By Alexandra Skinner

Running a restaurant has always been a balancing act — delight guests, manage staff, control rising costs, and maintain safe operations. But everyday hazards can lead to injuries that affect both people and insurance costs.

Restaurant injuries often stem from common risks such as slips on wet floors, strains from lifting, and cuts or burns during food preparation. Psychological and physical injuries related to violence, bullying, and harassment can also occur.

In B.C., lacerations, strains, and burns account for 73 per cent of all injuries in restaurants, according to WorkSafeBC. Collectively, these injuries result in millions of dollars in claims each year, affecting both individual businesses and the broader industry. In 2025, time-loss claims in the restaurant sector resulted in an average of 42 days away from work per injured worker, creating staffing pressures and added costs for employers.

Because workers’ compensation insurance reflects claim costs, fewer injuries across the sector mean lower base rates for everyone.

“Throughout the pandemic, B.C.’s restaurant industry showed a strong commitment to worker safety. Injury rates dropped in 2020 and have stayed below pre-pandemic levels,” says Alison Jones, Manager of Prevention Programs and Services at WorkSafeBC.

Many employers have continued to build on that momentum through ongoing prevention practices that lead to healthier workers, less downtime, and lower compensation costs. Since 2024, the average base premium rate for a B.C. restaurant has been reduced by 35 per cent. For a restaurant with $500,000 of assessable payroll, that means average savings of $1,550 a year. While the distribution of the industry’s surplus was the largest contributor to lower rates, improvements in health and safety also played an important part. Continued improvements in health and safety will be important for moderating rates over time.

The solution: prevent injuries and support safe return to work

The most effective way to protect workers and lower insurance costs is to prevent injuries before they happen. That starts with everyday prevention practices.

“Focus on the basics and do them consistently,” says Jones. “Keep floors clean and dry, use the right tools and equipment for the job, provide ongoing training for staff, and encourage workers to speak up about their concerns.”

Key actions include:

• Implement strong safety programs: Develop a comprehensive workplace health and safety program that includes hazard identification, staff training, safe work procedures, and regular safety reviews. Investing in better equipment, ergonomic practices, and safer workflows can significantly reduce injury risk.

• Support return to work: Help injured workers safely return to work, even in modified duties. This supports recovery, protects income and job security, and reduces claim duration and overall costs.

• Leverage data and safety tools: WorkSafeBC offers resources, including the Employer Safety Planning Toolkit and interactive data tools, to help employers reduce injuries and improve return-to-work outcomes. These tools also allow employers to analyze claim trends, project how changes may affect rates, and identify opportunities for improvement.

• Use industry health and safety associations (HSAs): Provincially designated HSAs like go2HR, support workplace safety in the service sector and provide resources to strengthen prevention programs.

The reward: lower premiums and more money to reinvest

An individual restaurant’s insurance premium is influenced by its own claims' history over time. If injury costs remain consistently lower than similar businesses, owners may earn a discount; if costs are higher, they may pay more.

Strong safety performance can lead to meaningful savings. For example, in B.C., a restaurant with $1 million in payroll and a base rate of $0.58 could pay:

• As little as $2,900 with strong safety performance and low claim costs
• As much as $11,600 with frequent or severe claims

Experience-based pricing reflects trends over multiple years rather than a single incident, so consistent prevention and return-to-work practices drive long-term savings.

The bottom line: safety pays off

Creating a safer workplace is first and foremost about protecting the people who work in your restaurant. It’s also a legal responsibility under provincial occupational health and safety regulations.

But it’s also a smart financial strategy. Fewer injuries lead to lower claim costs. Lower claim costs help reduce insurance premiums. And lower premiums free up money to reinvest in staff, operations, and the guest experience.

By making safety a core part of restaurant culture, employers are not just reducing risk — they are strengthening their team, their reputation, and their bottom line.

