Nova Scotia Food Scene with the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia

TMP 103 - RANS
===

Jenn: Hey everyone, welcome back to the Travel Mug podcast. It's no secret that Meggan and I love food and drink on this podcast. It's something that we talk about when we're diving into every destination, and we're so lucky here in Nova Scotia to have such a vibrant and diverse food scene. So this week we are excited to chat all things food and drink with Heather and Danielle from the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia or RANS. So welcome to the show

Danielle: Thank you for having us.

Jenn: Yeah, so,

Heather: Thank you for using our full name and our acronym. That's a very helpful introduction.

Jenn: okay, so tell, tell us, tell the people, what is the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia and how do you support the food and beverage industry here in Nova Scotia?

Heather: Thanks for having us here today, folks. RANS has been around for a really long time. We started in 1947, and Our main goal is to support restaurants and between 1947 and now there's been a lot of changes. So, in order to support restaurants through the changes and stay up to date, we have five main tenets.

And those are the things we always come back to in our work. Advocacy is a big one. So that is the work we do with government could be federal, or it could be provincial in some cases, maybe even municipal. This is the voice. So if anything needs to be taken back about service dogs, SIBA loans excise tax, RANS has negotiated take out and third party alcohol delivery.

These are things like that that involve government. Education and resources is another one. There's a lot of confusing information out there for restaurants about permits, about resources, about training. RANS's goal is to put all of these things in one place. So a restaurant owner doesn't have to spend hours Googling.

Here's the information. You can take it and you can use it and see what applies to your business. Marketing is a big one as well. Rans oversees businesses that own six restaurants and tiny, tiny mom and pop shops with maybe three employees. So our marketing allows for all of these businesses, including those that don't have an online presence to make use of some of those those services that we have.

A big one right now is cost savings as we'll get into. Cost is a huge issue for restaurant owners right now. I was talking to an operator just last week who expressed that as soon as she deducts, makes her deductions, there's really nothing left. So RANS works with a lot of businesses, a lot of great Nova Scotia companies to provide discounts and special rates to our members.

And finally our events, which I know we'll get into a little more later, but that's something RANS does to really focus and highlight the amazing industry in our province.

Meggan: Excellent. And Jenn referenced in the opening, you know, such a diverse and vibrant food scene here. Why do you think Nova Scotia has such a unique food scene?

Danielle: Well, part of the reason I think is that we have such a tapestry of old and new. There have been communities that have been here a long time, like the Mi'kmaq community and the Acadians who have built their own cuisine that is amazing and wonderful to try. And we also have a lot of newcomers coming to Nova Scotia and opening up Nigerian restaurants, Indian restaurants from across that country. And Chinese restaurants. Cantonese, anything you can name it. There's a restaurant for it and some probably you didn't even think of. And so there has been a lot of increasing diversity in Nova Scotia over the past year. But I think it also has a lot of maybe what one would consider like traditional Nova Scotian dishes.

Nova Scotia also, I think has a lot of pride , in the people that make the food and where the food is coming from. So there's a lot of support for sourcing local ingredients. Some restaurants even have on their menus what farm their poultry came from or where they've sourced their fish.

And so that is a really wonderful aspect and, and something I haven't really seen in a lot of other places. And then finally we're by the ocean and the atmosphere that, that adds to everything, either by having so much rich seafood to just being able to look out over the water while you're eating is just, can't be beat.

Heather: To add to that as well, the uniqueness within the community of the industry, we see a lot of fantastic collaborations, breweries working with food trucks, pop ups working with different chefs. There's the craft beverage showdown. There's a many little pockets of communities like Oodles of Noodles on Quinpool and Sackville Sandwich Week that all go to support small areas of the province.

It's really exciting to see the collaboration almost over the competition in this industry.

Jenn: I love that. I love the, the working togetherness. It definitely feels more of a community over like competition, which is like really lovely. If you had to describe the food scene to someone not from Nova Scotia, what would you say? Like people think it's like seafood and donairs, but there's obviously more to it than that.

Danielle: I think what stands out the most is like, no matter what food you're eating, there's still going to be that, what we call the East Coast hospitality. So you're going to have Thai food and people are very warm and welcoming. Very willing to work with you with dietary restrictions. Like it just, you know, topping up your tea when you have more tea or asking if you want more or It's just, it's just such a warm environment.

