For the "A Feu Vif" version of this newsletter, please click HERE.

Welcome to the May issue of the “Hot Off the Grill” Culinary Federation Newsletter!   We hope this message finds our membership healthy and hopeful as the weather begins to shift and the days are growing longer. Although most of the country finds itself awaiting the lifting of various restrictions, we can begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel as vaccination programs continue to roll out. We are turning a corner towards better days very soon and encourage you during this time to continue to persevere. We are inspired by the tenacious spirit of our membership and our industry as a whole. We will get through this together!   We will be gathering at the end of the month for our 2021 Annual General Meeting and look forward to seeing familiar faces over ZOOM - reporting on a year full of creative adaptations to continue to meet, connect as chefs, cooks and culinary partners.   After much deliberation and a unanimous vote at the April President’s Day Meeting, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all 2021 Regional Conferences in the name of financial responsibility and gathering restrictions. We look to the future and the promise of gathering in Saskatoon in 2022. We have two Saskatoon inspired recipes below that we shared some time ago in anticipation of the 2020 conference. We would LOVE to see your interpretations of these local favourites so be sure to tag us on social media.   We are busy making plans for our Virtual Awards Ceremonies on the evening of June 23rd (various time zone listings below) and look forward to celebrating our members together, sharing inspiring stories of strength and perseverance in our industry. You won’t want to miss it!   In closing, we want to thank our outgoing Board Advisor Glenda Taylor for all her efforts contributed while on the National Board and in her time as a volunteer. We wish her the best in her future endeavours. This past month we welcomed Mark Thompson of McKinley Solutions as our newly appointed Board Advisor. As always, thank you for your continued support and membership, if there is anything you want to discuss regarding the Culinary Federation and your membership experience, please contact me at president@culinaryfederation.ca Thank you, Ryan Marquis CF National President president@culinaryfederation.ca

SHARE YOUR VOICE! #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth The Culinary Federation is proud to be part of a coalition of like minded mental health advocates (led by www.not9to5.org) committed to giving the restaurant/hospitality industry a voice.    Not 9 to 5 was founded on instinct and then cemented in data. In honour of #mentalhealthawarenessmonth, they've created a survey to gather data on the mental health & substance use challenges in the restaurant, foodservice & hospitality industry.    This is the survey link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PWFMWEB   Please fill it out and help us amplify our collective voice. Thank you!

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Please join us in welcoming these new and returning members to the Culinary Federation:

CF VICTORIA Jonathon Cornforth CF SASKATOON Aziz El Azmaoui CF LONDON Sumit Raghav CF WINDSOR Yanlin Wang Kyra Meloche CF TORONTO Mawiyah Salisu Kenrick Ngo Vincent Delan 

YOUNG CHEF OF THE MONTH Ian Shapira, CF Winnipeg Ian has been the Young Chef Representative for the CF Winnipeg branch for the last two years and has been an integral part of our association before that.         Ian is a graduate of the Culinary Arts program at Red River College where he became interested in competition. Ian has participated in the Young Chefs competition provincially, securing a place at the Chef’s Hat national competition in 2019 in Niagara Falls.         Ian has been employed throughout the pandemic, working under executive chef Jesse Freisen to adjust and retool as they realigned operations to survive. This has been a difficult time but Ian has stood his ground and maintained through the constant change that this is part of the business today.       Ian and the young chefs were in the midst of organizing fundraising and social events for Winnipeg’s Young Chefs when the pandemic took hold a year ago. The year before, the young chefs had a successful fundraiser at the Merchant Kitchen. This fundraising provided opportunities for young chefs to attend the national conference.       Ian is proud of his French Canadian roots, as well as his Ashkenazi Jewish upbringing. Ian started his professional career in food service at 15 at Ira’s Deli and has worked through the ranks for a decade, becoming the co-chef de cuisine at The Merchant Kitchen, and now a sous chef at Mottola Grocery in True North Square.  Ian believes in sustainable sourcing, harnessing local resources, and educating people about the products they buy. Ian is a firm believer in hard work, dedication and more than anything else punctuality. Outside of work Ian’s interests include growing and harvesting vegetables and herbs from his garden, watching real football and French rap.

CHEF OF THE MONTH - Skylar Sawers, CF Okanagan

Skylar Sawers currently holds the position of Director at Large, as well as a co-social media chair with CF Okanagan.  Skylar has had a less than conventional path so far. Growing up in the prairies with very humble beginnings, she learned how to cook for herself by necessity. Then at the age of 14, moving with her family to Ningbo, China, exposed her to an entirely new culture, styles of cooking, and outlook on life. Coming back to Canada, she started on remedying her education. Whilst completing this, she worked various jobs in kitchens to pay the bills. She met Chef Doug Overes C.C.C., who convinced her to sign up for the apprenticeship program at Lethbridge College.  After receiving her Red Seal & Alberta Journeyman, she proceeded to assist in building up Prime Catering and its independent restaurant venture Italian Table. Through 7 years working with these companies, she was very active within the Culinary Federation.  Starting in her first year of culinary school, Skylar became the Young Chef Vice President of her branch, where she spearheaded an initiative to provide free cooking classes to people with disabilities, with great success. She continued her work within the Lethbridge Branch of the Culinary Federation where she eventually held Vice-President for a term and President for two terms.  In 2020, she relocated to Kelowna, B.C., where she started working at Summerhill Winery under fellow CF member Chef Jeremy Luypen. Skylar has continued her work for the Culinary Federation with the CF Okanagan Branch. She has found a place of belonging within the Okanagan Valley by building new connections and having the ability to explore a more sustainable lifestyle.  Using the skills and experience she has gained over the past ten years, Skylar wants to go forward making a difference in Culinary culture; whether through aiding in food initiatives for low-income individuals, volunteer work or being an avid mental health advocate however she can.  Skylar has grown to be a consummate professional with an incredible caring, mentoring and nurturing style. The younger cooks and chefs that Skylar has worked with continue, to this day, to reinforce the teachings Skylar has imparted upon them. Chef Doug is quoted as saying, “I see a long and illustrious career for Skylar and consider her to be one of Lethbridge College’s and the Culinary Federation’s greatest success stories in the last 10 years. I am so very proud of her and wish her all of the best”.

Please take a moment to acknowledge the passing of these chefs, and members of the Culinary Federation .... Chef Wolfgang Roessler (CF Toronto) Chef Emilio Salamone (CF Windsor) Chef Judith Kirchner (CF Victoria)

www.culinaryfederation.ca

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