Hot sunny days, warm evenings, and bustling patios — make the most of this glorious season with a menu refresh

By Carolyn Camilleri

Canadians certainly know how to make summer count by packing in as much fun and socializing as they can — and that often means dining out. This is the season for BBQ, patios, sharing plates, tall refreshing summer drinks and a time to introduce new menu ideas to help celebrate our common culture.

Here are some great menu suggestions:

Duck it up

Make those gatherings even more special by upscaling your menu with duck from King Cole Ducks.

“Duck satisfies a number of different opportunities within menus,” says Craig Thompson, president of The Tangerine Group and part of the King Cole Ducks team for about 30 years. “Our theme at this year’s Restaurants Canada show was ‘just add duck,’ and what we were getting at with that is that you can take a traditional food like tacos and make them with pulled duck meat. You can add smoked duck breast to a salad.”

King Cole Ducks carries a whole range of duck products that fit whether it’s brunch, lunch, dinner, or appetizers.

“It’s a very versatile product that fits very nicely with outdoor dining or even just the whole summer vibe,” he says. “It’s an upbeat, upscale protein.”

In the past, some restaurants were hesitant to put duck on a mainstream menu — it was considered fine dining only. One of the items that can really shift that hesitancy is duck spiedini — skewers of tender, juicy duck breast, ready to grill and perfect as a sharable appetizer, salad, or entrée. Or try duck wings as a limited time offer (LTO).

“An LTO is an easy way to sample your audience and give them something exciting and new, gauge the reaction,” he says.

One of the most popular King Cole Ducks products is the confit duck leg, which is fully cooked using the traditional French method. Chefs love it, says Thompson.

“It’s an absolutely beautiful product because it is fully cooked — it’s impossible to mess up — and yet when you eat it, you’d swear it was just freshly created. The flavour — it’s infallible and it’s so rich, so tender and juicy. It’s become a very popular product.”

While you can serve the confit leg as a main course entrée, some chefs pull the meat off the leg and use it in a variety of ways — salads, flatbreads, pizzas, eggs benedict.

“The only limitation is your own imagination,” says Thompson.

King Cole Ducks’ fully cooked products are ideal for busy kitchens, cutting way down on prep time.

“Being able to offer a high end product that’s really versatile and really easy to prepare for your staff — those are big factors,” he says.

Adding to the appeal, King Cole Ducks has a great Canadian story.

“King Cole Ducks is now a fourth generation family farming operation and they’ve weathered a lot of storms to be here today,” says Thompson. “They’ve maintained the integrity of old-fashioned Canadian farming — and integrity is a key word.”

King Cole Ducks is renowned for leadership and stewardship in animal care, as well as for environmental responsibility.

“King Cole is really Canadian in terms of its roots and the TLC that the family has always injected into their business,” says Thompson.

Around the globe and on the grill with Canadian beef

 Nothing says summer like live-fire cooking and grilling — it’s always a major focus on summer menus.

“Whether it’s charcoal grills, wood-fired cooking, or plancha-style searing, chefs are leaning into techniques that highlight the natural flavour of beef,” says Sandesh Rodrigo, foodservice manager, channel marketing at Canada Beef. “Over the past year, we’ve also seen more innovative independent restaurants adopt hibachi-style or parrilla grills, while seasonal operators and patios increasingly feature wood-fired barbecues as part of their summer offering.”

Many Canadian beef cuts respond particularly well to quick marinades and high-heat cooking.

“Cuts like flank and skirt steaks absorb flavour easily and cook quickly, making them ideal for grilling and slicing across the grain for dishes such as tacos, steak salads, bowls, and wraps,” he says. “We could also see more chefs cook whole muscles over live fire and carve them for service, particularly cuts like bottom sirloin tri-tip and clod/petite tender. It’s a format that works well for share plates, steak sandwiches, and composed summer dishes while delivering strong flavour and visual appeal.”

In terms of flavour, think bold and global — Latin America, Middle East, and Southeast Asia, as well as cross-cultural fusions such as French-Asian, Latin-Asian, and Indo-Canadian flavour combinations. Sauces and seasonings like chimichurri, shawarma-style spice blends, gochujang marinades, and fresh herb-forward sauces pair naturally with grilled beef.

