For the love of burgers
Finding the best burger in Atlantic Canada
The quest to find the best burger is a popular wintertime challenge across Atlantic Canada. Many cities or regions — or, in the case of Prince Edward Island, entire provinces — host burger challenges. These burger promotions have several goals, with the emphasis on supporting local restaurants. “Burger Week helps to generate business for restaurants in an unusually slow week in March,” says Annaka Gale, coordinator of Halifax’s Burger Week. People love burgers and restaurants love being creative with burgers, says Tracy Hanson, marketing and project manager of Uptown Saint John in New Brunswick, which hosts a burger week at the end of April each year. Full tables and seats during this week make it a financially productive week for restaurants, she says. “But, since the experience is positive, these patrons return — often shopping, taking in a show, having drinks as well,” says Hanson. “Organically, the restaurant sector grows, and the entire uptown sees an uplift in pedestrians, shoppers, and patrons.” Kerra Aucoin Mansfield, a Burger Week fan from Dartmouth, N.S. agrees. “These events showcase local restaurants that you may never have thought to visit, but once you see the burger, you are tempted to go,” she said. ”And, once you’ve enjoyed that specific burger, this restaurant may become one of your favourites.”
GETTING CREATIVE
Chefs across Atlantic Canada have commented how much they love the opportunity to get creative with these burger events, as each restaurant creates their own special burger that is usually only available for the duration of the promotion. Many chefs like at the Capitol Pub in Middleton, N.S., hold an internal competition among staff where the public is invited to judge to see which chef can create the best burger. “Chefs are encouraged to be creative and to showcase their talents,” says Jill Forse, who helps to organize the Annapolis Valley’s Burger Wars each April. Ingrid Munroe from the Millidgeville, near Saint John, N.B., says she loves participating in the Uptown Saint John Burger Week and seeing the diverse and unique creations from each place. “I love how all types of restaurants participate, not just burger joints, so it's an opportunity for places to really flex their creative muscle and make such a common menu item — the burger — into something really special,” says Munroe.
FARMERS BENEFIT
It’s not only the restaurants who benefit from these burger events — the suppliers also experience a boost. ”We also stimulate growth in our community by supporting our local farmers and bakeries,” says Forse. P.E.I. dairy farmer Peter Rossiter agrees. Burger events infuse a large amount of money into the local economy during a typically slow time of year, he says, while simultaneously advertising locally grown and raised beef. “Canada has some of the highest standards in the world when it comes to food quality and safety,” says Rossiter, who hails from St. Peter’s Bay, P.E.I. “You just can’t beat anything locally grown or raised, and that’s been proven over the course of time.”
FUNDRAISERS
Most of the burger events are fundraisers for charitable organizations. Last month's burger week in Truro, N.S. saw 10 participating restaurants that helped raise $9,742 for the Truro Homeless Outreach Society by selling 4,871 burgers in the seven-day event. Last April’s Burger Wars in the Annapolis Valley raised over $13,000 for Campaign for Kids, a non-profit dedicated to helping financially disadvantaged youth in the area. P.E.I.’s Burger Love offers restaurants a Give-Back option to donate $1 per burger to food security grant programs in partnership with the United Way of P.E.I. Burger Week in Halifax is Feed Nova Scotia’s biggest fundraising event of the year, raising $113,101 in 2018, says Gale. Every $2 raised, she adds, provides three meals for Nova Scotians in need. Best of all, these burger events bring the community together. “For us, Burger Wars is a great event to help us get together with close friends, old friends, different community groups of friends that you are a part of, and all for a great cause — helping kids right here in Kings County,” says Forse. In the end, it’s all about supporting each other and having a good time. ”We want to make people smile and have fun,” Gale adds.