SEPT/OCT 2020
CANADIANPIZZAMAG.COM
CHEF OF THE YEAR Top Open Chef Michele Casale of Redipizza is obsessed with achieving the perfect Roman pizza
P. 16 Tried and true or in with the new? P. 24 Hometown booster Don Windsor
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VIRTUAL EVENT Canadian Pizza is hosting a live, half-day Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit to promote conversation and fresh ideas for your pizzeria.
Don’t miss this chance for pizzerias across Canada to share experiences and explore trends! ‘Don’t Stop Marketing’ Ideas Panel Regional Pizza Roundtable Pizza Demopalooza! Virtual Great Pizza Box Fold-Off Product Showcase featuring Pizza-Focused Products, Services and Expert Advice Exciting news about our next contest – it’s changing for 2020-21 to PIZZERIA OF THE YEAR! Premier Sponsor
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SEPT/OCT 2020 Vol. 26, No. 5
DEPARTMENTS 6
From the Editor Mental health check-in
7
Industry News Movers, shakers, legislation and news you can use
15 The pizza chef Hiring tips
12
19 Guest column 26 Cross-Canada Viewpoint 25 years of opinion
TOP PHOTO COURTESY REDIPIZZA PIZZERIA INC.
MIDDLE PHOTO COURTESY PIZZERIA VIA MERCANTI
CONTENTS ONLINE
COVER STORY
Canadian Pizza Podcast
12 Chef of the Year
Folding pizza boxes is an essential part of the pizza operation. James Timothy, our 2019 Great Pizza Box Fold-Off champion, shares some of his secrets for fast folding and challenges others to a showdown at our Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit on Oct. 19. You’ll find this interview and more at canadianpizzamag.com.
Top Open chef Michele Casale of Redipizza is obsessed with achieving the perfect Roman pizza By Colleen Cross
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16 Tried-and-true or in with the new? Three experienced pizzerias weigh in on strategy, comfort food and new innovations By Andrew Hind
22 Terroir Symposium highlights The pandemic is shining a light on terroir and the Culinary Tourism Alliance’s first virtual forum helped lead the way By Colleen Cross
ON THE COVER Michele Casale, owner of Redipizza in Lasalle, Que., in his happy place surrounded by airy Roman pizza crust. See page 12, where our Open Chef of the Year gets technical – and a little emotional. CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
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24 Hometown booster Don Windsor, longtime supplier to the pizza industry, on what it means to be there for your community By Colleen Cross
CanadianPizzaMag.com
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FROM THE EDITOR BY COLLEEN CROSS
September/October 2020, Vol. 26, No. 5
Mental health check-in
H
ow is your mental health these days? Here is a common scenario we witnessed last spring in the early days of the pandemic. Many pizzeria operators we talked with were stressed out by the day-to-day uncertainty of pandemic restrictions and government announcements. They worried about their staff, they worried about paying their rent, they worried about keeping the lights on, they worried about having to close for good. In the end, many made wise decisions based on instinctive concern for their teams and the best information available. Nobody wanted to be at the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak. There were a lot of sleepless nights and daily knots in the stomach. Operators checked in with their staff to learn how they were feeling and what they needed. When difficult decisions about reducing staff happened, many went out of their way to look out for those employees affected by providing free meals and other forms of support. Once settled into new routines, often with fewer staff, these entrepreneurs faced another kind of stress – the strain of working long hours alone or with skeleton staff to keep filling the take-out and delivery orders that – thank goodness – were coming in steadily. This wasn’t the case for everyone, but does this roller-coaster sound familiar? Mental health has got more attention during the pandemic, and rightly so. There was a lot going on, most of it bad. And for some, too much time alone to stew about it. After a busier summer, we are settling into a fall routine with worries of a second wave hanging over most of our heads. It’s time to do a mental health check: How are you doing? How are your employees feeling and coping? What does it mean to have good mental health? “Good mental health allows you to feel, think and act in ways that help you enjoy life and cope with its challenges.” That’s Health Canada’s definition. Your mental health can be
positively or negatively influenced by life experiences, relationships with others, physical health, the type of community you live in and whether it’s supportive or isolating. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, mental illness affects 7.5 million Canadians, costs $50 billion a year, or about 20 per cent of the population. You can bet mental issues are affecting someone you work with. Do you check in with your employees regularly? Have you checked in on them lately? It’s important for employers to take the lead in making sure your workplace is a positive place to be and meeting your obligations. Physical health and safety is top of mind for many operators, but is mental health and safety? If you’ve been wondering if you’re doing enough to promote a positive workplace, here are a few tools and resources to get you on the right track. The association and the Mental Health Commission of Canada collaborated to create the Takeaways Toolkit, which is based on how 40 workplaces have put in place the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. The Toolkit is a good place to start if you want your business to address and promote the psychological health and safety of your employees. Within the Toolkit, a smart first click might be on the CMHA’s checklist to help you take stock of everyone’s state of mind. Here’s a great new resource you all should check out. Not 9 to 5 is a non-profit organization started last May by people in the restaurant industry to empower hospitality, food and beverage service workers by providing education and support for mental health and substance use. The website (not9to5.org) has a ton of resources designed for restaurants and the forward-thinking group is developing a mental health course specifically for restaurants. As we head into winter, we wish you all health, happiness and prosperity in these still tough times. | CP
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canadian_pizza_magazine September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
EDITOR Colleen Cross ccross@annexbusinessmedia.com 519-428-3471 ext. 261 SALES MANAGER Stephanie Jewell sjewell@annexbusinessmedia.com 705-826-2254 ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Kathryn Nyenhuis knyenhuis@annexbusinessmedia.com 416-510-6753 MEDIA DESIGNER Curtis Martin CIRCULATION MANAGER Anita Madden amadden@annexbusinessmedia.com 416-442-5600 ext 3596 GROUP PUBLISHER, VP SALES Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexbusinessmedia.com
COO Scott Jamieson sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 Publication Mail Agreement #40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 Published five times per year (Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec) by Annex Business Media
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ANNEX PRIVACY OFFICER privacy@annexbusinessmedia.com Tel: 800-668-2374 No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2020 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
PIZZA SUBSCRIPTIONS
General Assembly Pizza launches ‘world’s first’ pizza subscription service in Toronto General Assembly Pizza, a fast-casual restaurant in downtown Toronto, has launched what it’s calling the world’s first pizza subscription service. The subscription offers free home delivery for stacks of four, six, eight or 10 pizzas, from $39 per order and from $9 per pizza. In spring 2020, General Assembly launched a frozen pizza line that features six 100 per cent naturally leavened pizzas that cook at home in five to seven minutes. Its newest plantbased pizza, Garden Smash, launches Sept. 15 and is available exclusively through the pizzeria’s subscription program. Founder and CEO Ali Khan Lalani said ecommerce was a natural expansion of the business’s current products and services, which include consumer packaged goods, dine-in operations, a dedicated takeout space, delivery partnerships and a bespoke catering service, featuring their wood burning mobile pizza oven: “Since opening our doors in
2017, we have pushed for the best guest-experience possible – that’s why our dough is 100 per cent naturally leavened, that’s why we have a purpose-built 400-squarefoot pick-up and delivery area, and that’s why we’re launching a direct-to-consumer subscription-based ecommerce platform today. In 2020, providing the best guest experience means General Assembly Pizza has to be more than a restaurant. I’m proud to say that after almost six months of planning, many roadblocks and countless pivots – all while maintaining our day-to-day restaurant operations amidst a pandemic – we have done it.” Executive chef Curt Martin will oversee the phased rollout of the subscription service. In future Martin plans to highlight fresh seasonal ingredients on the menu and focus on increasing vegetarian, plant-based and pork-free options. The subscription menu features General Assembly Pizza’s frozen pizza line, which is also available in grocery freezer aisles across Ontario. The kid-friendly menu features four classic vegetarian pizzas, including: • Mila Margherita: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, basil, olive oil (vegetarian)
CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
ON THE WEB Pizza 73 marks 35th anniversary; Canada Post mailer offer can boost your local traffic; Working from home may mean 30% in lost sales for hospitality over next year: report | FOR MORE PIZZA NEWS, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com.
• Sweet Heat: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, pecorino, hot salami, chili, honey, basil • Loving Cup: tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, parmesan, natural pepperoni, wild oregano • The Cheese Wizard: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, aged mozzarella, grana padano, provolone, pecorino, wild oregano (vegetarian) • Garden Smash (subscription exclusive): tomato sauce, green kale, artichoke, grilled eggplant, roasted sweet pepper, garlic, wild oregano (plant-based) At 10 inches in diameter, all of General Assembly’s pizzas are personal pizzas, which lends itself to a tidy freezer footprint,
the restaurant said in a news release. The frozen pizzas require no kitchen preparation and cook in just five to seven minutes in a conventional oven or grilled on the barbecue. Subscription orders can be placed at gapizza.com. Subscribers choose their monthly stack size and select their pizzas. They can change, pause or cancel their subscription any time. Pizzas are delivered to subscribers’ doorstep in a temperature-controlled recyclable box. Contactless delivery and package tracking ensure customers know exactly when to expect their order. Delivery is available across Toronto with plans underway to expand delivery to the GTA soon and across Ontario in 2021.
