Hey friends, thanks for tuning in again. If this is your first time watching, my name
is Tracy Martens and this is YQG in Bloom. Okay, today we are having a lot of fun here.
I am at Williams Food Equipment with Joel Beneteau, who is the product ambassador and
general knowledge of everything kitchen. How are you doing?
Very well and yourself?
I'm doing great. I try not to come in here too often because I have an issue with buying
too much.
Feel free. Feel free. We can have a lot of fun.
I know. That's the problem. Then he has the bills and it's not a lot of fun.
That's his problem.
Now, how long has Williams Food been around?
So Williams Food Equipment has been around since 1968. Around the mid-90s, that's when
Williams moved to this location here and really started making more of a push to be more inclusive
of retail as well as restaurant, grocery and butcher and all that.
Now, did it always have the retail section or was it mostly wholesale?
It was mostly wholesale but always anyone could come and buy but the experience for
retail is different than the experience for commercial.
Yeah. I can see that and I mean this location, I think a lot of people just assume that it's
wholesale, it's retail and it's heaven. It is awesome. If you want anything quality,
this is the place to come.
Yeah. It's really nice to be able to do a blending and a hybrid of both because it brings
all the professional tools to the home and sometimes some of the home gadgets can be
pretty neat for commercial use as well.
You got it. I mean, we're kind of surrounded here by espresso machines. How many different
espresso machines do you guys have?
Currently on display, we have about eight or nine different machines and those are live
machines as well. So you can taste all the different nuances between the machines.
Oh, so they're samples too.
Yes, because with an espresso machine especially, you want to be able to make sure that it'll
make the drink that you're looking for and make it the way that you're looking for it.
We had a nice espresso machine but it just didn't want to calibrate properly so it would
always just depending on your beans, it never really gave you the right shot and it drove
me crazy. So I'm like, okay, we got to get rid of it. But now it's like they're all,
they just do it for you.
Yeah, we concentrate mostly on super automatic machines. So you just touch the button and
it'll make the coffee drink of your choice. Everything from espressos, cappuccinos, lattes.
Out of everything in the store, what is the most popular product right now?
That can vary and very significantly. It depends on season, depends on what someone's looking
for. But there's always the core items, our knife display. Our knife display is probably
one of the biggest knife displays in Canada.
Oh, I know. You get an entire aisle of knives.
Yeah, the display we have over usually over 300 knives on display. Also that it could
as the cast iron cookware, all our stainless steel cookware.
Yeah, I do notice some stainless steel cookware over there. I'm going to have to take a look
at later. Now, talking about knives, Candice was telling me that you guys have a knife
sharpening program?
Yes. So we do sharpen knives here and 250 per blade. And all of those proceeds for every
month we have a different charity that those proceeds go to.
Oh, that's wonderful. So it all stays local.
Yes. So this month it's the downtown mission for August.
Now we're sitting at we didn't bring this set. I didn't know you guys sold outdoor furniture
as well.
Yes. And this is outdoor furniture meant for commercial use. So it's a type of outdoor
furniture that will last pretty much in any any type of weather.
I know it's really, really nice. And these chairs are actually quite comfy. I might have
to steal them. Now we're in the kitchen demo, the test kitchen area. So what do you test?
So that's just the name that we've given to this section here. We used to there's a large
hood over here. So if we do need to bring in a piece of equipment and use it, we do
have the hood right there.
Okay.
Yeah. And we do do demonstrations, videos during the weekends right now with our canning
channel. So we're showing how to use tomato squeezers. And we've been showing how to use
pasta makers.
Okay, so you show it in store and or you're just doing the videos.
We're showing it in store.
Okay. And do you do videos of that as well?
We do do videos as well. Yeah.
And where do you where can we find them?
Different social media. Candice will be the better person to answer those questions.
We will definitely get her out in a minute. Now what's your favorite section? Other than
the knives?
I'm an knife guy. But I do love all the different sections. Because it's not just about the
products. It's about the customers and truly listening to what the customer needs and listening
and replying to get them to where they want to go.
Yeah.
