It could have been a banner year for the foodservice industry. At the beginning of the year unemployment rates were steadily dropping, as the economy showed clear signs of improvement. According to Statistics Canada, between August 2010 and August 2011, overall employment grew by 1.3 per cent (with 223,000 more jobs). Full-time employment increased 2.2 per cent and part-time work declined by 2.3 per cent, which meant numerous part-time jobs were being converted to full-time. “So that’s all positive for people having extra money to spend, and the first place they spend it is usually restaurants,” says Linda Strachan, director, Foodservice at the NPD Group, Inc. in Toronto.

The starter course has been part of the dining experience since the Athenians roamed the Earth thousands of years ago. Back then it was served as a buffet is today, with sea urchins, cockles and the bottom-feeding sea fish known as Sturgeon.

The starter was invented as a treat to excite the palate, something to prepare diners for the main event. And, although that tradition remains, yesterday’s deep-fried items have been replaced with today’s lighter, healthier fare; highly caloric dishes are losing favour and leaner ones are gaining ground.

Canadian hospitals are beefing up their meal programs, offering greater choice, personalized service and more local food options

When many Canadians hear the words “hospital food,” they likely conjure up an image of a small tray of wilting broccoli, rubbery chicken, a cup of Jell-O and lukewarm milk, quickly dropped off at a patient’s bedside by a busy nurse.

It’s all about choices. The list of decisions chefs must make daily is exhaustive to say the least and would intimidate the best of us. With a bounty of product available, a chef has to determine what ingredients to use, what equipment will produce necessary volumes, go-­to dishes to highlight on the menu and the ideal school to find the perfect sous chef to toil alongside him and provide the essential support needed to create and deliver culinary excellence.

Those are only a sampling of the questions chefs ask themselves on a regular basis — the tip of the iceberg. As anyone who has ever worked in a kitchen knows, a chef’s work is never done. From early in the morning to the wee hours of the next morning, it’s a challenging, tiring and sometimes daunting profession, but one always fuelled by passion, dedication and commitment.