Who's News in Catering for October 23, 2021

Hot Off the Presses

Responding to a membership that has expressed concerns over attending an in-person summit in 2021, the Event Safety Alliance has announced the postponement of the 2021 event to March 22-24, 2022 on the campus of Rock Lititz in Lititz, Pennsylvania.  As a thank you to its membership, the alliance is offering a 15% discount on in-person registrations through December 31, 2021. Registration to attend the 2021 Event Safety Summit, either in-person or virtually, can be found at http://eventsafetysummit.com. 

Bill Hansen Catering & Event Production has announced a partnership with Chef Aaron Dreilinger, a local gourmet caterer who specializes in Kosher cuisine and Jewish events, to create a new division: Mitzvahs & More.  This collaboration combines Bill Hansen’s 41 years of experience as an upscale caterer in South Florida with Chef Aaron Dreilinger’s specialized experience in hosting Mitzvahs for the local Jewish community. Mitzvahs & More has already been added to the preferred vendor list for Temple Beth Am, a long-standing synagogue in Pinecrest. Hansen and Dreilinger will work in tandem to provide high-quality service and luxury catering for the Jewish events market in South Florida, including weddings, Mitzvahs, charity galas, and other social affairs. Bill Hansen Catering’s professional experience, exceptional level of service, well-grounded infrastructure, and beautiful event design combined Chef Aaron Dreilinger’s prestigious kosher-style menus will bring the best of both worlds to Mitzvahs & More. 

Weee! (www.sayweee.com), the largest and fastest-growing ethnic e-grocer in North America, today announced the acquisition of RICEPO, an online Asian food delivery company. The move will bolster Weee!'s growing demands of customers nationwide seeking diverse and authentic food-at-home options, from groceries to restaurant meals.  Weee! continues to scale to meet increased consumer interest in its unique online grocery and restaurant delivery service; one that combines the availability of high-quality and hard-to-find products with community and social sharing. With the RICEPO acquisition, Weee! will immediately expand its restaurant delivery offering, bringing another dimension of ethnic food delivery to its customers.  

UL, the global safety science leader, today launched the UL Everclean® Verified Mark for Food Safety Practices, a new verification program for restaurants and food service establishments.  This verification provides objective evidence that a food service operation has met key food safety criteria and helps communicate the high priority placed on food safety, hygiene and sanitation. After achieving verification, an establishment (such as a restaurant, hotel, convenience store or grocery chain) can display a UL Everclean Verified Mark on their building and marketing collateral. Displaying this Mark communicates their dedication to protecting the health and safety of their employees and customers.  

Constellation Culinary Group announces today the expansion of its South Florida portfolio after being tapped to lead all food and beverage operations for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. As the Arsht Center celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, Constellation Culinary Group will incorporate elevated dining experiences into the existing culinary offerings including concessions, in-house bars and catering for all special and private events including weddings, corporate gatherings, galas and more.  In addition, Constellation Culinary Group will manage food and beverage operations for the Arsht Center’s pre-performance restaurant BRAVA!, which will reopen on the second floor this winter in conjunction with the opening night of “The Nutcracker”.  

Chef Jolie Oree-Bailey has created her very own cooking show.  She recently shared the first episode of her new YouTube cooking show with Low Country Quisine customers, friends, family and ALL the food lovers ALL around the world. You get to see Chef Jolie mixing up fun cocktails and making mouthwatering dishes right in her Dallas home kitchen. 

Inspired by the belief that food should not only taste good, it should do good too, Gordon Food Service® has unveiled a new program for their customers called Goodfinds by Gordon. The program's mission is to partner with companies on the cutting edge of food service innovation to deliver customers meaningful food solutions that do good for communities, customers, and the planet.  Vendor companies participating in the Goodfinds by Gordon program are vetted by a team of leading industry experts, chefs, brand consultants, and more. Selected partners must excel in at least one of the three pillars of the program: purpose-driven, people-focused, and planet-forward. 

