In Ontario, the budget for dinner gets thinner

Last week, Ipsos Reid released a study showing that nearly three-quarters (72%) of Ontarians who regularly buy groceries for their household agree that they are dining in more often in order to reduce their expenses, results that skew even higher with younger shoppers (78%) and parents (82%).

The study also notes that “with the recent economic slowdown and increase in gas prices, 60% of grocery shoppers indicate they’ve had to scale back on the amount of times they go out for dinner.”

What does this mean for Ontario restaurants?

In an interview with CTV.ca, CRFA’s Jill Holroyd noted that although Canadian restaurants have enjoyed slightly higher sales this year compared to last, “we’re expecting to see a softening of that growth.”

In a related story in the Toronto Star, an industry executive indicated that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see Canada’s banks start requiring potential franchisees to have a higher net worth, in light of the credit crisis south of the border.”

If you’re an operator in Ontario, have you noticed a decline in the number of guests at your restaurant? Comment below to share your stories.

On eating meat and salvation by Susur

If you’re looking for photos from Day 1 of the Canadian Chefs’ Congress,
scroll on down … the link is just two posts below this one.

When I found out last week that I had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Chefs’ Congress, I knew I had to make a quick decision: to eat or not to eat … meat.

Here’s the thing … I’m a vegetarian, and have been so for some time. In fact, outside of an incident known in family circles as “Jeni had a little lamb” — I was traveling in Spain where lamb is as ubiquitous as red wine, olive oil and oxygen — I have not consciously eaten meat since the early 1990s. So would I make an exception for this one-time event?

I would, and I did.

Also overheard at the Canadian Chefs’ Congress

If you’re looking for photos from Day 1 of the Canadian Chefs’ Congress,
scroll on down … the link is in the post immediately below this one.

The last photo in the set I posted yesterday was of the team from Cava/Xococava making churros con chocolate during the event’s Midnight Kitchens. I thought it was a brave choice, and I wasn’t the only one:

Chris McDonald (Cava): I love deep frying in the dark! Especially over a burner!
Me: Hey, at least you’re wearing a shirt.
C McD: Yeah … no naked chef here.

Other attendee, after sampling the churros: It tastes like Sunday in Barcelona.
C McD: Like Sunday in Barcelona. I love that! I love cooking for chefs!

As Pamela Cuthbert notes in her article in today’s Toronto Star, when chefs cook for one another they tend to eat “a lot of meat.” Tomorrow I’ll fill you in on what it was like to be a vegetarian at an event that put the “meat” in “meeting of the minds.” Hint: delicious.

Canadian Chefs’ Congress 2008

At last, some photos from the first day of the 2008 Canadian Chefs’ Congress held at Eigensinn Farm, near Singhampton, Ontario.

Unfortunately I couldn’t attend on the second day, which featured more meals with a local food focus, and a series of workshops on sustainable agriculture and Canadian foods that I was sad to miss.

(just click on any of the images above to see the full photo set over on Flickr)

Overheard at the Canadian Chefs’ Congress

I got back very late last night, after attending the first day of the 2008 Canadian Chefs’ Congress.

It was a fantastic event and I’ll no doubt be blogging about it for the rest of the week, but while I spend the next couple of hours editing photos, here’s a funny conversation overheard near the Nunuvut/NWT/Yukon stations:

Guy #1: (in line for grilled muskox): They’re serving whale over there.
Guy #2: Did you try it?
Guy #1: No way, man! That’s a mammal, you know. I can’t eat that.
Guy #2: What are you, a vegetarian?
Guy #1: No, I’m not a vegetarian. I just can’t eat it. It had something live inside of it, you know?

Aside from their tenuous grasp of animal biology, the thing that I found funny about this is the fact that I AM a vegetarian, and I was in line in front of them! More on how I managed to squash my normal meat-shunning ways in an effort to satisfy my hunger curiosity about Canadian cuisine in posts to come …

I also want to note that these guys were very much the exception … across the board, I found the culinary pros in attendance to be incredibly knowledgeable about everything from sustainable farming practices to how to cook risotto over a campfire. But the exchange above was funnier, so there you go.