CanadianPizzaMag.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS
EVENT
Join us for the Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit on Oct. 19 We can’t meet in person but, on the bright side, we can all meet online at the Virtual Canadian Pizza Summit on Oct. 19 without having to buy a plane ticket or leave our shops and offices. Pizzerias and their teams will get together virtually to gather ideas for their menu, learn strategies for marketing their signature pizza and feel a sense of community with other pizzerias. The Virtual Summit will be capped off with a Great Pizza Box Fold-Off, sponsored by Lallemand Baking. The Canadian Pizza Virtual Summit is brought to you by our generous industry supporters, Premier sponsors Ardent Mills and Faema Canada and Prime sponsor EM Bakery Equipment. Register at canadianpizzamag.com/virtual-events. And look for highlights in the next issue! EVENT
Artisan Bakery Expo East to collocate with Pizza & Pasta Northeast in 2021 Emerald Expositions, owner of the International Pizza Expo and the International Artisan Bakery Expo and other proper8
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ties, recently bought the Atlantic Bakery Expo and rebranded it. Rescheduled for October 2021 and renamed the Artisan Bakery Expo East, the event will be co-located with Pizza & Pasta Northeast, the trade show for independent pizzeria owners on the East Coast. Artisan Bakery Expo East will focus on the needs of the retail-artisan bakery owner. This event, with its seminars, demonstrations and networking opportunities, is expected to attract more than 4,000 artisan bakers and operators. PAYMENT TRENDS
25% of Canada’s small businesses accepting less cash or none at all: Visa study Many Canadian small businesses are trying new approaches in their business and one-quarter are accepting less cash or have stopped accepting cash, according to Visa’s recent Visa Back to Business Study. Despite the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, 77 per cent of small businesses in Canada are optimistic about the future of their business, the report said. Two-thirds say they have found their local community to be supportive of their business. Yet, in the face of this optimism, Canadian small businesses estimate it will be an average of 10 months before their business is back to being fully operational, the longest outlook of all countries surveyed in the international report. To keep up with rapidly evolving consumer demands, 44 per cent have tried a new approach to keep their
business on track since the start of COVID-19. And 26 per cent report their business has accepted less or stopped accepting cash since COVID-19. The survey was conducted in June 2020.
more than 30 new recipes and a variety of cooking formats, such as 15-minute one pan meals, slow-cooker meals and heat-and-serve meals. The kits are available through pcchef.ca to customers in the Greater Toronto Area.
MEAL KITS SKILLED TRADES
Skilled trades need new digital skills: Conference Board
Loblaw partners with Toronto-area restaurants to deliver meal kits to homes Loblaw is partnering with a handful of Greater Toronto Area restaurants to provide ready-to-make dishes that residents of the Greater Toronto Area can now prepare at home. Participating local restaurants are Burger’s Priest, La Carnita, Fresh Restaurants, Fat Lamb Kouzina, General Assembly Pizza, Kinton Ramen and Sala Modern Thai. Customers can get contactless, next-day delivery, Wednesday to Saturday, with no commitment and no subscription required, said a news release by Loblaw Companies Limited. The kits are prepared by the restaurants and come with fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step instructions. There are 15 restaurant meals to choose from that vary in size from one to six servings. The restaurant kits are featured alongside an expanded assortment of PC Chef Meal Kits, which now includes
Tradespeople will need a range of new digital skills to keep pace with the future of work, suggests a new report by the Conference Board of Canada. The new paper, “Bridging Generational Divides: Advancing Digital Skills in Canada’s Apprenticeships and Skilled Trades Ecosystem,” by Andrew Bieler, looks at how Canadian apprenticeship training can adapt to the changing workplace. Young people entering the trades are encountering classrooms and workplaces undergoing social and technological disruption. This is made worse by outdated training and assessment models and by structural barriers to digital upgrading of skills. This report looks at the barriers and ways to overcome them. Among the highlights: • Improving digital skills will be the most important factor for Canada’s skilled trades. • Generational differences between younger and older workers are slowing the shift. • Tradespeople will need seven core digital skills: technical, information management, digital communication, virtual collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving in digital environments.
September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
INDUSTRY NEWS
CUSTOMER HABITS
Survey highlights customers’ concerns while dining out Canadians feel safer eating at independent restaurants and men feel safest eating at a buffet, suggests a survey of 1,000 people by Andie.work, a free artificial intelligence online and mobile app designed to help consumers avoid COVID-19 exposure. The company recently conducted the survey of 1,000 to uncover and address their greatest concerns while dining out. Key findings: • Canadians feel significantly safer eating at independent restaurants (35.5 per cent) versus fast food (23.0 per cent) or chain restaurants (11.1 per cent). • Canadians feel safer on patios (21.7 per cent) than indoor dining rooms (10.2 per cent). • Over half of Canadians (56.8 per cent) are still ‘only eating at home.’ • Men really want buffets back! A whopping 73.4 per cent of respondents who said they felt the safest eating at a buffet during COVID were men versus only 26.6 per
cent of women. • Women are a considerably more concerned about lineups (56.1 per cent) and utensils (55.8 per cent) as touchpoints when eating out than men are at 43.9 per cent (lineups) and 44.2 per cent (utensils). • Men are the most concerned about ‘exposure to other patrons’ at 58.3 per cent vs. 41.7 per cent (women). Canadians have real reservations about restaurants. Asked to identify their biggest barriers to eating out right now, nearly half said potentially catching COVID. Exposure to other patrons, inability to afford eating out now and long lineups with other patrons were their top additional concerns. Touchpoints that concern them most are exposure to other patrons, followed by bathrooms, lineups, exposure to wait staff, the food itself and utensils. Andie.work has a Critical COVID ratings system. It predicts the shortest wait times at liquor, grocery store, pharmacy, clinic, gas stations, and big-box stores. Through its “Dining Defender” update, Canadians are able to rate the critical COVID touch-
points of utensils, bathrooms, staff cleanliness, food preparation, physical distancing, safety rules enforcement, guest PPE and availability of hand sanitizers and share those ratings in the app. PIZZA AND BEER
Virtual Oktoberfest event features beer and pizza pairing On Oct. 20, Lallemand Baking will co-host a virtual pairing event with the Siebel Institute of Brewing, the oldest brewing school in Canada. Join them for a virtual Oktoberfest party, involving a live, guided tasting. Learn about flavourful pizza crust toppings and take home ideas for your pizzeria. For more information, go to lallemandbaking.com
CARING COMMUNITY
RIGHT PHOTO: © BERNARDBODO / ADOBE STOCK
89-year-old delivery driver gets $12K tip
Correction to photo credit The photo credit for this lovely photo of Tina Brisbin of Mambella’s Italian Kitchen in Waterloo, Ont., in our July/August edition should have gone to Dawne Taylor-Gilders, DTG Photography. Canadian Pizza apologizes for the mistake. CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
CNN recently reported that an 89-year-old pizza delivery driver in Utah received a surprise delivery from “regulars” on his route – a $12,000 tip. A local family asked their TikTok followers to make a donation to help out Derlin Newey, who lives on a fixed income and delivers pizzas for Papa John’s for about 30 hours a week. They raised $12,000 and presented a cheque to him.
