S U P P LY
A sharp business sense Kevin Kent’s passion for Japanese steel has fueled the creation of five Knifewear stores nationwide CALGARY – There’s never a dull moment in Kevin Kent’s line of work. Kent, a chef turned retail entrepreneur, recently opened his fifth Knifewear store in Vancouver. With locations in Edmonton, Ottawa and two in Calgary, Knifewear sells almost exclusively Japanese knives. “We have a couple of cleavers from Spain,” he said. “Japanese and European butchery is a little bit different, and the Spaniards get it.” Kent made the move from the kitchen to supplying the kitchen after working in a restaurant in London, England. While abroad, he purchased his first Japanese knife. “It was sharper than anything I’d ever had. It was pretty much everything I wanted out of a knife,” Kent said. Throughout the eight years Kent worked in London, he converted to solely using Japanese blades. “When I moved back to Canada, there was nothing here that interested me anymore,” Kent said. “My taste in knives had gone to an extreme.” After returning to Calgary in 2007, Kent contacted the London store where he had purchased his knife collection and landed contacts for blacksmiths in Japan. From there, he began selling Japanese knifes to other chefs from his backpack. “My plan was to import some knifes from Japan, and maybe sell to a couple chefs around town,” he said. “I thought I was going to sell a few knifes, just so I could afford a few more knifes.” He opened the first Knifewear store in Calgary in 2009. “My big plan was to have a restaurant, now we have
five knife shops around Canada,” Kent said. When a Knifewear store opens, Kent estimates about 80 per cent of his customers are from the foodservice industry. However, as each location becomes establish, he notices home cooks make up the majority of his clientele. “Cooking is the new rock and roll. Everybody watches the food channel, every magazine and paper has a cooking section,” he said. “People want to spend some money to enjoy cooking.” The advantage of a Japanese blade is the density of the steel, according to Kent. “They’re made of hard steel, so they’re going to say sharper longer, and we can sharpen them to a finer angle,” he said. “They also make the blades thinner. A thin blade just cuts better.” Another advantage is Japanese knifes are aesthetically pleasing. “I never bought a car or looked at a car and lusted after it because I thought it was ugly,” he said. “You’re allowed to have pretty things in your life.” While North American blacksmiths make knifes of comparable quality to their Japanese counterparts, Kent said the domestic knifes have a lower production rate. “They’re very exclusive stuff,” he said. As well, the Japanese companies have hundreds of years of experience. The Morataka family, for example, began making blades in 1293. Knifewear purchases about 25 per cent of knifes made by the company. “Right now the 27th generation is taking over as head blacksmith. When do you get to meet a 27th generation anything?” Kent said. “In those 27 generations, their family has probably learned a couple of tricks.”
Kevin Kent
Chef Works Canada’s head office grows tenfold in floor space By Kristen Smith RICHMOND HILL, Ont. — Chef Works Canada moved into its new corporate office and distribution centre in late August, a transition that increases the company’s square footage tenfold. The foodservice uniform distributor was purchased by the United States-based corporate arm in October of 2015, which resulted in an expanded Canadian headquarters with 25,000 square feet of office, showroom and warehouse space. “This is a huge jump for us,” said Chef Works Canada president Jeff Berman during a recent tour of the new head office, located at 35 Fulton Way in Richmond Hill, Ont. Berman, who started with the company following the acquisition by Chef Works Inc., said the move brings more than simply additional space. The merger allows the Canadian arm of the company to take advantage of corporate resources, such as proprietary technology, a customer portal, marketing support as well as the financial investment in a new head office. With the new location, Chef Works Canada gains increased inventory, a wider selection and quicker turnaround times. The addition of in-house embroidery, something Berman is especially excited about, will
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Jeff Berman allow more control over special orders. The business in Canada had been around for about 14 years and was working off of dated software, according to Berman. “With the U.S. coming on board, we got all new systems,” he said. When the acquisition went through, there
were six people on the Canadian team. Since then, Berman has added about seven more employees and he thinks the staff will double again next year. “I’m building my team with a mix of people,” he said. “I’m fortunate enough that I’ve spent quite a
bit of time with the team in San Diego — there is just so much passion about this brand.” While the days of traditional chef whites are certainly not over, people are paying more attention to how back of house staff dress. “Things have changed, there are a lot of open kitchen-style restaurants. People are actually looking at the kitchen,” said Berman. “The kitchen really has to look good. There has to be consistency, uniformity across everything.” He said this extends to front of house uniforms as well. “There is definitely a push in our business for front of house from the perspective of our designs,” Berman said, noting the urban range is popular. “There is cross-over. Some of our customers will outfit their front of house staff in some of our short-sleeve chef jackets with cool vent.” With new resources from corporate, Berman hopes he and his team can demonstrate Chef Works’ diverse range of products and customerfocused approach. Fifteen minutes into his first Restaurants Canada Show with the company, which had a 10 by 10 booth to display its wares, Berman put down a deposit for a larger booth next year. “It’s going to be a completely different picture of Chef Works. I think we’re the best kept secret in Canada — that’s about to change,” he said.