VANCOUVER — For many students, the foodservice industry is the first stop as classrooms empty every summer and the number of candidates looking for shift work swells. Not surprisingly, the demand for work creates a new shift in power, and some student workers are starting to push back against what many, including the courts, see as unfair employment practices.

One such student, featured recently in an article by Tiffany Crawford of the Vancouver Sun, has taken issue with unpaid trial shifts, a practice whereby a potential employee is tested in a real service environment and ostensibly does the job of a paid worker without being remunerated. The paper reported that the restaurant owner in question, while declining to be identified, acknowledged the illegality of unpaid training shifts, while noting the practice is widespread in the industry.

CALGARY — While many across the country are desperate for the return of the good old-fashioned Saturday morning farmers’ market, the CBC recently reported that Calgary’s market managers say they may have too much of a good thing.

According to the report, market owners say a recent spike in the number of such operations across the city is making stiff competition for the all important consumer dollar.

CALGARY — A new third-party environmental-certification program for restaurants and foodservice facilities will be launched in Calgary on Sept. 29.

The River Café is scheduled to be the first Leaders in Environmental Accountable Foodservice (L.E.A.F)-certified restaurant, according to founder and principal, Janine Bolton. “The foodservice industry has a substantial impact on our environment and has become a primary focus of environmentalists and consumers alike,” Bolton points out on the new website. “Restaurants that invest strategically can cut utility costs by 10 to 30 per cent without sacrificing service, quality, style or comfort and make a significant contribution to a cleaner environment.”

VANCOUVER — The Top Table Group has announced that executive chef Frank Pabst, of Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar, and restaurant director Brian Hopkins, of West, will be inducted into the British Columbia Restaurant Hall of Fame on Sept. 27.

Founded six years ago by the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, the award honours those, “who have demonstrated exceptional professionalism working in the restaurant industry by making their restaurant a special experience.”