alinea in Chicago and The French Laundry in Napa Valley, Calif.); own his own restaurant (he opened The Willow and Beer Bros. in Regina); see one of his establishments rank in a top 10 restaurant list (The Willow was named No. 7 in Wine Access Magazine); and work as a culinary instructor (he taught at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon for eight years before heading to Luther College). “I’m almost done my list,” he said, noting he still has to achieve a salary benchmark. Mathieu’s arrival at Luther College comes with a transition from prepared foods to made-from-scratch menu items in the school’s cafeteria. “It’s about taking the extra time and effort, that’s what I’m instilling in my team,” Mathieu said. “Take some time, love your food, love what you do and people will taste the difference.” Before creating a new menu for the cafeteria, Mathieu surveyed his staff and students to gauge their opinion of the school’s cuisine. Continued on Page 9
KEVIN KENT’S SHARP BUSINESS SENSE
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JOHNNY ROCKETS PREPARES FOR TAKE OFF
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BY the numbers 2016 REPORT ON foodservice FRANCHISES
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Moe Mathieu
New app lets restaurant customers pay with their smartphone VANCOUVER — A new mobile app is helping to expedite the process of paying one’s restaurant bill. Vancouver-based Glance Technologies Inc. has launched Glance Pay, which allows customers to pay for their meal by taking a photo of their bill. The app launched in September with nearly 50 participating restaurants, and is available for iOS with an Android version on the way. “They take a picture and they go. It takes less than two seconds to pay,” said Penny Green, co-founder and chief operating officer for Glance Technologies. When the check arrives at a restaurant partnered with Glance Pay, the customer is able to take the photo, select their portion of the bill, how much they wish to tip and complete the transaction. The app, which links to its user’s credit card, also records transaction history and provides reward points
from participating restaurants. Sai Woo, for example, is offering customers $30 in rewards for every $300 spent at their restaurant. “Some of the rewards are very generous. Not every restaurant is giving 10 per cent, but a lot of them are,” Green said. Restaurants that sign up for the payment service are provided with an iPad Mini that links to their point of sale (POS) system. The iPad lights up when a transaction is complete. “We give them a report the next morning telling them who used MasterCard or Visa, the total amount and the tips,” Green said. “We send them money the next morning, as well.” Desmond Griffin, the co-founder of PayByPhone, an app that allows its users to pay for parking, also created Glance Pay.
PayByPhone is now used in more than 100 cities worldwide. “It’s really one of the biggest payments apps aside from Starbucks’,” Green said. Griffin decided to create the restaurant payment app to avoid waiting on a server to manually complete the dining experience. “When’s he’s in a restaurant he gets really frustrated while he is waiting to pay the bill,” Green explained. When more restaurants join Glance Pay, Green said the company plans to launch a discovery tool within the app, which will allow its users to see which restaurants accept the payment method. While the app is only available at restaurants in Vancouver, Green said they plan to launch in new markets within the year.