Blog posts tagged with 'restaurants'

Let me preface this blog post by saying we do not sell restaurant uniforms. We do however sell tabletop supplies to restaurants and other hospitality companies across Canada. As a company, we’re all about providing our customers with need to know, relevant information so they can easily and efficiently make decisions for their foodservice operation which is the reason for this post.

Because restaurant uniforms are one of the many ways guests judge a restaurant, ensuring the front of the house staff is putting their best foot forward is of utmost importance to any operator. It’s human nature to want the best of whatever product you’re purchasing so we’ve rounded up an unbiased viewpoint of the best suppliers of restaurant uniforms in Canada.

1. Canadian Linen and Uniform Service

Headquartered in Toronto, ON Canadian Linen and Uniform service is one of the largest uniform and linen supply companies in North America. They operate more than 115 production facilities and service centers throughout the US and Canada and service nearly 150,000 customers every week. They service the hospitality, automotive and manufacturing industries. One of the more flexible suppliers out there, they offer full service rental, flex lease and purchase of restaurant and chef uniforms. They offer customizations, and in some instances laundering, repairs and upgrades.

2. Cintas

Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, Cintas is a global company operating more than 430 facilities in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia, including six manufacturing plants and nine distribution centres. Some of their more well-known customers include McDonalds, W Hotels and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Like Canadian Linen and Uniform Service they give restaurants the option to rent, lease, buy or have uniforms designed for a custom one of a kind look. Personalization is also available.

3. Lotus Uniforms

With warehouses in Vancouver, BC and Toronto, ON (just like us!), Lotus Uniforms has an ecommerce website allowing restaurants to shop 24/7 for whatever restaurant uniforms they desire. They offer restaurant uniforms, aprons and chef wear with free shipping on orders of 48 + pieces. They provide logo work in the form of embroidery, screen printing and digital printing.

4. Blue Riband Uniforms Inc

Located in Quebec, Blue Riband Uniforms inc features an impressive client list including (but not limited to) Etihad Airways Lounge staff, Compass Group, The Ritz-Carlton, Hilton Hotel and Sunwest Aviation. They have a wide range of bar & banqueting uniforms, aprons, chef and food preparation uniforms. They also offer uniform personalization in the form of tabbing, badges, screen printing and embroidery.

5. Chef Works Canada

One of the only companies on this list that caters exclusively to the foodservice industry, Chef Works is headquartered just outside of Toronto and has over 200 distributors across the country. They have a fantastic style guide that gives foodservice operators options to visually decide on, an ecommerce site to shop 24/7, personalization available and some of the broadest range of restaurant uniforms around. They don’t offer rent, lease or laundering options if that is a need of yours.

There’s a constant debate in the foodservice industry over gas ranges vs electric ranges: what’s better, what has more problems, what costs what and so on. While we don’t actually sell commercial restaurant ranges, we sell restaurant tabletop supplies to restaurants across Canada and want to add value to our customers’ lives. Based on conversations with our customer’s the answer to what’s a better cooking method is: it depends. It depends on a chef’s upbringing, training, kitchen set up, restaurant menu and personal preference. To clarify, we’ll be talking about a range as commercial restaurant equipment which includes an oven + stovetop. What we’ll attempt to do in this post is share an unbiased pro and con list of commercial gas ranges versus commercial electric ranges so you can determine what makes the most sense for your back of the house needs.

Commercial Gas Ranges

Photo Source: Vulcan

Manufacturers include Garland, Wolf, Cooking Performance Group, Bakers Pride, Imperial, Vulcan and Southbend.

• Multiple configuration options including ovens, storage cabinets, griddles, broilers, and salamanders
• Available in 20” to 72” width
• 2-12 burners
• 0-2 ovens

Pros:

• More even stovetop heat for cooking
• Easy to gauge the precise level of heating on burners
• Less expensive to operate
• Instant, constant heat on burners

Cons:

• Can be more costly to install if gas line isn’t already there
• Higher risk of gas leaks
• Pilot light starters burn more gas than electronic starters as pilot lights are constantly burning blue flame near the burner. If the gas range has a pilot light starter, it would be more costly to operate and therefore a “con”
• Gas ovens produce a humid heat making it less optional for dry roasting

Commercial Electric Range

Photosource: Toastmaster

Manufacturers include Toastmaster, Garland, and Vulcan.

