Between a new two-week ban on indoor dining in B.C. restaurants and bars and a 28-day lockdown order in Ontario, Canadian hospitality professionals are once again feeling like scapegoats as provincial governments scramble to control the spread of COVID-19 variants.
In Saskatoon, a local restaurateur speaks out after her Korean fried chicken eatery is a victim of hateful comments online. She is one of many Asian hospitality professionals speaking out against anti-Asian racism over the past few weeks across the country.
Get caught up on these topics and more with our latest roundup featuring some of the biggest Canadian food news from the past week.
Young Indigenous chef makes Top Chef Canada history
Being one of only a handful of Okanagan chefs to ever appear on Top Chef Canada is cause for plenty of excitement around Mission Hill Family Estate Winery's chef de partie, Siobhan Detkavich. Though in addition to that, the 21-year-old chef is both the first Indigenous female and the youngest person to compete on the popular Food Network Canada series.
In this Global News feature, Detkavich shares her thoughts on filming, cooking and representing her band Cowichan Tribes on the show's ninth season, which premieres on April 19.
Two Vancouver eateries defy B.C. government's lockdown orders
Two Vancouver restaurateurs have decided to push back after the government told all restaurants and bars to cease indoor dining service for two weeks. Gusto restaurant and Corduroy both initially continued to provide sit-down dining to patrons, though as of now, only Corduroy has continued...claiming sovereign citizen rights.
The Vancouver Sun has the full story.
Drive-thru food food donation initiative sees much success in Ontario
A contact-less food donation event–organized by Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank–saw massive success this weekend after receiving over 25,000 pounds of donated food in just one day. Daily Bread is hoping to get a at least 225,000 pounds of food donations by the end of April as the amount of people needing to access food banks like theirs continues to grow as the pandemic continues.
More about this great initiative over on CBC News.
Saskatoon restaurateur speaks out against Asian hate
After being highlighted in a celebratory feature in the Saskatoon Starphoenix, Hey! Fried Chicken co-owner Estelle Yang was shocked and disappointed to see anti-Asian comments online about her businesses inclusion in the piece. Since speaking out about the hateful comments via the restaurant's Instagram account (see above), Yang and her husband have received an overwhelming amount of support from local food lovers.
Read the full story over on Global News.
Quebec hospitality professionals call out Les Lauriers for lack of diversity
Many acclaimed Quebecois chefs and restaurateurs are crying foul over Les Lauriers de la Gastronomie Québécoise recent announcement of finalists for the organization's 2021 awards. Over 30 Montreal-based individuals and eateries are nominated in different categories, but many–like Mon Lapin–are pointing out the Les Lauriers' lack of diversity.
More about the controversy in this recent Montreal Gazette feature.
Ontario restaurants call for compensation following new lockdown orders
Out of all of the Canadian provinces, it's hard to deny that Ontario's foodservice industry hasn't had things the hardest. With a newly imposed lockdown–just two weeks after Ontario restaurants and bars were allowed to resume sit-down service on their patios–many are calling for more compensation and support from the government to help the hard-hit sector continue to weather the frustrating storm.
Todd Barclay, CEO of Restaurants Canada and other voice through opinions in this recent Global News story.
