CACC business meeting, Tuesday, September 12 at SAIT Hospitality House 

1. @ 6:10 pm Christopher, our president, called for everyone to take their seats.
   1. He called on Derek Dale to say a few words, on behalf of SAIT.
   2. Derek thanked everyone for coming. He asked for those with ties to SAIT, whether past or present, to raise their hands; many hands were raised, and Derek acknowledged the ties between SAIT and the CACC. He also stated SAIT is recognized as one of the top culinary schools in the world and indicated they are striving to elevate their standing internationally.
   3. Christopher then presented Chef Dale with our certificate of appreciation for hosting our meeting.
2. Chris and Mariko Thomson from the Wagashi Tea House in Canmore, Alberta, were introduced and invited to present their demonstration on Wagashi. As it turns out both Mariko and Chris are SAIT alumni! They host tea tastings and special events. Their establishment is open for breakfast and lunch. Mariko explained that Wagashi is a form of Japanese confectionary. White bean paste forms the base of this sweet, and it is meant to be eaten in a few bites. Mariko proceeded to make some examples, using various tools to cut and shape the paste into a delectable floral shape. The pace of her work was methodical, precise and everyone present was focusing on her technique. After her creations were finished a Q&A session followed with many students and members participating.
3. Christopher, our president, then announced the kitchen was serving food and the meeting would follow.
   1. Everyone enjoyed a fabulous meal and delicious desserts.
   2. Making new friends and greeting old acquaintances was the order of the day!
4. Chris called the meeting to order at 7:25 pm
   1. He noted it was great to see so many faces at the meeting.
   2. He called on everyone to introduce their guests; of special note were Rosy Amlani from ColdChase, as well as Andreas Scherer from Scherer Livestock Ltd..
5. Everyone was reminded to purchase their 50/50 tickets to support the CACC.
6. There were no comments/additions to the meeting agenda.
7. No one from the floor had any comments regarding the posted minutes of our June 6 meeting at the CBE CT Centre. MOTION by Mathieu Paré, seconded by Chris Thomson, to accept the June 6 meeting minutes as circulated-
8. There was no old business raised from the floor.
9. Since many were still enjoying their food, it was decided to move the presentation of ColdChase to a later slot to ensure all could enjoy the presentation. The following is a summary of their talk. They specialize in cold chain monitoring. A large portion of our produce is lost in transit from field to table- some accounts are as high as 50%. The F.D.A. in the U.S.A. is pushing for increased monitoring of sensitive, perishable items, such as pharmaceuticals and food, and legislation is expected within the next few years- Canada will most likely follow the initiative. Constant monitoring of the temperature, humidity and actual location of the product are all critical in addressing that loss. The sensors used by ColdChase are also a valuable tool to end users such as hotels, caterers, restaurants, etc.. The defrost cycle of a cooler can be tracked and potential problems can be spotted early on and addressed before the unit fails and leads to product being spoiled. It is also possible to track the route used by shipping companies to address time sensitive situations; liability may depend on determining where the problem occurred. A Q&A session followed. Our president, Christopher, then presented Rosy Amlani, CEO of ColdChase, with a certificate of appreciation from the CACC.
10. Christopher called upon Mariko and Chris Thomson to come forward and accept our certificate of appreciation for their presentation.
11. Christopher, as well as Travis, our membership director, called forward new members, Glen Monk and Gil Muschanov, presented them with their local membership certificates, and swore them into our Association by the reading of our code of ethics.
12. Mikael Volke, a SAIT instructor and one of our education directors,announced he was glad to hand out CCC certificates at our SAIT meeting so that current students could see and appreciate what years of dedication and hard work can accomplish; he called upon Graham Smith and Nils Schneider to step forward and receive their CCC certificates and pins.
13. Christopher presented a brief report; he noted the increase of membership year over year. This has been made possible by the work of your board of directors.
14. Our October 3 meeting will be at the Ranchmen’s Club; please note a dress code is in effect- business attire is acceptable, no torn jeans. November 7 meeting will be hosted by Spolumbo’s- we will have a quick-fire challenge at that meeting! Our annual Christmas dinner will be on Monday December 11 at the Bow Valley Ranch restaurant.
15. Don, our treasurer, reported we have 3 G.I.C.s; the CACC is in good shape financially. He could not get the credit card system working for this meeting and will rectify the situation for the next meeting. He is taking reservations for the Christmas dinner. In closing, he stated the books are always open to current members and you need to talk to him to arrange a suitable time for your perusal.
16. Secretary’s report attached at the end of the minutes.
17. Travis, our membership director, announced that those paying membership now would get the rest of 2023 as well as 2024 included in their membership term.
18. Mathieu announced that this meeting marks his one-year anniversary as a social director. The fishing event in July was fun and the next one will be in February. He is thinking of doing a Monkey survey on the Children’s Christmas party. Federico plans on doing weekly posts on our group Facebook page.
19. Mikael did his reporting with the CCC presentation in point 12 and had nothing further to add.
20. No report from the associate directors.
21. Our junior directors, Tierra and Jose, thanked all the students for coming. This solid showing is hopefully a great sign of things to come.
22. Sean McIntyre, a SAIT student, and one of our junior/young chef members, addressed the assembly. He said he liked being part of the CACC because it helps give you a path forward in your career. It is his philosophy to seek opportunity and seize the initiative.
23. There was no new business from the floor.
24. Mariko drew the winning ticket for the 50/50 draw; the winner was Greg Trimming.
25. Next meeting is on October 3 at the Ranchmen’s Club.
26. MOTION to adjourn by Tierra Walter, seconded by Chris Thomson-

Blake Chapman,

Secretary’s report,

CACC business meeting,

SAIT Hospitality House,

Tuesday September 12, 2023

 

Good day everyone;

• As I stated at our June meeting, and repeated at our June 19 BoD meeting, my goal was to have our local CACC database reconciled with national; I am happy to state that goal has been accomplished. Our local database matches the CF national one for the Calgary branch. I appreciate the fact that our national administrator, Lisa, worked with us to overcome a myriad of obstacles and achieve an up to date and accurate roster for our branch.

