Is cooking with fire cool or quaint? Judge for yourself With the climate crisis causing more extreme weather events than ever, it’s an excellent time to review the full measure of our historic relationship with fire. It was Top Five on the homo sapiens’ hit list of original quests, along with food and shelter, and … Continue reading Flaming Out

Unilever Corporate Chef and Fair Kitchen Ambassador Kyla Touri speaking at our October 3rd Symposium A recording of our October 3rd Symposium titled: "Confronting the Challenges, Using research and Advocacy to Build a Sustainable Foodservice Industry" has been posted on YouTube. Watch and learn from University of Guelph Researchers Emily Robinson and Rebecca Gordon as … Continue reading On-line recording of this years Symposium now available

By Elijah Jimenez, UGSRP Intern It’s no secret that there is currently a labour crisis affecting many industries across Canada, but of the hardest hit industries, hospitality is one that stands out among the crowd. The hospitality industry is one that has had issues finding and retaining good staff for years, but since the pandemic, … Continue reading Our intern asks his classmates: “Are you still planning on a career in hospitality after graduation?”

The University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project is holding its 10th annual symposium on Monday October 3. This year’s theme is confronting foodservice industry challenges through research and advocacy.  Virtual registration here: https://UGSRP.eventbrite.ca The symposium will feature presentations by Emily Robinson and Rebecca Gordon of the University of Guelph and Kyla Tuori, the Corporate Chef … Continue reading We’re back! Join us October 3rd for our 10th annual UGSRP Symposium

Last month we presented the results of an UGSRP study on how chefs learn and feel about the sustainability levels of wild and farm raised fisheries at the International Conference on Culinary Arts and Sciences in Lyon, France. The presentation was well received, and we’d like to share some key points of our findings with … Continue reading Chefs’ knowledge and perceptions of farm-raised fish and how it impacts menu decisions.

I’ve had the pleasure of studying many restaurants that are doing incredible things.  Whether it’s in the realm of being more climate friendly, or providing decent work opportunities in healthy work environments, all these operations have one thing in common……great leadership. The labour challenges the restaurant industry is facing have been well documented.  In fact, … Continue reading Focusing on culture or developing leaders. Where do we start?

By Rebecca Gordon Without restaurant workers, the magic of a restaurant wouldn’t exist. Whether it’s the friendly server who makes customers feel welcome, the cook who can prepare multiple dishes at once or the dishwasher who makes sure every plate is spotless, each one of these people contributes to the success of the restaurant. Nevertheless, … Continue reading Restaurant Workers are Uniting to Build a More Equitable Industry

UGSRP Contributors Rebecca Gordon and Bruce McAdams recently published this article in The Conversation. Restaurant operators across Canada are struggling to find enough staff to run their operations. This labour crisis has been highly publicized by Canadian media as a “labour shortage.” A recent survey by Restaurants Canada found that 80 per cent of food service operators were … Continue reading Labour shortage, or lack of decent work? What is the real labour issue Cdn. restaurants are dealing with?

Working as the 2020/2021 intern for the University of Guelph Sustainable Restaurant Project (UGSRP) I was recently presented with the opportunity to take a sustainability certification course for foodservice professionals. This course is called the Sustainable Foodservice Professional (SFP) certificate program and was produced by Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice (LEAF) and The Next Course Ltd.(TNC).  The course … Continue reading SFP Sustainability Certification Program