• Multiple configuration options including ovens, storage cabinets, griddles, and broilers
• Available in 36” to 60” width
• 6-10 burners

Pros:

• Easier to install
• Less costly to install
• Generally less expensive to purchase
• Easier to clean
• Dry Oven heat best for roasting
• Even heat distribution in oven for baking

Cons:

• Subject to power outages
• Stovetop slower to cool when turned off
• Stovetop slower to heat up when turned on
• More expensive to operate as it takes 3 times as much energy to produce and delivery electricity to your range than gas

We’re a couple months into the year and rounding out the last month of the first quarter. Still big news in the foodservice industry is the food trends that are popping up around the country as well as forecasted trends to come.

Knowing the trends ensures your menu stays current and you’re maintaining your competitive edge. Restaurants and caterers can win business based on staying up-to-date on trends so updating your menu on a quarterly basis based on your top sellers can give you a boost in reservations and revenue.

Because there are so many different publications and sources of information out there to read about the trends, and because caterers and restauranteurs are such busy people, we wanted to compile the ultimate food trends guide to provide a one stop place for those busy people to easily find information. Check out this slide show below to learn the hottest of hot food trends for 2015.

The 2015 Restaurants Canada show is fast approaching. We're excited to be in booth# 2113 exhibiting our restaurant tabletop supplies, catering serveware and event furniture.

We’re breaking the mold on traditional restaurant supply stores by not only selling tabletop items that don’t eat into profits (i.e. more money in the bank for you) but also by having no minimums, all porcelain and glassware in stock and same/next day shipping to ensure you get the tabletop supplies you need fast. We also have all our products and pricing online and available for ordering 24/7/365 so there’s no need to leave your restaurant.

New at the show: we will be exhibiting:

• Spun Polyester Tablecloths
• Our second line of crystal stemware – the Victoria Crystal Collection
• Lucido Bone China Dinnerware
• 8ft Solid Wood Harvest Tables
• Stacking Wood Crossback Chairs

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets, feel free to register with our code “RC1014” and receive a 50% discount on your advance registration.

We look forward to seeing you at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto on March 1 – 3rd!

Make sure you follow us on Facebook or Twitter to check out more information on the restaurant and foodservice industry and see what other events we'll be at.

Anyone not in the foodservice and restaurant industry would not understand the need to write a blog post about crystal and glass stemware and glassware – however you and I both know that even something as miniscule as the choice of glass material for your guest’s choice of beverage goes a long way towards enhancing the aesthetics and atmosphere of the restaurant. If you’re reading this blog post though, chances are you’re in the midst of determining what type of crystal and glass wine glasses make the most sense for your establishment. We’ll shed more light below on why choose crystal wine glasses over glass wine glasses and vice versa.

Crystal Wineglasses

• Traditionally used in upscale fine dining establishments or restaurants less prone to breakage
• Older crystal wine glasses can have lead in them. Most crystal wine glasses these days are unleaded due to the fact that lead used to leech into the beverage making it hazardous for a person’s health
• Help to control the temperature of the wine
• Accentuates the aroma and flavours of the wine
• Allows light to refract through the glass making them sparkle on the table
• Light in weight
• Frailer and therefore more fragile than glass stemware
• Sometimes hand washable only
• Average cost is more expensive than glass stemware thus replacement costs are higher

Glass Wineglasses

• Traditionally used in more casual dining atmospheres and restaurants where more breakage occurs (i.e. pubs / bars)
• Doesn’t shine the way crystal does as it is slightly more opaque
• More affordable than crystal so replacement costs are lower than average
• More durable than crystal
• Thicker structure (thicker bowl, rim, foot and stem) generally
• Dishwasher safe

Restaurants with an extensive wine menu and upscale offerings or restaurants looking to position themselves as a food and wine destination would do best purchasing crystal wine glasses. Fast Casual restaurants, pubs and bars would do best purchasing glass wine glasses enabling them to optimize the durability of the glass.