We have a few more hurdles to overcome caused by the fact our website was hacked; we have a couple of files that were submitted as membership applications but were never completed with the membership payment. This is a local issue and will be dealt with internally.

Remember that our database is only as accurate as you allow it to be. Inform us in a timely manner of changes to your file. When you sign-in please check your postal code and email address to make sure the information is accurate.

When our website has been rebuilt and secured, we will again be able to process all forms of payment online. Another hopeful change will be for the association to send out emails through our website and no longer rely on personal accounts to convey association business – that is one thing I am looking forward to!!!

• Also work with us to make sure our Wellness Committee is kept updated with news affecting our membership. Never assume someone has already informed us of an illness, surgery, birth, etc.. We are here as a community to support one another and with your help we can be there when someone needs a kind word, a welcoming and supportive smile or a gift basket that says we are thinking of you.
• If you are volunteering or assisting in a community project please let us know. We can disseminate the particulars to the membership and perhaps get others to assist in the endeavour. Remember we do not need you to be a lighthouse, that guiding light for everyone; be satisfied in providing a simple spark that ignites one person’s interest, and soon that spark can ignite many more and become a fire that helps light the way to a better tomorrow!
• We must bring our Bylaws up to date; national has changed over the past several years and our circumstances locally have also evolved- however our Bylaws have remained static for roughly 7 years and no longer meet our needs. I am making it my mandate to have the membership vote on updated Bylaws and Standing Rules at our next AGM in January 2024. Please review our Bylaws as they presently stand and make any recommendations to me- many hands make for light work.
• One of our associate members, Ridgerock studios, has offered a special promotional rate to members and industry contained within our database; I previously sent out a notice on their behalf. I have several printed copies of their offer with me should you wish to see it. We can all take pictures of food, but it takes skill to make that food look its very best.

 

 

CACC business meeting Tuesday, June 6 at CBE C & T Centre

A very nice buffet dinner was served at 6:10 pm for all to enjoy; Jeff Birch from Kienna Coffee Roasters was present offering various coffee and iced coffee beverages as well as giving away sampler bags of some of their products.

We had 21 people in the room.

1.      Jessica called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm. She explained the absence of our president, Christopher, as well as our chairman, Fred, as they were attending our national conference in Niagara.

2.      Jessica welcomed everyone and asked that our guests be introduced.

3.      She reminded everyone to purchase their 50/50 tickets.

4.      Jessica asked if anyone had any additions or comments regarding our agenda for today’s meeting- no changes from the floor.

5.      Our V.P. asked if anyone has any comments or changes to propose regarding our circulated minutes of our May 2^nd meeting at the Stampede grounds- there was no discussion from the floor. It was MOVED by Don Turnbull, seconded by Tierra Walter, to accept the minutes of our May 2^nd meeting- CARRIED.

6.      Jessica presented our certificate of appreciation to Heather Gould-Hawke, our host for the evening. Heather thanked all for coming; she reported that she has 9 high schools in her program with a 10^th high school participating next year. She spoke of the effort it takes to support students in SKILLS competition as an example, but the effort is well worth it.

7.      Jessica called on Travis, our membership director, to come forward and hand out our CACC Life Membership certificate to Larry Frandle. Travis thanked Larry for his many years of service and support of our association; Travis pointed out that it is thanks to members like Larry our association is still active.

8.      Hans Puccinelli was to receive his CACC membership certificate, but work commitment prevented him from attending; we will see him at a future meeting for the presentation.

9.      Liz Kilmury from International Pacific Sales was to receive her associate membership certificate but unfortunately, she was also absent.

10.  Jessica read our president’s report which was submitted via email- a copy of the report is attached at the end of the minutes.

11.  Our V.P. then gave her report. Our September 12^th meeting is at SAIT with the exact location TBD.; our October 3^rd meeting is not yet finalized with details to follow; November 7^th meeting is at Spolumbo’s in Inglewood; our December Christmas dinner will again be at the Bow Valley Ranch restaurant in Fish Creek Park with the date TBD. Jessica also participated in a zoom call with other branches across the country hosted by the CF- our national association. It was well attended with many branches expressing the identical challenges of re-invigorating their local membership and wanting to grow their branch. COVID was a serious hit to all the branches with in-person meetings banned and many leaving our industry. Many branches have started fundraising initiatives to raise public awareness and stimulate involvement in their respective branches.

12.  Secretary’s report attached at the end of the minutes. As a matter of reference, we had 70 members in total in April and as of June 4 we have 86. Another positive note is that we have a new junior member/young chef as well as a new associate member sign up at this evening’s meeting- progress is being made.

13.  Martin, our treasurer, reported that the bank account balances with our books; QuickBooks is functional, and he will assist our new treasurer in getting acquainted with it. He thanked everyone for allowing him to serve for as long as he has, and he is looking forward to some down time!

14.  Mathieu, one of our social directors, reported we will have a July 9^th fishing event at Chain Lakes Provincial Park, 90 minutes south of Calgary. Pre Pak meats will provide hot dogs and we will provide the incidentals to feed those attending. Check out our website for information and contact Mathieu to reserve your spot or to ask questions about the outing. No fishing license is required for that day and fishing gear and assistance will be provided for those that need it. Mathieu then called on Julie Walker, from Full Circle Adventures, our guide for our upcoming nature walk at Edworthy Park on June 11^th. Julie gave an interesting and informative presentation on what we can expect to see at the park.

15.  Helmut, our media chair, informed us the pay-on-line system is now accessible on our website. He encouraged everyone to use the online forms to update their database file- you fill in the form and submit it without using the payment option and the updated information is sent to the secretary as well as the treasurer. Helmut also asked everyone to inform him of newsworthy events so that he may post them on our website. In closing he asked that we prepare for the future by having 2 people shadow the webmaster to learn how to maintain the system and ensure seamless transitions in the future.