Ethnicity is also influencing steak presentations, such as picanha and gaucho-style steaks, as chefs draw inspiration from South American grilling traditions.

“Beyond steaks, many chefs are reimagining familiar cuts like short ribs, chuck, and ground beef in ways that feel fresh and suited to summer dining,” says Rodrigo, listing reverse-seared short rib sandwiches with Asian-inspired flavours, mint-forward beef curries, grilled beef kababs in kathi rolls, and globally inspired burgers.

While premium middle meats continue to play an important role, value continues to influence decisions.

“Last summer, we saw a growing interest among operators in value-driven beef cuts that deliver strong flavour while supporting menu profitability, and we expect that focus to continue into summer 2026,” says Rodrigo.

That means looking beyond traditional middle meats and exploring those flavourful alternative cuts that perform well on the grill while offering good value for operators. He suggests flank, outside and inside skirt, bottom sirloin tri-tip derived steaks, as well as chuck roll — all excellent options that deliver robust beef flavour and adapt well to globally-inspired dishes and shareable summer plates.

“Dining in Canada is evolving alongside the country’s demographics. Our cities are becoming more culturally diverse, and that diversity is showing up on menus as chefs draw inspiration from the flavours and techniques that represent the industry’s diversity. It’s exciting to see how global flavour traditions influence the way beef is prepared and presented,” says Rodrigo. “At the same time, diners are looking for value, variety, and memorable dining experiences, which is encouraging chefs to explore flavourful alternative globally inspired experiences that continue to stand out.”

Lastly, tell people where your beef comes from — highlighting beef raised by Canadian farmers and ranchers continues to resonate on menus.

Go all Canadian with Chicken

 No matter the season, chicken is a key protein on any menu and the starting point for so very many dishes. Every chef has a repertoire of chicken recipes that can be modified to accommodate new flavour trends and cooking styles — because diners love it.

“Chicken is Canada’s most popular meat protein, valued for its versatility, quality, and affordability across a wide range of cuisines and dining occasions,” says Chris Hofley, communications officer Chicken Farmers of Canada.

So how do you draw more diners to your chicken offerings? Go all Canadian and tell people about it.

“Canadian diners care about where their food comes from, and research consistently shows they prefer chicken raised in Canada,” says Hofley. “They value knowing their chicken was produced under strict national standards for food safety and animal care, and that it supports Canadian farmers and rural communities.”

It starts with how chicken is raised.

“Canadian chicken is raised on family farms across the country under a supply management system designed to meet demand and deliver consistent quality while maintaining high standards for food safety, animal care, and sustainability,” says Hofley. “Chicken farmers follow strict national programs that cover everything from on-farm food safety and biosecurity to animal care, with regular audits to ensure these standards are met.”

Supply management in Canada plays a critical role, he adds, allowing production to closely match domestic demand.

“The result is a stable, transparent system that supports Canadian farm families while ensuring restaurants and consumers have access to a reliable supply of high-quality chicken raised right here at home,” he says.

Chicken Farmers of Canada are always looking to engage in strategic partnerships with restaurants that deal with Canadian chicken.

“These partnerships come in many forms, be it through the logo placements of our Raised by a Canadian Farmer brand on menus, websites as well as co-branded campaigns,” says Hofley. “The brand highlights the values of the nationally mandated programs and signals strong consumer trust in the chicken meat sector as well as in the partnering restaurant.”

With Canadian chicken as your starting point, your chicken recipe can be a globally and creatively diverse as you want to take it this summer.

Innovations Driving Change

By Frank Yeo

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the nature of work. It is also fuelling a boom in robotics. Together, they promise to not only enhance restaurant operations but also, and perhaps most importantly, the customer experience.

Have we arrived in a future where robots flip burgers and automate back-of-house (BOH) food prep, or does it suggest your front-of-house (FOH) staff will consist of self-service kiosks and AI-driven phone systems or robotic servers or food delivery systems?

