I got the incredible chance to sit down with Ben and chat about this new project while enjoying a mouth-watering burger at The Clarendon Tavern. It was super refreshing to have such an honest discussion as to why this is such an important issue and how this event goes beyond people simply buying a burger.
As Ben and James, who are roommates, were sitting at home this past spring a very simple question came up between them; what can two guys do to support an important cause that will ultimately benefit this city? The answer came quicker than I’m sure either of them expected. With both guys working in the restaurant industry (Ben at the new Gitanes on Elgin and James at King Eddy on Clarence), they instantly knew they needed to find a way to bring more awareness to Mental Health issues in Ottawa, but especially those who are affected by these issues in the restaurant industry.
So how do we approach mental health? As a whole, the conversation is taking off and becoming more acceptable on a larger social scale and people are coming out and showing that it’s ok to not be ok.
But is it still taboo in our industry? Have we yet to implement a culture that accepts those that don’t want to partake in the post-service lifestyle? Are we truly making the change to allow people the time needed to take care of themselves? What steps are being taken to ensure that those who work in this industry don’t have to feel overwhelmed and overworked? And do we all share a responsibility to make sure everyone feels understood and heard when it comes to their mental health?
Mental health and addiction is a tough subject and one that should never be taken lightly. So consider this a small part of an ongoing discussion/dialogue to help understand and support those that are affected by these issues, and to get us all to the point of working in a healthy and balanced environment.
Creating Ottawa Burger Fest was important to Ben and James, and now they’re 5 other partners because, even in their younger days, they’ve seen first hand what this industry can do to individuals. And if you continue to read on please note: I will be blunt when unpacking the issues that Ben and I talked about when addressing the harsh realities of our work culture, and the elements that impact one's mental health.
Food and drink is a human necessity. It is a communal table we share with loved ones, new friends, or as individuals. I truly believe that the purpose of the restaurant industry is to take what we need as humans and elevate it to places that we ourselves could not imagine. Going out to dine is purely about getting to know another person on a plate or in a glass. It is our duty to service the guest beyond their expectations. Yet the truth is, this is, and always has been an industry of abuse.
Where does that abuse come from? As with mental health and addiction, there are many avenues in which you could make an argument. Today though, let’s touch on a couple.
The untold pressure we experience each service to make sure a stranger is completely satisfied is an extremely intense responsibility most nights. Seems wild even writing that fact down. In my career, I’ve cooked for thousands of people, yet I probably have cooked for about 150 that I actually know. The rest are all table numbers and mods. The culture in the kitchen is changing in small steps, there’s still a ton of work needed to be done to ensure long and sustainable careers, but I do see the change in our community. But to the guest, it seems we are still ones and zeros, as seen through online reviews and how we are perceived by the diner. I often ask myself if the average person who uses a certain tone or language when they visit a restaurant shares the same sentiment when grandma takes too long to cook the turkey on thanksgiving. Our standards are held just as high as our guests, however, we are still human and that pressure is a big factor in how strenuous it can be mentally to cook.
To the front of house, God bless ya. Here’s another hard reality; guest abuse can easily lead to someone medicating with drugs/alcohol, which lends no favours to a person's mental health. As a worker who is dependant on tips, you can be sure that server or bartender isn’t ‘out’ to get the guest, but dining out and having a positive experience is a two-way street. No, I don’t believe the guest is always right, and there are times when that mentality is used as an excuse to abuse those that are trying to serve a person or table to the best of their abilities. This is what I mean by taboo, but it’s the truth and needs to be talked about. How many nights are spent drinking, talking about service and using alcohol/drugs to take the pressure off of what we are able to accomplish in a night.
Recently I was out to dinner and met someone who works as an addictions counsellor. She told me that of the 9 clients she was seeing, 3 of them were current or former restaurant workers. Those aren’t percentages I’m happy with at all, and I’m glad people like Ben are spearheading ways to help fund programs that support those who wish to better themselves.
Mental health needs to become a constant discussion in our industry. We’ve got to be there for our crew and make sure that everyone feels welcome and unafraid to talk about what’s going on in their personal lives if they so choose. This is an industry of constant pressure, to be able to perform to our highest ability each and every night, and that can and does take a toll on us.
Having this discussion with Ben about how to take small steps in bettering ourselves and our environment was super refreshing and I promise that here on Sauce/ on side it is something we will continue to talk about as we go forward.
Ottawa Crisis Line: 613.722.6914]]>Is the structure of the review system working in Ottawa; and how can we create a more concise criticism of what’s going on in the city’s culinary scene to better educate everyone (both behind the bar/kitchen and the guest).
