Table Talk with Rosanna Caira

In this episode, Jay Ashton from Sysco talks about the expanded services that the broadline distributor offers to restaurants, and how these services are helping position itself as more than just a distributor. While food distribution is the core of the company’s business, the distributor also sees itself as an important resource for menu ideas, research and culinary development.

As COVID-19 continues to change every aspect of our lives, both personally and professionally, the incidence of mental-health issues continues to grow. In this Table Talk podcast, Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher of Foodservice and Hospitality speaks with Paula Allen, senior vice-president of Research, Senior Vice President of Research, Analytics and Innovation at Morneau Shepell to find out what actions companies can take to promote positive mental health in the workplace, and in the process, create a healthy workplace environment.

Foodservice and Hospitality magazine assembled a group of 11 foodservice leaders from across Canada, as part of a Leadership Roundtable, to discuss an action plan of what the industry needs and how it can move forward. The panel included:

Mike Hancock, COO, Tim Hortons

Jason Brading, COO, QSR, MTY Group, Montreal

Ken Otto, CEO, Redberry

Nick Di Donato, President & CEO, Liberty Group Entertainment

Ryan Smolkin, Founder & CEO, Smokes Poutinerie

Alex Rechichi, President, Crave it Restaurant Group

Michael Doyle, President, Top Table Restaurants, Vancouver

Mohamad Fakih, CEO, Paramount Fine Foods

Charles Khabouth, CEO, INK Entertainment

Ramy Sallal, President, Arlington Estate, Vaughan, Ont.

Domenic Primucci, President, Pizza Nova

The panelists represent various segments of the foodservice industry ─ from QSRs to casual dining to delivery concepts and event venues. Each segment faces a distinct and unique set of challenges, perspectives and approaches, but their message is unified — more needs to be done and it needs to done NOW.

After almost three months in lockdown, the foodservice industry continues to reel from the effects of this global pandemic. Now as markets across the country slowly re-open, what are franchisors doing to get ready for the next phase while ensuring the survival of their brands. In this episode of Table Talk, Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher of Foodservice and Hospitality, talks to Eric Lefebvre, president and CEO of MTY Group and Domenic Primucci, president of Pizza Nova, to find out how the QSR and casual-dining segments are faring during this crisis.

What does the foodservice industry look like moving forward as restaurants get ready to re-open and transition to the “New Normal.” In this episode of Table Talk, Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher of Foodservice and Hospitality. interviews entrepreneurs Mohamad Fakih, founder and president of Paramount Fine Foods and Hemant Bhagwani, chef/owner of Amaya Group, Goa Indian, Good Kharma and Popa, to discuss some of the major issues arising from COVID-19, while examining how restaurants will change and what operators can expect moving forward.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the restaurant industry and how will the industry move forward once restaurants are allowed to reopen? In this episode of Table Talk, Foodservice and Hospitality magazine editor and publisher Rosanna Caira speaks with restaurateurs Nick Di Donato, of Liberty Entertainment, Charles Khabouth, of INK Entertainment, Janet Zuccarini, of Gusto 54 and Grant van Gameren, of OverBudget Inc. to find out how these entrepreneurs have been coping with the implications of the Coronavirus and how they’re planning to move forward in this “New Normal.”

In this episode of Table Talk, Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher, Foodservice and Hospitality magazine, speaks with Marian Staresinic and Sean Beckingham, co-partners of Branding and Buzzing agency, to learn how their efforts to galvanize consumers and industry alike to buy takeout foods once a week has spawned a popular and successful initiative called Canada Takeout, which is helping to build restaurant sales and raise community spirit.

In this episode of Table Talk, Rosanna Caira , editor and publisher of Foodservice and Hospitality, talks with Steve Kampstra, president of Gordon Food Service, Canada, as well as Mike von Massow, professor and food economist at the University of Guelph, and Sylvain Charlebois, professor at Dalhousie University and director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, to delve into supply chain dynamics and assess the impact of COVID-19 on our food distribution system.

In this special COVID-19 edition of Foodservice and Hospitality's Table Talk podcast, editor and publisher Rosanna Caira speaks with Frank Hennessey, president and CEO of Recipe Unlimited, Alex Rechichi, president of Crave It Restaurants and Anita Mancuso, owner of Toronto's Sotto Voce restaurant to discuss a new industry-led coalition called One Table and its efforts to unite restaurant operators and suppliers in asking for government assistance during this unprecedented global health crisis.