Editor’s blog: Where do you find inspiration?

Simcoe, Ont. – Where do you find inspiration?

I find it in every pizzeria I visit, every operator I talk with, every pizza chef I see in action at competitions. And, yes, I find it at trade shows. We at Canadian Pizza team are excited to be attending the Restaurants Canada Show in Toronto this week and the International Pizza Expo the following week in Las Vegas on your behalf.

The team will be working the aisles in search of new ingredients, equipment and technology to help you run your pizza business better, faster, leaner, and most of all more profitably.

We’ll do our best to suss out what’s next on the horizon for the restaurant industry in Canada and for the pizza world in particular. There is so much to see, to learn and to process so that we can bring back information that will be useful to you, our readers.

Restaurants Canada always puts on a great show and this year looks like no exception. A few things we plan to check out:

• purple pizza in the show’s pizza pavilion
• a debate on voluntary tipping versus inclusive pricing
• ways to pack your menu with the health benefits of chickpeas, beans, peas and lentils

We urge you to get in touch and tell us what you need to know to help you in your business – whether you’re an employer or hard-working staff member. What are the burning questions for you? Shoot me an email at ccross@annexweb.com or pick up the phone: 519-428-3471, ext. 261.

I can’t say enough about trade shows as places of inspiration and that all-important human connection. It’s so important for us to meet readers and suppliers and to see the newest ingredients and equipment in person. Education sessions let us see how pizzeria operators are handling staff training, coping with sky-high food costs and keeping customers loyal and happy.

For operators, industry events are opportunities like no other to make connections – with suppliers who can answer questions about their products and with other pizzeria operators and staff who are only too happy to compare notes. Where better to find inspiration than among others who face the same challenges you stare down every day.

We hope you will make time to come out to the Canadian Pizza Show on Oct. 17. It’s on a Monday, so we’re hoping that makes it easier to get away from your shop for a day of networking, learning and pizza innovation by way of our exciting Chef of the Year competition. It’s an exciting, heart-palpitating, re-energizing sort of day, but only if you join us to help make it so!