Fast casual

How Canada’s Single-use Plastics Ban Affects Operators

by David Klemt

With a few exceptions, Canada’s ban on the manufacture, importation, and sale of single-use plastics is now officially in effect.

However, that doesn’t mean restaurant and bar operators need to worry about current inventories just yet. While the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations are in effect, operators have a year to deplete their stocks.

SUPPR is a crucial element of Canada’s overall plan to combat pollution and reach a goal of zero plastic waste by 2030. The single-use plastics ban was announced in June of this year.

“We promised Canadians we would deliver a ban on single-use plastics. Today, that’s exactly what we’ve done,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault the day SUPPR was announced. “By the end of the year, you won’t be able to manufacture or import these harmful plastics. After that, businesses will begin offering the sustainable solutions Canadians want, whether that’s paper straws or reusable bags. With these new regulations, we’re taking a historic step forward in reducing plastic pollution, and keeping our communities and the places we love clean.

Now, six months later, it’s the law of the land.

What’s Banned?

Essentially, Canadian operators must evaluate everything they use for delivery and takeout or pickup. If any items are single-use plastic, they must be gone by December 2023.

Per SUPPR, the manufacture, importation, and sale of the following is prohibited:

Checkout bags designed to carry purchased goods from a business and typically given to a customer at the retail point of sale.
Cutlery includes:
- knives
- forks
- spoons
- sporks
- chopsticks
Foodservice ware designed for serving or transporting food or beverage that is ready to be consumed, and that:
- contains
  - expanded polystyrene foam
  - extruded polystyrene foam
  - polyvinyl chloride
  - carbon black
  - an oxo-degradable plastic
- are limited to the following items
  - clamshell containers
  - lidded containers
  - boxes
  - cups
  - plates
  - bowls

Ring carriers are flexible and designed to surround beverage containers in order to carry them together.
Stir sticks designed to stir or mix beverages, or to prevent a beverage from spilling from the lid of its container.
Straws include:
- straight drinking straws, and
- flexible straws, which have a corrugated section that allows the straw to bend, packaged with beverage containers (juice boxes and pouches)

For accuracy, the above comes from the Government of Canada website directly, unedited.

What does this mean for Operators?

Again, operators in Canada don’t need to toss their current stock of the above items.

However, Restaurants Canada does recommend that operators contact suppliers and customers if they import, export, or sell prohibited items currently.

The single most important thing for operators to do now is research single-use plastic alternatives. Items need testing as changes will affect F&B items and the guest experience.

Of course, it’s possible an operator’s current supplier already offers alternatives to single-use plastics. That could prove convenient but costs, supply chain reliability, and impact on menu items need careful consideration.

Sustainability and responsible practices are no longer just conversation topics within the industry. As of this week, in Canada, they’re the only way forward.

Image: Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

Want Champagne Onion Rings with That $6,000 Burger?

by David Klemt

Matthew McConaughey once said that the inventor of the hamburger was smart but creator of the cheeseburger was a genius.

So, what title should we bestow upon the person who created the first-ever gourmet burger?

Super-genius? Superhuman? Superhero?

Perhaps legend is high-enough praise for whomever made it acceptable to charge more than $10 for a simple menu item.

A Brief History of Haute Hamburgers

The United States is widely credited with the invention of the hamburger. However, the exact origin is unknown. Therefore, it remains heavily disputed.

Of course, we wouldn’t have today’s gourmet burgers without two decidedly standard burger powerhouses: White Castle and McDonald’s.

The former was founded 100 years ago this past March in 1921, while the latter really came into its own in 1955. However, thanks to films like The Founder, McDonald’s tends to get the lion’s share of modern burger and fast-food credit.

Regardless, the first haute cuisine burgers wouldn’t hit the market until the turn of this century. Chefs Daniel Boulud and Richard Blais are among the names that receive credit for creating the gourmet burger category.

Over the past several years, several high-dollar burgers have made headlines. For example, Corvallis, Oregon-located restaurant Juicys Outlaw Grill created a $5,000 burger ten years ago. Anyone interested in having one was required to provide 48-hours’ notice.

In 2017, Dutch chef Chef Diego Buik offered a $2,300-plus burger at South of Houston in the Hague. Just two years ago, Chef Hubert Keller featured a $5,000 burger on the menu at his Las Vegas restaurant Fleur.

Another Las Vegas restaurant, Burger Brasserie, has offered a $777 burger for nearly a decade.

Chef Gordon Ramsay’s latest restaurant, the cleverly named Gordon Ramsay Burger outpost in London (the original is in Las Vegas), features a burger that costs between $106 and $144. Oh, and it doesn’t come with fries—those come with an upcharge of ten bucks.

New King of Burgers

Now, there’s a new most-expensive burger making the scene. Interestingly, it’s not from an American restaurant.

De Daltons, a Dutch diner located about 40 minutes southeast of Amsterdam, is the home of a gourmet burger known as the Golden Boy.

Of course, this isn’t just any gourmet burger—at €5000, De Daltons is attempting to make it the gourmet burger.

So, what does one get for their nearly $6,000 investment in haute cuisine?

To start, there’s the burger. It’s made of ground A5 Wagyu brisket and chuck short rib. It’s topped with The Macallan- and Kopi Luwak coffee-infused barbecue sauce; truffled Cheddar cheese; Joselito vintage jamon (the best ham in the world); Dom Pérignon-battered onion rings; Beluga caviar; white truffle; Tiger tomato and cucumber that was pickled in matcha; smoked mayonnaise made saffron, chive and duck eggs; and king crab cooked in white wine.

Oh, and the burger is given a whiskey-smoked treatment before it’s served.

Speaking of service, what kind of bun is luxurious enough to hold the Golden Boy? A saffron- and Dom Pérignon-infused gold leaf one, of course.

Gourmet Gimmick?

The latest headline-grabbing burger is truly a hedonistic indulgence. Unlike some haute hamburgers from the past, however, it’s made with truly impressive ingredients.

Before the Golden Boy made its appearance, one simply had to make a BOUS (Burger of Unusual Size) to get attention. One could also go the “gourmet” route by pairing their signature burger with a pricey bottle of Champagne.

After those two routes turned a bit stale, chefs with impressive credentials could make news by making gourmet burgers from “fancy” meats, slapping foie gras and an aged cheese on top, and dusting the bun with gold.

De Daltons’ burger is clearly taking the gourmet burger in an ultra-luxe direction. All challengers to the King of Burger throne will have to follow suit.

Yes, the Golden Boy is a gimmick. Yes, it has helped De Daltons pull focus and grab the global restaurant spotlight. However, as ludicrous as many will find the price tag, the burger does deliver on luxe ingredients and pageantry.

So, am I suggesting that restaurateurs review their menus, local suppliers, and market to come up with their own headline-generating luxury menu item? Well, yeah.

If an operator’s kitchen team has the skills to execute on a specialty high-priced item while remaining authentic and without alienating loyal guests, go for it. If there’s only PR, marketing and revenue upside, creating one incredible “off-menu”item is worth the effort.

Again, this comes down to operators knowing their guests, their markets, and what they’re great at doing. The word “gimmick” doesn’t have to be a dirty word—it can be a positive if done correctly.

Image: De Daltons