At the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, world leaders and delegates feasted on a low-carbon, plant-forward menu with items, such as “a spiced mushroom and onion burger served with a vegan tomato mayo, slaw and shoots” and a winter squash lasagne (Vinter, 2021, para. 3). The COP26 menu reflects the international community’s concern about the climate crisis and faith in plant-based food as an important part of the solution to the climate crisis (Kevany, 2020). George Brown College seems to agree, listing a “meatless lunch” among other “green” or sustainable acts we can do both on and off campus to address the climate crisis (“Sustainability. What Can I Do?”, n.d.). As Canada contends with more and more climate disasters, such as the Bear Creek wildfire that ravaged parts of beautiful British Columbia in the summer and the drought that killed crops in the Prairies (Williams, 2021), we can expect more and more people to turn to plant-based food in a desperate attempt to revert, prevent, or, at the very least, slow down the climate crisis. Canada’s tourism and hospitality sector will need to rethink how it will keep up with, respond to, and prepare for this shift towards plant-based food. For this reason, I recommend that the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (CHCA) invite Chef Matthew Ravenscroft, the culinary director at Gia in Toronto, to be the keynote speaker at CHCA’s upcoming conference about the future of Canada’s hospitality industry. Chef Ravenscroft is the right fit for the upcoming conference because he will motivate, inspire, and challenge audiences to reimagine the role plants can play in our industry.

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