The adoption of AI technologies is becoming increasingly important for almost everything from enhancing customer interactions to streamlining operations and improving employee retention. AI offers numerous benefits that can help restaurants thrive in a competitive market, affecting how they plan, prep, operate, and engage with their customers.

But for many operators, it is hard to see how these benefits can be realized in their restaurant business.

Is it just for large QSRs, or will it level the playing field and help smaller, passion-driven food entrepreneurs to survive?

The truth is that whether you’re an operator at a fast-food giant or a local mom-and-pop diner, AI tools can help restaurants optimize and innovate. AI analytics provide valuable insights into customer preferences and operational efficiency, aiding better business decisions. From designing your restaurant’s logo, choosing the best table layouts, or managing inventory, AI offers solutions to streamline tasks and cut down on manual labour. It has the potential, moreover, to offer a more personalized service leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. With rising food costs and wages, investing in AI could be the key to balancing your expenses while boosting profitability in 2026.

The Confluence with Robotics

Robots are increasingly being used in various aspects of restaurant operations, including:

Food Preparation: Robots can handle repetitive tasks such as frying, grilling, and assembling dishes. For example, Miso Robotics' Flippy is a burger-flipping robot that has been adopted by several fast-food chains to ensure consistent cooking and reduce labour costs.

Customer Interactions: AI chatbots and virtual assistants are increasingly used to take food orders, answer customer inquiries, and provide personalized recommendations. This not only improves customer experience but also reduces wait times and operational costs. 

Kitchen Operations: AI technologies are being integrated into kitchen appliances, enabling them to respond to voice commands and automate cooking processes. For instance, robotic cooks and dishwashers are being developed to streamline food preparation and cleaning tasks, allowing staff to focus on more complex duties. 

Employee Retention: With high turnover rates in the restaurant industry, AI tools can assist in scheduling and shift management, improving employee satisfaction and work-life balance. By automating scheduling processes, restaurants can enhance staff engagement and retention.

Operational Efficiency: AI can help streamline various operational tasks, from designing restaurant layouts to managing supply chains. This is particularly beneficial for smaller restaurants looking to compete with larger chains by optimizing their resources and reducing manual labour.

Inventory Management: Advanced point-of sale (POS) systems equipped with AI can track sales patterns, analyze which items are frequently ordered together, and suggest pricing strategies to minimize food waste. This helps restaurants optimize their inventory and reduce costs.

Benefits of Robotics

Robots can work continuously without fatigue, significantly increasing kitchen throughput and reducing waiting times for customers. This efficiency is crucial in a competitive market where speed and quality are paramount-and it can reduce labour costs by as much as 50%!

Robots ensure that food is prepared consistently, which enhances customer satisfaction and reduces waste. For instance, robotic arms can fry foods with precision, ensuring high-quality products every time.

Automation can also improve hygiene standards by minimizing human contact with food, thereby reducing the risk of contamination.

A Lesson from the Far East

Japan's restaurant industry is at the forefront of automation.

Imagine sitting at a restaurant in Japan and ordering from a touchscreen, and 90 seconds later, a whirring mechanical arm springs to life, picks out ingredients with accuracy, and prepares your meal without one human chef anywhere nearby. From the moment you order to the moment your meal arrives, every process is handled by machines that are designed to replicate and improve upon human cooking skills. That is the future of eating, where robot chefs powered by artificial intelligence are completely transforming the way we dine. Robots are also being utilized for serving food to tables and delivering orders, which helps alleviate the pressure on staff during peak hours.

The robotic dining revolution in Japan began in Nagoya with the launch of Densha Sushi, one of the first restaurants to use conveyor belts and later integrate robots for serving. However, the concept truly gained momentum when Henn-na Restaurant in Nagasaki, part of the Henn-na Hotel, introduced a full robotic staff in 2015. This futuristic eatery featured robot chefs and servers, marking a major step in automating dining experiences in Japan.

