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jamiemaw

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  1. Yes indeed there are MANY and they're all over in General Food Topics. Jamie started this thread to get a sense of what tips were like in Vancouver & Western Canada. This is not a thread to discuss tipping etiquette. Any comments that are not germaine to regional tipping will be removed. This includes thinly veiled comments like: "I refuse to tip 15% on a bottle of wine in Western Canada becasue an expensive bottle of wine costs no more to decant than a cheaper wine ..." You get my point. This is a REGIONAL thread folks ... keep the discussion REGIONAL. A. [/host] ← Indeed, I started this thread to determine our local tipping culture compared to others. I began it when I was pondering the fact (in an adjacent thread regarding Canadian provincial minimum wages) that tell us that, for the most part, Canadian servers are paid a larger base wage than their US counterparts. So I was wondering if the convential wisdom that Canadian dining patrons tip a little less than Americans holds water. My (unstated and untried) hypothesis is that, in the US, a lower base wage and higher tips would find equillibrium with the opposite formula here. And then we heard from Jackal10 from England, to whom tipping is seemingly foreign . . . I've travelled frequently to the UK and have certainly noticed that the service culture, which is much less incented than here, especially at lower price points, such as the Casual Fine Dining sector, tends to be inferior. I believe that's as a result of several things: 1. The vestigial remains of a class-based culture, i.e. "us versus them", aka "attitude"; 2. The lack of incentives via gratuities; i.e. your income is vased on your knowledge, speed and skill. 3. Inferior training, especially compared to Earls, Cactus Club, The Keg, Joey's Global, Milestone's et al. These reasons partially explain why so many CFD sector owners and managers visist here from the UK, continental Europe and the US. I thinks its safe to say that some are flabbergasted by the depth of needs satisfaction training and sense of confident, entrepreneuial spirit demonstrated by young service personnel (especially in CFD) across Western Canada. I would ask Jackal10 if he tips when eating out abroad? I would also remind him that restaurant service personnel pay taxes too, and that those taxes pay for "schools and unemployment benefit", shoulder-to-shoulder with the proprietor. Of course Jackal10 must contend with a challenge that does not confront us here in Western Canada. That is the exorbitent cost of dining out in the uK, which in London, is approximately twice as much as Calgary or Vancouver. Sometimes wine is trebled from shop prices. The reasons: dreadful transportation infrastructure and much higher rent and labour costs. Perhaps that might explain why we're a little more likely to part with a paltry 15 to 20 percent of our dinner tab.
  2. A very interesting discussion about a regional cuisine becoming informed and eventually defined by local products and ingredients. My experience in Quebec City, at Laurie-Raphael and with Jean-Luc Boulay of Le Saint’Amour, was that they were very keen on local ingredients, especially from the Charlevoix growers and local cheesemakers. It was more difficult to find that pulse in Montreal, although I'm sure it was there later in the summer, but perhaps not as proudly advertised on menus. Here, sometimes it can get a little carried away. You know that's true when you see the ingredient's mother's maiden name listed. According to Stats Canada, Quebec restaurant and bar revenus were up 5.2% year-over-year, placing second only to Alberta at an astonishing 9.74%. A burgeoning restaurant economy bodes well for the province, and you.
  3. I agree with you 300--the food service business is an accurate and rapid barometer of the general economy. When jobs are created, restaurants benefit quickly. More slowly, new ones open. With the Alberta economy far outstripping other Canadian provinces (sales of luxury items, especially automobiles, have dramatically spiked) it follows that we would see this kind of growth in restaurant and bar revenues. More curious though are the BC numbers. This economy is also robust. I would have expected to see some slightly stronger growth here, even though we were starting from a significantly higher per capita restaurant spend and frequency of visit. So you could argue that provinces like Alberta and Quebec are playing catch-up. With those numbers it won't take long.
  4. How much do you tip out on average in restaurants? How do you vary the percentage for good, bad and ugly service experiences? Please feel free to be honest. Have you ever stiffed a server without explanation? And turning the tables, if you're an industry person, what do your tip averages run? Do people ever discount wine service? Are Western Canadians generally decent tippers? Do tourists (especially Americans) tip more? And as for locals what demographic is the most generous? Hell's Angels management? Realtors with their pictures on their business cards? The least? Ladies who lunch, Rotary groups? Have you ever been surprised? What are the signals that you're dealing with a short tipper?
  5. What a gorgeous space--in a city that is so starved for them. Five weeks later, on September 1st, Hitler invaded Poland. Life would change, even for restaurateurs in Vancouver.
