A palate for fusion: What globalizing our pantry has done for cuisine

By Sylvia Tomczak For many chefs, garam masala, harissa, saffron, and gochujang are ingredients that have become as interchangeable as salt, oil, or flour. The “global pantry,” one that is more rapidly stocking itself with international flavours, is reshaping what we eat. Especially in cultural melting pots like Canada, the shift to embrace ingredients and […]

What restaurants can gain from private dining

By Sylvia Tomczak It’s exclusive, it’s elusive, it’s underground dining — and it might just be happening in the most obvious of places. All across Canada (and the rest of the world), chefs and restaurateurs have been rethinking the concept of dining out through embracing elements of secret supper club culture. Welcoming social intimacy and […]

A trending taste for natural wine

By Sylvia Tomczak Temperamental, inconsistent, and wild. It isn’t surprising that with descriptions like these, natural wine has managed to captivate a whole new (and youthful) audience of drinkers. Bursting through every mainstream media outlet at the moment, these sediment-sprinkled bottles of raw wines are often found on the shelves of funky, niche bottle shops […]

Here today, gone tomorrow: the value of restaurant pop-ups

By Sylvia Tomczak Pop-ups aren’t an entirely new concept, but lately, they do seem to be appearing on just about every abandoned street corner or empty restaurant facade. From grocers to retailers and, of course, restaurants, the magic of the pop-up is that it’s here today and gone tomorrow. Either moving to a bricks-and-mortar location […]

Creating sustainability in foodservice, one download at a time

By Sylvia Tomczak It’s ugly, it’s been sitting in the fridge for too long, it’s one of too many purchased. These are just some of the factors that contribute to the ever-rising amount of food waste happening both nationally and globally. But what if apps were the solution to the ever-growing issue of sustainability? Roughly […]

Recognizing her: Female representation in foodservice

By Sylvia Tomczak Throughout history, food has always been a marker of culture, making the ways in which we preserve it equally important. Though the media has changed — from character-laden tablets through ink-written scrolls, vellum-bound manuscripts, all the way to modern-day cookbooks, food radio, gastronomic television, and now social media — one idea has […]

Instagram in foodservice: A cross-Canada case study

By Sylvia Tomczak Social media is a big deal for businesses, and foodservice is no exception. After RestoBiz recently took a detailed look into the power of social media in the F&B industry, we wanted to find out how operators across the country have been leveraging the power of Instagram to outstanding effect through various […]

The Instagram Effect: How social media impacts foodservice

By Sylvia Tomczak Influencers, inspiration, and innovation — that’s all part of the Instagram effect. The way we consume media has changed drastically in the last decade, pushing further away from print and closer toward digitally-driven media. As generations like Gen Z are raised on technology and computer culture, the world is continuing to undergo […]