ON-DEMAND DELIVERY
Study finds late delivery affects half of on-demand food delivery customers, but many miss phone calls to alert them On-demand food delivery services have a customer support problem, according to a new study released by First Orion. Half of the 2,000 customers polled said the top reason for needing to connect with the delivery service’s customer support team was the late delivery of their food order. However, 62 per cent had missed a call about issues with their delivery because they didn’t recognize the phone number calling. This led to dissatisfaction for many customers. When problems occur with mobile app ordering and contactless delivery, many surveyed said they want to receive a phone call and have issues resolved within 10 minutes. How important is it to be able to identify an unknown phone number by the business name? Many said very or extremely important – otherwise, they simply won’t answer. “Consumers are willing to answer the phone when they see a brand’s logo or name, driving greater engagement, loyalty and a positive experience overall,” said Viki Zabala, chief marketing and product officer at First Orion, whose Engage app is designed to combat this by notifying of drivers’ arrival. Other problems mentioned were incorrect order, food was cold/not fresh, driver needed directions and food never arrived. CanadianPizzaMag.com
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INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Restaurants Canada is providing an overview of the industry and advocating for food service in many ways BY COLLEEN CROSS
W
hat does the next normal look like for Canada’s restaurant industry? The 2020 Foodservice Facts Report released by Restaurants Canada sheds some light on this question. “The greatest challenge our industry will face is the uncertainty that this crisis will have on restaurant businesses and how long the effects will last,” says Chris Elliott, senior economist at Restaurants Canada in a press release. “The foodservice industry will change from what we’ve known and continue to pivot and adapt its business model to survive.” In 2019, restaurants and foodservice generated over $93 billion in sales and was on track to surpass $100 billion in sales in 2021. Due to 10
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The percentage of restaurants that have diversified and will continue to sell meal kits going forward.
the pandemic, however, the restaurant industry could now lose between $21.7 billion and $44.8 billion in annual sales this year, according to Restaurants Canada. “The range in the forecast reflects tremendous uncertainty as the industry heads into fall and winter,” says Elliott. “Restaurants are likely to see a further erosion in sales in the coming months with patio season ending and possible consumer trepidation about indoor dining. A second wave of confirmed COVID-19 cases would potentially lead to sharply lower sales.” While all of this will lead to further permanent restaurant closures, trends we saw pre-COVID were accelerated and may present opportunities to restaurants who have the ability to pivot their business as we
move forward in the new normal. Findings from the Foodservice Facts Report offer insights and results from these trends: • At the height of the crisis in April 2020, on premise orders accounted for a mere 4 per cent of sales compared to more than 50 per cent in 2019. • “Ghost Kitchens” present an opportunity for brands to operate with no storefront and focus entirely on delivery through mobile and online platforms. • 60 per cent of customers surveyed show interest in ordering delivery from a ghost kitchen. • Nearly one in five restaurants have diversified and will continue to sell meal kits going forward. • More than half of restaurants offering contactless payment options and contactless pickup/ curbside pickup. “The strength of Canada’s restaurant September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
PHOTO CREDIT: © DMITRY VERESHCHAGIN / ADOBE STOCK
RC LAUNCHES 2020 FOODSERVICE FACTS REPORT
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
•
• industry is its creativity and sheer determination. While restaurant sales will one day return to pre-COVID-19 levels, the industry will be vastly different from before,” Elliott says. “In the coming years, we will see the acceleration of many trends, such as the rise in ghost kitchens, alcohol delivery and the adoption of technology as restaurants focus on raising productivity.” As the foodservice industry looks to navigate these long-lasting changes, Restaurants Canada’s 30-plus research reports specifically tailored for restaurant operators and suppliers provide the insights and data needed to make the best decisions for your foodservice business while on the road to recovery. For more on the report, visit restaurantscanada.ca.
business support programs, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program and the Canada Emergency Business Account. Direct stimulus spending toward the restaurant industry, with a program similar to the “Eat Out to Help Out” program in the U.K., to boost critically needed revenue to struggling restaurants and the sectors of the economy that depend on their survival. Ensure any new measures under consideration take into account the challenging realities of operating a business during the ongoing pandemic and continue to create conditions that support Canadians returning to work.
Update on wage subsidy Federal government to extend wage subsidy as recommended by Restaurants Canada. Restaurants Canada is commending the federal government for making supporting people and businesses as long as the pandemic lasts one of its four priorities for the upcoming parliamentary session and for committing to act on its recommendation to extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. | CP
More than half of restaurants are offering contactless payment options and contactless pickup/curbside pickup. Update on help for restaurants In September Restaurants Canada called on the federal government to create a program similar to the “Eat Out to Help Out” program in the U.K. designed to boost revenue for struggling restaurants. In a letter to the Prime Minister’s office, Restaurants Canada’s president and CEO, Todd Barclay, calls for further assistance to ensure business continuity so that restaurants can continue contributing to economic growth: “The recovery of the foodservice industry will not be linear,” Barclay wrote. “Despite best efforts to innovate and adapt to the current environment, our sector will experience ups and downs as patios close, consumer behaviour adjusts and areas such as downtowns no longer host office workers and tourists in the same volumes they once did.” With roughly 10 per cent of food-service businesses already permanently closed due to the impacts of COVID-19 and most still losing money, Restaurants Canada recommended support for the industry in the following ways: • Extend and adapt the main emergency COVID-19 federal CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
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COVER STORY
CHEF OF THE YEAR: MICHELE CASALE Canada’s top Open chef Michele Casale of Redipizza is obsessed with achieving the perfect Roman pizza BY COLLEEN CROSS
I
The beginning Redpizza’s story began four years ago, when Casale opened his fast-casual concept in the busy Montreal suburb. But Michele (pron. Mee-kel-e) Casale’s path to becoming an expert at Roman pizza making began at age 19, when he came to Canada. He worked in restaurants and hotels for more 12
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Redpizza’s story began four years ago, when Michele Casale opened his fast-casual pizza and bakery concept in the busy Montreal suburb of LaSalle.
than two decades. His brother discovered Roman-style pizza when visiting Italy, shared the discovery and the obsession began. “I quit the hotel even though I was making good money,” says Casale, now 41, who hails from Puglia. “I went to Rome, studied for one month, came back to Montreal and found a location.” He bought a deck oven 16 centimetres high, much shorter than the typical 24-inch deck used for bread or pizza. “You can customize the temperature in each deck,” he explains. For his standard pizza crust, he recommends 60 C in the bottom and 10 C in the top. For tomato-sauced pizza, he recommends 60/20. For a potato
Michele Casale’s formula: 60% good dough + 20% quality toppings + 10% stretching + 10% baking = great pizza
pizza, 60/10.” He began to make Roman pizza. “It has existed in Rome since the 1990s and it has continued to progress,” Casale says. “We can perfect the technique using the best flours available and it is also a healthier version than the typical pizza dough. In Montreal, many are used to eating heavier pizza doughs but since they have discovered these lighter alternatives people are loving it and making changes.” Casale talked with Canadian Pizza about the elements of Roman pizza.
Water Acid neutral alkaline water is so important for the dough, Casale says. September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
PHOTO COURTESY REDIPIZZA PIZZERIA INC.
t’s fair to say Mchele Casale is obsessed with Roman pizza. When Casale, owner of Redipizza Pizzeria Inc., a bakery and pizzeria in LaSalle, Que., spoke with Canadian Pizza in early September, he was keen to talk about the technical aspects of baking. But his interest in the science is well matched by his passion for the process and his signature product, Roman pizza al taglio. It had been six months since pandemic restrictions began in March and an emotional rollercoaster of a season. As a precaution, Casale closed Redipizza. Starting in June, Redipizza began doing a brisk take-out business. Customers returned and sales have been steady.
COVER STORY
“Protein dissolved with the water creates the gluten. Water in Canada has more calcium, so to bring it to neutral, you need to balance out the pH.” He thinks of his airy, structured pizza crust as a dinner plate. “You can put any recipe that you want on top of your plate – your dough,” he says. “Your creativity is in the way you see your plate, or your dough.” The toppings are secondary for this chef and he emphasizes crust over toppings. “Some people say the best pizza is in the toppings. For me, the best pizza is all about the dough. If you like vegetables, that’s your favourite pizza. If you like fish, that’s your favourite pizza.” He breaks good pizza down to a formula: 60 per cent has to be a good dough, 20 per cent is quality toppings, 10 per cent is the stretching and 10 per cent is the baking.
Flour “Pizza al taglio is what I think of as the ‘gourmet’ pizza,” Casale says. “To make it, we need to use quality flour, and that means flour with a high percentage of protein.” He prefers Italian flour at a strength of at least 240 W. The chef recommends putting your flour in the refrigerator immediately to prevent your dough from reaching too high a temperature. The water, too, must be in the fridge. Ideal temperatures for the finished dough are 19 C in summer and 21C in winter. After 72 hours, he forms the dough balls. He likes whole-wheat flour, which retains many of its minerals. “But it doesn’t matter what type it is – it’s the slow process that helps. The fermentation is everything.” His flour is a mixture of double-zero at 380 W, which is strong. Temperature is important. Casale says, “At 30 C we wake up the pizza and the dough starts growing. At 70 C the yeast dies. At 100 C the water we put inside the dough starts to evaporate. At 140 C the Maillard reaction CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
starts, he says, referring to a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavour, perfume and caramelization. The oven takes time to reach 290 C, and at 290-300, the dough starts baking. Casale bakes his al taglio pizza at 290-300 C.
Fermentation Roman pizza requires a long maturation and, for this, a strong flour, Casale says. “The stronger the flour is, the more protein the dough has. After 48 hours we finally have our sourdough. We need to take time to let the enzymes in the dough transform ingredients in the dough. The protein and the sugar are broken down from complex to simple.” “That’s why the pizza is so light,” he says. “If we help our stomach with this maturation, we have no problems with the stomach.”