I think that that on top of like all the different food options that are out here the hospitality in and of itself is, is a standout.

Jenn: Yeah, I think that's a really good point and that we should give a, yeah, give a little shout out to the servers and not just the restaurant, the behind the scenes restaurant staff, but the servers definitely make a dining experience more memorable. And yeah, it's not just the kitchen staff.

They are amazing, but serving staff are also. Definitely make the experience for sure.

Heather: Danielle mentioned the last question about the atmosphere, and I think that's another thing that really stands out, like the Oceanside Dining and just well, we have the Nova Scotia Restaurant Awards, and we actually have pulled out an atmosphere category just because so many restaurants are doing so many things with their indoor and outdoor spaces that we wanted a chance to highlight those.

Jenn: Yeah, for sure. And I wanted to highlight because Nova Scotia and Halifax in particular has so many So many restaurants to choose from and I know it can be really overwhelming when you're trying to choose somewhere to eat. So I wanted to let people know that your website does have a search function.

You can filter by location, you can filter by noise level, parking, accessibility, food type. There's so many different options. So you can go on there and find what your If you're looking for looking for an amazing atmosphere you can find it there. So many people, I think, don't realize that this tool exists. So I did just want to highlight it before we talk about your events. So RANS puts on events throughout the year. So let's start with your very popular Dine Around event. Can you tell us more about Dine Around?

Danielle: Yes. So dine around is our month long event. It happens in February, which is traditionally a very slow season for restaurants. So it's really there. It really exists to encourage people to go on and eat. It is a prefix menu event. So restaurants come up with a menu that is priced at either $10, $20, $30, $40, $50, or $60.

And that will be showcased throughout the whole month. You can go try someplace you've never tried before, you are able to maybe go back to old favorites and get a bit of a a good deal, and so we really love to see the way that restaurants can be supported by the local communities and get people out eating and trying new things. Last year we had 120 restaurants that participated mostly in Halifax, but we are starting to creep out across Nova Scotia, so we're hoping next year we'll have even more options available.

Heather: We would really love to see Dine Around Sydney, Dine Around Yarmouth, Dine Around Bridgewater, these things happening, especially in smaller communities where there's seasonal businesses and very slow seasons. It's also an exciting opportunity for consumers to shake the February blues, like let's get out and try some new food, let's meet up with friends, really fun.

Also want to give a little shout out to Discover Halifax, our marketing partner on that who work on the advertising of it within the Halifax region.

Meggan: I think, I think February is a perfect month for that. I think that that's, you're exactly right. Because, you know, December, the lead up there's January, where people are just sort of sorting their lives back out some after the holiday season, if they do celebrate. And then February and it really sort of just sets in and it's winter here and there's nothing to do, so I think that that's a perfect time of year to have it.

Now, Imbibe is something also that looks really fun. I have friends that definitely attend. Can you tell us about a bit about that event?

Heather: Yeah, Imbibe is a lot of fun. So kind of think of it as a room, you're in a club with 30 bars. And not just 30 bars, but 30 very, very skilled bartenders who are giving it their best. This is a cocktail that they have created. So you're not looking at an existing menu cocktail.

This is a cocktail with a story. In some cases, it might even come from something personal. So this is a really big showcase for our bartenders and maybe what's less known about Imbibe is there actually a judges competition element with it that happens a few days before. So we have the judges competition and then a people choice competition at Imbibe.

I think A really big part of it is the music, just sort of the energy that it brings. There's a lot of fun. We had, there was a Plinko and a 360 camera, and it's just, there's a lot of fun to be had there. And also the demographic it's not necessarily a demographic you'd think of the dance club.

Like there's all ages, all outfits. There's just, this is something for everybody to just go have a lot of fun.

Meggan: And when does that typically happen?

Danielle: It usually happens in April where this past year it was April 10th. And we're still deciding on the date for next year, but keep an eye on our socials and we'll definitely be updating everyone.

Jenn: Perfect. And so savor food and wine show just wrapped up its 20th year, which is crazy. So what is so amazing about that event

Danielle: Savor is kind of our capstone event. It is the biggest show. , we have food, we have wine, we have craft breweries, we have cheese mongers, we have every everything under the sun that you can eat or consume is at Savor. And this past year, we had 82 exhibitors that were showcased from across the province.