To break it down, I want to talk about what I feel are the top two review systems that we currently use that could directly affect us.
So let’s start by talking about the most famous food review guide in the world, The Michelin Guide. A quick history lesson and I promise not to bore you. The Michelin Guide didn’t start rating restaurants until about 40 years into its publication, and it was actually created for French motorists. But once the publication started being sold to the public it shifted from rating the motor industry to the culinary world. Even then in 1926, as they began rating restaurants, it was only with a single star. It wasn’t until 10 years later when it adopted the 3-star system we see today. Now the whole process of reviewing is kept pretty tight, but everything is rated under the watchful eyes of anonymous judges. Chefs spend their entire careers waiting to get the chance to work in one of these starred establishments, and there are a select few Chefs who give most of their working lives to get their restaurant on the list and maintain their ratings. Ok, so that’s the quick Wikipedia-like description I have for you about the rating system that we hold to the highest standard. You know the rest, every time we hear about a new acclaimed restaurant, the discussion about their Michelin stars are not far behind.
Canada, as of this writing, currently does not have any restaurants with a Michelin Star. We do have Canada’s 100 Best lists which are comprised of a panel of judges in different territories, combined with a national panel of judges who collectively select the 100 top dining experiences our country has to offer. Similar to the Michelin panels, they remain quite secretive and anonymous. You won’t really know when you’re being judged and who the actual people will be that dine at your restaurant to rate all aspects of service. This is how the public learns about the top restaurants around the world and it’s a step towards how we recognize an exceptional dining experience.
Canada isn’t on a prestigious worldwide list yet when referring to the Michelin Guide, although, in my opinion, we do have a system we can be proud of in Canada’s 100 Best. A special shout out to all of the amazing teams that have made that list and continue to make it and maintain their spots.
Now we see all of that on a national and worldwide scale, but what about us in Ottawa?
We have a select group of food writers and critics, but unlike the structure of the 100 List, and certainly the Michelin Guide, how is this group being held accountable? Is the field of critic and “blogger/foodie” becoming more blurred? What’s the criteria and requirements for becoming an accredited reviewer? How does one actually become a food critic? Can this level of critiquing be better? Can we as Chefs even ask for that? JEEZ! there are so many questions!
There’s no “food critic” school you can go to. As I understand it, you get a degree in journalism so you know how to write all fancy and shit (unlike me) and you have enough disposable income to dine out consistently (also unlike me) and form a qualitative and responsible opinion on what you consume. I assume there isn’t a food critic school that takes you through the gauntlet of systems, policies, training, planning, protocols and procedures that Chefs, sommeliers and both FOH/BOH teams go through on a daily basis to try and provide the guest with an exceptional dining experience. But hey, in this day of age, if you have a keyboard and an opinion, the world is your oyster.
We trust professional critics on the basis that they are educated on the immense work that goes into that which they’re reviewing, and based on specific criteria, an informed opinion can be composed. And I’m trying to think; do we, here in Ottawa, have a healthy number of those people? Or, do we find that we’re being exposed more often to those that dine out frequently and simply have an opinion about what they’re consuming? Because if the latter is the case it’s not going to help us progress in any way in the current culinary climate.
Perhaps because of these discrepancies in review quality, there is an immediate need to legitimize our structure in favour of a more concise review/rating system that could not only help Ottawa get more exposure nationally but hell even globally.
It’s terrifying to get reviewed but it’s also a part of the industry we actively chose to get into. We know that we’re exposing ourselves in each dish and drink we send out, and we are open to it, as long as those who are writing reviews are putting in as much work to understand how their reviews impact us. Furthermore, feedback would be even more useful if a reviewer could bolster those critiques with a serious grasp of the restaurant industry, its protocols and guidelines and respect for the sheer amount of brute labour it takes to run our restaurants every day. Every plate and drink is another chance for a Chef, their cooks and all Front of House staff to be praised for their exceptional work, or blasted for their incompetence. As one saying goes,
“In a place where so many things can go wrong and do, the level we are judged is perfection.”-Gordon Hamersley
That feeling is exponentially higher when you are a Chef/Owner because everything you’ve got mentally, emotionally and most definitely financially is put into your restaurant. Accurate, informed and responsible reviews allow restaurant teams the chance to see where they're exceeding expectations and/or missing their marks.
Yearly reviews by credited sources are crucial in informing the public about what’s happening in the restaurant with new menus, while also discussing the quality of the food, drinks and service. If the reviews on restaurants are years apart, sometimes only once in their entire length of being open, what good does that do anyone on both sides of service. What should the expectations of these teams be then, to create and elevate their restaurant's experiences if there are no credible review systems and we’re just held to the whims of random TripAdvisor and Yelp rants?
