For Chefs by Chefs: Series Seven

At Club House for Chefs, we have seen and come to understand the impact recent circumstances have placed upon the foodservice industry. Chefs and restaurateurs have been forced into unpredictable situations involving heavy menu changes, door closures, staff cuts and operative pivots.

On our platform, we've pivoted as well and have made it our mission to keep the conversations going with our community. Each week, we will share chef stories, challenges, how they’re changing their businesses and adapting them to the new industry. Through these interviews, we hope to provide valuable insight, guidance and advice for chefs by chefs.

Chef Juriaan Snellen – McCormick Canada, London, ON

What do McCormick Canada Executive Corporate Chef Juriaan Snellen and fellow chefs and restaurateurs have in common? The majority of his time is spent confined to his home, especially his kitchen.

“I’ve been trying to stay connected, productive and healthy. Times have certainly changed and we have to adapt to a new way of working.”

With most of Chef Juriaan Snellen’s work involving face-to-face interactions with customers and travel for educational purposes, there was a lot of time left to be re-distributed when physical distancing requirements were set into place. Snellen isn’t letting grounded flights and time at home stop him from bringing a flavour inspiration to Canada’s coast-to-coast foodservice operators from coast to coast.

“We have to resort to different ways of interacting and communicating. At McCormick, we’ve been having a lot of success with virtual presentations. It allows us to share insights, innovation, success stories and best practices so you can be prepared for when restaurants are opening again.”

Chef Regan Steinberg & Alex Cohen – Arthurs Nosh Bar, Montreal, QC

Known around town for their family-inspired, Jewish-style cuisine, Chefs Regan Steinberg and Alex Cohen took their restaurant closure as an opportunity to inspire families across Montreal to indulge in their own homestyle cooking with a Nosh Bar twist.

In early March, inspired by the previous demand for their dine-in pancakes, the chefs began to make and sell pancake kits containing one litre of their delicious Arthurs pancake batter and six eggs.

Keeping their customers up to date on this breakfast treat alone on social media created much demand and engagement for the pair. Now, Arthurs Nosh Bar is gratefully open for takeout and delivery of a full-size menu, including Arthurs-made Syrniki (Cottage Cheese Pancakes) or the batter to make some yourself.

Chef Jordan Holley – Riviera, Ottawa, ON

At the helm of what was a booming high-end establishment in Ottawa’s Sparks Street neighbourhood, Chef Jordan Holley has been working hard to bring the upscale tastes of Riviera to the homes of his customers via takeout and delivery.

In addition to a food menu including steak, striploin and rigatoni, Riviera is also offering a selection of wine kits and cocktails with different flavours available each week

Customers in Ottawa, Orleans, Kanata, Gloucester and Barrhaven are invited to keep up with the latest options on the Riviera website as well as social media.

We’re all in this together.

#ForChefByChefs