Sampling Culture http://samplingculture.posterous.com Most recent posts at Sampling Culture posterous.com Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:14:00 -0700 Where's your food from? http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/08/30/location-location-wheres-your-food-from http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2010/08/30/location-location-wheres-your-food-from

It was a cloudy summer sunday in August at the first annual Conscious Food Festival. The festival was nestled in between the low buildings at Fort York and there was a picturesque backdrop of the city's downtown in the distance. With an advisory committee of over 10 names, the festival's manifesto urged people to take the dialogue about food sustainability to the next level, and it stated that the small actions people take add up.

The festival's goal was to educate attendees about food that is local and natural and which is produced in a way that does not harm the environment. Companies were selected by the committee because they were deemed socially responsible or have incorporated recycling and reuse into their production. Josh Bowman, is a development associate who works at Second Harvest. He was seated at the Second Harvest table at the festival. His organization feeds 15,000 meals a day to hungry people in Toronto by picking up and preparing excess food and delivering it to more than 200 social service agencies. Catering companies, restaurants and grocery stores make donations. As Second Harvest's pamphlet proclaims, they're helping to solve two of Toronto's toughest problems: hunger and food waste. Over at Ravine Vineyard's table, Alex R. Harber was selling wine. His family owns the estate winery, and he is one of the vendors who is making an effort to make his product in an environmentally sustainable manner. How? - “We're in our second year of getting our biodynamic certification,” he said. “We're mixing the science of horticulture with the rhythms of the earth. So we're becoming stewards of the land and we're making less impact than standard horticulture,” he explained. In addition to producing wines that are 100 per cent organic, the vineyard is also in the Niagara region and by remaining in the family for generations to come, the family hopes to “fight the good fight against the residential urbanization of farm lands in Niagara,” he said. At the Grindhouse BBQ stand savoury organic pulled pork sandwiches on a bun with arugula and goat cheese were being sold for a mere two dollars. In addition to many cheeses, wines and ice cream that were on some tables for people to try, the politics of food were also made apparent. In order to encourage consumers to buy locally produced products and fresh produce instead of American or foreign produce, Local Food Plus was on site. Chris Trussell, a marketing and development representative from the organization explained that they lobby to get certified local and sustainable foods from farmers into large institutions. The University of Toronto is one of their most successful institutional partners who are in their fifth year of their pledge to shift ten per cent of their spending dollars to local sustainable produce. They've now well surpassed their goal. Meanwhile, Local Food Plus has their own campaign (at buytovote.ca) directed at individual consumers. They are asking for pledges to shift ten dollars a week to buy Certified Local Sustainable food. The idea is that consumers vote with their dollars. Mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone was also at the festival. When asked about his approach to sustainability at a city level and what he plans to do, he launched into his credentials on the environment. “I was the chair of the environmental roundtable from 2003 to 2006. I led the city to get the Green Roofs bylaw and the Green Toronto Building Standards,” he said. “We have to provide the (food) systems so that families and companies can plug into them. In a few days I'll release my official food policy. I want to emphasize more local food production. I have an idea for harvesting fruit trees to provide food to community groups.” Like the festival's official literature, Pantalone is enthusiastic about the Conscious Food Festival. “It can change our orientation to food and enrich our lives,” he said. “We can eat better, tasty food, local food, and environmental food,” he said. Indeed, many participants did eat at the festival and some may have even learned about the food they were eating too. At least one caterer said he would give his left-over fresh foods to Second Harvest that day. While the festival was not very busy late in the day on Sunday, Second Harvest's Josh Bowman said, “The festival is presumably going to grow.” The Conscious Food Festival has the potential to provide a learning opportunity to participants. The festival started the process by showing that the ethics of food are as much about individual consumption as they are about government policies that guide food production. Although the festival did a good job of providing individual consumer education it seemed devoid of educational material about the global issues surrounding unjust food distribution. Perhaps in the future, local and global alliances can be built around the awarenesses that are created at this festival. Here's to hoping.

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Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:22:39 -0700 Can Gourmet Burgers do well in the recession? http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/03/09/gourmet-burgers-in-recession http://samplingculture.posterous.com/2009/03/09/gourmet-burgers-in-recession Cabbagetown was my local neighbourhood beat for my reporting class last term. I wrote this article in November 2008 . It appeared in the Ryerson Free Press in February. Read the whole article below for details on the ever-changing Cabbagetown neighbourhood!

The grey-haired former restauranteur known as Trevor Barryman sits on a bar stool, to eat his gourmet burger with onion rings. He faced the window, looking at Parliament Street, on a Tuesday afternoon. He’s having his second burger in a week at the newly opened Gourmet Burger Co. in Cabbagetown.

Finishing a bite, Barryman says that people have been predicting the complete gentrification of this commercial strip for the last 30 years. He explained, “They told me it would be the next Yorkville.” He continued, “They were wrong.”

He said, “If someone told me they were opening up a hamburger place here I would have told them it was a terrible idea. Who would pay for a $13 lunch in this neighbourhood?” But, Barryman said that when he came in for his first burger on Saturday there was a line-up out the door.

This new burger joint faces the usual challenges of setting itself apart from the other restaurants that sell burgers in Toronto, and begs the question, can a gourmet burger joint do well and bring people in from other neighbourhoods?

In November, John Ward, 39, who is an experienced restauranteur and caterer from Australia, opened this burger restaurant at 482 Parliament Street. His new take out and small sit-in spot can appeal to a wide range of people with varying budgets - from those who want to pay $6 for a gourmet burger, to those would can afford $13 for a deluxe burger with sides and a drink.