16.  Blake, as election chair, then proceeded with the election process. All positions were filled at the May meeting but two- secretary and treasurer. Blake called on nominations from the floor for treasurer- Don Turnbull agreed to let his name stand for treasurer. Blake called twice more for nominations for treasurer, but no further nameswere advanced. OUTCOME: Don Turnbull was acclaimed as treasurer.

●Blake called for nominations from the floor for secretary- no one came forward; Blake called twice more for nominations to no avail. OUTCOME: Blake closed the nomination process and announced the position would be tabled and the President, with board approval, would appoint a secretary.

17.  Jessica called for any old business to be brought up before we thanked the outgoing board members- nothing was brought forward.

18.  Jessica then thanked the following board members, whose term had expired, and thanked them for their service as they step off the board: secretary Blake Chapman, treasurer Martin Makulowich, associate 1 Al Kennedy, education 1 Mikael Volke, social 1 Mathieu Paré, and junior/young chef 1Tierra Walter.

19.  Jessica, with prior board approval, asked Blake Chapman if he would accept the appointment as secretary; Blake agreed and will serve until the next round of elections in June 2024.

20.  Jessica then called forward the newly elected/appointed board members forward to be sworn in: secretary Blake Chapman, treasurer Don Turnbull, associate 1 Al Kennedy, education 1 Mikael Volke, social 1 Mathieu Paré, and junior/young chef 1 Tierra Walter. Jessica then used our Code of Ethics to swear in the new board.

1.      Note that education 1 Mikael Volke was at national and not in attendance- he will be sworn in at our next meeting.

21.  Jessica called for any new business from the floor- no new business from the floor.

22.  50/50 draw winners: Mars B won $35.00 cash; small wares baskets won by Jose B and Larry Frandle.

23.  Jessica then called for a motion to adjourn; MOVED by Beat Hegnauer, seconded by Martin Makulowich, to adjourn the meeting- CARRIED.

►President’s report:

To the membership of the CACC 

As we bring this election cycle to a close, I want to thank you all for supporting our great association.

The two years leading up to last, were not easy for anyone and were particularly challenging for our industry.

Covid brought many different hardships, in health and in workplace, business and culture. We, as an organization were not immune to this unprecedented era and suffered a great number of setbacks and sadly, we also lost several of our longtime members.

I believe this past year, we as a membership, have come such an incredibly long way in gathering and rejuvenating our association. I am so proud of all our accomplishments and regrowth, and I am certain Greater things are to come in 2023/2024!

I want to also take this time to thank our Board of Directors for their passionate hard work and dedication to our association.

I wish everyone all the best and look forward to seeing you all, after the summer.

Sincerely

Christopher Sprentz, president CACC 

►Secretary’s report

●Any new director not sworn-in at the June meeting will be at the September meeting.

            I believe only Mikael Volke will need to complete this process.

●No progress since our June business meeting on the membership front.

            No new members when compared to the national roster.

            No updates regarding our branch (such as Federico Causapin) with CF updating their status to current.

●One associate member and one junior/young chef member joined in June. As a matter of reference, we had 70 members in total in April and as of June 4 we had 86.

●Several members have completed paperwork to update their file. Our local database shows 73 active members while national reflects 52- some changes at the national level have yet to be recorded and many more files will be updated when Lisa, our national administrator, gets back to me. It is my goal to have the membership issues addressed by our September meeting.

●I found a new file with several local life members- we must bring our database up to date with these names- several are associate; some are deceased…the usual blend of entries. The file consists of Gordon LaChance, Frank Fallwell, David Russell, Bert Johnson and Suzanne Tenold; these names will be added in time to be reflected at our September meeting.

CACC business meeting Tuesday,
May 2, 2023 at Calgary Stampede

Minutes

CACC business meeting,

Palomino Room, Calgary Stampede,

6:00 pm start time.

41 people were in attendance.

Jeff Birch from Kienna Coffee Roasters provided a coffee bar for all to enjoy.

City Fish generously donated product to provide a fish appetizer bar as well as for a hot station.

An absolutely fabulous dinner service started at 6:15 pm that was enjoyed by all!

1) Fred, our chairman, chaired the meeting since our president, Christopher, was on vacation in the city that never sleeps!! Fred called the meeting to order at 7:25 pm.

2) Fred thanked all for coming and asked for the introduction of our guests.

3) All were reminded to support the 50/50 draw by purchasing tickets.

4) There were no additions or comments to the circulated meeting agenda.

5) There was no discussion or comments regarding the posted minutes of our April 4 meeting at Village Way; MOTION by Abe Belmoufid, seconded by Beat Hegnauer, to accept the minutes as circulated- CARRIED.

6) Geoffrey, from the kitchen brigade, accepted our certificate of appreciation for hosting our meeting.

7) Our election chair, Blake, made a call for nominations for our open board positions. Al Kennedy was advanced for Associate 1- no other nominations; Mikael Volke was nominated for Education 1- no other nominations; Mathieu Paré accepted to let his name stand for Social 1- no other nominations; Tierra Walters let her name stand for Junior/Young chef 1- no other nominations. These positions were filled by acclamation. No nominations for Secretary or Treasurer were received and Blake indicated we would have another opportunity later in the evening to advance names for those two positions.

8) Simon Dunn, from SAIT, was our first speaker. He informed us that post Covid the number of apprentices in our industry is down significantly. The program is offered by A.I.T. (Apprenticeship and Industry Training) and delivered by SAIT by PAC using I.L.Ms.(individual learning modules)- industry drives the system by allowing apprentices to participate in the program; anyone can now sign-up- no experience is required to register in the Apprenticeship Program. A desired goal is to become a mandatory trade. NAIT (Edmonton) has cancelled its baking program and SAIT (Calgary) is running its last baking program because there are no apprentices in the pipeline. To encourage participation in the program SAIT has brought back the WATS (weekly apprenticeship training sessions) model; it consists of 240 hours of in class training; it is a 3-year program that costs in total $3,900- as a reference the professional 2 year full time program at SAIT costs over $16,000; many tax incentives for the apprenticeship program are in place to offset the cost to the apprentice and employers are also offered incentives to offset any associated costs.