Developed by a team of engineers, software developers, and chefs, the restaurant is a model of efficiency. Here’s how it works: Customers browse a digital menu via touchscreen kiosk or mobile app. Once the order is placed, a central AI system communicates with a series of robotic arms, ingredient dispensers, and induction cooktops. The system selects the right proportions, controls the temperature, and cooks the dish with minimal human involvement. Every plate is perfectly timed and served, and the robots even clean up after themselves, resetting the station for the next customer.

These robot chefs’ star quality is less the speed than the incredible consistency. Human chefs, who add a dash of this or that based on mood or fatigue, are unlike robots, which follow instructions with machine precision. Every dish tastes the same, every time. 

What is so amazing about these robot chefs is the fact that they are artificial intelligence powered. AI algorithms monitor all phases of the cooking process, from how fresh ingredients are prepared, to temperature during cooking, to maintain quality and safety. The AI adapts over time based on the preferences of customers and adjusts recipes accordingly. For example, if most customers are asking for spicier food, the system will adjust spice levels in future servings. Sophisticated systems additionally incorporate facial recognition to identify repeat business and suggest dishes from previous orders. AI is utilized to incorporate personalization into the dining experience without human servers or chefs.

Major Challenges Remain

Despite the advantages, the adoption of robotics in restaurants comes with challenges:

The cost of purchasing and installing robotic systems can be significant, which may deter smaller establishments from adopting this technology. There are also concerns about job losses as robots take over tasks traditionally performed by humans. This has led to mixed public sentiment regarding the integration of robotics in dining experiences.

But perhaps the biggest challenge will be customer acceptance: Some customers prefer human interaction and may resist robotic service, which can affect the overall dining experience.

While robot chefs can execute repetitive tasks, they will never replace the creativity and instincts of experienced chefs. Instead, they are an instrument that can free up human personnel to focus on menu development, guest interaction, and sophisticated culinary techniques. Most restaurants are thriving by adopting a hybrid approach—robots make high-volume, speedy-batch foods, while human chefs concentrate on specialty food and presentation. So, robot kitchens augment rather than replace the human touch, bringing together an ideal combination of innovation and tradition.

The Future is Far Away

For Shaun Jefferies, President, Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association, AI and robotics are a far away prospect in Manitoba and the issue is more about how operators can implement some aspects of AI while keeping the “hospitality in hospitality”.

One area where AI is making a big change right now are with direct ordering systems. AI-driven systems are transforming the ordering process by providing personalized menu suggestions, optimizing delivery routes, and automating order processing. These systems not only enhance operational efficiency but also improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. By integrating AI technology, foodservice businesses can streamline their operations, reduce errors, and create a more seamless customer experience.

Already, AI has significantly improved customer service in restaurants. Chatbots, for instance, are increasingly used for reservations and answering customer questions. Recently, McDonald’s acquired an AI company, Apprente, to integrate voice-based AI technology in its drive-thrus, enabling quicker and more accurate order taking. 

Modern voice ordering uses AI to understand verbal customer orders and process them via integrations with a restaurant's in-house POS system. As the name implies, this type of phone ordering system gives you access to both human agents and the best that AI tech currently has to offer. Instead of leaving artificial intelligence to do all the work (before the technology is ready), this type of solution uses AI as a copilot. In other words, it supports human agents behind the scenes, helping them to ensure accurate orders and work more efficiently. Your customers still get the experience of talking to a friendly and professional agent who can recommend menu items, offer tasty upsells, and handle special requests like substitutions.

 Boxed Section:

Deep Dive: AI and Employee Retention

AI can help restaurants in many unseen ways. Take employee turnover. Turnover rates reached an all-time high of 75%, making restaurant employee retention the biggest challenges. Operating on razor-thin margins means increasing hourly wages isn’t a viable retention strategy for most restaurant owners. However, there are alternative ways to make working at your restaurant a better lifestyle fit for the talent you hope to retain. Restaurant scheduling software can facilitate staff shift management and adding AI-powered tools can make this process even more efficient.

One often overlooked factor for improving retention is employee scheduling. Effective scheduling can seriously impact worker satisfaction and employee engagement.

