Restaurants Canada celebrates innovation

April 4, 2017, TORONTO – Three outstanding leaders and innovators from Canada’s foodservice industry were recognized with a Restaurants Canada Award of Excellence at last month’s Restaurants Canada Show in Toronto.

The award winners are:

Leadership — Mohamad Fakih, president and CEO of Paramount Fine Foods, was recognized for his humanitarian efforts as well as his business success. Mr. Fakih committed to hire 100 Syrian refugees at his restaurants and is more than 80 per cent to that goal. He also donated funds to cover the cost of funerals for the six victims of the Jan. 29 shooting at a Quebec mosque, and to assist with refurbishing the mosque.

Culinary Excellence — Chef Robert Belcham of Campagnolo restaurant in Vancouver was recognized for his outstanding culinary skills, pioneering restaurant concepts, commitment to local, sustainable Canadian ingredients, and mentorship of up-and-coming culinary talent.

Innovation — Food Supplies, a Canadian supplier of equipment and ingredients for food retail and foodservice, was recognized for bringing the Fornoteca Duetto pizza oven to the RC Show. The Fornoteca Duetto is a portable pizza oven made for outdoor patios, and it cooks delicious pizza in just 90 seconds – a true game-changer for foodservice operators.

More than 16,000 industry professionals attended the three-day RC Show, which included dozens of events and hundreds of exhibits that showcased new products, trends and business insights. The RC Show also celebrated Canada’s culinary past, present and future in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday.

Restaurants Canada is a growing community of 30,000 foodservice businesses, including restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and suppliers. We connect our members from coast to coast, through services, research and advocacy for a strong and vibrant restaurant industry. Canada’s restaurant industry directly employs 1.2 million Canadians, is the number one source of first jobs, and serves 18 million customers every day.