So sometimes they might have an idea of the tool that they want. But it might not be the
tool that they need. So wherever the customer is, that's my favorite spot.
So you really get good quality service as well as a good quality product.
Yes. So we really that's the important thing for us is to be able to interact with our
customers.
I mean, there's various department stores or even kitchen stores that you can go into
and say, I want a knife. And you tell them what it would be for. And a lot of people,
they can't tell you what knife would be the right one for you. So to come in here, you
had said everybody is a product ambassador. That's great. Really helps out a lot, especially
with the new kids that are just getting their houses for the first time and new cooks, chefs.
And I love that.
It's good to have great product. And it's important to have great product. But it's
also important to fall out of love with your product and in love with the customer.
Because it's the customer that comes first.
That's so sweet. I love that. I love that thought. Because that's what brings the customers
back. And that's what people need to know that Williams food equipment is for retail
as well as a lot of people just assume it's for restaurants or wholesale. And this is
a place that you could spend an hour or two.
Easily, easily.
Just looking around and make sure you bring your debit cards when you come because it's
amazing. And right behind me, I know you guys can't see or you might be able to, is we have
outdoor pizza ovens.
Yeah, we have the Fontana pizza ovens, all made in Italy, all artisanally made.
I already got the gist of them because I was looking at them and something I might want
to think about for future endeavors. So what are your hours here?
So we're here Monday to Friday from 9 to 6. And Saturdays, we're here 9 to 4.
Now that's during most of the year. For November and December, we're also here on Sundays from
12 to 4.
Oh, cool. So that makes it handy around the holidays. And I heard from Candice that you
are also on a cooking show sometimes?
Sometimes, yeah. If depending on which show is doing what, I can make myself available.
Nice. So do you cook?
That's my original trade.
Oh, it is?
That's where my original education was in.
Oh, nice. How long did you do that for?
I did that for just a few years. Because basically, I fell in here as a young man and fell in
love with the customers. And I've been here over 20 years now.
Oh my goodness. But you still cook?
Yes.
For yourself?
Yes. Still have fun with that.
I was going to say it would be a sacrilege not to enjoy the fruits of your labor and
these products.
And it's such a great hobby, especially in this area here where we have such wonderful
produce.
Yes.
In the summers, it's ridiculous, the beauty of the stuff we can get.
Oh, I know. I know. The greenhouses we have and the gardens, the weather is perfect for
growing.
The orchards in the fall and in the summer.
Yeah, I can say that this is one of the more perfect places unless you were in a place
like California that had summer year round. In Canada, this is a pretty perfect place.
I'll still take Southwestern Ontario.
Oh yeah. You need the seasons. Come on. But I do want to thank you so much for being on
this show. And I'm just going to be back here in one minute with Candice.
I appreciate you.
And we will have a chat with her. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Okay. We're back here and I have Candice-Rose Gagnon with Williams Food Equipment.
She is another product ambassador and social media expert here. How you doing?
Excellent. Thanks for having me.
Oh, thank you. So how long have you been here?
I'm just going on two years now. I came from a competitor, which was amazing. And I got
scooped up and here I am making my own waves here at Williams.
Making waves. I like that. So you work in the store as well as do the social media?
So I strictly do the social media, all of the marketing, all of the event planning that
goes on. So any time that we have a big sale, that's on me, as well as I'm producing and
planning all of the demos that we have that go on here.
Ah, okay. Yeah. I didn't know that you guys had demos until like today. So I think that's
great. Do you have any demos coming up? I'm just looking here. We're probably going to
be airing around the beginning of September. Do you know if there's anything coming up
yet?
Yep. So if you're a pizza owner, we have a pizza oven coming in. It's called the Dragon
and the Dragon is a conveyor belt style pizza oven. It can do a pizza from start to finish
in less than two minutes. So those are really ideal for especially a Windsor style pizza
here in this area. So we're going to have that coming up in September and then we're
going to start getting back into more retail and home driven demos as well. So we work
with a local chef and he'll come in and once we announce those details, of course I'll
share it on social media too. But we're hoping to have our nightly demos back for the home
and for our commercial clients as well.
Nightly?