Perhaps a more concise criticism also helps the industry itself, elevating our potential status and ranking on a global level. If there’s more conversation about our culinary community, it may also generate more traffic in the restaurants that should be getting noticed. On the other side of that, it helps us see what works and what doesn’t, in this city particularly. Ottawa is a conservative town, there’s no denying that; we’ve historically fallen slightly behind the 8-ball when it comes to food trends compared to the other major cities in the country.
The people who recognize new menu changes in restaurants here in Ottawa are the regulars who dine at these establishments consistently, and not the self-called reviewers of this city. Then there are others who are the ones that will document their one-off experiences on popular review sites and it shows the imbalance of the narrative. Those types of reviews lean heavily on the side of the average, inconsistent diner instead of say, a composed, educated and informed opinion from a consistent patron. Let’s call it as it is, most of the time, when a place gets a real review is when it first opens and typically doesn’t see another one, sometimes for years in some cases. I know this to be true as I’ve seen it happen to restaurants in my own community as well as places I’ve worked myself.
We don’t have to be the Michelin Guide, and more importantly, Canada’s 100 Best is doing amazing work, but to continue to grow this city’s culinary scene, it’s fair to ask for unvarying, sophisticated systems, qualitative critiques, reviewer accountability and respectful work. Could there be a small collective of reviewers built into our community that helps to build the craft that we all love and share with each other? I’ll leave that in your hands' pals.
There’s a lot that can happen with a restaurant within a year, it’s a constant growing organism with new menus, talent and even changes in their vision. I truly believe that we can see our city’s recognition develop as our food, drink and reviewing communities continue to work together and push each other to new heights and achievements.
Until next time, have a good service.
]]>When we sat down and chatted, we talked about the evolution of a menu and the trial and error process that happens when not only opening up a new restaurant, but showcasing a new style of cuisine that people aren’t accustomed to yet. There’s progressive Canadian right next door, fine dining seafood a 5 minute walk away, and many other choices around the Wellington area, but no real Spanish Cuisine. And that goes for the city in general. Even now, there isn’t many other places that are doing what Chef Daniela and Gustavo are doing.
Menu evolution is key to a restaurant’s success. Coming from a completely different style of feeding guests in Miami, to feeding guests in Ottawa, means that there are always going to be adjustments and learning curves. Starting with the ideas that you think are going to work right off the bat is an unrealistic expectation for Chefs. You have to listen to feedback and progress. It’s also about learning and adapting to the environments you’re in, what’s available and how you evolve as a Chef to using those new and different ingredients. It also comes down to the type of guest. Ottawa offers a completely new (and maybe more conservative) type of diner than you would have in Miami. Because of this, the challenge as a Chef is how to create exciting food that slowly entices the guest to take more culinary risks each time they dine. One week they may be coming in for a beet salad, but after a couple of visits (and knowing the flavours they can expect from Chef), may be willing to take that leap of faith into the unknown and try the chicken heart dish! That’s why you have to take advantage of when a Chef like Daniela runs a special; it could be a dish that’s telling a completely different story than what’s on the menu, but one that’s still very important to be told.
The focus this past summer for Chef has been Gold Medal Plates. In her second year competing, mapping out a dish comes months and months in advance. It is a very exciting but very stressful opportunity that these Chefs don’t take lightly. After months of conceptualising, and numerous trials (and some errors) along the way, all the selected Chefs gather at the Shaw Centre for their “competition” where they get to show off their completed Gold Medal Plate. It’s one of the more fun nights a Chef can participate in. I say “competing” because this city has a high calibre group of chefs who not only focus on what they're creating with love, but continually show that love with one another through their camaraderie. Everyone wants to compete to win, but want each other to succeed as well. We can’t wait to see what Chef Daniela has in store for the night.
To compete in Gold Medal Plates, a Chef needs a strong team behind them. If you’re a young cook, Chef Daniela looks for two things. Focus and attitude. In Chef’s kitchen, anything can be taught. The quality of person goes a very long way when you have the willingness to learn and be humble. Too often you see young cooks walk into a kitchen with a thousand dollar knife set and no clue how to use it. Then you see young cooks with little experience but the drive to learn each and everyday. You either find that balance and be prepared on both ends or success will be hard to find. It’s these two fundamental traits that allows a young cook to be a part of such and amazing team.
The ritual of going out to eat is also about consuming a story. From Montreal to Miami, and now in Ottawa, Chef Daniela’s food tells a story that separates her from many others. It looks like Gustavo and Daniela have made Ottawa their home for now and we should do everything we can to make sure they stay for a very long time, because we’re going to be the ones to reap the edible rewards.
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