Farm to Globe: Transforming Our Food Systems presents:
Order Up: How Restaurants Adapted to the Pandemic
As everyone stayed home, no one was dining out. It is fair to say that the restaurant industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic and all its consequences. As revenue plummeted and businesses tried to stay afloat, restaurants and suppliers put their thinking hats on and showed a capability to adapt like never before. Join Shira Blustein, Chef Robert Clark and Justin Tisdall as they speak about their experiences in the restaurant industry from the past year, the challenges and the successes, and what the pandemic has changed about their businesses forever. This panel will focus on the incredibly fast-paced and equally impressive pivoting that these businesses had to perform and the struggles they had to contend with, all while maintaining operations that focus on sustainability and authenticity.
About the Presenters
Shira Blustein
Shira Blustein was playing music in punk and indie rock bands that toured extensively through Europe and North America before becoming a restaurateur. Those years spent travelling as a vegetarian were both enlightening and frustrating. On a good day, she would find an amazing dish from a street vendor that involved the freshest local produce, created with love. More often than not, however, she would find herself stuck between a brick of tofu and a hard place. It became Shira’s mission to create a vegetable forward dining experience where creativity reigned, and the uniqueness of ingredients were openly explored and celebrated. Shira and her team have been dedicated to establishing meaningful connections with local farms, foragers and wineries, showcasing the amazing terroir driven food and wine BC has to offer.
Since opening in 2012, The Acorn has picked up national awards for excellence, has been featured in the New York Times, Bon Appetit, and was deemed one of the best vegetable-forward destinations in the world by CNN and The Daily Meal, earning the Number 1 spot for best vegan restaurant in the world by Big Seven Travel. In 2016 Blustein opened The Arbor, a casual sequel to Acorn, with the same uncompromising attention being paid to quality, detail and plant-based deliciousness.
Robert Clark
Chef Robert Clark is a world-renowned chef, cookbook author, and ocean-friendly seafood advocate. Clark is the chief culinary officer of Organic Ocean Seafood. Organic Ocean Seafood is a seafood supplier located in British Columbia, supplying world-class chefs around the world. In April 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, Organic Ocean Seafood started their “Organic Ocean at Home” program so they could deliver seafood to homes in and around the Greater Vancouver Area – they now supply all provinces west of Quebec. Organic Ocean was created to foster a sustainable, vibrant, healthy seafood industry, in which fishermen would be fairly rewarded for their investment, effort, and personal risk.
In the past, Robert Clark has been the executive chef at C Restaurant, Raincity Grill, and Nu in Vancouver. More recently, he’s been the proprietor of the Fish Counter on Main Street. He’s also a cofounder of Vancouver’s Spot Prawn Festival and became a member of the Order of Canada in November 2020. Clark is a cofounder of Ocean Wise and was honoured as a 2011 SeaWeb Sustainable Seafood Champion for supporting the consumption of ocean-friendly seafood. He’s pleased to be working with Indigenous fisheries partners of Organic Ocean. He identifies as a challenger of the status quo and an advocate of authentic living, sustainable seafood and transparency in our food system.
Justin Tisdall
Justin Tisdall is the co-owner and operator of Juke Fried Chicken and Beetbox. Justin is also a council member of 10×10 Philanthropy, and was previously the beverage and restaurant manager for Shangri-la Hotel Vancouver. Tisdall has made a name for himself by remaining consistently ahead of the curve. He got in on the ground floor of the casual comfort food and high-quality-takeout trend with the beginning of Juke, and has adapted to the growing demand for vegan and vegetarian options with the launch of Beetbox. He began his career almost 20 years ago as a bartender to subsidize his competitive swimming on Canada’s national team, and he has approached each restaurant position since with that same competitive spirit. Juke and Beetbox both represent Justin’s unique approach and culture of questioning the status quo.
Darren Clay
Darren Clay’s passion for culinary arts began at an early age. Every morning a loaf of unsliced bologna and unsliced bread was left out for him to saw through and create his own haphazardly shaped meat and mustard sandwich. Fast forward a number of years where he apprenticed with Fairmont Hotels in Vancouver, various establishments in Singapore with Raffles Hotel Group and learned efficiency and systems with Cactus Club Cafe. Darren settled into a role as Executive Culinary Chef at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on Granville Island. / Wanting to give back to the industry, Darren sits on various ITA advisory committees, was a part of the Joy of Feeding steering committee which raised awareness and funds for the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm. It was here that he was enlightened with the progressive initiatives happening at UBC and joined the team to help make a difference in the future of food. / Darren is currently with UBC Food Services and working on various initiatives to bring local, sustainable and healthy options to students and staff. He is also the President of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He can’t remember the last bologna sandwich he ate.
Darren Clay
Darren Clay’s passion for culinary arts began at an early age. Every morning a loaf of unsliced bologna and unsliced bread was left out for him to saw through and create his own haphazardly shaped meat and mustard sandwich. Fast forward a number of years where he apprenticed with Fairmont Hotels in Vancouver, various establishments in Singapore with Raffles Hotel Group and learned efficiency and systems with Cactus Club Cafe. Darren settled into a role as Executive Culinary Chef at Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts on Granville Island. / Wanting to give back to the industry, Darren sits on various ITA advisory committees, was a part of the Joy of Feeding steering committee which raised awareness and funds for the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm. It was here that he was enlightened with the progressive initiatives happening at UBC and joined the team to help make a difference in the future of food. / Darren is currently with UBC Food Services and working on various initiatives to bring local, sustainable and healthy options to students and staff. He is also the President of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He can’t remember the last bologna sandwich he ate.
The Farm to Globe: Transforming Our Food Systems series is brought to you by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS), the BC Food Web, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS), and the Royal Bank of Canada. This webinar series focuses on what needs fixing in our food systems and the innovative solutions which could affect change for the better.