And so it's just such a wonderful time to get to explore What Nova Scotia has to offer. Restaurants will really, they really bring their best and showcase what they have to offer and a great way to try things you wouldn't have tried before and maybe smaller amounts so you can decide if you like it.

And if you want to maybe go there for a meal later, bring your friends or we've had some food trucks participate. So maybe you see a food truck on the side of the road and you're like, Oh, I tried them before. Let's pull over. I

Heather: Savor brings a really great energy. We were meeting with some operators and suppliers last week. And someone said, can we start doing savor twice a year? Like it's just really loved from, and that was an exhibitor not even a guest. So it's just really loved. It was a great energy. It just, it just brings a lot of fun. And this, we talked about the uniqueness of the food offerings in Nova Scotia, and I think it's like highlighting all of that in one place.

Meggan: And I think that, you know, bringing all of those things together, I think is really key as well because we do have such a vibrant, you know, a craft brewery scene and it's not just about the food and I think those things are amazing. So to sort of round out talking about the different shows you have.

I think you recently just hosted the Rare and Fine Wine Show, so talk to us about when that generally happens, what people can can find there or expect.

Danielle: So Rare and Fine Wine is usually the last show of the Savor Festival. So we have the Savor Show and the Savor Festival, which has all four of the events. And so the Rare and Fine Wine is really an opportunity for the wine lover to get to know some wine. rare and fine wines. In some cases, these wines, it's the first time to coming to Nova Scotia and all of them are 90 points and above critically acclaimed wines.

They are international, some local, some from abroad. So you're talking about trying things side by side. It's really a wonderful opportunity to get to sample a wine, especially where there's such a hefty price tag behind some of them. You want to get a little bit of a try before you spend that much money on a bottle of wine.

I love this, this show, because People come in and they're really passionate about wine. We have a booklet of which can be found on our web, our Savour website savourfoodandwine. Com. And people go in and they take notes their own personal notes about the wine. Like they're very, very just distinctive personal tastes.

And I just think that's so exciting when you get someone that's so passionate about food in any form drink in this case, I

Jenn: Yeah, any consumable. Yeah. So obviously, to switch gears a little bit the pandemic was really hard for a lot of reasons But it it really hit restaurants hard. And now with inflation people are eating out less prices are inevitably higher So how would you describe the impact and where things are kind of sitting now in 2024?

Heather: Well it's interesting because if you look strictly at sales, things actually look pretty good in terms of sales numbers, but that does not take into account increasing costs and inflation. So maybe the sales numbers are back up. But when you add in that, like for example fats and oils have gone up 12 percent in a year alone.

So if you're seeing this on an individual grocery bill, you think of a restauranteur and how much that increase is affecting their bottom line. Cause we hear some talk about, Oh, sales are back up. So the industry is looking good, except you're adding in all these costs. So it is very, very challenging for restaurants.

62 percent are operating at breakeven or less. at this point. And it's really important. This industry is important to this province. It's the second highest contributor to tourism revenue. It's 50 percent of the tourism workforce is a huge industry in our province.

Danielle: And I'd say that restauranteurs are trying to work around this in many ways. One of the things that may be good that came out of the pandemic is that our patio season has really extended and become a lot more accessible. One of the things Rans worked on during the pandemic was making the process of getting a patio in Halifax and across the province easier.

And so. In many ways that can double the capacity of some restaurants and really give them the extra boost they need in the summer to kind of help with the, some of those additional costs. So, you know, people are very creative in the industry and they're coming up with ways of, of trying to work better and do better and keep the business going because it is such an important part of, of the province.

Heather: is and just gonna throw this out for everyone who's going out to restaurants right now when you spend a dollar at restaurants, 96%, 96 cents of that goes back into the community. So you're doing a really good thing when you're dining at a local Nova Scotia restaurant.

Meggan: that's amazing to know, and I think also what you mentioned Danielle, about how you were able to help restaurants sort of with the patio piece, I think that really shows what your organization's impact is on the industry and how you're really working together to find those solutions. So I think that that's a really great highlight for the work you all are doing as well.