Yeast The yeast plays a key role in the process. “The yeast stays alive by eating the sugar,” Casale says, comparing it to a human being. “When presented with a buffet of food, a human may overeat,” he says. “In the same way, the yeast may eat too much sugar. When the human gets too full, he falls asleep. . . . With the yeast, we let the first 24 hours eat the sugar, then ‘wake him up’ and encourage him to eat more. After another 48 hours asleep, we wake him up again. We reach the 72 hours. The yeast eats all the sugar in the dough.” “The simplicity is the perfection. It is not easy,” Casale says. “We have to balance that simplicity and improve it. If I do something wrong today I have to study more, understand what’s happening. You have to improve yourself to achieve that result.”
Bakery + pizzeria Redipizza draws people from afar to try the pizza, but it is also a bakery.
Customers were reminded of that when COVID-19 hit in late March. Temporarily closed and growing bored, Casale, like many Canadians, started baking bread. “I chose two days a week to make sourdough bread. I was giving free bread to my clients,” he says. “We put the word out through Instagram. People wanted to pay but we wouldn’t take it.” Of course, the business is better known for its pizza. “We concentrate on the pizza,” Casale says. “It’s our most important product. Some clients ask, why don’t you do pasta or soup? I want to specialize in one thing. If you diversify into too many things, you don’t do your specialty well.” “When we reopened in June, people said, ‘We missed you, we missed your pizza.’ We missed the clients as well.”
Chef of the Year! Looking back to October 2019, the chef recalls he felt emotional when he was named Chef of the Year in the Open division in Toronto for his Pizza del bel paese (see page 14). That emotion relates to pride in his work and gratitude and love for his family. Casale and his wife Eva Sardo met in Montreal and have been together since 1995. They have two daughters, Marcela, 7, and Carina, 4. Michele Casale put in many hours and weeks of training in Italy before even opening Redipizza. His family in Montreal fully supported his quest. And when Marcela was a baby, he made her a promise he had every intention of keeping. “Poppy’s going to make the best pizza. That was my promise to her,” he says. When he won, his first call was to tell Marcela the exciting news.” “It took a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of persistence,” Casale says.“Everything was not for the money – it was just to achieve, to push myself. It’s all about believing.” | CP
5 TIPS ON PANS 1. Use ferro blue (iron) pans, which absorb and transmit more heat to the dough than aluminum pans. 2. Dimensions 60 x 40 cm. 3. Height 2 cm. 4. Brush pan with olive oil. 5. Bake the pizza right away after putting it in the pan. If dough is left in the pan, the amount of sugar will be reduced, creating black spots and a non-uniform crust.
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RECIPE BY MICHELE CASALE, REDIPIZZA, LASALLE, QUE.
Pizza del bel paese (Beautiful Country Pizza) Michele Casale’s winning pizza, Pizza del bel paese (beautiful country), is Roman pizza al taglio, a style of pizza typically sold by weight in Italy. “I look at my pizza as a plate, I transport the topping on that plate,” Casale says. “When I was thinking about what to do, I wanted to do something simple, something creative with quality ingredients. Each pizza has to have a personality. “For me the white pizza is the best, better than the red pizza. When I did that white burrata base with sundried tomato, my idea was to make the red, white and green Italian flag.” Whipping cream with pesto and a little basil on top of the pizza brought the green.
Casale didn’t make this particular pizza before coming to Toronto but he was confident. “I had my vision. My work was to create the perfect foam. It had to balance pesto with the cream. That was my only challenge. The foam was for me important.” CRUST
• See our profile of Michele Casale on pages 14-15 for details and tips on flour and fermentation CRUST
• Sundried cherry tomatoes • Burratine cheese (small burrata cheese) • Pesto (pomodorini seche, burratine e basilico con pesto) mixed with whipping cream to create green foam • Basil
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September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA 2020-05-28 2:02 PM
THE PIZZA CHEF
Diana Cline is an award-winning pizza chef, a partner with Diana’s Cucina & Lounge in Winnipeg. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is a consultant to other pizzeria owner/ operators in menu development, creating operational systems and marketing to help operators grow their business strategically. Contact her at diana@dianascucinaandlounge.com.
BY DIANA CLINE
The wheat and the chaff
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“
’m the kind of guy that likes to see jobs get done,” the young man said to me. “I’ll look around for things to do and I just do them. You don’t have to ask.” I’m the kind of guy that likes to see jobs get done,” the young man said to me. “I’ll look around for things to do and I just do them. You don’t have to ask.” He looked me in the eye said, “My work ethic tends to motivate other people too.” Sounds impressive! In fact, sounded exactly like what I wanted to hear. This young man was just the kind of employee we were looking for to join our busy pizzeria so we hired him on the spot. Unfortunately, a completely different person showed up on the job. Other staff complained that this guy liked to stand around and watch them work. Managers told me that he would find a seat on any horizontal surface, a faux pas I eventually witnessed. Over and over we saw this pattern repeated in our hiring process: a stellar job interview and subsequent hire followed by a less than adequate performance. We were at a loss to understand the complete disconnect between how these people represented themselves in the interview versus how they were in reality. A lot of people want jobs, but some of them don’t actually want to work. We were finding it more and more difficult to separate the two types during the interview. The candidates were well rehearsed. We began to call them Academy Award interview performances. Undoubtedly, you’ve all experienced these superior actors. You thought a new hire was going to work out great, take some of the load off, and then, wham! You get a dose of reality before their first pay-
CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
We needed to create a hiring system to weed out these convincing actors from the interview process. We needed a way to prevent them from even getting to the interview.
cheque is even issued. Some say that it’s the cost of doing business, but training is expensive. And training someone who doesn’t really want to work is even more expensive. Add to that the poor customer service such a person provides, and you are playing a dangerous game with your business. Once you discover that you’ve had an Academy Award interview performance and a slacker shows up for training, you can and definitely should let the slacker go. No reason to keep an actor on the payroll, unless, of course, you provide dinner theatre. When someone looks you in the eye and tells you something about themselves that is completely false, how are you to know? Sure, there are reference checks, and one should always follow up with a call to the listed references, but what about those young people with no previous experience or references? What we needed and ended up developing was a hiring system. We don’t accept resumés. We don’t have the standard application forms that you can buy at an office store. These aren’t important in our industry. Our industry is labour intensive, and if you’re the kind of person who likes to be hardly working instead of working hard, well, we have a fundamental problem. We needed to create a hiring system to weed out these convincing actors from the interview process. We needed a way to prevent them from even getting to the interview. We wrote three pages about what an employee can expect from our company and in turn, what we expect from them. We wrote a little about our company, who we are, our goals in the community and in business. Buried in these three pages is a phone number to call and
schedule an interview. Attached to these three pages are four more pages of requested information from the applicant. We call this our application kit. When someone walks in and asks if they can drop off a resumé we give them an application kit with the following directions: “Take this home, read it and then fill it out. If you have a resumé, staple it to the back. When you’re finished filling it out, there’s a number inside to call and schedule an interview.” If the next thing they ask is for a pen, we’ll give them one, but their application kit is flagged “not considered” because they ignored the very first instructions we gave them. If they can’t follow the simplest of directions, the very first we give, then how successful will their training be? Here’s the best part. For every 10 application kits that we hand out, eight never come back. That means that eight out of 10 people think that reading three pages and filling out another four is too much work to get a job at my company. If those people think that’s too much work, then working in our industry is way past their threshold. And we need to know that before we begin their training, before we give them a uniform, before we add them to payroll, etc., etc. Ideally, we need to know before we bring them in for an interview – or else we’d need a fulltime interviewer. Any business is only as strong as its weakest employee and you need a system to weed out the actors and the slackers from the doers and the workers. | CP This column was originally published in Canadian Pizza in August 2010.
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FEATURE
TRIED-AND-TRUE OR IN WITH THE NEW? Three experienced pizzerias weigh in on strategy, comfort food and new innovations BY ANDREW HIND
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Pizzeria Libretto has launched two new pizza offerings during the pandemic: a Sicilian pizza and Neo-NY-style pizza (pictured).
Tried and true During uncertain times, a little comfort food can go a long way. Restaurants around the world have pivoted their dining focus to menus meant to soothe the soul in the wake of COVID-19, and the venture’s been surprisingly successful – both for the restaurants and the customers. “Our pizza is simple, like the old days and with the best ingredients,” explains Brittany Leo, who works alongside her parents – Romualdo
“Now is the time to analyze any problem areas that are too costly, too inefficient or simply not practical in the midst of a pandemic.” –Rocco Agostino
Salvati, a renowned Pizzaiolo, and Robin Leo – at Pizzeria Via Mercanti, the Toronto restaurant they founded in 2012. Pizzeria Via Mercanti won Best in Chow’s hit show Pizza Wars, was featured on Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here! and has since expanded to three locations. Clearly the family knows a things a thing or two about pleasing its customers. “There’s something important in preserving the simplicity of food. Where all these exciting new fusions September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
PHOTO BY PAULINE YU, COURTESY LIBRETTO RESTAURANT GROUP.
