Welcome to the November issue of the “Hot Off the Grill” Culinary Federation Newsletter!
I hope this message finds you healthy and well. October was a fruitful month for the CF. We had our second Presidents Meeting of 2020 on October 17th with over 30 branch presidents and national board members in attendance. We also had our first ever live stream broadcast with Foodiez.Live on October 21st with CF Victoria Branch President and Island Chef Pepper Co. Owner/Operator Vincent Capitano! While there were a few technical challenges, we are working through these and look forward to hosting more broadcasts in the future. Thank you to everyone who tuned in.
As we near the time of year for membership renewals, we are excited to announce some new developments. To start, the National Board has decided to introduce a standardized membership fee across the country. Up to this point each branch decided their own local dues, alongside a fixed national portion. We believe having a standard fee across the board is a step towards further consistency and transparency within the federation.
Secondly, in addition to the option to pay your full membership fees annually, we can now provide a monthly payment option. We are all well aware of the significant impact the pandemic has had on our industry, and we believe the monthly payment option will offer those most adversely affected a more financially feasible alternative to continuing membership and maximizing member benefits.
The new National Chef Membership price will be $200 annually, or $20 per month for 12 months (+ a $30 initiation fee for new members). Young Chef Memberships will be $50 annually, or $5 per month for 12 months. When you receive your renewal notice later this month, you will be given the option to choose the plan that works best for you.
Chefs across Canada and the world spent October celebrating International Chefs Day. Due to the pandemic this year, we had to get creative with how to celebrate in our community, within the current gathering restrictions. Under the direction of our Central Region VP and World Chefs Canadian Ambassador for International Chefs Day, Adelina Sisti-deBlasis, we joined together to provide a video series of healthy recipes. We had incredible engagement on this video series with over 13,000 total views and over 37,000 people reached. Thank you to those chefs who went above and beyond to celebrate! To access the full video series you can click here
As we continue to adapt to the unique challenges of COVID-19, the National Board has also decided that, in 2021 we will host 4 Regional Conferences, rather than 1 National Conference. This will allow membership attendance and engagement without considerable travel, smaller numbers to adhere to potential gathering restrictions, as well as the opportunity to highlight local partnerships. The plan is for a conference to be held on the West coast, in the Prairies, in Ontario and on the East coast within the timeline of April to June 2021. We will be announcing exact locations, dates, prices and a virtual component for each regional conference in December, so stay tuned!
In closing, the National Board and Administrative Team continue to do our best to offer tangible value to our membership. We are doing everything we can to make you feel connected, engaged, supported, and valued during this difficult time. Please never hesitate to be in touch.
Ryan Marquis
CF National President
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Searching for a new Home/Auto Insurance provider OR a national Procurement Services company - look no further than the most recent additions to our CF Member benefits community -
JOHNSON INSURANCE and
ENTEGRA PROCUREMENT SERVICES ...
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YOUNG CHEF OF THE MONTH
Phil Cameron, CF Ottawa
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Chef Phil Cameron, born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, is currently the Executive Chef at the German Embassy in Ottawa.
After completing culinary management in college, Chef Phil worked as a line cook at the Fairmont Château Laurier and was the Chef at The Vanitea Room Salon and Eatery for just over a year. Following these ventures, Chef Jud Simpson from the Parliamentary Restaurant asked Chef Cameron to join his team as a line cook. He also started a catering company called Phil-up My Belly during this time.
Chef Cameron worked at Parliament for about a year until he accepted a position as Chef at the German Embassy in Ottawa.
After two years of working at the German Embassy, Chef Phil had the opportunity to refine his craft and expand his culinary skills. With this newfound knowledge, Chef Phil decided to revamp his catering company. Today, Phil-up my Belly is now called Chef Phil Cameron, a service that offers gourmet meals in the comfort of your own home.
He is continuously working hard to improve his talents as a Chef all while being able to give back to the community. You can find Chef Phil teaching a cooking class at the College La Cité and at a local high school. He finds great pride in volunteering at the local non-profit organization Food for Thought Café, in addition to helping young chefs from Ottawa to improve their culinary skills and network with other Chef’s while representing the Culinary Federation of Ottawa as their Young Chef president. Food For Thought Café has reached 100 000 meals served since March and is proud to be run entirely by volunteers.
To add to Chef Phil’s accomplishments, he was a team member of Culinary Team Canada at the 2020 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany. The team received 2 silver medals. He has also won a few awards in the Ottawa cooking scene.
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CHEF OF THE MONTH -
Ruwan Jayakody, CF Toronto
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RECENT INFO:
Chef Ruwan Jayakpody has always been a proud and supportive Culinary Federation member, although a very busy chef, he always lends a hand when asked; donating meeting space at his elegant Grand Cinnamon Banquet and Convention Centre, Leading Canadian teams at Worldchefs competitions, sharing ideas and attending events. When the pandemic struck Chef Ruwan donated his time, food from his garden and his team to make 400 cooked lunches for the front-line workers, doctors and senior residence of the Yee-Hong Centre for Geriatric care.
Chef Ruwan has been running his banquet hall as safely as possible, with many safety protocols in place, but in a hall that seats 1300 people serving 50 for a wedding is not making any money. Ruwan is now behind 5 months and $250,000 in property taxes and is speaking out to local, provincial and federal government officials to provide support for businesses like his.
BIO
Ruwan started his Canadian business career from baking industry then real estate property owning and managing. At present he is the C.E.O. of Cinnamon RU Commercial Plazas-Toronto, Club Cinnamon Banquet Hall Toronto, Cinnamon Entertainment and C.E.O of Cinnamon Fence Luxury Apt.Ltd. Colombo, Sri Lanka.
In contrast, Ruwan was born and raised in a small rural township in Ruwanwella, Sri Lanka. In his early years he was an up-and-coming cartoon artist, journalist, TV presenter and a broadcaster. Later attending university to receive the highest educational background in Engineering. He changed his career path in the early 80’s to an apprentice cook and later on graduated in professional cookery at Institute of Hotel and Tourism, Ceylon Hotel School. Adding a few names on top of his basic studies, he was a Patisserie student of Gaston Le Notre Paris, France, and Willy Pfund Ecole du Sucre in Zurich, Switzerland and Boulangerie in Ulmar Spatz Germany. He is educated in French and German in addition to proficiency in English.
Ruwan has almost 40 years of experience with a vast knowledge of every aspect of the culinary industry working in many parts of the world including Asia, Middle East, Europe and America. Recognizing his diverse involvement in different professions in the global arena, recently the Govt. of his native country Sri Lanka has awarded him the highest national recognition Order of Merit.
He is the President and Founder of TRILLIUM CHEFS Canada; Culinary Team Manager of Culinary Olympics Canadian Trillium Chefs Team-2012/2016 Erfurt, Germany, Culinary World Cup 2018; one of the 14 Certified Culinary Judges in Canada by WACS and the 1st ever Certified Canadian Judge in both Culinary Art and Pastry Art; one of the three Canadian Honorary members of Amitie Gastronomique Francois Vatel, affiliated with the Culinary World Cup-Luxemburg; Designating holder of Certified World Master Chef (EWMC) since 1996.
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Let us take a moment to remember recently departed members ... |
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Click HERE for a look at the National Calendar template.
All Branch Presidents have now received an invitation from our new Calendar Wiz software! Please make sure to be logging in to list your branch events.
Communication about what all branches have been up to across the country has been a consistent request from membership! We want to make sure we are doing our best
to accommodate this request, as well as take advantage of the new software National has purchased for all the branches. If you did not receive your invitation, or are having
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