12) Blake reported we are now at 88 members (federation, junior and associates) with several people paying their dues at tonight’s meeting. Our database is a work in progress, and as you can see from the number of postal codes associated with members’ names, we are making progress. This summer will be busy with our branch reconciling with national our current roster.

13) Martin indicated our books are in order; the challenge of trying to reconcile our paid/current membership roster is being addressed but will take time.

14) Travis indicated many people signed-up at the door at the start of the meeting; he even got many to fill-in a membership application which helps us maintain a current database.

Travis presented Alfrie Sanchez with his CACC membership certificate.

15) Mikael indicated the CCC written exam will be this week and at present 8 students are waiting to take the practical exam next week.

16) Associate director Al Kennedy presented David Yip, from City Fish, with his membership certificate.

17) No social update.

18) No update from our junior directors.

19) Cam Dobranski was introduced as our featured speaker. Cam’s goal is to inspire others; he has over 35 years’ experience in our industry. His culinary journey started in Edmonton but at the young age of 20 he travelled solo to Switzerland to pursue his training. He returned to Alberta and opened his first restaurant, Muse, in Calgary- that was back in the boom time of the 80’s. It was during this hectic time he started designing kitchen clothing and investigated dishware; he recalls this time as being at the right place at the right time to make lifelong contacts and his simple take away is to listen to people- you never know when an opportunity will present itself! He dedicated himself to his craft and the industry; he was involved with many restaurants and takes pride in the fact he always paid his suppliers; partnerships are a challenging part of business; and most importantly give back to the community. After the challenging time of Covid he divested himself of several projects and decided to work smarter and not harder! He explained failure is a part of success and you must look for a life balance. His final insight was relating how one of his stupid ideas was going to work out- he simply did not know which one would prove successful!

20) Fred presented Jeff Birch, from Kienna Coffee Roasters, a certificate of appreciation.

21) Blake, as election chair, made a final call for nomination for the 2 vacant positions: secretary and treasurer. No nominations were presented so these two positions are tabled for the June meeting. Blake stated that a retired member has indicated they would step forward if no one accepted the position of treasurer- that name will be announced at our next meeting. There are no leads for secretary!

22) Our next meeting is June 6 at the CBE Career and Technology Centre, 2336 – 53 Ave SW; start time is 6 pm.

23) No new business was presented from the floor.

24) The 50/50 draw was won by Blake ($65.00); Todd and Sean won the small wares packages.

25) MOTION to adjourn by Beat Hegnauer, seconded by Will Wentz- CARRIED.

CACC business meeting Tuesday 

April 4, 2023 at Village Way Kitchen

We had 50 people in attendance.

1)   Our president, Christopher, thanked everyone for coming and invited all to have dinner at 6:15 pm.

2)  Guests enjoyed a tasty buffet; since this was a dry meeting (i.e., no alcohol) Kienna Coffee Roasters organized a coffee bar for us to enjoy.

3)  The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

4)  There were no changes to the agenda.

5)  Christopher promoted our 50/50 draw with a cash prize as well as several small wares gift baskets up for grabs.

6)  We had several new faces in the crowd and introductions were in order.

7)  Regarding our last meeting minutes from the Calgary Zoo

a.  A minor change regarding the secondary winner of a small wares gift basket was noted.

b.  MOTION by Don Turnbull, seconded by Werner Kohl, to accept the minutes as circulated- CARRIED.

8)   Mars Bacani was presented with a certificate of appreciation for hosting the meeting. He thanked all for coming then asked Maheet from the Centre for Newcomers to say a few words. They are a not-for-profit organization that presently run 2 cafeterias and have a commercial kitchen in development. They specialize in working with ethnic communities and organize fund raising for their benefit.

9)   Simon Dunn from S.A.I.T. was sick and unable to attend so his talk on the apprenticeship program was tabled to our next meeting.

10)  Christopher gave his report. We had 8 branches represented at the Western Conference; they had good debates regarding several issues; Ron Wong from Edmonton was elected as the new western v-p.; many branches are reporting low memberships. We have been asked to host next year’s western conference and the board supports the idea. Jessica, our v-p., has been named conference chair and will do a feasibility assessment. We need to have a better idea of costs, but our goal is to host the conference as a break even proposition.

11)  Christopher reported for Fred, our chairman, since he is still out of town. Our 2023 Christmas dinner will again be hosted by Ulrich from GreatEvents- details will be released when they are finalized.

a. On a side note, Michael Noble offered to host any member at his restaurant NOtaBLE for happy hour after the meeting- a much appreciated gesture Michael, thank you.

12)  Jessica, our v-p., was absent so no report was given.

13)  Secretary’s report attached at the end of the minutes.

14)  Election chair update provided by Blake; only current members may run for office or vote; contested positions this year are secretary, treasurer, education 1, associate 1, social 1 and junior 1. We have had a positive response from members running for office and anyone wishing to do so should contact Blake, or any board member.

15)  Martin gave his finance report. He was having computer troubles and relied on a verbal report. Martin had a hard copy on hand should anyone want specifics of his report. A simplified review had the following highlights: a roughly $3,000 loss in the year 2022 mostly explained by very low membership numbers; our Christmas dinner made $2.50 in profit which is well within our stated break-even proposition; our GICs have been re-invested and continue to grow. There was minimal debate from the floor. The secretary the called for a motion to accept the review- MOTION by Martin Makulowich, seconded by Greg Trimming, to accept the financial review as presented by our treasurer- only current members were allowed to cast their vote- 26 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain- result CARRIED. ●The financial report and the reviewers report are attached at the end of the minutes; any member in good standing may contact the treasurer and make arrangements to view the books of the association ●

16)  Travis, our membership director, commented on the great turnout for the meeting and the many new faces in the crowd. He encourages everyone to bring a friend to future meetings and keep the momentum rolling and growing.

