Canadian Chefs' Congress

Good news! We’ve just secured a special WestJet Conference Code for delegates, sponsors, speakers and participating chefs that are flying into Vancouver Island for the 2010 Canadian Chefs’ Congress in Duncan, BC.

The Conference Code gets you 10% off your travel into Comox or Victoria, and is found in your confirmation email after you register for the Congress. If you have already registered and have not received your Conference Code from us, expect it in your email inbox shortly or contact us today.

The Fine Print

WestJet provided these instructions and terms for using the Conference Code:

We are pleased to confirm your Conference Code for the upcoming Canadian Chefs’ Congress for travel into Comox/ Victoria from September 10-13, 2010.

With your Conference Code, we are pleased to offer a 10% discount off our best available regular fare at the time of the booking (excluding web and promotional fares).  Attendees must make their travel arrangements by phone through our WestJet Specialty Sales Team and quote the account number at the time of booking.  Discounted rates are available for travel up to 3 days prior and 3 days after your event.  For travel outside of these dates, we will offer the best available fare at the time of booking. Fares are not applicable to group travel.  For groups of 10 or more travelling together, please contact us for fare information.

WestJet serves the Canadian cities of Abbotsford, Calgary, Charlottetown, Comox, Deer Lake, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Halifax, Hamilton, Kamloops, Kelowna, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Prince George, Quebec City, Regina, Saint John, Saskatoon, St. John’s, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, and Yellowknife.

Booking

Flight schedule information is available on our website www.westjet.com

To book, please call WestJet’s Convention line at 1-877-952-4696. Our agents are available to assist Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm (Mountain Standard Time).

Payment

Full payment is at the time of booking.  Fares are non-refundable.

WestJet accepts Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Please include your WestJet confirmation number with all payments, names, and other correspondence.

Cancellation

# of Days Prior to Departure	Cancellation Fee	Credit / Refund
Up to 2 hours prior to departure	$50.00 (+ GST) fee per person	Balance of funds paid will be placed in a credit file good for one year from date of cancellation towards another WestJet booking
Less than 2 hours prior to departure	All funds are non-refundable and  non-creditable if no-showed or cancelled with less than 2 hours notice	No credit or refund given

Change

WestJet does not charge for name changes up to 24 hours prior to the initial departure time.  Each name change after that time is subject to a $50.00 (+ GST) fee.

Itinerary changes are subject to a $50.00 (+ GST) fee and any difference in fare, per person.  Payment is required at the time of the change.

Other stuff

Identification is required.

RBC Travel insurance now available for purchase at www.westjet.com under “Partners”.

WestJet’s maximum liability for lost or damaged luggage is $250 per person per incident.  WestJet assumes no liability for fragile, valuable, or perishable articles.  Guests will be asked to complete a Luggage Liability Release form upon check-in for these items.

In the event of a flight delay due to weather, WestJet is not responsible for any additional costs such as meals, accommodation, or travel on alternate carriers.  Should a delay occur, we will do our best to assist you in reaching your final destination with the least amount of inconvenience possible.  Specific options will be advised as required.

This is the question that Gremolata is posing to aspiring young chefs as part of their Future Canadian Chefs Contest:

As a young chef, you have many opportunities to shape the direction of Canadian cuisine for future generations.  How will you incorporate sustainability into your future choices as a chef, restaurateur, or food artisan to make Canada a centre for both innovative AND responsible cuisine?

Your 500-600 word response to this query could win you a weekend trip to the 2010 Canadian Chefs’ Congress this September – with delegate fees, round-trip airfare, and on-site accommodation all taken care of!

Here are more details from Gremolata:

Are you currently enrolled in an accredited cooking school program OR been a cook with at least 5 years of full-time experience in the industry? Are you 25 years old or younger? Where do you want to go with your career? What will you do to change Canadian cuisine and the world for the better? This is your opportunity to tell the world your story and your vision and potentially walk away with a prize!

We want you to do some soul searching and explain why you decided to enter the profession, understand your view of the scene in Canada, and see the potential direction the industry could be headed with the “next generation”. We also want you to think about the choices you have in regards to sustainable cuisine, the impact you can have on industrial and local food systems, and opportunities to provoke change.

By submitting your entry before June 15th, your article will be added to a special series we will feature during the month of July 2010. Each story will have the opportunity to be rated by registered members of Gremolata.com. The top three stories in terms of votes will be our first, second, and third place winners!

Find rules and eligibility, entry and voting deadlines, and the full list of prizes to be won on the contest detail page on Gremolata.com.

Please help us to spread the word about this essay contest to all the future chefs in your life!

The BC Committee shares this work-in-progress list of the topics of conversation that this year’s Congress will focus on. Formats will vary from speaker-led seminars to panel discussions to roundtables and perhaps even to conversation suggestion cards at the dinner table.

The info below is organized by theme, followed by specific topics within that theme that could have its own forum. So let us know…is this what you want to talk about? Anything missing from this list? Do you have suggestions for speakers/facilitators that you would like to see there?

And if you haven’t had the chance to register for the 2010 Canadian Chefs’ Congress yet, please do!

The Market for Doing Good

Consumer trends/market data
Creative menus
Making the case

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Determining sustainability- rankings and certifications
Wild and farmed examples

Finding Sustainable Fishing Holes

Trends in production and consumption
Marketing/guest education
Determining sustainability
Partnerships

Food Trends of 2011

Edible ocean greens
Other underutilized species
Promoting alternatives

Know Your Source

Direct purchasing
Traceability and labeling
Influencing supply

Bringing Seafood Out of the Cold

Carbon footprinting of fisheries
Freezing facts
Benefits
No fly seafood
Overcoming stereotypes

Organics and GMOs

Organic aquaculture
Progress on GMOs since last congress
Urban aquaculture
Land-water interactions (organics)

Conservation Beyond the Light Bulb

Benefits
Tips and tricks
Involving experts (partnerships)

Plastics, Plastics, Everywhere

Sustainable packaging- demanding alternatives
Plastics in the ocean
Marketing/guest education

Teach a Chef to Teach

Menu labeling
Reducing consumer confusion about certifications
Enhancing the guest experience