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he novel coronavirus global pandemic is quickly reshaping Canadian life as we know it. No customer-facing business – retail, restaurant, services – is unaffected. Restaurant owners, pizzerias naturally among them, especially face challenges due to restrictions on gatherings of people, the need for new business models, the potential for new localized quarantines, and just the fearful atmosphere that has patrons concerned about dine-in options. Nevertheless, people still have to eat. The inherent craving for restaurant fare will provide the opportunity for pizzerias to endure, despite the increase in home cooking that we’ve seen over the last six months. There are different paths to thriving in the new reality. Some are sticking to the tried-and-true, featuring comfort foods, while others are opting for innovative new products in attempts to attract customers and keep it interesting.
FEATURE
are arising, we still feel there is a strong importance to our simple cuisine. Simple does not mean you miss out on a mouthwatering experience. Quality goes a long way,” Leo says. “This is especially true now, during the pandemic. Many of our menu items, pizza included, are considered comfort foods that resort back to our roots and generate a sense of home and belonging. During uncertain times like these, resorting to comforting, familiar foods is helping people to endure.” Indeed, remaining true to familiar foods has helped Pizzeria Via Mercanti to endure as well. The restaurant has remained open throughout the pandemic and the menu has remained consistent: only a few items did not survive the impact of COVID-19. Despite boasting a wide range of delicious pastas, the menu’s two most popular items are the Ciambella Ripiena – a margherita pizza that features a ricotta-stuffed crust, hot soppressata and black pepper – and Via Mercanti pizza, both long mainstays. Longing for comfort food isn’t merely anecdotal, and it certainly isn’t limited to Pizzeria Via Mercanti’s customers. Polls show that 69 per cent of consumers have ordered take-out or delivery food from restaurants during the pandemic, and that 87 per cent of respondents have ordered take-out from a specific local restaurant out of a desire to support the restaurant financially. Pizza represents the top choice among restaurant types for take-out, with 71 per cent of respondents having ordered from a pizzeria at least once since the pandemic hit. This data suggests that pizzerias can appeal to the sentimental side of consumers by providing food that comforts in troubled times and introducing them to the owner behind their favourite restaurant. “We’ve managed to survive the 2020 pandemic thus far by staying true to our roots,” Leo says. “Italian culture and cuisine create an atmosphere of love, which is something the whole world needs to feel right now.” In with the new The restaurant industry as a whole has been taking note of our willingness to dine indoors in the last months and keeping track of how our purchasing habits have changed. If any restaurant wants to survive the pandemic, it has to observe what the customer wants and quickly pivot. Pizzeria Libretto, a revered chain of Toronto pizzerias with five locations, has been responding in unique fashion: doubling down on tried-and-true comfort foods while also experimenting with innovative and exciting new options. “We’ve pivoted our business to be mostly pizza focused and eliminated some of the more costly and labour-intensive appetizers,” explains Rocco Agostino, executive chef and partner of the Libretto Restaurant Group. “One successful venture has seen us perfect a pan-cooked frozen Neapolitan pizza which can be found in small grocers and Pustaries all across the GTA. This is a challenging time, and we don’t know what the future holds, so by pivoting our business to focus on take-out/delivery and grocery stores we know that whatever we are hit with, we’ll be able to persevere. Agostino stresses that now is the time to analyze any problem areas in one’s business that are too costly, too inefficient or simply not CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
practical in the midst of a pandemic. Instead, one needs to focus on core, profitable areas of the business. That doesn’t mean, however, that innovation comes to an end. Libretto has launched two new pizza offerings during the pandemic: a Sicilian pizza and Neo-NY-style pizza. “Sicilian pizza, or square pizza, is what I grew up on as a kid. Our Sicilian is a bit of a hybrid dough, where we treat it like a focaccia, some bulk fermentation, and then bake it in a treated square pan. This gives it a light and fluffy interior and crispiness outside with a frico crust,” Agostino explains. “The Sicilian travels better for take-out and delivery, which is a big component in the post-COVID world.” Agostino put his own spin on the traditional New York pizza by using a sourdough ferment and baking it in a stone deck oven, which gives it a much crispier texture while still maintaining the blisters that you would get from a pizza baked in a wood oven. “This large pizza is definitely meant for sharing,” Agostino says, “and also is great for take-out and delivery as the longer bake helps retain the heat.” Brigade, a successful Montreal pizzeria opened in 2014 by partners – in business and in marriage – Grace Yeh and Jean-Daniel Nadeau, also has taken the time to review its offerings and unveil new offerings to fill very specific niches. “Your core business must remain first and foremost in your mind at all times,” Nadeau says. “You cannot neglect that, or you risk
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In July, after months of perfecting the recipe, Brigade pizzeria in Montreal launched a Detroit-style pizza in response to what they saw as customer demand.
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foreseeable future, Yeh and Nadeau knew take-out and delivery would become more important to his business model than was previously the case. Thicker and heavier, the Detroit-style pizza transports better and stays warm longer than does the Neapolitan. The loss of its pre-COVID-19
It was a joyless chore. These courses made cooking a meal fun again.” Food isn’t merely a sustaining requirement of life. It also brings comfort and joy, pleasures that remain as true today as they were before the coronavirus descended upon us. There isn’t a roadmap to success for
“During uncertain times like these, resorting to comforting, familiar foods is helping people to endure.” –Brittany Leo, Pizzeria Via Mercanti clientele has forced Brigade to be nimble and innovative. “During the pandemic, when sales plummeted 60-70 per cent, we launched online pizza-making classes wherein we sent kits out to customers and did courses on Zoom,” Nadeau explains. “The need to prepare meals three times a day, seven days a week, was proving stressful for many people.
pizzerias in the pandemic world, but there are avenues you can take. Tried-and-true or in with the new? It’s up to you. | CP Andrew Hind is a freelance writer from Bradford, Ont., specializing in food, history and travel. He is the author of 25 books and the proud father of one. September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
PHOTO: BRIGADE.
alienating your customer base. You have to ensure your core business remains at the top of its game. When you launch a new product, you have to bring that same excellence to it that your core product is known for and it has to fill a niche. The new product needs to stand out. You can’t just add for the sake of adding.” Brigade has always been known for Neapolitan pizza cooked in a wood-fire stove (both Nadeau and Yeh and certified pizzaiolos by VPN, the Vera Pizza Napoletana Association). That’s their core business. But in July, after months of perfecting the recipe, they launched a Detroit-style pizza in response to what they saw as customer demand. “Our customers wanted something different,” Nadeau explains. “People are trying to fill their emotions with food, and the Detroit pizza – thicker, heavier, heartier – fits the bill. It’s more decadent than the Neapolitan pizza, perfect for sharing for a partner, and we say an opportunity to set ourselves apart.” Brigade’s location in downtown Montreal also informed the decision to unveil a Detroit pizza. With a client base consisting largely of office workers who are currently working from home, and likely will be for the
GUEST COLUMN BY ALICE SINIA, PHD
Alice Sinia, PhD, is quality assurance manager of regulatory/lab Services for Orkin Canada focusing on government regulations pertaining to the pest control industry. With more than 20 years of experience, she manages the quality assurance laboratory for Orkin Canada and performs analytical entomology as well as provides technical support in pest/insect identification to branch offices and clients. For more information, email Alice Sinia at asinia@orkincanada.com or visit orkincanada.com
Keeping diners, not mosquitoes
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any restaurants have elected for patio-only dining while weather permits due to COVID-19, ensuring a more socially distanced dining experience. Unfortunately, outside is also where pests go to dine, and while mosquitoes may be small in size, they are considered one of the most dangerous pests. With more than 82 species in Canada alone, the problems they can cause patio diners are anything but tiny. Knowing what attracts mosquitoes, the health risks they pose and how to prevent these patio pests are all necessary steps to ensuring a pleasant and pest-free outdoor dining experience for your patrons. What attracts mosquitoes? The best way to prevent a mosquito problem is to keep them from breeding, and the largest attractant for mosquitoes is standing water. Water from rain, dog water bowls, leaked or clogged drains and rain gutters, storm basins and large leaved plants that can collect water can all offer enough standing water for mosquitoes to breed – all they need is 25 millimetres. Mosquitoes can lay between 100 and 400 eggs at one time. Overgrown landscaping can also offer an ideal environment for mosquitoes to rest and dry off their wings after enjoying standing water. After a heavy rain or plant watering, gently shake water off any large leaves. Mow grass regularly and ensure all landscaping near outdoor dining spaces is consistently maintained and groomed. This will also help deter ants and rodents from snacking on crumbs left by patrons. Most mosquitoes emerge just before dusk and are active at night, which can mean your dinner crowd is on the menu. Conducting regular checks for standing water right
CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
Many mosquitorepellant plants can be strategically potted around dining spaces to keep pests away from diners, as can fans because mosquitoes cannot effectively fly through air currents.