Because of the diversity in income levels in the neighbourhood, Doug Fisher, staff of the Old Cabbagetown Improvement Area (BIA), says the businesses that do best here appeal to the largest spectrum of incomes. Fisher said that like a hardware store, which everyone likes, the same may be true for buying lunch. According to Fisher, “A burger place also appeals to everyone.” Fisher says the Gourmet Burger Co. has a great chance of gaining loyal customers from across the city.

A walk along Parliament Street reveals a real mix of restaurants. There are older dinners, ethnic take-away places and gourmet restaurants, alongside organic butchers, dollar stores and the discount no-frills grocery store. According to Fisher, the rents in this commercial sector range from $1,500 to $5,000 a month. He said, “Our rents are lower that those on Church Street, so they are a bargain for business owners because they can still get customers from some of the nearby neighbourhoods for a third the rental price.” He said that the rental costs have been inching up, but not to the point that older businesses are being priced out.

Walking the streets there are panhandlers, renters from James Town and Regent Park, students and home-owning professionals. On Parliament there are no exquisite floral or chocolate stores, upscale clothing boutiques or bookstores. For a long time the area has not even had a Starbucks (although one is going to open soon in the same block as Gourmet Burger Co.) If you were walking along Parliament Street, you might never guess that just a few blocks east is a neighbourhood that boasts million-dollar homes.

On the west side of Parliament Street, in the first block north of Cartlon, Spiros Maniatos owns the block of buildings. They currently house a dollar store, Johnny G’s Diner, and now – Gourmet Burger Co.

Fisher said, “Based on my blog research, there seems to be a lot of talk about Gourmet Burger Co.” He said the key for businesses in Cabbagetown that aim to attract people with higher incomes is to draw people into the neighbourhood. Fisher said he thinks that Gourmet Burger Co. can potentially draw people from outside, as a few other businesses in the area have done.

John Lee, the owner of Omi, a sushi restaurant that moved into the area in November, said that business has been very good since the move from Church Street. He said, “We have a lot of our existing customers and the neighbourhood locals coming to our new location.” He said he gets around 70 per cent of his business from his existing customers, and the remaining 30 per cent from Cabbagetowners.

At a home furnishing store, Mi Casa, which has been in the area for 20 years, the manager, Andrew Halkewycz, said they draw roughly 60 per cent of their customers from outside of the neighbourhood, and around 40 per cent are Cabbagetowners.

In spite of the few stores that regularly draw people into the neighbourhood, Fisher said Cabbagetown has not become a destination spot, like the Distillery District or Church Street. “People don’t wake up on a Saturday and say ‘Let’s go to Cabbagetown.’ The neighbourhood is still a locally serving area, with businesses largely there to suit the local populations,” he said.

There are many well-known long-standing restaurants on Parliament Street that Cabbagetowners frequent. Fisher said, “Gourmet Burger Co has a good chance to compete.”

Sure enough, every pub in the area serves a burger; but, Gourmet Burger Co. is the only place specializing in various kinds of unique burgers. Fisher said, “I had a smokey bacon burger with fries and spent around $10. I could have spent less on their normal burger with condiments for $5.50, but I was happy to pay more for the unique toppings. I think they have a good broad price range for their customers.”

A glance at the menu at Gourmet Burger Co posted on the meticulously hand-written signs above the ordering counter reveals that in addition to the cheaper basic burger, the signature suggestions made by owner John Ward, range in price from $5.95 to $9.95.

Down the street, the popular House on Parliament pub offers their basic burger with sweet potato fries for $12.38, around $4 more than at Gourmet Burger Co. The Pear Tree, Ben Wicks Bar & Bistro, Big Mamma’s Boy, JAM café, and Stonegrill all offer burgers with sides ranging in price from $7.99 to $16. At these restaurants the burgers are among the lowest-priced items on their menus.

Fisher said, “If you sell only a burger, you need to sell more.” John Ward says he is selling between 100 to 175 burgers a day, which is quite good, according to Geoff Wilson, a restaurant consultant in Mississauga, who did a quick calculation of Ward’s sales and costs.

Wilson said that the decision a potential customer makes to buy a gourmet burger versus one from McDonalds will be based on a couple of factors. “Is the customer in the group that has been significantly influenced by the trend of ‘premiumization’? If so, that customer will be looking for more than just a regular burger, and if it’s different they are prepared to pay more. It has to have an enhanced flavour profile and a more appealing quality proposition. They have to want to buy it for the experience rather than just for filling up their stomach,” he said.

Ward says he has the differential gourmet aspect covered. He’s offering customizable burgers with the toppings they want, and including some unique Australian options – fried egg and beets - which are common in his home country’s standard burger, but found rarely (if ever) in Toronto. Furthermore he says he’ll soon be introducing a burger of the week with either salmon, bison, or pulled pork. Currently he has chicken, beef, and lamb burgers on offer with toppings like avocado, bacon, pineapple, gouda and brie.

At around 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Ward’s wife and two-month-old son visit the restaurant. Ward says he’s happy to have started this new business, after owning six other successful ones in the last 14 years. He says he’s glad, because with the restaurant he won’t be working late night pub hours, and he can spend more time with his son. Ward says he is up for the challenge of serving anyone who enjoys good food. He said he wants Gourmet Burger Co. to be like a good pizza place: “Everyone enjoys it… 12 year olds and grandmothers. It transcends age. I want people to leave here saying it was the best burger they ever had.”

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