The bottom line is that staff shortages—whether due to a lack of employees or poor scheduling practices—are a major factor in employee turnover. Proactive preparation is key with 77% of operators reporting insufficient staffing to meet customer demand. Implementing technology to forecast and schedule accurately shows your team that you’re committed to meeting demand without overburdening them.

By Sylvain Charlebois — January 22, 2026

A web of regulations, compliance costs, carbon pricing and interprovincial trade barriers is pushing food prices higher

Food prices in Canada are rising faster than in any other G7 country, and the reason is no longer a mystery: domestic policy failure is driving food inflation, not global shocks or corporate greed.

In December alone, food prices rose 6.2 per cent year-over-year, with grocery costs up five per cent and restaurant prices jumping 8.5 per cent.

That alone would be troubling. What makes it more alarming is that inflation came in well above expectations, pushing Canada to its highest food inflation rate since August 2023.

According to the latest internationally comparable data, Canada now sits at the top of the G7 for food inflation. The numbers speak for themselves: Canada at 6.2 per cent, Japan close behind at 6.1 per cent, followed by the U.K. at 4.2 per cent and the U.S. at just 3.1 per cent. Italy, France and Germany are all hovering below three per cent. This should stop policymakers in Canada in their tracks.

It makes little sense that food inflation in Canada is roughly double that of the United States, especially given that Washington has embraced tariffs and trade confrontation far more aggressively than Ottawa. If tariffs were the main driver, the U.S. should be leading this unfortunate ranking. It isn’t.

Part of December’s spike can be explained by the GST holiday, which applied for 17 days of the month. Temporary tax relief often feels good in the moment, but it comes with a cost: pricing volatility. When taxes are suspended and then reintroduced, price signals become distorted. Retailers and suppliers adjust, sometimes conservatively, sometimes opportunistically. Only now can we properly measure those effects, and the results are not encouraging.

At the grocery level, December’s inflation was driven primarily by meat, fish, vegetables and pantry staples such as coffee. This occurred during the second month of the so-called “blackout period”, an industry practice in which large retailers ask suppliers to refrain from raising prices late in the year, typically during peak holiday demand.

That prices rose anyway tells us something important: cost pressures are real, persistent and increasingly difficult to contain.

And the outlook is worse. January 2026 food inflation is very likely to come in even higher. That should deeply concern anyone who cares about household affordability, food security or economic competitiveness.

Yes, some of Canada’s food inflation still reflects global factors, including climate volatility, energy costs and supply disruptions. But most of it is now policy-induced.

Regulatory drag, interprovincial trade barriers, poor logistics, rising compliance costs, carbon pricing embedded throughout the supply chain and a sluggish macroeconomic environment all compound one another. These are not temporary shocks. They are structural weaknesses. This is occurring even as Canada’s overall inflation rate has eased from the post-pandemic highs seen in 2022 and 2023, making food an outlier among major consumer categories.

The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging that it exists.

This is not about blaming one grocer or one executive. If food inflation were driven by profiteering, we would see it clearly in financial statements, in sustained increases in gross margins. Bay Street analysts and accountants would have flagged it long ago. They haven’t, because the data don’t support that narrative.

That said, grocers are not entirely blameless. The fact that prices climbed during a blackout period raises legitimate questions about transparency, bargaining dynamics and how costs are passed through the system. Retailers are not “as white as snow” here, and scrutiny is warranted. But scapegoating them distracts from the real issue.

Canada has a policy-driven food inflation problem, and until we are willing to say that out loud, nothing meaningful will change. Temporary tax holidays, populist rhetoric and finger-pointing may win headlines, but they will not bring prices down.

Food inflation is no longer a passing storm. It is a warning signal, and ignoring it carries consequences for household budgets, food security and Canada’s long-term economic competitiveness.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher in food distribution and policy. He is senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast. He is frequently cited in the media for his insights on food prices, agricultural trends, and the global food supply chain. 

The views, opinions, and positions expressed by our columnists and contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of our publication.