  6. Province/Minimum Wage Alberta $7.00 BC $8.00 Manitoba $7.25 New Brunswick $6.30 Newfoundland $6.25 NWT $8.25 Nova Scotia $6.50 Nunavut $8.50 Ontario $7.45 PEI $6.80 Quebec $7.60 Saskatchewan $7.05 Yukon $7.20 Interestingly, in the US, the minimum wage ranges from US$2.80 to US$8.00, with the mean being $5.15, which is the federal minimum wage. This lower labour component tells the story of why our restaurant service patterns are different in Canada. Canadian FOH staff are typically required to handle larger sections than their US counterparts, especially in the Casual Fine Dining sector where margins are low and volume is important. Thus the extrordinary investment in FOH training in the Canadian CFD sector--staff is expected (and incented) to do more.
  7. As far as I know the data reflects all restaurants and bars that reported GST year over year. I'm pulling my weight; finally, a night off.
  8. Thanks BHC--you've been very generous with your time. Because Vancouver is a major cruise ship port, we read occasionally about Food-borne Illness (FBI--such as Norwalk Virus) on the cruisers. I know they take elaborate precautions, especially with the obvious perps like poultry and ground beef (separate stainless break rooms) etc. Of course all contained environments are especially susceptible. Are Navy ships affected very often? Have you ever seen an outbreak? Cheers, Jamie
  9. Thanks for opening the hatch and letting us all look inxide BHC. I find the economics particularly interesting, especially when compared with cruise ships. Depending on the gross passenger per diem fare, most Panamax ships have a PPPD of $8.00 to $14.00. The higher end is for lines such as Celebrity that have a food intensive program. On super-premium lines such as Crystal and Seabourn, the PPPD is significantly higher. By those standards alone, you are performing some real alchemy with your budget of $7.56 PPPD. My father sailed on the HMCS Prince Robert during WW II. To this day, and even if I crack them right in front of him, he will not eat scrambled eggs. Are there any food items that your crewmates avoid ashore (besdies paprika and dried herb garnishes , I mean)? Every restaurant has a couple of menu items that they dare not remove. What are yours? And what items provide the biggest bang for your buck? What kind of coffee do you use? Do you grind it fresh? To assist with the constraints of onboard ingredient storage, have you or the Navy experimented with sous vide for ready-meals?
  10. There are certain things that hotels do better than stand-alones. In addition to sleepovers, one of them is turkey. The Hotel Vancouver, The Met, Four Seasons and many others all do a great job with the festering season. But the most festive of all, to my eye at least, is The Wedgewood, it's halls already decked with boughs of jolly, et al. And although this will be EC Lee Parson's first Christmas there, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt--if he can do with a turkey what he does to a chicken, I shall eat a yule meal there.
  11. The banner headline on the cover of The Vancouver Sun's business section today reads "Jobs # 1 - B.C. leads the country" in job growth. Of the 90,000 jobs created year over year, food and lodging placed second (to manufacturing) with ome 8,000 new jobs produced. But BC was only mid-pack in terms of restaurant and bar growth with a 1.3% gain. Here are the stats, compliments of Statistics Canada: Alberta +9.74% Quebec +5.20 Newfoundland +4.78 (that must mean a new restaurant opened) Saskatchewan +3.69 Ontario +2.98 BC +1.3 Some provinces actually lost ground: Manitoba -3.34% Nova Scotia -7.86 PEI -10.19 (that must mean that a restaurant closed) New Brunswick -10.39
  12. In this country, beer is a vegetable, much like macaroni and cheese. Conversely, wine is classified as a fruit.
  13. As a treat for our hardworking Restaurant Awards judges, we served both the SB and the Zin at our business luncheon earlier this week. I enjoyed them both very much, as did others--and this was fussy crowd that numbered Sid Cross, Christina Burridge and many other whinies.
  14. Take good care! CNN reported more than 100 serious house fires attributed to this most excellent sport.
  15. The Olympic Village neighbourhood, and YVR RAV extension down Cambie are also going to redically change our dining landscape. Grosvenor are building a large residential/retail tower just above the new Canadian Tire store at the foot of Cambie. Disclosure: Our partnership is just completing the Montreux mid-rise on West 2nd (but we've sold it); it's the first of the OV buidings, but there will be many more in the SE False Creek lands completed over the next decade. There will be several eatertainment outdoor malls in the neighbourhood. At The Montreux, because its right across the street from the police station, we thought that Tim Horton's might be a natural, along the lines of 'Save a Cop, Shoot a Donut.'
  16. Ms. Reichl, Your feature on the food and restaurants of London certainly garnered a great deal of attention. What other culinary centres, emergent or established, will you be GPS'ing for us over the next couple of years?
  17. Nothing--they were very large Italian men. My fear was that I would end up in the fish case next to the scungilli. "WWRRD?" ← Just say no?
