Program Highlights

Those who attended the October 18 four course culinary sensation with wine pairings at Tappo Wine Bar & Restaurant in the historic Distillery District had a delightful dining experience in a unique locale. Special thanks to Nestle Professional who was our dinner sponsor.

The menu, prepared by Executive Chef Frank Brisson included Calamari Alla Griglia (Grilled squid marinated with lemon and cilantro served with a brandy citrus sauce and charred tomato and avocado salsa) complimented with Serinisima Pinot Grigio.

Gnocchi Di Spinachi E Ricotta Al Gorgonzola (Ricotta-spinach gnocchi in a gorgonzola cream sauce garnished with caramelized pears and roasted walnuts) accompanied by Pontormo Chianti.

Bistecca Al Amarone (Dry aged “USDA” beef tenderloin served with roasted garlic whipped potato, market vegetables and a red wine jus) with Delibori Ripasso.

Crostata Al Limone (A lemon tart served with fresh berries, a raspberry coulis and fresh mint) finished with Cypress Rose.

Good food, good wine, good conversation, unique location! Great evening! Halloween

Monday, September 20 saw a number of Toronto Branch members gather at the Richmond Hill Club & Resort for an early morning session that included opportunities to network, enjoy breakfast and participate in a discussion of “Breakfast from a Nutrition and Trends Perspective" presented by Amy Snider-Whitson, President of The Test Kitchen Inc., a boutique consultancy firm that specializes in recipe development and creative food consulting.

Amy’s comments were focussed in four areas –

1. Foodservice Trends such as ‘meals to go’, breakfast sandwiches, the increased availability of breakfast around the clock, kids meals, crepes as a savoury breakfast offering and breakfast fusions.
2. Ethics and Environment Consumer interest in “fair miles”, organics and humane foods.
3. Nutrition Awareness 31% of elementary school aged children and 62% of high school students are skipping breakfast with the measurable result that there school test results are lower. Increased interest in salt/sodium reduction, immunity, omega fatty acids, pre and pro biotics, calcium, fruits and vegetables, allergens, gluten free products and vitamin “D”.
4. Opportunities Development of healthier breakfast sandwiches and kids meals; use of wholesome whole grains; working with yogurts; eco-friendly foods/packaging. She encouraged all to think outside the box.

Welcome to our NEW Board of Directors 2010-2011

The Toronto Branch Annual General Meeting and Elections took place on May 17 at the beautiful Estates of Sunnybrook.

Your Board includes the following individuals who have once again agreed to serve: Andrea Watson, Branch President; Angelo Colalillo, President Elect and Co-Vice President Student Development; Barbara Jaques and Steve Croft, Co-Vice Presidents Membership; Stephanie Cooper and Lesa Warner, Co-Vice Presidents Program; Shannon O’Donnell, Co-Vice President Communications; and Rosie Maclean, CFE, Vice President SMAC and National Director. Joining this very committed group are Karen Hill, Secretary; John Bennett, Co-Vice President Membership; David Shahid and Kathryn Hall, Co-Vice Presidents Student Development.

What followed was an evening of networking, good food, good conversation and a very informative presentation from Dave Gibson, Program Director, Summit Training and Frontier Team Building on "Team Basics: Developing a high performance team in 3,407 easy steps!" – which for our benefit and in the interest of time were reduced to 10! After those in attendance discovered how to get out of rope hand cuffs and lower a very light rod together - team took on a new meaning.

George Brown College Student Branch headed by Nyree Allen and Marie-Isabel Pernal organized and hosted the April Toronto Branch dinner meeting that featured a tour of the new Hospitality and Tourism Centre followed by dinner at:

Jennifer Mueller, Recruitment Consultant from Lecours Wolfson discussed opportunities in hospitality employment, hiring trends within the profession and offered insights in to how to ensure job search success. Her comments on career transition strategies were realistic and insightful.