before the dinner rush is a good way to curtail mosquitoes’ activity near your patio during peak hours. Health risks mosquitoes pose Around the world, mosquitoes can transmit multiple dangerous illnesses and diseases to humans. Zika virus is a rare disease that affects pregnant women and may lead to birth defects. The most common symptoms of Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. Zika is spread to humans through Aedes mosquito bites. More common for Canada are West Nile virus and multiple kinds of encephalitis, which can also have severe side effects. Encephalitis causes symptoms of aches and fever and can also cause brain infections. West Nile virus has been found in about 75 mosquito species, most commonly in varying Culex species. 7080 per cent of those infected with West Nile virus are asymptomatic, but the remaining 20 per cent show signs of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, body aches and headaches. Steps to ensure a mosquito-free patio As mentioned earlier, standing water is the largest attractant for mosquitoes and stopping mosquitoes from breeding is the best way to prevent and control their populations. Regularly checking for and eliminating new puddles is the best first step in preventing swarms of mosquitoes. Avoid overwatering patio potted plants, mosquitoes can breed in over saturated or wet, soggy soil; drain pot saucers every other day, water in these saucers should not stand for more than seven days. In addition to removing standing water, insecticide products can also be used as a part of an integrated effort to treat mosquito problems. It is important to use only
Health Canada-approved mosquito larvicide and adulticides, which your pest management provider can identify in consultation with you. It is important to note that, according to Health Canada, larvicide products should be used in standing water that cannot be emptied, drained, flushed or changed regularly, such as ponds, flower planters and low-lying ground that is susceptible to frequent flooding. The final option is products that do not control mosquito populations but instead are designed to repel or trap mosquitoes. These are not effective in treating a mosquito problem at the root and should be used in conjunction with other methods. The most effective approach is to eliminate and prevent. Mosquito coils and sprays, as well as bug zappers can help keep mosquitoes out of outdoor dining areas to ensure a mosquito-free meal for guests. Many mosquito-repellant plants can be strategically potted around dining spaces to keep pests away from diners, as can fans because mosquitoes cannot effectively fly through air currents. Knowing what attracts mosquitoes can help you take the proper steps to promote a pest-free environment for diners. Mosquito populations can grow rapidly when not addressed, so a quick response is critical for elimination and prevention. With small changes or additions to your staff’s routine, wrangling warm-weather pests such as mosquitoes becomes a more manageable task. And remember, being proactive is the best approach for mosquito control. Always consult your pest management provider during routine visits so he or she can help identify the proactive approach that’s best for your restaurant. | CP For more features on health and safety, visit canadianpizzamag.com CanadianPizzaMag.com
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TOOLS OF THE TRADE
DISTANCING TOOLS
Social Distancing Tape designed for indoor and outdoor use Intertape Polymer Group has released a line of Social Distancing Tape to help your customers enjoy a safe experience inside or outside of your pizzeria. IPG’s new social distancing program features essential products designed for businesses entering the reopening phase while abiding by social distancing guidelines. The indoor marking tape is designed to adhere to hard indoor surfaces and maintain clean removability. The outdoor marking tape is durable enough to withstand foot traffic and resist other elements. “Social distancing is proving to become a lasting effect from the global pandemic and will continue to be practiced even while restrictions are being lifted,” explained Nick Park, IPG’s vice-president of consumer sales. “We are prepared to expand and adjust our product mix as social distancing needs continue to arise. ”The tape is available in blue and orange indoor tape (1.41 inches x 60 yards) and red and yellow outdoor tape (1.88 inches x 60 yards). These products are intended to mark six-foot (two-metre) distance points for directing foot traffic and encouraging safe line formation. They feature secure adhesion and clean removal from most surfaces. For additional information email efagan@itape.com or contact an Intertape Polymer Group sales representative. 20
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PROTECTIVE SHIELDS
GermBlock cough and sneeze shields help protect against spread of coronavirus Rockford Systems, an industrial safety company, has launched its GermBlock line of cough and sneeze shields to help protect employee health and safety in retail, commercial, industrial and clean-room settings. GermBlock shields limit the spread of airborne droplets resulting from coughing, sneezing or speaking from reaching a nearby person, helping to mitigate possible COVID-19 infection. Constructed of heavy-duty clear 3/16-inch polycarbonate and 16-gauge 304 stainless steel 3/4inch framing with full penetration welds, the shields are offered in tabletop, floor-standing and extended-leg versions in popular sizes, Rockford Systems said in a press release. To ensure shield stability, all shields include foot plates with gussets, designed to affix to countertops or floors with front and side mounting options. They can be cleaned with surface and sterile wipes, ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, and dish-washing soap solutions, all of which are cleaning agents specifically recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the fight against the human coronavirus. GermBlock shields install
From ingredients to equipment to business technology, Canadian Pizza keeps you in the know. For more on new products for the pizza industry, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com
easily and securely at cashier stations, deli counters, pharmacies, customer service and fuel centres to protect employees and customers while completing face-to-face transactions. As the economy reopens, they are ideal for any other high-traffic areas such as bank teller stations, coffee shops, hotel reception desks and take-out/pick-up locations, the company said. For industrial settings such as factories, warehouses and assembly lines, GermBlock shields can be placed in between employees standing or sitting in close proximity at work stations. The shields can be installed between office cubicles to extend the wall height between workers. In addition to extending physical distancing, GermBlock shields also provide other office space benefits, such as insulating against noise to create a quieter workspace and blocking against damaging ultraviolet rays to prevent interior decor from fading. They are designed for clean settings such as food and beverage, medical and personal care product manufacturers, GermBlock shields are designed with a 1/4-inch poly-to-frame gap construction for superior cleaning access with materials intended to be clean-room compatible per USDA and FDA standards. rockfordsystems.com
TECH TOOLS
Paytronix Contactless Dining lets customers keep tabs open Paytronix Contactless Dining lets your restaurant guests enjoy table service by ordering multiple courses electronically, opening tabs for drinks and then finishing the experience with a single
payment and without requiring a physical interaction. With Paytronix Contactless Dining, a guest can buy another app, add another drink or choose dessert on a whim. Payment is not processed until the end of the dining experience and there is only one charge to the credit card for the restaurant. The feature also lets guests open tabs and place orders in a similar flow to the pre-COVID dining experience: guests can order drinks, followed by apps, entrees, and then desserts, make special requests, and finalize the visit with a single payment, Paytronix said in a press release. Other digital tools require each order to close out with a payment, thereby cluttering the ordering process for guests and increasing transaction fees for restaurants, the company said. The feature offers an intuitive interface that helps restaurants identify table locations using manual customer entry and scannable QR codes. It also integrates with Apple Pay so guests have control over their payment options. They can: • View menu items, photos, accurate pricing and availability. • Add items to their cheque at any time, just like flagging down a server to ask for another helping of fries. As items are selected they are transferred to the POS and then the kitchen display service for preparation. • Pay for orders: Guests have a variety of payment options, eliminating the need for physical credit card handling. paytronix.com/contactless
September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
NEW REVENUE STREAMS
Stoelting’s soft-serve system creates attractive flavour and colour combinations Stoelting, a division of The Vollrath Company, introduces Flavor Burst, a system for softserve machines that creates visually appealing customized treats with up to eight flavours out of one spout, in a striped or blended pattern. The Flavor Burst spout assembly installs directly onto a Stoelting freezer’s spout and the syrup lines that create the colourful designs are easily connected and disconnected. The system is controlled by a 10-inch colour touch panel. Operators simply select the flavours to dispense on the panel and then dispense from the soft-serve machine handle like normal. The variety of customizable flavour and colour combinations creates a fun experience and the system works for both traditional service and self-serve. Striped flavours are applied to the outside as well as the middle of the soft serve while blended flavours are mixed in at the spout. The syrups come in a wide variety of flavours (38 flavours for striped
machines and 17 flavours for blended machines), allowing operators to change the menu regularly at minimal cost. Stored in 1-gallon ready-toinstall bags, the concentrated syrups have a long shelf life and do not require refrigeration. Each one-gallon syrup bag provides 560 five-ounce servings for striped flavours and 400 five-ounce servings for blended flavours. The different Flavor Burst configurations are equipped with either an internal or external sanitizer tank for convenient clean-in-place sanitation of the spout, syrup lines, pumps and bag connectors. An optional floor stand provides convenient storage. Syrups are available for purchase at stoeltingsyrupstore.com. Stoelting Foodservice is a division of The Vollrath Company, LLC stoeltingfoodservice.com
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Squadle Sense Thermal Scanner helps restaurants monitor employee and guest safety Squadle has created the Squadle Sense Thermal Scanner to help restaurants, convenience stores and food retailers screen employee and guest health as they reopen
CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
