The Chicken or The Egg Conumdrum

In thinking about the food trends in Canada, I wonder if people eat healthier or make choices based on what's available or do their demands dictate what restaurants produce? This harkens back to the chicken and the egg conumdrum, and I still haven't figured that one out yet.....Whatever your stance, here are some interesting stats about what food consumption trends are like at retaurants these days from fastcasual.com ....


According to the latest research from Mintel, more than 60 percent of restaurant-goers think nutritional information should be posted on menus, and two in five (44%) think federal or local governments should facilitate such actions.

"Menu transparency will allow consumers to have control over their food decisions with a complete understanding of what they’re eating," said Eric Giandelone, director of foodservice research at Mintel. "However, getting people to eat healthier requires more than just posting calories or adding healthy options to the menu…the food also has to taste good."

When going out for dinner, nearly 60 percent of survey respondents said they want something that tastes great and 23 percent claim to want to eat a healthy meal. Only 14 percent of diners said they are never interested in ordering a healthy restaurant meal. This insight shows that restaurant patrons are attracted to healthful meals, as long as they’re full of flavor.

Nearly half of survey respondents report eating healthier in restaurants in the past year and people have different methods for doing so. Reducing fat (67%) leads the way in strategies for adopting healthier eating habits at restaurants, followed by eating more fruits and vegetables (52%). Meanwhile, 49 percent of patrons are cutting calories by simply ordering less food.

"From a restaurant’s perspective, there is a concern that healthy menu items may not sell, but there is also a danger to having a calorie-laden menu when the calorie count law starts taking effect," Giandelone said. "There may be some initial consumer shock at the calorie counts and chains may have to start listing lower-calorie options or smaller portion sizes to help diffuse this unpleasant surprise."

When Will Hotel Business Go UP in Canada?

Just when we started seeing some positive changes in the food services and retail side of the hospitality industry in Canada, I came across this article on the dropped hotel rates for our top 5 cities. While not encouraging, still noteworthy information for hotel managers.....

Strengthening Canadian Dollar Drives Hotel Rate Drops and Great Deals

SAN FRANCISCO, May 12 /PRNewswire, a leading discount travel site, today announced the results of the May 2010 Hotwire[R] Canadian Hotel Rate Report, which features the top five cities in Canada where hotel rates have dropped the most. When combined with Hotwire's already discounted prices, the Hotel Rate Report helps guide customers to the destinations that will maximize their travel dollars. Edmonton tops this month's rate report with an 11 percent drop, and after a six-month absence, Vancouver makes a welcome return with a 3 percent drop.

Hotel prices across Canada continue to fall as many popular destinations are still seeing declines in leisure travel that traditionally fills up rooms this time of year. This trend is being driven by the strength of the Canadian dollar against both the U.S. dollar and Euro. Travelers appear to be choosing destinations where they can get more native currency in exchange for their money, causing hoteliers in cities like Halifax and Vancouver to drop prices to compensate.

In addition to the exchange rate effects, cities like Edmonton and Ottawa are not seeing a return in business travelers, which is causing hotels to slash rates even further in those areas. So for travelers looking to stay closer to home this summer, they are bound to find a destination that suits their budget and taste, whether it is scenic Niagara Falls, history-rich Halifax or the country's capital, Ottawa.

When compared to the same time last year, the top five hotel price reductions for May 2010 include:

Example of a Current Hotwire Deal, CAD$/Night

Hotel Market: Edmonton, AL
Price Drop: 11%
Rank:3-star
$96

Hotel Market: Halifax, NS
Price Drop:9%
Rank:3-star
$76

Hotel Market: Ottawa, ON
Price Drop:8%
Rank:3-star
$90

Hotel Market: Niagara Falls, ON
Price Drop:5%
Rank: 3-star
$97

Hotel Market: Vancouver, BC
Price Drop: 3%
Rank: 3-star
$92

"Leisure destinations across Canada are offering some great deals this month on Hotwire," said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. "As long as the Canadian dollar stays strong against international currencies, travelers should continue to see low hotel prices throughout the summer."

Food Quality Following BP Oil Spill

Anyone else have a concern about the food from our oceans following the catastrophic oil spill of BP's? Surely, we'll be concerned to avoid highly contaminated foods in our grocery stores and restaurants but what impact will the spill have? how will be know it's safe? are suppliers being questioned? If you're as concerned as me, perhaps you'd be interested in this article from prweb.com on May 28, 2010:

"The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI), a leader in delivering career-spanning, standards-based food protection training to state and local food safety officials, announced today it is partnering with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to train food protection officials to determine the safety and acceptability of seafood from the oil-contaminated Gulf-state area.

This federal program will provide hands-on training to develop skills in sensory detection for taint in seafood exposed to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. These skills are critical for seafood safety monitoring in order for food protection officials to take regulatory response measures that can include advisories and opening and closing of fisheries. All instruction will be provided by a special NMFS/FDA Sensory Expert Team that has been collecting base-line samples from the Gulf region for these and future training sessions.

In addition to coordinating attendance of state officials from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, IFPTI will reimburse attendees' travel expenses to overcome the limited funding for training and tight travel budgets that would otherwise have prevented these food protection officials from getting this vital emergency training.

To date, working in partnership with the Association of Food & Drug Officials, and in collaboration with the FDA, IFPTI has trained more than 500 food protection professionals from 37 states. Utilizing a FY2010 federal appropriation, IFPTI expects to train approximately 1,000 state and local food protection professionals in 2010 and the Institute is preparing to train up to 2,000 to 3,000 food safety officials in 2011 utilizing funding allocated for such purposes in the President's FY2011 Budget. "