Sales Growth & Profit Control
Practical frameworks for moving the numbers that matter - covers, average check, food and labor cost - without burning out the team.
Speakers - Keynotes, Panels, Editorial
Jay Ashton. Canada's Restaurant Guy.
Book Jay to speak at your event, train your leadership team, or write about your business, services and programs. Direct, practical, and built on 36 years inside foodservice.
Jay Ashton
Founder · Ashton Media
Bio
Jay Ashton is Canada's Restaurant Guy. With 36 years inside foodservice - from working the line to advising national chains and leading growth programs at a Fortune 50 company - Jay knows what it takes to survive and scale.
Now available
A Pile Of…
Foodservice + Hospitality Articles
Buy on Amazon →His focus: sales growth, profit control, leadership, and brand trust. He has coached thousands of restaurants across Canada, working with owners, leadership teams, and foodservice companies to solve daily problems, make clear decisions, and build steady performance. His style is direct and practical.
Jay founded Ashton Media, a Canadian restaurant media network reaching over 400,000 foodservice professionals monthly through podcasts, newsletters, live events, and editorial platforms. He hosts The Late Night Restaurant Show, Canada's #1 restaurant podcast and #4 in North America, with more than 1,700 episodes featuring owners, chefs, executives, and entrepreneurs across fifteen countries.
He is the author of A Pile Of…, and the creator of the Ultimate Hospitality Business Summits - a national event series built for restaurant owners and leaders. In 2026, Jay launches NEED, a new Canadian foodservice magazine created by foodservice people, for foodservice people. He also produces the NO|BS Foodservice and Hospitality Reports.
His mission is simple: help restaurant and foodservice leaders think clearer, lead stronger, and succeed in a changing Canadian market.
By the numbers
36
Years in foodservice
1,700+
Podcast episodes
#1
Restaurant podcast in Canada
#4
Restaurant podcast in North America
8
Countries featured
400K+
Monthly audience reach
Speaking topics
Talks built for operators, leadership teams, and brand partners.
Leadership in Hospitality
Building leaders who can run a shift, hold a standard, and grow a brand. Coaching language drawn from decades on the floor and in the boardroom.
Brand Trust & Marketing
How independent operators and national chains earn loyalty in a noisy, discount-driven market. Real social, real storytelling, real ROI.
The State of Canadian Foodservice
Honest, no-vendor-bias breakdowns of costs, pricing, labour, and technology - the same lens used in the NO|BS Foodservice Reports.
Distinctions
A national platform built over two decades.
Founder · Ashton Media
Canadian restaurant media network reaching 400,000+ foodservice professionals monthly through podcasts, newsletters, live events, and editorial platforms.
Host · The Late Night Restaurant Show
Canada's #1 restaurant podcast and #4 in North America. 1,700+ episodes with owners, chefs, executives, and entrepreneurs across fifteen countries.
Author · A Pile Of…
A collection of hard-won restaurant lessons drawn from decades inside the industry.
Creator · Ultimate Hospitality Business Summits
A national event series built for restaurant owners and leaders, hosted across Canada.
Publisher · NEED Magazine (launching 2026)
A new Canadian foodservice magazine created by foodservice people, for foodservice people.
Producer · NO|BS Foodservice & Hospitality Reports
Practical breakdowns of costs, pricing, profit, labour, and technology - real numbers, clear explanations, zero vendor bias.
Experience
Mar 2004 - Present · 22+ yrs
Hospitality & Foodservice Business Coach · Sysco Prairies
Works daily with restaurants across Canada, building partnership plans focused on branding, marketing, social media, and business acumen to drive foot traffic and sales. Hosts weekly business and marketing classes for operators.
May 2014 - May 2020 · 6 yrs
National Business Resources Lead · Sysco Canada
Built and led an 80-person national team of consultants, chefs, and specialists serving 6,000 restaurants annually. Pioneered the STIR (Success Through Innovative Resources) sessions, integrated 120 food vendors into the program, and held partnerships with 30+ of Canada's largest restaurant chains.
Sysco Firsts
What had never been done before - at Sysco, in Canada, or anywhere.
A working list of national-first programs, partnerships and platforms Jay built or co-built inside Sysco's Business Resources organization.
- 01Held the first Business Review in Canada, with Bill's Catering in Stettler (2006).
- 02Built STIR (Success Through Innovative Resources), a full consulting catalogue with 100+ session options - customers picked what their business needed, like a college course guide.
- 03Expanded Business Resources into National Accounts for the first time - Recipe, SIR Corp, The Keg, Boston Pizza. Started with 7 national accounts and grew to 20+.
- 04Launched the first Healthcare Business Resources vertical at Sysco - speaking engagements, webinars, resources and a whole new lane.
- 05First person at Sysco Canada to introduce customer webinars and webinars in general. Launched Webinar Wednesdays nationally, running weekly across the country for years.
- 06Built the first true association partnership model in the industry - real collaboration with 20+ associations across Canada, well beyond traditional partnerships.
- 07Introduced the Sysco Advantage program, partnering with 30+ industry companies to give customers additional value and savings.
- 08Brought Menu Labs out of Michigan into Canada - before Sysco acquired them.
- 09Co-created the Flex Burger with the Business Resources team and chefs - sold across Canada and won Most Innovative Product at the Foodie Summit in Toronto.
- 10First to consult the US Business Resources team weekly on Business Reviews - then Sysco Mayca in Mexico, and Ireland.
- 11Built SVK (Sysco Virtual Kitchen Network) - the first media company ever launched inside a major corporation like Sysco in North America. Built from scratch, in a garage, during COVID. Reached 8M people in year two on YouTube and Facebook.
- 12Produced hundreds of Facebook Live / YouTube Live episodes through SVK, reaching millions across the industry when every restaurant in the country was shut down. Gave a voice to the industry.
- 13Ran two LIVE Aid-style industry virtual concerts across Canada with GCKP - bringing together Canadian rockstar legends like Tom Cochrane alongside operators, chefs and vendors. Hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos.
- 14Helped launch Takeout Wednesdays across Canada with industry partners and Uber Eats - a national movement that gave operators a lifeline and Canadians a reason to support their local restaurants every week during COVID.
- 15Rallied vendor support for Taste of Edmonton during COVID - raising $15,000 through commercial partnerships so one of Alberta's most iconic food festivals could survive.
- 16Introduced the Sysco MAX coaching program - shifting from consulting to true coaching for Perks customers.
- 17Created the Ultimate Hospitality Business Summits - a full-day operator bootcamp, the first of its kind inside Sysco. Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Canmore - full rooms, full days, real impact. Plus the first summer and winter virtual classes.
At Jay's peak leading the Business Resources Department for Sysco Canada
16
Business Resources teams across Canada
80
Team members
6,000+
Locations consulted / year
140
Vendor partners
20+
Association partners
30
Advantage industry partners
20
Coaching restaurants - some of the biggest brands across Canada
The roster
More Ashton Media voices, coming soon.
Jay is the first name on a growing speaker roster. We're adding more Ashton Media voices - operators, chefs, executives, and industry leaders from across our podcast, summit, and editorial network - available for keynotes, panels, workshops, and editorial features.
Want to be considered, or looking for a specific perspective for your event? Get in touch.
Book Jay
Speaking, panels, or editorial - start the conversation.
Invite Jay to speak at your conference, train your leadership team, or write about your business, services and programs. Email directly to check availability and rates.