after the COVID-19 shutdown. The scanner combines contactless devices, mobile apps and web analytics to help employees and guests can safely self-screen and comply with regulatory requirements It is a wall- or stand-mounted sensor that uses Squadle’s patented ZeroTouch measurement technology and works both online and offline. Employees can sign in with an app or keycard, then stand in front of the wall-mounted sensor for a scan that takes seconds. Above-normal temperatures will trigger a manager alert and the need to take action. The product can also be configured for guests, triggering helpful tasks when guests come on premise. The durable, rugged and compact hardware was designed to withstand the pressure and traffic for any restaurant or retail environment. Self-check apps are available for both restaurant employees and operators. Employees can open the app on a separate device before they step in front of the temperature scanner to answer a set of quick screening questions that will determine if they are in compliance with local health requirements. The app can be customized for screening questions from Health Canada or other relevant organizations. It is HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA compliant. The administrator’s app provides visibility across all employee results and includes action prompts whenever a potentially ill person is identified, so they can quickly take action and prevent at-risk individuals from entering the premises. Squadle Checklists Integration ensures every employee is being scanned for each shift, and seamlessly integrates
Thermal Scanner results into a restaurant’s existing Squadle Checklists system. Using a process that managers are already familiar with, Squadle Sense triggers quick and timely corrective actions for both employees and guests, requiring manager sign-off. squadle.com
PATIO DINING
Ready Railing creates outdoor dining spaces
Superior Aluminum Products of Ohio introduces Ready Railing which instantly creates temporary outdoor dining spaces to help with social distancing. This lightweight aluminum product comes pre-assembled and ready to use, saving time and effort. Durable, high-quality aluminum does not rust or rot, and is available in multiple colors, shapes and designs to help create the perfect atmosphere. Maintenance-free Ready Railing is ideal for restaurants, craft breweries, and foodservice providers, as well as hotels, community centers, outdoor venues, and anywhere that architecturally appealing temporary barriers are desired. Dependent on the needs of the location, ready railing can be paired with single or double bases. These options allow for continuous runs of temporary barriers that still can easily be adjusted or removed. Double bases also aid in stability on corners. | CP superioraluminum.com CanadianPizzaMag.com
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FEATURE
TERROIR SYMPOSIUM HIGHLIGHTS The pandemic is shining a light on terroir and the Culinary Tourism Alliance’s first virtual forum helped lead the way BY COLLEEN CROSS
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he Terroir Virtual Symposium, held Sept. 13-15, provided a forum for restaurants, food service and foodies to look at the big picture of what terroir means in today’s food scene and also share stories of entrepreneurs who are innovating and making a difference. The word “terroir” refers to the natural environment in which a food or wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography and climate, and the flavour given to it by the environment in which it is produced. Over the years, terroir has broadened to include education about different cultures, inclusiveness and interest in promoting partnerships among local food businesses. The Symposium, in its 15th year, is hosted by the Culinary Tourism Alliance for more than 1,000 – chefs, producers, artisans, general manag22
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ers, entrepreneurs, media and “storytellers” from more than 20 countries. It has the support of and features content from restaurants, wineries, breweries, retailers and tourism boards. The new online format of the annual food industry event was evidence of the effect COVID-19 has had on food, hospitality and events. Organizers pulled off a polished, fast-moving buffet of an event, with something to interest and inform everyone. And the best part is that it was open to the world. Below are just a few highlights of this year’s Terroir Symposium. Trends in Current Food Landscape: Sylvain Charlebois Sylvain Charlebois, professor of food, distribution and policy at Dalhousie University, makes his living studying the food supply chain. Charlebois headed up a list of stellar speakers on Monday’s program. Charlebois recalled fielding many questions in the early days of the pandemic and his advice to people: “Don’t panic. Everything will be all right.” He stands by those words of wisdom. For a while people were worried about food security. His lab at Dalhousie Universty in Halifax did a survey and found everyone was being affected by the pandemic – some more negatively than others. He wondered how best to support groups of COVID victims in vulnerable positions.
Tips on successful promotion from Erinn Tucker, co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week: • Monitoring social media and email helps get the message out. • Storytelling is so important to your mission. • Inclusion includes stakeholders and allies – as long as those allies ask themselves what their intention is.
Although six months later we know more about the virus, there is still a lot of uncertainty out there. “We will see suffering but there will be opportunity,” Charlebois said. For example, rural restaurants with unique menus may be given more attention and reach a more level playing field with restaurants in cities. “Customers know more and they want to know more than ever, and terroir is that idea of a community knowing about food!” he said. “People are now more aware of what food September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
FEATURE
can do for you.” Charlebois suggested the lines between grocery and restaurants – and within the food supply chain – have blurred. As an example, one major grocery chain in Toronto is serving as a broker for restaurants by selling their meal kits to the public. “There is no line anymore: it’s just food,” he said. In some ways, the idea of terroir has been flipped on its head by the pandemic, which has drawn attention to the environment. With pickup and delivery growing, plastics became a means of food safety, but one that is not sustainable. “It will become a much bigger issue for restaurants,” he said. And there is no going back: “People are growing accustomed to service and the service is getting better.” In reaction, he suggested, innovation such as “isothermic technologies” will need to happen, though price is an obstacle at the moment. His words were encouraging: “We all struggle to find balance but we’ll figure it out. And that’s where food service will come in.” In this new environment, we can all set our own rules, he said. “There is an opportunity to connect with consumers and your creativity will pay off.” Collaboration in Culinary Tourism: Erinn D. Tucker Erinn Tucker had a slightly different but still positive take on the pandemic. “COVID didn’t create the problem; COVID lifted the lid on what’s going on in the restaurant industry.” Tucker is the director of the Global Hospitality Leadership master’s program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and co-founder of DMV (D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) Black Restaurant Week. When COVID-19 hit, she recalls, some people asked, “Where are all the Black chefs?” She found statistics saying Black restaurant owners represent about eight per cent of the industry. As a Black businessperson and scholar who has worked in the CANADIAN PIZZA · September/October 2020
restaurant industry in many roles and with many Black entrepreneurs, she questioned whether that number was accurate and set out to understand why it might be so low. In 2020, Black Restaurant Week actually “sped up,” Tucker said. The pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement prompted Tucker and her team to make the awareness week more inclusive by collaborating not just with traditional dining participants but also catering, bars, takeout, delivery and other forms of food service to join the traditional dining participants. They added an “Allied” category for businesses that practise diversity and in other ways support Black-owned businesses. And they encouraged food businesses to reach
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Inclusion includes stakeholders and allies – as long as those allies ask themselves what their intention is.
Community collaborators Sheena Russell, founder and CEO of snack company Made With Local in Halifax, described how partnerships with local businesses helped her business grow at a manageable pace, allowing her to help support other local businesses and her community by providing a socially diverse employment model with programs for people who need a workplace that is extra empathetic and supportive, such as full-time caretakers or differently abled people. The resulting low turnover has helped her business remain stable.
In this new environment, we can all set our own rules: “There is an opportunity to connect with consumers and your creativity will pay off.” –Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University out to different neighbourhoods. According to Tucker, three conversations were happening that week: • Consumers with a conscience. • What constitutes a “Blackowned” restaurant? • “Black” is not limited: it’s inclusive. Tucker shared a few tips learned from the experience aimed at helping others have a successful event and promote their businesses successfully: • Monitoring social media and email helps get the message out. • Storytelling is so important to your mission.
Zoya De Frias Lakhany, owner of Le Virunga restaurant in Montreal, talked about wanting to introduce Pan-African, or Sub-Saharan, African cuisine by being creative with characteristic ingredients such as plantains and goat’s milk. She has partnerships with other restaurants and a strong, flexible relationship with small local suppliers who are sometimes concerned about being able to deliver a steady supply of their produce. “I tell them, just give us what you have,” she said. For more information, check out terroirsymposium.com | CP CanadianPizzaMag.com
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PROFILE
HOMETOWN BOOSTER For many years, Ricco Foods’ Don Windsor has been quietly supporting causes and events that make his community a place to proudly call home – all the while embedding himself deeply in the pizza industry BY COLLEEN CROSS
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ike many in Strathroy, Ont., Don Windsor is looking ahead to the local Santa Claus parade. “I hope we can have a parade this year,” says the president and owner of Ricco Foods Distributor in the rural municipality of about 20,000, just west of London. “It’s not for me to decide but I hope we can do it somehow,” he adds, referring to ongoing concerns about the pandemic. The parade’s main sponsor since 2007, Windsor is especially hopeful the tradition can continue, with precautions in place, of course. His philanthropy is well known in and out of the industry he has been embedded in for some three decades.