For decades, cooking at the James Beard House has been an aspiration for many chefs and is considered a career milestone. In May, we launched the Beard House Fellows program, presented by Capital One, which re-envisions the potential of this historic space into a hub of training and professional development for talented emerging chefs. The program’s pilot, beginning in May and running through November 2021, launched in partnership with the Food Education Fund (FEF). Our initial class of seven Fellows will all be alumni of FEF’s New York-based partner high schools. Each Fellow will have a one-month residency at the Beard House, and will receive training in financial and legal matters, public relations, policy and advocacy, social media, and more. Fellows will also develop a Beard Box meal kit in collaboration with Great Performances, available for purchasing and shipping across the continental U.S., and will also include a special gift for Capital One cardholders. Sign up for the waitlist to get your Beard Box. 

People on the Move

Today, Hilton San Francisco Union Square announced Marcelo Salinas as executive chef of the largest hotel in San Francisco and in Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ west coast portfolio. Salinas will oversee culinary operations for the property’s 130,000 square feet of meeting space as well as its five food and beverage outlets, including Poached breakfast café, Urban Tavern gastropub, and Cityscape Lounge, the hotel’s popular 46th floor sky bar.  The son of Argentinian and Bolivian immigrants, Salinas was exposed to flavors from around the world in his hometown of Queens, New York. He graduated from the Westminster College of London’s Hotel & Catering program, and started his culinary career at the Fairmont San Francisco. Salinas later as served executive chef for several five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, including the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv; Fairmont the Palm in Dubai, and Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino.  

Harbor Foods Group hires Kevin Pribilsky as President of Harbor Foodservice, effective January 1st, 2022.  Harbor Foodservice was founded October 11th, 2019 after the acquisition of Food Services of America's distribution center in Kent, WA. Randy Irvine, formerly President of FSA Seattle serves as the current President of Harbor Foodservice. Irvine will serve as Senior VP of Development for the parent company Harbor Foods Group, in a strategic advisory position beginning in January 2022. Kevin Pribilsky brings nearly 30 years of foodservice distribution experience and most recently served as the President of Performance Foodservice Chicago. Kevin grew up in the Pacific Northwest and began his career in the Seattle area at the Boeing Company. He earned an MBA at UCLA and later went back home to run his family's food distribution business, Bur-Bee Company.  In 2004, Harbor Wholesale and Sysco each acquired a portion of the Bur-Bee Company. Following the acquisition Kevin served as VP of Operations at Sysco Portland, continued his career as President of Sysco Spokane, and then moved on to his recent role with PFG in Chicago.   

Mercer Culinary is pleased to announce the promotion of Chris Parker to National Sales Manager of Foodservice Distribution. Chris will be stepping into the new position, effective immediately.  Chris has been with Mercer Culinary for the past ten years holding the positions of Sales Representative and most recently Business Development Director for the East Coast. As National Sales Manager Chris will oversee Mercer Culinary foodservice distribution and independent representation throughout the US.  

Jenn Moniz has been named the new executive chef of Proof of the Pudding’s Offsite Division! Bringing with her an esteemed resume that includes nearly two decades of experience within the hospitality industry, Jenn’s particular blend of catering, event planning, customer service & management experience uniquely positions her for her new role with the Atlanta-based catering mogul, where she’ll be incorporating local and seasonal ingredients into her menu additions.   

Timber Cove Resort, located just off California’s Highway 1, two hours north of San Francisco, welcomes Jason Reiplinger as managing director and Brendalee Vialpando as executive chef. The esteemed Sonoma Coast boutique resort has been recognized among the top 10 resorts in Northern California by Condé Nast Traveler readers. With close to 20 years of hospitality experience, Reiplinger is a proven leader who brings strong business acumen and a sense of community to Timber Cove. As the newly appointed managing director, Reiplinger will oversee all aspects of the property, providing leadership and strategic direction for the resort, food and beverage, guest services, operations and asset management. Prior to joining Timber Cove Reiplinger spent seven years with Woodside Hotel Group, most recently as managing director at the AAA Four Diamond Bodega Bay Lodge. Prior to joining the Woodside Hotel Group, he held a variety of senior leadership roles at award-winning properties, including general manager of Roka Akor and Roka Bar, director at Bellagio Resort & Casino, where he achieved annual revenue of over $30M and director of food & beverage for San Francisco’s The Battery Hotel & Private Members Club, overseeing two restaurants and four bars.  

