More than 30 years ago, Kermit the Frog sang, “It’s not easy being green.” But today, it’s easier than ever. More notably, it’s never been more important.Foodservice companies are some of the top offenders when it comes to energy consumption and waste generation, and, as concern for the environment grows, restaurateurs are being forced to examine traditional practices, which contribute to the problem. Violations include burners and ventilation fans constantly left on; inefficient, energy-wasting equipment; large amounts of food waste thrown into garbage bags; energy-consuming lights left on — the list is long. But, increasingly, chefs and operators are implementing change.

The smoker is at the heart of The Stockyards Smokehouse and Larder, but the life of the wood-fired beast began long before the St. Clair West, Toronto, restaurant opened in 2009.

There was a time when prospective employees went, cap in hand, to the back door of a restaurant to ask for work. But times have changed. A serious shortfall of staff in some parts of Canada — notably Calgary and Vancouver — is an issue, and, according to the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA), by 2015, some 35,000 staff positions will remain unfilled across the country.

Burgers and fries weren’t really new when Ray Croc catapulted McDonald’s into franchise history in 1953. In Canada, White Spot had been around since 1928, but it was the proliferation of those ubiquitous arches that enabled the QSR segment to make its fast, fat-filled way into the dining habits of the earliest baby boomers, changing the way dinner was viewed forever. It was cheap, quick, and everyone loved those fries.