We're going to have nights where we're going to be dedicated to having people come in and
doing demos and teaching you how to use the equipment as well as recipes.
That sounds like a lot of fun. Now can people sign up for, is there newsletters?
Yes. So we send out weekly recipes, which I work with the team with to do. So we send
out emails focused every week on our recipes that we work on. And then we tie our products
to those recipes so that people can easily see how they can make it themselves at home.
You guys have a lot of sales.
We do. So in those emails we have those sales and they have all the indications of where
and when they're happening. So both for our local store as well as we ship across Canada.
Now how can somebody get on your newsletter?
So you can come into the store and we can sign you up directly or you can send me an
email. I'm sure you can link to my email and I'll add you to the list directly.
Yay! Because I mean, who doesn't love samples and getting to try out the new products? That's
right up my alley. I love that.
Yeah. And you're going to get the first sneak peek of when the sales are happening, when
we're going to have those special demos, when we're going to have recipes alive in person
too that we can watch together. So yeah, we'll have all those information on our websites.
And that's the good thing about this is it's really turning back to the customer and showing
the retail aspect of it so that people can come in and feel the products and touch them
and see them work.
You're paying for quality. So you want to make sure that this is what you want. And
it's like, I'm kind of in love with this French press. The, how do you pronounce that?
Le Creuset.
Le Creuset. And this French press is amazing. I want one.
Yeah. So like you said, most of the products that we sell are going to be of that high
quality and I call them forever gifts because you're going to get them and you can pass
those on to your next generation if needed, if you take good care of them. And that's
why we're such experts in our field too. We really love everything that we sell, just
like Joel was saying, but we also go one step further and show you how to take care of it,
how to maintain it and how to make it last for generations.
Honestly, that's one thing we don't have anymore. Like I know growing up, my grandmother, they
had the Corning wear and they are also forever the Corning wear and stuff like that. But
then it just seemed that my generation and the newer ones, they were just going for,
you know, the whatever's the newest craze or the cheapest thing, you know, oh, I'm just
going to go buy some cutlery at the dollar store. And it's like, okay, well, they're
not as pretty or as nice as what you guys have.
Yeah, exactly. And that's why we really focus on the quality and the experts behind them
too so that we can show you how to use them going forward.
Which is great. Now, what is your favorite product in here?
That's like asking what my favorite day of the weekend is. I spend my paycheck here quite
often. I'm a bar girl, so I have my own business on the side where I bartend at people's homes.
So my whole bar is stocked by this place. We have some really great syrups that we have
too. So bar syrups, coffee syrups that you can use in your cocktails or your coffee.
That's what I'm really gravitating forward right now.
Now are those the coffee syrups? Yeah.
Back there. Now you guys also have cocktail syrups?
I had no idea of this. Yep. In aisle one, we have them.
Get lost. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a really high quality
bar quality syrups that you can get. And you really have to really watch how much you use
because it is very concentrated. But with the right knowledge and we can show you how
to make excellent bar quality cocktails at home too.
This really is the everything you need for a kitchen store and outdoor.
Yep. It used to be called the candy store for cooks and you can see why.
Oh, I can because I apologize right now if I seem distracted, but I'm noticing all these
things. They have me facing the aisles and that's never a good thing, especially when
it comes to kitchen products. Yeah. Try working here.
I couldn't. I really couldn't because I would owe money every week instead of getting a
paycheck. Yeah. Tell me about it.
And again, I want to thank both of you guys for being here today and getting the word
out that Williams Food Equipment is for retail customers, for everyday people, as well as
restaurants and wholesale. And it is the perfect place for your own kitchen or to buy presents,
wedding presents for the chef, cook or bartender in your life.
You got it. And make sure to follow them. What is your
website? It's WilliamsFoodEquipment.com and our handles
on social media is WilliamsFoodEquipment. Make sure you follow them and get in on their
newsletter so that you can find out about the sales and the upcoming tastings and demos.
It's great. Thank you so much. Thanks for having us.
And again, my name is Tracy Martens. Thank you for joining me for another episode of
YQG In Bloom. You guys all have a great day.