LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2021

LEADERS OF THE PACK

Drinks with Heart Makers and shakers finding ways to give back to their communities

The Bartenders Benevolent Fund The Bartenders Benevolent Fund has helped hundreds of Canadian hospitality workers during the pandemic. Community Builders

Honey Bee Elixir Created by chef Randy Feltis, this sweet liqueur ( LCBO 11292, 375 mL, $17.95) is made with honey-bee-pollinated flowers, herbs, spices and roots. Committed to building a sustainable local environment for pollinators, Feltis works with community apiaries contributing to the success of nearby hives. For approximately every 1 ⁄ oz of elixir sold, 1 honeybee is introduced to Barrie-area hives. pandemic announcement, Sleeping Giant set up an in- house daycare for its employ- ees. It has since moved the daycare across the street and offers services to not only its employees but also the larger community. Co-founder and CEO Andrea Mulligan hopes this will inspire other businesses (and we do too!). Show your support by trying their tasty Sleeping Giant Northern Logger ( LCBO 445734, 473 mL, $3.15). Flat Rock Good Kharma Chardonnay VQA 2020 This is a great-value, palate- pleasing wine available at the LCBO ( VINTAGES 356873, $16.95), but beyond the LCBO, Wine Country Ontario offers a Box Full of Good Kharma, which includes this Chardonnay, plus local delicacies, such as Pinot Noir vinegar, local honey and kettle chips. $30 from each box purchased buys a Feed Ontario Emergency Food Box. Sleeping Giant BrewingCompany Within a month of the

In just over a year and a half, the Bartenders Benevolent Fund (BBF) has evolved from a Toronto-based non- profit helping local bartenders and servers into a national support system for the many thousands of hospital- ity workers struggling to pay their bills due to COVID-19 restrictions. The fund started in 2013 to help a friend who had broken his neck in an accident and couldn’t work as a result, says Jon Gray, the fund’s director and co-founder. Working as a bartender at the time, Gray understood how catastrophic an un- expected bit of bad luck

could be for precariously employed hospitality workers like his friend. “There’s no sick pay, no benefits, nothing” for hospitality workers, he says. “If you don’t work, you don’t make money.” For Gray, the pan- demic underlined how vulnerable hospitality workers are when disas- ter strikes. In March 2020, and after getting a large donation from a spirits brand, the non-profit ex- panded from a Toronto- based industry aid to a national support. Since then, it has distributed more than $720,000 to approximately 1,300 workers, with $305,000 of the money going to Ontarians alone.

The BBF, which relies on large donations from big spirits brands, as well as community and individual donations, offers four main financial supports to hospitality workers. “The emergency relief fund is our core sup- port,” says Gray, “but we also offer a mental health fund and a tax return fund to pay for people to do their taxes.” The BBF also encour- ages greater diversity in the industry through initiatives like its BIPOC scholarship for entry-level workers. In the future, the BBF wants to “ramp up” those offerings. Says Gray: “We want to use the plat- form COVID-19 has given us to create more equity in our national landscape.” — Flannery Dean

Supporting the cocktail industry

Along with donating to the Bartenders Benevolent Fund, Moët Hennessy Canada has worked with some of Canada’s top mixologists to put together a limited- edition cocktail magazine, Coming Together , with sales proceeds going to its recipe contributors. Learn more about the project and get delicious recipes by ordering a copy at mhcomingtogether.com.

BOOK IMAGE COURTESY OF MOËT HENNESSY IN CANADA

More people to follow: @pinkbootscanada @femmesduvin @proofpitcher

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AUTUMN 2021 FOOD & DRINK