Copper Chef Challenge and Student Awards Night

Toronto branch hosted the 4th Annual Copper Chef Cooking Challenge on March 15th, 2010 at the Delta Chelsea in Toronto, our venue sponsor. The competition entertained, delighted and featured CAFP's five student teams from: George Brown College, University of Guelph, Ryerson University, Humber College and Centennial College. They partnered with mentors from Delta Hotels as they exhibited their culinary talent!

Humber College took the 2010 Copper Chef of the year! Over $10,000 was raised and presented to deserving CAFP student award winners. A special mention to Gennavieve Armour, Cara Witt, Nyree Allen as ARAMARK Gold Plate winners and Amanda Li, who won the Brian Copper Memorial Award. Congratulations to all our winners!

The objective continues to help build and strengthen partnerships between regional and national sponsors and CAFP student members as they begin their careers in the Foodservice and Hospitality industry. SIR Corp, New York Fries & South St. Burger Co., GFS, Bamford Produce, Delta Hotels, Nestle Foodservice, Thomson Group, Agropur, Flanagan Foodservice, HBC and Sysco Central all generously supported the event from prizes, to product and/or bursary funds along with Top Management Night Gala sponsors – ARAMARK Canada Ltd, St. Joseph Content, and KRAFT Foodservice. Thank you for all your continued support that makes this event a success!

36th Annual Top Management Gala Dinner & Fundraiser

Top Management Night Committee

CAFP Award Recipients

It was a resounding success. The gala was held on February 8th at the beautiful Old Mill and Spa, in west end Toronto. The event attracted over 250 executives from all facets of the industry, who enjoyed an evening of networking, insightful discussion, and a fabulous 5 course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Tim Dunhill and his team.

During the dinner, the branch presented two house awards to deserving individuals. Joe Baker from George Brown College was named Educator of the Year and Garland Canada was named Champion of Education and Training, Corporate Sector.

Other awards presented during the evening included the Hans Bueschkens Memorial Award, presented by Foodservice and Hospitality magazine, to Pizza Nova. Mike Diebert, of the Ontario Restaurant News presented the Newsmaker of the Year award to Roland Walton, Tim Hortons and Restaurateur of the Year to James Chiu of Mandarin Restaurants.

The keynote speaker of the evening, futurist Richard Worzel enlightened the crowd with a thought provoking discussion and overview of where the future of the food service industry is heading. The CAFP would like to acknowledge the sponsors of the event, who really made it possible.

The funds raised continue to embrace our commitment to our future generations entering Foodservice and Hospitality careers. ARAMARK Canada, continued as Partner sponsor; St. Joseph content as our New Gala Patron Sponsor; Kraft Foodservice continued as Gold Level sponsor; and Quadrant Marketing Agency as Silver sponsor, who generously provided the design of the invitations and programs with support from Pro Print.

Colio Estate Winery entered as a new Bronze level sponsor and provided the wines for the evening’s fabulous dinner. Dana Hospitality, Exclusive Affair Rentals, Foodservice Consultants Society International, Lamb Weston, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, Thomson Group and Sara Lee Canada also contributed as Bronze sponsors.

Event supporters, who helped us shape our dinner, included ACE Bakery, Leonard Wholesale Fruit & Vegetables.

Industry Partner Night

Located in the heart of downtown Toronto at The Bay, Queen Street, the Arcadian Court opened 80 years ago on March 11, 1929. The January Dinner meeting took place in this fabulous historic restaurant. Art Deco was the governing design influence, wrought iron railings, large arched windows and huge chandeliers hanging from 40 foot ceilings …

Those who had dined at the Arcadian Court before relived their memories - those who had not enjoyed the opportunity.

As this was our industry night we invited other associations to join in so it was definitely a night filled with great networking opportunities followed by an extremely relevant presentation by Margot Swindall, Director of National Accounts for Sun Rich Fresh Foods. Margot spoke to “Understanding Foodborne Pathogens in our Fresh Produce”. She commented on What’s happening to our fresh produce; Spinach, green onions, carrots, cantaloupes, tomatoes and more have had reported outbreaks of potentially lethal food borne pathogens. She went on to present an overview from the field to your kitchen table of the pathogens present in fresh produce and provide answers to questions regarding fresh produce safety hazards, critical control points and government regulations.