17)  Mathieu, our social 1 director, spoke on the survey results the membership were asked to fill out. Outdoor events were heavily supported, so our first outdoor event will be on Sunday June 11 @ Edworthy park- details will be out shortly and is limited to roughly 12 spaces so do not delay in registering your participation. ●A fishing field trip will be organized in July as part of the fishing day event nationally. ●Another point Mathieu saw supported was bringing in subject matter experts to talk to the group- therefore he invited RidgeRock Studios, who specialize in food photography, to come and speak to us tonight.

18)  Mikael, education chair 1, informed the group that the next CCC exam is on May 27; he encouraged people to talk about the CCC and generate interest regarding the certification. Several modules make up the CCC program (such as HR management, menu planning and food costing); the all-in cost to take the CCC is roughly $2,500. At present we have 8 potential candidates in the process of taking the course.

a. Regarding the high school SKILLS competition at held at SAIT: Madeline Cutten from Central Memorial was first; second was Zoe Parks from Our Lady of the Rockies; third was Jose Garcia from Our Lady of the Rockies; fourth place was Aaron Ting from Bishop McNally. Mikael pointed out many high school students who compete at SKILLS will often also compete at the post-secondary level when they come to SAIT.

19)  Greg, our associate director, reported they are working on promoting our association to industry representatives. Seeing an increase in chefs at the meeting creates a buzz within industry circles and this trend needs to continue.

20)  At this time our president, Christopher called upon Sean McIntyre, a new junior/young chef member from SAIT, to come forward and receive his CACC membership certificate. Sean promoted the SAIT “garage” sale that supports SAIT culinary students; we were asked to donatesmall wares, knives, books, and various items needed by students to complete their studies. See Sean directly or communicate through Blake any interest in helping with this event.

21)  Helmut, our webmaster, wants to see a website that is functional and interesting. Please tell us of any newsworthy or featured culinary events so that we may post them on our website.

22)  RidgeRock Studios O/O Todd Patterson and his son Nick gave a great presentation on food photography and their business. They started 22 years ago and are situated in Springbank. The business is attached to their house and has3 photography studios and a commercial kitchen studio. As Todd pointed out their specialty is food styling so they can guarantee the food will look delicious- if they have to prepare the food there is no guarantee it will taste as delicious! They have done several photoshoots for cookbooks, have worked with many breweries and distillers across the province and do considerable work in what they called “lifestyle” segments in advertising.

a. Christopher thanked them for a great presentation and presented them with a certificate of appreciation for their support.

b. Christopher then called for Jeff Birch, from Kienna Coffee Roasters forward and thanked him for providing such great and exotic coffee drinks for the evening. Jeff expressed his gratitude for the opportunity and said this was a way for Kienna Coffee to give back to our industry and show support to the association. Jeff thanked Cappuccino King for providing the machine that was used throughout the evening.

23)  Our next meeting will be at Stampede Park, in the Palomino room, on Tuesday May 2; usual start time of 6 pm. The usual $15 parking fee will be in effect at the grounds.

24)  No new business was brought forward from the floor.

25)  The 50/50 draws took place:

a. Martin won the $80 cash prize.

b. Greg, Blake, Christopher and Mikael each won a small wares gift pack donated through BJE Hospitality Solutions- all in turn donated the small wares to Seam McIntyre to support the SAIT culinary “garage “ sale.

26)  MOTION to adjourn the meeting made by Don Turnbull, seconded by Werner Kohl- CARRIED.

Secretary’s report

Good day everyone;

1)   As you would have noticed at our sign-in sheets only active members are listed. We are in the process of doing a membership reconciliation; we have 27 life, 27 national, 2 young chefs/juniors, and 10 associate members on our books. We have several discrepancies with national and we will work on resolving these issues as quickly as possible.

Current, i.e. paid up members, may vote on special/important issues; if you are not paid up please see our treasure, Martin, to restore your privilege.

2)  As you can see from our sign-in sheets we have many more postal codes listed and that means records are being updated. Please come and see me if your name does not have a postal code attached to it or if it is wrong.

3)  Please ensure you are completing a membership form when you are renewing or signing-up for the first time. Accurate records make everyone’s life easier.

4)  The Wellness Committee is always looking for good news stories to share and celebrate, or indeed difficult events where we can offer support and demonstrate we are a caring community. Please share with us and show your support. A big thank you to Jessica, our VP, who organizes the gift baskets on our behalf.

5)  In closing, this association is only as strong as the level of support it receives from the membership. This is your association and we, the board of directors, take direction from you. Get involved, support the association in any way you can, and the rewards will be greater than the effort.

Yours in cooking,

Blake. 

April 25, 2023

To the Calgary Academy of Chefs and Cooks Association,

Re: 2022 Financial Statement Review

I’ve conducted a review of your association’s financial statements. I’ve determined that your financial statements are free of any material misstatements.

Chequing bank account in the amount of $28,851.12 reconciles with the Scotiabank statement as at Dec 31, 2022.

Scotia bank GIC in the amount of $60,698.24 reconciles with the Scotiabank statement as at Dec 31, 2022.

Year end retained earnings of $89,793.07 consists of the previous year’s balance of $93,128.53 minus the loss of $3,335.46 for the year.

The association’s net loss of $3,335.46 during 2022 appears to be reasonable.

