Restaurants Canada Awards of Excellence 2025 recipients are announced, celebrating leadership, innovation and community impact in foodservice

Restaurants Canada announced today the 2025 recipients of its Awards of Excellence. The winners will be honoured at Restaurants Canada’s One Table inaugural industry dinner in Toronto on September 16^th.

The 2025 award recipients are:

• Legacy Award – Cora Tsouflidou, Founder, Cora Breakfast & Lunch for building one of Canada’s most beloved breakfast chains and paving the way for women entrepreneurs in hospitality.
• Leadership Award presented by PepsiCo Canada – Julie Denton, Chief People & Technology Officer at Recipe Unlimited Corporation, for leading transformational change through people-first strategies and digital innovation at Canada’s largest full-service restaurant group. Recipe Unlimited is a business of and about people—both customers and employees—are the key ingredient to success.
• Culinary Award presented by Garland Canada – Chef Chris Commandant, National Arts Centre & Ontario Director and Secretary of the Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations (ICAN) for championing Indigenous culinary traditions and raising the profile of Indigenous cuisine on national stages.
• Emerging Leader Award – Chef Nick Chindamo, Naturalist & Wild Food Educator, The Inn at Bay Fortune for redefining farm-to-table through wild food education, sustainability, and a deep respect for nature from the grounds of PEI.
• Social Impact Award – La Tablée des Chefs for recovering over 2.8 million surplus portions in 2024 through its Food Recovery program and fostering food autonomy and social inclusion for thousands of youths via Kitchen Brigades and Solidarity Kitchens.
• Environmental Stewardship Award of Recognition – A&W Canada for championing sustainability through its national food rescue partnership with Second Harvest (donating 1.24 million meals and preventing 4.8 million pounds of GHG emissions), innovations like the A&W One Cup reusable cup program and regenerative agriculture initiatives with ALUS. Since 2013, A&W has served beef raised without artificial hormones or steroids. Now, all their beef is also 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, meaning cattle graze only on grass and forage throughout their adult lives.

Launched in 2017, the Restaurants Canada Awards of Excellence recognize and celebrate outstanding individuals and organizations making meaningful contributions to Canada’s foodservice industry. Winners are selected by their peers for demonstrating leadership, culinary excellence, environmental stewardship, and social impact. Past recipients have leveraged the honour to elevate their platforms, expand their impact, and inspire change across the industry.

“The foodservice industry is fundamentally about delivering an experience and value through care, service, and community impact. This year’s Awards of Excellence recipients reflect the highest standards of leadership in our sector; advancing workforce development through mentorship and education, championing sustainability by honouring environmental and cultural traditions, and addressing food insecurity in underserved communities, » said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. « We are proud to recognize these changemakers at One Table, as they represent the kind of innovation and purpose-driven leadership that drives and shapes the future of our industry.”

Media Contact:

Siena Di Cuia | Restaurants Canada | sdicuia@restaurantscanada.org

About Restaurants Canada

Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit association advancing Canada’s diverse and dynamic foodservice industry. Restaurants are a $120 billion industry employing nearly 1.2 million Canadians and the number one source of first-time jobs in Canada. Visit restaurantscanada.org for more information.