The Next Course: Creating the Future-Friendly Restaurant

A vibrant restaurant scene is one of the most widely appreciated and celebrated benefits of urban living. However, the current standard model for restaurant operations is a robust consumer of resources—including energy, water, local products, transportation, and more—with substantial costs to business and a significant impact on municipal infrastructure. Research suggests that city residents will depend on foodservice outlets for up to 30 per cent of their meals in coming years, underlining the need to re-imagine how restaurants can serve our communities successfully and sustainably.

This course, over two half days, will offer a tasty, practical guide to the creation of future-friendly restaurant concepts, design, and operations. It will draw on the results achieved by The Next Course project for the renovation and reinvention of the Robson Street classic O’Doul’s Restaurant & Bar into the stylishly sustainable forage.

Experts in cutting-edge technology and design will join you in a hands-on workshop to develop fresh ideas to "take-out" to their restaurant and foodservice businesses. On the first day, we'll focus on design and installation of kitchen/back-of-house facilities that maximize energy conservation and related sustainable benefits. We'll spend the second day on design and installation of service/front-of-house facilities that minimize environmental impact through sustainable materials and systems.

You may take one or both days of the seminar.

Each day will conclude with a guided tour of The Next Course (TNC) project facility, forage at The Listel Hotel, followed by a light lunch and meet-and-greet with representatives from the project partners.