59 min listen
Deadly Balls of Poison, Weight Watchers Got It Wrong, The Death of Irony, Remembering George Cohon and guest Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Res…
Deadly Balls of Poison, Weight Watchers Got It Wrong, The Death of Irony, Remembering George Cohon and guest Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Res…
ratings:
Length:
47 minutes
Released:
Nov 30, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Our special guest is Kelly Higginson, President & CEO of Restaurants Canada, and we dive into the challenges faced by the foodservice industry post-COVID, the role of technology, tipping and the road ahead for a $100Billion industry in Canada where now more than 50 percent of restaurants and foodservice businesses operating at a loss or barely breaking even.In the news, Sylvain presents a new report from the Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Changing Traditions: The Impact of Rising Food Prices on Holiday Meals, and we talk about the cost of a traditional holiday dinner, including egg nog and options for Canadians who are food insecure. We talk about the state of the The Beer Store in Ontario raising questions about the future of beer regulations and the iconic empties return system. Irony reigns as environmentalists jet to Dubai for COP28. A cantaloupe recall sparks a discussion on its reputation and the shortcomings of Canada's dangerous food alert system. We reflect on the legacy of George Cohon, whose forays into "Burger Diplomacy" in Russia for McDonald's lay in tatters under Putin's rule. Still, his legacy and spirit of generosity shine through Ronald McDonald House. We wrap with the startling twist of strategy with WeightWatchers CEO's surprising shift into buying a company that can prescribe weight loss drugs. About KellyKelly Higginson took on the role of President and CEO of Restaurants Canada after serving the organization as Chief Operating Officer since 2022. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Vice President of Operations at The CFW Group, leading operational strategy for North American hospitality brands like ki modern japanese + bar, The Shore Club and Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House. During her time with The CFW Group, Higginson had first-hand experience navigating copious challenges as she worked to further the development and retention of employees through the global pandemic. About UsDr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. Google Scholar ranks him as one of the world's most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. Furthermore, his research has been featured in several newspapers and media groups, including The Lancet, The Economist, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, Foreign Affairs, the Globe & Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star.Dr. Charlebois sits on a few company boards, and supports many organizations as a special advisor, including some publicly traded companies. Charlebois is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Business Scientific Institute, based in Luxemburg. Dr. Charlebois is a member of the Global Food Traceability Centre’s Advisory Board based in Washington DC, and a member of the National Scientific Committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Ottawa.About MichaelMichael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada and the Bank of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, Today's Shopping Choice and Pandora Jewellery. Micha
Released:
Nov 30, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Tareq Hadhad, CEO and Founder of Peace by Chocolate is our special guest, plus pandemic gardening research, Chile food fraud, and remembering Percy Schmeiser: Tilling the rich media soil: 1 in 5 Canadians started gardening during the pandemic - Sylvain take us through the latest research results from the Dalhousie Agri-Foods lab, and what does this mean for grocers and 2021? A chilling (or is that Chile) tale of food fraud: talk about the organic raspberry scandal, the scale and scope of food fraud of this sort overall, what your/the Lab's role was in the detective work and any lessons learned on how to catch these criminals Our special guest: Tareq Hadhad CEO and Founder of Peace by Chocolate! We talk to Tareq about his family’s story that is nothing short of incredible. An amazing journey of love and hope chronicled in the new book, Peace By Chocolate. by The Food Professor