Kerry Zwiers, BComm

	Calgary Academy of Chefs and Cooks Association
	Balance Sheet
	As of December 31, 2022
	Assets
	Current Assets
		Cash and Equipment
		10000	Chequing Bank Account	$28,851.12
		10100	Balance Sheet	$60,698.24
		10300		$100.00
			Undeposited Funds	$0.00
		Total Cash and Equipment		$89,649.36
		Accounts Receivable (A/R)
			Accounts Receivable (A/R)	$280.00
		Total Accounts Receivable (A/R)		$280.00
		10400 Current Assets
		10401	Computer & Electronics	$0.00
		Total 1400 Current Assets		$0.00
	Total Current Assets			$89,929.36
		Non-current Assets
		Property, plant and equipment
			Other Fixed assets	$0.00
		Total Property, plant and equipment		$0.00
	Total Non Current Assets			$0.00
	Total Assets			$89,929.36
Liabilities and Equity
	Liabilities
	Current Liabilities
		Accounts Payable (A/P)
			Accounts Payable (A/P)	$136.29
		Total Accounts Payable (A/P)		$136.29
			GST/HST Payable	$0.00
		Total GST/HST Payable		$0.00
	Total Current Liabilities			$136.29
	Total Liabilities			$136.29
	Equity
		Opening Equity Balance		$0.00
		Retained Earnings		$93,128.53
		Profit for the year		-$3,335.46
	Total Equity			$89,793.07
	Total Liabilities and Equity			$89,929.36

Minutes

CACC meeting Tuesday March 7, 2023

Calgary Zoo

1.      Christopher, our president, called the meeting to order at 7:10 pm.

2.      He encouraged people to purchase 50/50 tickets.

3.      He thanked all for coming and asked for the introduction of our guests.

4.      No comments or amendments to our agenda.

5.      There was no business arising from our last minutes at the Prairie Dog Brewery.

a.       MOVED by Will Wentz, seconded by Helmut Schoderbock, to accept the minutes of our last minutes as circulated- CARRIED unanimously.

6.      Christopher presented to Executive Chef Kenneth Titcomb a certificate of appreciation for hosting the meeting. All agreed the food was excellent and the venue outstanding.

7.      Christopher called forward John Athley Chan and presented him with our local junior/young chef membership certificate; he was given a warm welcome from all in attendance.

8.      Our president reminded all of the change in collecting membership dues- we collect all dues locally and disseminate the funds to national.

9.      Helmut, our webmaster, gave an update on the new website; progress is being made and content is added as required. Our awards lists and recipients are now accessible; members are invited to peruse the website and provide feedback. Membership application forms are available and for now you must fill in the form, save it to your computer, then email it to our secretary and our treasurer; soon we will be able to simply fill it out online and then submit it directly to the appropriate directors.

10.  Our nomination meeting for our elections is in May with the June meeting serving as the election meeting. The contested positions this year will be treasurer, secretary, education 1, associate 1, social 1 and junior 1. Blake Chapman was appointed Election Chair.

11.  Jessica, our vice president, confirmed our April 4 meeting at Village Way Kitchen in the New Victory Church building; May meeting will be at the Stampede Grounds in the Palomino room and June will see us at the CBE Career and Technology Centre, 2336- 53 Ave SW.. We have venues tentatively secured up to November and will announce them as soon as all are confirmed.

12.  Our secretary’s report is attached at the end of the minutes.

13.  Martin had no update on financials. He can process membership dues so see him should you want to renew your membership.

14.  Travis, our membership director, commented on the many new faces in the crowd- that is a great sign! He hopes this represents a show of support to our association. We are working on several initiatives and will bring them forward as we sort through logistics. It takes time to overcome the inertia of several years of COVID shut-down!

15.  No education report given at this time.

16.  No social update given.

17.  The junior/young chef update was the presentation to John Athley Chan of his membership certificate and another new junior member to be sworn-in at our next meeting.

18.  No associate update.

19.  Meghan Monk and Guy Leggatt from Sysco were our featured guest speakers for the evening. Meghan stated what a pleasure it was to share the evening with us. She started with Sysco serving the Banff area and she saw many familiar faces in the crowd. She stressed how Sysco values its relationships with their customers. Guy started his career in hotels then became a chef. Presently he is in business development and his passion is to share his knowledge to help others in the food service industry. Their joint presentation theme centred around managing inflation. The Sysco Virtual Kitchen (SVK) was developed during COVID to offset the lack of personal contact- it was not developed to specifically sell Sysco products but rather to help support industry. Meghan and Guy spoke about the varied resources developed in house, or with the assistance/cooperation of industry leaders, that are available to help manage a successful path through todays trying economic conditions. A lively discussion with the membership followed the presentation.

20.  Future meeting dates and sites were again stressed- next meeting is Tuesday April 4 hosted by Village Way Kitchen 10623 West Valley Road SW in the Victory Church main dining hall on the second floor.

21.  Christopher made a last call for the 50/50 draw.

a.       At this time member Rosalyn Ediger announced the fact that Margaret Turner’s mother had passed away. We will disseminate further information as it is made available.

22.  The draw was won by Dennis Kazakoff

23.  MOTION by Don Turnbull, seconded by Tierra Walter, to adjourn the meeting- CARRIED

Tuesday March 7, 2023

Secretary’s report,

CACC business meeting

Calgary Zoo

Good day everyone;

1.      We still list members as current who paid their 2022 dues but not yet paid their 2023 fees. That status ends after the first quarter; if you wish to remain current you must pay your 2023 dues by the end of March.

2.      On the federation membership sign-in sheets you should have noticed that some members have a postal code within their record. Those that do not are encouraged to complete a membership form so that we may update our records; if your listed postal code is incorrect then we most likely have a wrong address for you so you will also need to complete the form.

3.      Having updated information enables us to keep national current on your file as well.

4.      You must be a current member to vote hold office. Please allow your voice to be heard; be part of those who help direct our association- you cannot effect change on the sidelines!

5.      Remember to share with the Wellness Committee news about yourself or colleagues so that we may celebrate with you; we are looking for new job postings, marriages, birth within the immediate family as examples; other noteworthy events such as serious health challenges need to be shared so that we may support one another in a time of need.

 

Minutes, CACC business meeting

Prairie Dog Brewing, Calgary

February 7, 2023

 

1.      Chris, our president, called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.

2.      He thanked all for coming and asked that our guests be introduced.

3.      The agenda was accepted as circulated.

4.      No questions or business arising from the minutes of our last meeting on January 10^th, our AGM, held at Calgary Golf & Country Club. MOTION to accept the minutes by Tierra W, seconded by Jessica S- carried.

