TORONTO — The Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals (CAFP) held its 44th annual CAFP Toronto Professionals Celebration & Fundraiser (formerly Top Management Night) last Thursday at the Boulevard Club in Toronto. More than 130 foodservice professionals gathered for the event, which is a celebration of the Canadian foodservice industry and supports many of CAFP’s student bursaries and personal and professional development programs.
Following the President’s Welcome Reception, which included food from event sponsors Mandarin, M2Go, Basil Box, Piller’s Foodservice, High Liner Culinary, Nature Knows and Ace Bakery, CAFP Toronto Branch president Nancy Hewitt presented the Food Executive of the Year Award to chef Keith Hoare, an instructor in the hospitality and tourism program at Thistledown Collegiate Institute. Hoare, a Chopped Canada winner, uses student outings, participation in competitions and lessons in life skills to inspire pupils in neighbourhoods facing socio-economic challenges.
The evening’s keynote speaker, James Chiu, president, Mandarin Restaurant Franchise Corporation, then captured the crowd’s attention with his rags-to-riches success story.
The evening wrapped up with Foodservice and Hospitality magazine’s Hans Bueschkens Award presentation. Since the first award was handed out more than two decades ago, F&H has honoured a wide spectrum of companies that have shown outstanding service, dedication and social advancement of the Canadian hospitality industry within the communities they serve.
This year’s award was presented to Subway for its World Sandwich Day fundraising efforts. Based on the belief that no one should ever go hungry, World Sandwich Day was born, allowing Subway restaurants to support hunger-relief charities in more than 70 countries.
The concept is simple — for every sandwich purchased with a 21-oz. drink, Subway donates the monetary equivalent of a meal to Food Banks Canada. Globally, the Subway promotion provides more than 13.3-million meals to hunger-relief charities around the world
On last year’s World Sandwich Day, Subway locations in Canada met the initiative’s goal of providing one-million meals — the equivalent of approximately $330,000 — to those in need across the country by supporting the purchase and distribution of fresh foods through Food Banks Canada’s national food-sharing program, which supports 550 food banks across the county.