Marriott Owings Mills Metro Centre and Crescent Hotels and Resorts, a premier hotel management company, is proud to announce the appointment of Bernard Smith as Executive Chef.  Opening this October in Owings Mills, MD, the Marriott Owings Mills Metro Centre will feature The Tillery, the property’s upscale full-service restaurant. Smith will be responsible for conceptualizing and creating the menu, crafting the culinary experience, and overseeing staff and all food and beverage operations at the brand-new hotel and restaurant.

Chef Nashali Rivera is the newest Beard House Fellow at the James Beard House. Born and raised in the Bronx, Nashali grew up making a variety of foods alongside her mother, like Puerto Rican pasteles, and watching cooking shows hosted by Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Lidia Bastianich. After attending Food and Finance High School and the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP), she began competing at and volunteering for various culinary events, which eventually led her to pursue a degree at the Culinary Institute of New York at Monroe College. Since graduating, Nashali has held a handful of positions in the industry, including pastry line cook, chef assistant for private events at the Institute of Culinary Education, and catering sous chef at New York University’s School of Law. Looking to start her own business, Nashali hopes to share the beauty and joy of food with her community. 

 Products on the Market

Barilla Pasta is now available exclusively for foodservice in a new pre-cooked and frozen form. Barilla® Frozen delivers the same quality and consistency chefs expect from the #1 pasta brand in Italy and the US, but with the time- and labor-saving benefits of pre-cooked pasta. With Barilla’s precise pre-cooking specification, Barilla Frozen is ready for action and al dente performance across a variety of cooking platforms and service styles. From microwaves to impingers, catering to ghost kitchens, Barilla Frozen is line-ready and made to perform. Thanks to high-quality semolina and rigorous testing of the IQF production process, Barilla Frozen can flex between to-order service or be held for 30 minutes or longer - perfect for today’s delivery environment. 

Dylish (https://about.dylish.com/) helps restaurants save money and promote their brand with a full online package that includes a customized webpage, marketing materials, social media presence, customizable iOS and Android apps, QR codes, tablet and printer, delivery, and everything a restaurant needs to move food from kitchens to satisfied customers. Dylish has an expansive radius of delivery services that they are able to offer because they partner with 3rd party delivery companies. Dylish is available as a series of affordable monthly subscriptions, starting at only $49. Dylish has been in development for three years, launching in April 2020 amid the pandemic. So they already know exactly what restaurants have been going through, and they quickly reached out to them, helping their clients to cut way down on their delivery and takeout fees. Those savings get passed on to customers as well. As they begin to reach more merchants, Dylish will continue to listen to their needs and requests. The company is also looking into developing its own POS system down the line as they continue to grow with the businesses they serve. 

Oregon Fruit Products LLC has announced Lime Fruit in Hand, a fast and easy way for the foodservice world to create real, tart lime beverages such as limeade and margaritas. Made with real Key limes, Lime Fruit in Hand comes frozen and ready to mix as a 5+1 concentrated base for limeades, or ready to use in a variety of cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages.  Lime Fruit in Hand delivers bracing, unadulterated acidity, as it is simply made with real fruit. The product’s smooth puree consistency blends easily into beverages, sauces and smoothies, and provides tart complexity and dimension when combined with other fruits.  

The Giovanni Action Muddler from Cork Pops is a must-have for cocktail enthusiasts, home bartenders, and those who like to add fruit/herbs to teas, fruit juices, etc. Simply push down on the muddler to rotate the head and add a tasty punch to alcoholic beverages, juices, teas, etc. The Giovanni Action Muddler would be perfect for any "cocktail", "gift guides" or "bartending essentials" features that might be in the works. MSRP $19.50, available at CorkPops.com.