5.      Chris called on the floor manager, Thalice, to come forward and accept our certificate of appreciation for hosting the meeting. She spoke of how grateful the establishment was for thinking of them to host a meeting and that supporting industry was one of their stated goals.

6.      Unfortunately, the Prairie Dog Brewmaster was sick, and our facility tour and presentation was cancelled.

7.      The membership was reminded that we are again collecting membership fees locally.

8.      Helmut spoke of the slow progress in creating a new website. Implementing a payment component into the website has been complicated by the operating system we are using. Hopefully he will have the system up and running by the end of the month. The new site is being continually updated with information contained on the old site migrated to the new one.

9.      President’s update;

► President’s Gala cancelled for 2023 and moved to 2024 for the following reasons:

o    I believe our Association hasn’t reached a point of post-COVID ‘bounce back’ that warrants a proper ‘celebration’ of our beloved club’s accomplishments.  

o    Our goal was to have a much greater growth of our membership base, but at this point, we just aren’t there in numbers. 

o    I believe our industry is hurting in many ways. Shortage of staff, both FOH and BOH, is still causing a great deal of burnout and stress, within our comrades in the field. 

o    Our Holiday dinner this past December was very successful, in my opinion, but I don’t believe having another elaborate event, so soon after that, will be as well received or attended. We must maintain the high standards we have come to expect.

o    The ‘main event’ of the gala is to present awards to our hard-working members and industry partners, a lot of which we haven’t been able to bring back to our association, just yet.  

o    I think we have more work to do, before we celebrate and as President, I’m not 100% in support of having it at this time. It’s just too soon. 

 ► CF Conferences 2023:

Western- Victoria- March 17-19 

National- Niagara Falls- June 4-8- Registration Open on CF Site 

10. Jessica, our VP, announced our March 7^th meeting at the Calgary Zoo; April 4^th at Village Way Kitchen/Catering with Chef Mars Bacani, May 2^nd meeting at the Stampede Grounds and June 6^th at the CBE Career and Technology Centre (2336 – 53 Ave SW).

11. Secretary’s report attached after the minutes; Blake announced we had 40 people in attendance for the meeting.

12. Martin was busy processing payments at the sign-in desk and did not present an update at this time.

13. Travis, our membership director, thanked all for coming out. We have a nice crowd to be sure but of significance is the number of new faces in the crowd- this is a welcome sight! We are working on several new initiatives and will bring them forward when they are ready for prime time.

14. Abdel and Mikael, our education co-chairs, were both absent attending to work commitments, so that report was not presented.

15. Mathieu, a social director, spoke on the results of the survey members were asked to complete; some of the results were surprising and future surveys are in order to pursue certain apparent trends. Education was one of the most supported topics within the survey, and outside events, such as walking trails and hikes, that do not fall within our usual food service environment also scored well in the survey.

16. Our junior directors were absent and no report was presented.

17. Jennifer Chapman-Clarke, a certified holistic nutritional consultant, and O/O of Nourish Women’s Wellness, gave a very interesting 15 minute audio-visual presentation on food, and how you handle and prepare that food will change the beneficial aspects of the food. She had samples of pickles and sauerkraut, each presented two ways, pickled with vinegar and the other method fermented, to highlight her presentation. Fermented foods are better for your gut health because they contain a tremendous amount of healthy pro-biotics, but the pickling process has benefits as well so neither choice is wrong, just different.

        Chris, our president, presented Jennifer a certificate of appreciation after her presentation.

18. Future meeting dates and sites addressed in point 10.

19. MOTION to adjourn by Werner k, seconded by Federico C- carried.

 

●Blake Chapman,Secretary’s report,CACC, February 7, 2023,Prairie Dog Brewing.●

1) Database is an ongoing concern, in other words a living document.

     We will need everyone to go online when we are set up and complete an application form.

     Much of our data is being pulled from various sources, many of which are several years old!

Accurate information depends on your support to fill in the blanks and keeping us up to date when other important data changes.

2) The sign-in sheets reflect those members who have paid their 2023 dues.

We still recognize members who were current in 2022 for the time being; to keep that standing we urge members to pay their 2023 dues ASAP. It is especially important this year because branches have their voting weight based on current membership #s and we vote, this year, on a new national president at our national conference.

3) It is important you understand this is your association. The executive take direction from you. Without your support we cannot hope to be successful. We are only as strong as the level of support you give to the CACC. You do not need to be a guiding light; take comfort in being a spark that will catch someone’s interest and soon all those sparks will light a bonfire of support.

4) Get involved if you can. We should appoint an Election Committee Chair next month in preparation of our nomination meeting in May. Give serious consideration in serving your association- after all, many hands make for light work. It is much easier to effect change from within than it is from standing on the side lines!

Have a wonderful day,

Blake.

Tuesday, January 10, 2020

CACC AGM minutes

Calgary Golf & Country Club

 

1) Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm

2) Blake, our secretary, asked all to stand and read our Code of Ethics.

3) No amendments to our circulated agenda

4) Chris, our president, asked that guests be introduced.

5) Chris also announced that Greg, one of our associate directors, was hospitalized; he asked we keep Greg in our thoughts and we wish him a speedy recovery.

6) We held a moment of silence for departed members since our September meeting at SAIT- George Van Dyk and John Pasley. Chris asked if those in attendance could announce other departed members but no further names were advanced.

7) Chris asked if there was any old business arising from the minutes of our November meeting at Spolumbo’s- there was none.

MOTION by Beat H, seconded by Jessica S, that we accept the minutes of our November meeting as circulated- passed unanimously.

8) Our President called Abdel Belmoufid forward to accept our certificate of appreciation for hosting the meeting- Abdel is the Executive Chef of the Calgary Golf & Country Club as well as one of our education directors.

9) Chris reminded everyone that the CACC has taken back the responsibility of collecting membership dues and we are still sorting out the logistics. Our new website is coming!