Steady, long-term growth The company, which services accounts for independent shops and pizza chains, has grown dramatically since opening in London in 1990. That growth is all based on pizza, Windsor says. Over the years Ricco has expanded distribution to full-service restaurants, grocery stores and commercial bakeries. The ratio is about 75 per cent pizza to 25 per cent grocery/bakery. 24
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Its first location covered 1,800 square feet in south London. With the move in 1998 to nearby Strathroy – the centre of their trading area ¬– the company grew substantially to 10,000 square feet. Today the headquarters is 33,500 square feet. In 30 years, they’ve gone from one van to 13 trucks; from 100 products to more than 5,000 encompassing a wide range of pizza products and restaurant needs; and from two staff to 53 in 2020. In 2018 they renovated an old truck repair shop and opened a 3,500 square-foot cash-and-carry retail store. It’s working out well, Windsor says, drawing customers from London, Chatham and Sarnia. Ricco is both pizza-focused and family-focused. Son Don Jr. came on board as a truck driver in 1992, alongside Dave Leese and Billy Hannan. Don Jr. now handles all purchasing. Daughter Jennifer started working in the office in 1999 and now specializes in sales. Granddaughter Bailee works in inside sales and computers. “I also have a grandson who is coming up – Jaxon,” Windsor says. “He’ll join us, we hope.” The company boasts many longtime employees and a key member
“I believe as a good corporate citizen you have to give back. Ricco has done well in Strathroy. You have to give back somehow.” – Don Windsor
of the team not always on site but no less vital. “I have an understanding wife, Sylvia,” Windsor says, referring to his 12-hour workdays.
Longtime pizzeria clients Knowing Windsor has walked through the doors of many pizzerias, we asked him what he thinks the most successful businesses have in common. “I’ve seen a lot of three-generation pizzerias,” he reflects. “Hands-on operators who are the owners too – they have to have a passion for the business. They can’t accept it just as a job. We have other customers we’ve had for over 30 years. I appreciate all of them.” Windsor has a philosophy: “One thing we do differently, if you’re a customer and you want Brand A sauce, we don’t wait for more customers to request it from our supplier. A lot of people forget about that word ‘service.’ ”
Can’t say no When asked for his help, Windsor believes in saying yes. “I try and support whoever I can. I don’t have a set amount of money, as long as the community has benefited from the support.” When Strathroy Minor Soccer association wanted to build a new headquarters in 2008, he said yes. When the minor hockey association needed sponsorship, and a president, he said yes. And earlier this year, at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, he said yes to essential workers. Ricco Foods teamed up with the local McDonald’s to donate more than 1,000 free meals September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
PROFILE
Medal of Distinction
Don Windsor, president and owner of Ricco Foods at the company’s headquarters at 1 Ricco Place in Strathroy, Ont.
to local grocery workers and truck drivers. The list of organizations and events that receive his financial help, in-kind support and volunteer time is long. To highlight a few, Strathroy Rockets Hockey Club, Strathroy Lions Club, Middlesex Hospital Foundation, Hometown Festival/Turkeyfest, Community Living, Run for Retina, MS Society of Canada, the Women’s Rural Resource Centre and, of course, his beloved Ricco Foods Lions Club Parade. Windsor looks forward to sponsoring the next Special Olympics, in which his grandson Jaxon participates. “We’ll definitely sponsor that in Lambton where he lives and we’ll continue to sponsor many sports clubs,” the proud grandpa says.
Windsor has received much recognition for his work in the community, including the Strathroy Community Hero Award and a business excellence award from the Strathroy Chamber of Commerce. This summer he received the Medal of Distinction for the municipality, which recognizes individuals, groups and organizations “whose ongoing efforts have significantly contributed to the enhancement of the Strathroy-Caradoc community.” Windsor says: “I believe as a good corporate citizen you have to give back. Ricco has done well in Strathroy. You have to give back somehow.”
Looking ahead and back Ricco will keep up its community work and it will keep growing. The company, which was an advertiser in Canadian Pizza’s first issue 25 years ago, plans to add a new front office to the existing office next spring. After more than three decades in this business, Windsor has good advice we all can heed: “Make sure you enjoy your job and love what you do. You spend more time at work than anywhere. This is my passion. I’m here every morning from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., six days a week. I don’t know any better,” he says with a gentle chuckle. | CP
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Annex Bookstore ............................................14 Faema Company (Canada) Ltd. / Euro-Milan Inc. .........................................28 Mimi Food Products Inc. ................................25 Pizza Misc ........................................................2 2020-05-15 8:12 AM Reiser / Robert Reiser & Co. ..........................27 Ricco Food Distributor ...................................11 Springer’s Meats Inc. .....................................17 Stanislaus Food Products..............................4,5 Use these advertiser contact numbers to find out more about a product advertised in this issue or to place an order. This index is provided as a service. Canadian Pizza Magazine is not liable for errors or omissions.
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CROSS-CANADA VIEWPOINT BY CANADIAN PIZZA STAFF
The role of dough
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his year marks Canadian Pizza’s 25th year of publishing. We reached into the vault for some opinions about dough from a national pizza panel we ran in March 2005. The question of the day was “How important is your dough to the overall success of your operation?” The answers, partially reprinted here, confirm the central role a pizzeria’s dough plays in its business. Obviously, it’s a matter operators have considered deeply and it’s part of a balancing act pizzerias play between quality and efficiency. These snapshots from 15 years ago also show that business and menu strategies can differ widely. They still do – and that’s what makes for a lively and stimulating industry! We are grateful to these forward-thinking operators for sharing their insights learned from experience.
Andy Caicco, owner/ operator, Harvester House Family Restaurant, Kanata, Ont. Our dough is extremely important to the overall success of our operation because of several key factors. First of all, we are known for our pizza. It’s unique and different from the rest; we put our fresh toppings on the bottom and our Oak Grove cheese on top. Secondly, there is way too much competition in our city of Kanata. It’s just full of pizza places, so we have to be on top of everyone else by serving a great product every day. We make our dough without the use of machinery, the old-fashioned way, with our hands. We buy fresh ingredients daily for our toppings and we make fresh sauce daily with top-of-the-line spices. I’ve tried a lot of pizzas and I continually will, but a great pie is a great pie!
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Everyone will tell you that the dough is the base, very important, etc., but the essential dough factor is consistency. –Michael Dussault, Pepperoni Café, Surrey, B.C., 2005
Here you’ll read about pizzeria operators from across Canada and have a chance to share your own views on a wide range of topics. To offer feedback or ideas for future topics, get in touch with editor Colleen Cross at ccross@annexbusinessmedia.com or 519-428-3471 ext. 261.
Thomas Aldridge, owner/ operator, Manhattans Gourmet Pizza and Jazz Club, Guelph, Ont. Pizza dough has got to be the most bastardized product over the past 20 years. Everyone is trying to create the best crust; from grocery stores to national brands and franchises. Problem is that these large conglomerates can’t actually create the very best because the only way to enjoy a pizza is by using “made that day” fresh dough – it’s proven. ... Our 19 years of successful pizza making is largely due to the fact that we have never changed our recipe. We use only real ingredients, such as using stone ground flour, right down to using sea salt. Manhattans also uses a circa 1942 “Bari” pizza dough machine. Does it make a difference? Ask my customers. For us at Manhattans Music Club, an olive oil soaked, well-proofed, fresh ball of dough is the only way to start a great tasting pizza.
Terry Nicoletopoulos, owner/operator, Island Greek Donair, Sydney, N.S. Personally, I think dough is a very important part of your pizza. Your sauce and dough are your signature pieces that make your pizza your own. ... A lot of the toppings we use in the pizza industry are basically the same and can be purchased from only a few suppliers. True, we can blend some of the items to try and give our pizzas a unique flavour . . . but you have the most control over the dough and sauce in your recipe. Your dough can set you apart from your competitors.
Michael Dussault, owner/ operator, Pepperoni Café, Surrey, B.C. Everyone will tell you that dough is the base, very important, etc., but the essential dough factor is consistency. I have yet to meet an operator who hasn’t ad to contend with a bad batch, production problems, staff errors, atmospheric changes that affect the finished product or change in the flour due to crops being affected by unfavourable growing conditions – not to mention forecasting how much to prepare for the day, and that is not a total list. One option available to reduce the above problems and attain a more consistent product is frozen dough. For the past six years we have been using pre-sheeted dough (also available in balls). Since we were building a new location at the time we considered the following: • Cost of floor space • Cost of labour • Cost of equipment • Potential injuries using dough mixer or sheeter • Waste The downside is you cannot do a signature product. And if your supplier is not producing new products, such as a whole-wheat crust or some other crust type for today’s growing health-conscious consumer, then you are at a disadvantage. You can also encounter a major disaster if your supplier runs out of stock. ... We see the upside as a more uniform product – a two-hour time frame from freezer to oven when busy, a 36-hour shelf life. | CP How important a role does dough play in your operation? Let us know! Canadian Pizza will be reaching out through our enewsletters, email and social media to collect your opinions on this and other topics throughout 2021.
September/October 2020 · CANADIAN PIZZA
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