Dear Friends

Dear friends, 

We’re living in a time full of uncertainties. We’re facing some of the darkest hours in our existence, in our generation, and our industry. 

As hospitality professionals, this is affecting us in so many ways:

• Loss of jobs: the highest number so far in our field ever recorded with so many businesses having to close their doors, and reduce their service hours and offerings. 
• Our morale is at an all-time low for some: as artists, we thrive on being in the kitchen and creating dishes for our clients and customers. 
• Financial struggles: being in an undervalued and underpaid industry, some are surviving from paycheck to paycheck. And with no income in sight for a while, we are struggling. 

But it is in trying times, that we discover our strengths – how much we can handle and what we can accomplish. Times like these allow us to unify and be stronger. We must continue to support one another and push forward. 

I encourage you to keep hope alive. Use this dead time to work on your craft, tweak your recipes, create new ones, improve on techniques and methods. Rest. By all means, give your body that much-needed break that you’ve longed for but couldn’t take or afford. Prepare for the future – whether we know or not. Be ready to work within a new system and cope with the changes that will be instilled in our lives.

Chef Alain Lemaire