10) Helmut S, our webmaster spoke of the challenges in sorting out the issues surrounding our website culminating in the CACC creating an entirely new website. WordPress is the platform we have chosen and when set up will allow us to provide the needed features to service membership requirements. The content from the old website is being migrated to the new one. Helmut hopes to be able to process payments through our website within the next few weeks. The new website is: www.chefscalgary.ca

11) Mikael is busy teaching at SAIT so Chris spoke about the CCC; the nutrition course starts in February with other courses slated to start in March. The practical exams will be provided when numbers warrant.

12) Travis, our membership director, spoke of the importance of growing our membership. New initiatives are coming and it is important to listen to the members.

13) Mathieu introduced himself as one of our social directors. He would like to think outside the box and investigate events and activities that are not necessarily tied to our industry- walks or hikes, camping, family get togethers, etc.. He is creating a short survey for the membership and colleagues to fill out so please participate when asked.

14) Before Martin, our treasurer, presented the proposed 2023 budget, Chris, our president, spoke of a new entry in the budget. A $700 entry to stimulate membership by having the board pay aprospective member’s door fee to our host property- we will track this expense with membership data to see if it is effective and make changes as required.

Martin explained that the proposed budget before the membership follows the same format as the one initially shown at the November meeting. In broad strokes he highlighted revenues exceeding $48,000 and expenses of $55,750 resulting in a projected loss of just over $7,000. Martin then answered questions from the floor. MOTION by Jessica S., seconded by Drew D., to approve the 2023 proposed budget-(our secretary noted only current members may vote using the provided ballots) passed unanimously with 25 recorded votes.

15) The President’s report is attached at the end of the minutes. Western Conference is in March in Victoria and the National AGM is in Niagara Falls.

16) VP’s report attached at the end of the minutes. Jessica asked that anyone wishing to host a meeting should contact her; all meetings to May are in place with only the June meeting to be confirmed.

17) Secretary’s report is attached at the end of the minutes. Blake announced we had 40 people sign-in for the meeting.

18) Abdel gave a short education report. He highlighted a recipe contest for the February meeting at the Prairie Dog Brewing Company. Details and logistics are being sorted and when finalized will be disseminated.

19) Our next meeting will be at Prairie Dog Brewing, 105D, 58 Ave S.E., Calgary on Tuesday February 7, 2023. We will have a guest speaker doing a presentation on naturopathic/holistic approach to food.

20) MOTION to adjourn moved by  , seconded by Will W- passed unanimously.

 

President’s report

Christopher Sprentz CCC

Passing of members- George Van Dyk, John Pasley

Membership initiative with CACC BoD. The team has an initiative to actively pursue growth of our numbers.

CF Conference- Just announced. Western, March 17-19, Victoria. Details – not scheduled

CF- National Conference June 4-8 , Niagara ON. Registration site will be up and running, shortly.

Cheers and make it a Great Day!

Christopher Sprentz CCC

President 

Calgary Academy of Chefs and Cooks

 

VP’s report

Jessica Schweizer

As VP, the main are of responsibility is to find venues to host CACC business meetings.

We have the next few months of general meetings set up and they are as follows:

Feb.7 Prairie Dog Brewing

March 7 Calgary Zoo

April 4 The Ranchmen’s Club

May 2 The Calgary Stampede

June is TBD

If anyone would like to host a future meeting please come see me after the meeting.

Thanks for your time.

 

Secretary’s report

Blake Chapman

CACC AGM, January 10, 2023

 

Good day everyone;

►The pandemic struck our industry very hard.

Our association was not spared. We have lost membership over the past few years. Our industry has lost many workers and these people would be, in normal times, our target audience.

Chefs and cooks are working long hard hours to meet expectations and are left with little free time. What free time they have is spent with family and friends, or simply decompressing from a hectic lifestyle! Our association is no longer on their radar!

►We failed to consistently communicate over the past few years to the membership. We have rectified that shortcoming and are now in regular contact with you. We could not have in person meetings, and we failed to adapt by using video conferencing, or using zoom calls, as examples, to remain in touch with the membership. We have resumed regular monthly meetings since May so that deficiency has been addressed.

►We allowed the national body to take over the responsibility of collecting membership dues and many of our members felt left out- very little communication from national was happening and when issues cropped up it was felt national was aloof and unresponsive. We have resumed control of collecting membership dues to better serve the needs of our membership- you again will be able to have in person talks regarding issues important to you.

►You have a full Board of Directors- 14 people willing to provide their time, energy and experience to serve you, the membership! But you must never lose sight that this is your association and we take direction from you. Do not complain about the last board, we have moved forward and so should you!

►Our website was ineffective and we are working on restoring that functionality; the same goes regarding our social media accounts. All are being or have been reset to better communicate with you and provide better service to address membership issues, purchase tickets for social events, etc.

►We have initiated a wellness committee to share our members successes and personal milestones within our group. Please share new jobs, promotions, achievements in competitions as examples of notable work/industry related events. Let us know of weddings, births and other personal landmarks so that we may support our members by showing we are thinking of them and share in their good fortune.

►We have created a new database to help in communications; we stopped maintaining our database several years ago and that hampered our ability to remain current with the membership.  We will be able to target information based upon need- as an example reach out to associate members to get their feedback. Please complete a CACC membership form when available from the website so that we may update our records.

►We have much work ahead of us such as updating our Bylaws- mundane items like membership questions as an example. I also propose we put in place rules that protect our intellectual properties, such as our website and social media accounts, to hopefully prevent a repeat of what has transpired over the past 9 months. We have put off addressing many of these issues to face more immediate problems and will review these items by our next AGM. If you have issues you would like addressed bring them forward. This is your association and the board of directors take direction from you; having said that the board cannot be successful in driving the CACC forward without your involvement. We are as strong as the level of support we receive from membership. Together we can make it happen!

Yours in cooking,

Blake

 

Blake Chapman,

Secretary, CACC

C 403-652-6462