  18. Gerald's point is an important one. While a banker might allow him/herself to be entertained (read: 'snowed') by the owner once a year, LP's are the deadliest of silent shoppers because they have a heavily vested interest in performance. On a positive note though, some LP's can bring a lot more than money to the investment. Accountants, lawyers and experienced business owners bring expertise and contacts.
  19. What do we do about this? Do we stop printing fish recipes in food magazines? I was in a market on Long Island over the weekend where they were featuring Chilean sea bass in a miso marinade, ready for the grill. Clearly somebody had copped the Nobu recipe...and now every trend-driven foodie in Bellmore is going to be serving Chilean sea bass. ← We certainly stop printing fish recipes for Chilean sea bass (and other endangered or extirpated species) in food magazines, and while we're at it, recommend sustainable alternatives. What action (see the link in my post that precedes yours) did you take with the owner of the Long Island market?
  20. I believe that Alan Greenspan, when he was chairman of the Fed, called this human failing "irrational exuberance." But cheer up, because it's immediately followed by "cognitive dissonance" or buyer's remorse. J.
  21. Thank you for your very encouraging response. We also think the sustainability issue of great importance and have also been impressed by the highly positive response to the articles that we have run . We bracketed same with an eGullet-sanctioned Sustainabilty Luncheon here in Vancouver last summer, which will be repeated in London this February. Thank you again for your reply, and best wishes in addressing these issues.
  22. I couldn't agree more with your excellent points, Anchoress. Especially that (not unlike more converntional forms of divorce) for the "injured" party the emotional investment in a restaurant quite often disguises fianancial distress: A failing restaurauteur can throw up more denial than an entire anger management clinic -- Hope springs infernal.
  23. Thanks for the summary of your new venture, Sean. Would you feel comfortable sharing some financial data from your business plan? Here's the edited version of something we published earlier this year that's quite germane to the discussion at hand. At the end, there's mention of Il Palazzo, the most beautiful incarnation of this space (to date ) and, yes, a creature of Werner's design: Forum Hosts kindly note that I own the following copy: "Like the celebrity poker tournaments that haunt late-night television, Vancouver’s high-stakes restaurant business is rife with folded hands. Folded hands from amateurs trying to muscle in on the professionals’ game. And now, with rents escalating wildly—the highest fixed cost for would-be restaurateurs—the game has just become that much more serious, quickly. But the odds against launching a successful restaurant are much worse than in a Vegas casino—they’re heavily stacked against the player. If statistics are to be believed, within three years two of the three restaurants that we review this month will be shuttered and forgotten. Then a new person, someone with a slightly different dream, will pick up the entrails, clean behind the stove, renovate the room, and then unwittingly attempt to sell food to the unwilling. The dreams of these would-be restaurateurs are born from a stubborn place: that the greatest pleasure in life comes from doing what people say you cannot do. Some restaurants are ill-fated from day one, typically because their owner has misgauged its intended market, or chosen a tough location, or lacks an innate capacity to understand that this is a vicious calling, or, more brutally, oversees a stunningly quick escape of operating capital. “Sometimes you’re the windshield,” as the musician Mark Knopfler might have said about the restaurant business, “and sometimes you’re the bug.” Jack Evrensel owns CinCin and now intuitively understands the many things that combine to ensure commercial success in the toughest job in show business—restaurateuring—cooking and service are just two, albeit vital, components. Evrensel has learned them the hard way. When CinCin first opened in July of 1990, this magazine’s then-restaurant critic Scott Mowbray gave it an unforgiving, harsh review. Evrensel, though, has defied the statistics of misadventure, not only surviving but steadily expanding his empire from profits: he has no partners. He’s been successful because he understands the lengthier list of items required for commercial success in the business: clarity of concept, décor, sourcing, food management, staffing, wine procurement, cash management and public relations. The list goes on, but if you were to examine successful restaurant businesses, you would also know that you could claim this entire list and still not make a go of it. Like umami, the combinant fifth and most intangible taste, there is an ineffable, mysterious and effortless grace to restaurants that flourish. Ask Umberto Menghi, who is a veteran of the restaurant wars. He has an intuitive taste for design, service and food. But even a master such as Menghi has closed—in Vancouver, San Francisco, Seattle and Whistler—more restaurants than he has open today. Most famously was the million-dollar closure that broke his heart, the beautiful Il Palazzo, a room that combined the elegance of a slightly-decayed Florentine villa with extraordinarily good cooking (a young Michel Jacob was there) but couldn’t consistently win over Vancouverites to a challenged location and high prices."
  24. Three star dining experiences are also clearly a dying breed, in France and on this continent. And perhaps in North America, where dining out is now much more about a sense of taste than one of occasion, that sea change occured some time ago, while guides deploying vestigial methodologies such as Michelin have merely fiddled: Bill Murray should star in the movie.
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