Now, of course, 2024, somehow, we're already in May. It's terrifying. But of course, I'm sure with the work you're doing, you have to plan ahead. So can you sort of talk to us about what plans are underway for 2025 and maybe highlight, even if it's some of the events we've already talked about, when those are going to be upcoming for the next season in case people want to make mental notes and start to make their plans?

Danielle: Absolutely. So a lot of what we're going to be doing is expanding our reach. During the pandemic, everybody kind of had to honker in place, weren't able to go out much. Heather has been really great for creating the opportunity for us at RANS to go out and talk to restaurateurs from around the province.

We just did a loop of the HRM and so we're excited to start going out to other parts of the province this year expanding our events, So like I said, making the dine around a bit of a bigger event across the province our events. run from February to March and we're working on dates. They will be posted sometime in the fall.

So definitely keep an eye out for that. We're very excited. we also have an awards ceremony in the winter, usually the end of January. And we do have a nomination portion. So for local People who are interested in nominating or not nominating, but voting for their favorite restaurant that will go public in the fall as well So keep an eye out for that.

Heather: And I think it's also important to note we are a tiny province and at the moment Nova Scotia is on the world stage in culinary and in mixology Olivia Sewell, who is a student at NSCC, has won Skills Canada and is going to be competing in Lyon in September at international level. So that is very exciting. And do you want to fill in on the Diageo world class, Danielle?

Danielle: yeah, so we have Keegan McGregor who is a bartender at the Highwaymen. He just won the Diageo award class Canada competition, which is a very prestigious cocktail competition. It happened, I think, right before Imbibe, so early April or late March. And so it was really amazing to see, like, where we stand as Nova Scotians up against some of the greatest people that Canada has to offer in the food and beverage world.

Meggan: It's interesting you say that because I was actually just in Glace Bay recently at a restaurant and we were talking to the owner and he asked where we were from. We mentioned Halifax and we're like, you know, if there's one place you would go, if you came to the city and he actually mentioned the Highwaymen.

So now there's even an additional reason to go to get a great cocktail. So that's that's fabulous.

Jenn: That's great. So where can people keep up with you and events and follow you online so they get all of the news?

Heather: So we have our own Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook for the restaurant association. But then we also have a savor food and wine channel, which becomes active at that time of year and a dine around Halifax food. We'll see some expansion on that too, for other areas of the province, but all three of those would be great to follow.

And we also have some newsletters, Danielle.

Danielle: Yeah, so we also have a foodie newsletter, which goes out once a month at the beginning of the month. And that is just a compilation of everything happening in the food, or that has happened in the food industry in the provinces. Over the past month, we usually add a couple of recipes in there just to kind of spice things up at home.

And then also we have a list of what restaurants have been up to, if there's been any articles that have happened. And to sign up for the Foodie Newsletter, you can email us at info at RANS. ca.

Meggan: Amazing. So now to finish up, I have to inquire not specifics, of course, but what is each of your personal favorite type of cuisine, would you say?

Danielle: That's a hard one.

Heather: So at the moment as a mother with young children, I typically gravitate towards somewhere that is fairly family oriented, but in general my favorite cuisine, I'm, I'm a foodie. I love to try different things. One of the reasons I'm in this job right now. So what I like to see is all the exciting new um, food coming to Nova Scotia and just, you know, To get out and try different places.

Danielle: I would say that's one of the problems of asking people who work in the food industry what their favorite food is, is like all of it. I haven't really tried food that I am not excited about. And I actually used to work in kitchens, so I get anytime somebody else is cooking for me, I'm a happy, happy girl.

Meggan: I couldn't disagree more, and I love to try different cuisines as well, so I can understand how that's such a tough question. Obviously, you're in this business because food in general is something that excites you, so that makes sense. A lot of sense. Well that is it for this week's episode. Thank you both so much for coming on the show and sharing what RANS is up to, , how you're helping the industry in Nova Scotia, and just giving that insider's peek and sort of what's going on here, what people can expect.

As for us, you can find us at the Travel Mug Podcast on social media. Also on our website, travelmugpodcast. com. You can of course support the show through buy me a coffee link in our show notes. Or leaving us a review on Apple or Spotify, or just share the show with a travel loving pal. We'd love to broaden our audience and until next time.

Bye everyone.

Danielle: bye