Too few cooks: Quebec restaurants facing a labour shortage Alex Bastide describes the challenges of finding workers in places like Quebec City and smaller towns with a pair of expletives. “It’s madness,” he continues. “It’s a big problem right now.” Bastide is an owner of L’Gros Luxe, a small Quebec restaurant chain that has locations in Sherbrooke, Victoriaville, Quebec City and
Continue reading Vietnamese Immigrants Bring Bubble Tea Franchise To Moncton Ashley Do chose to stay in Moncton after school even though her family moved to Ottawa last year. The Vietnamese native and her business partner Anh Nguyen are opening Chatime, a Taiwanese bubble tea franchise with locations in more than 30 countries, including Canada. The 22-year-old says she sees an opportunity for
Continue reading How the Best Restaurants in the World Balance Innovation and Consistency The restaurant industry is notorious for being competitive, risky, and low-margin. This is no less true for the world’s most acclaimed high-end restaurants. Despite being able to charge hundreds of dollars for a meal and being fully booked months in advance, top restaurants often still have a hard time
Continue reading Starved of skilled chefs, Britain is facing a chicken tikka masala crisis In 2001, foreign secretary Robin Cook declared chicken tikka masala as Britain’s national dish, putting a stamp of official approval to the country’s first foray into the exotic foods aisle—the curry. While the past 16 years have seen curry remain something of a staple, the industry propping it
Continue reading The downside to Quebec’s booming economy? A labour crunch A transport company with dozens of trucks sitting idle. A McDonald’s willing to pay well above minimum wage. A manufacturer forced to turn down a lucrative contract. Tales like these are emerging from across Quebec as the province grapples with a growing labour crunch. “This is the kind of thing we will
Continue reading This Restaurant Gives Away Its Profits And Hires People In Need When the upscale eatery P.S. Kitchen opened in New York’s theater district this August, its plant-based menu reflected one way to encourage social change. The plant-based menu, of course, advocates a more sustainable food system. But co-owners Craig Cochran and Jeffrey LaPadula, who are also part of the four-person
Continue reading Corbella: Death of another iconic restaurant a sign of bad times in Calgary Another iconic downtown Calgary restaurant is closing its doors and in so doing is opening a wider window into understanding just how tough things are for many small businesses in the city’s downtown. On Friday night, Catch & the Oyster Bar served its last dreamy bowl of
Continue reading How ‘Top Chef’s’ Gail Simmons Made It to the Top of Her Industry — and You Can, Too f you’re a foodie or a reality TV junkie, you already know and love Gail Simmons, a judge on Bravo’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef. Before becoming the media personality she is today, Simmons was a trained culinary expert and established journalist. She is
Continue reading Seattle’s Cook Shortage Could Affect Your Next Restaurant Tab In the six weeks that Parker Butterworth spent as a line cook at stylish Capitol Hill restaurant Stateside, he lost count of how many crispy duck rolls—a signature dish—he made. But he was acutely aware of how little money he brought home. The 30-year-old political consultant entered the culinary arts program
Continue reading Low wages, small workforce leaves booming B.C. restaurants without chefs The restaurant industry may be booming in British Columbia, but a combination of the high cost of living, tight profit margins and a shrinking workforce has made it difficult for kitchens to find enough staff. Eric Pateman, president of Edible Canada, said the company’s restaurant at Vancouver’s popular tourist destination
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