Who's News in Catering for October 7, 2023

People on the Move

The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco is pleased to announce that Albert Tran is their new director of food and beverage, and Damien Holloway will be Albert’s new assistant director of food and beverage. The new director of food and beverage, Albert Tran, is a creative hotel executive with proven leadership abilities and over three decades of hospitality experience. He comes to the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco from the Embassy Suites in Milpitas, California where he was director of food and beverage at a hotel with 267 suites, 15,000 square feet of function space, and a $8.5M revenue budget. Before that he was director of food and beverage at Spotlight 29 Casino Coachella, California where he was instrumental in opening new F&B outlets and revamping operations with a $40.5 revenue budget. Other notable positions included director of banquet operations at San Francisco’s Sir Francis Drake Hotel, director of banquet operations at the Pullman San Francisco Bay Hotel in Redwood City, management task force for Starwood Hotels and San Francisco’s St. Regis, Hotel Vitale, and Westin St. Francis, and director of sales and marketing for the Four Points by Sheraton in Sunnyvale. 

Butler’s Pantry, a leader in the hospitality industry, is pleased to welcome Nick Pace as Vice President of Service and Brian Kempf as Vice President of Culinary. These strategic moves demonstrate the company's commitment to enhancing its service offerings and positioning itself for continued growth and success. Nick Pace joins Butler’s Pantry with 30 years of experience in the hospitality and management industries. His previous roles range from restaurant management, leading operations teams, to driving sales. Some of his most notable work includes his role as the Regional Director of Operations in K-12 School Food Service where he spent three years growing a healthy breakfast and lunch program from three to 20 school districts with over 30 kitchens and 300+ team members. With an impeccable track record of elevating guest experiences and leading teams to excellence, Pace is set to play a pivotal role in advancing Butler's Pantry's commitment to exceptional service. Brian Kempf brings a wealth of culinary expertise with previous experience as Executive Chef, Operator & Event Director. He has spent years crafting amazing dining experiences in a variety of settings, including hotels, K-12 institutions, country clubs, retirement communities, and colleges & universities. His dedication to creativity and consistency has earned him critical acclaim throughout his career. As the VP of Culinary, Kempf will take on the role of mentoring and teaching the culinary team and contribute to the ongoing enhancement of client satisfaction.    

Hot Off the Presses

Invafresh, the industry leading fresh grocery platform, today announced that it has acquired Whywaste, a leading provider of end-of-life product solutions for grocery retailers and convenience stores, including ASDA, Tesco One Stop, SPAR International, and Coop Sweden, to help reduce food waste, maintain regulatory compliance and increase profitability. This acquisition sets the stage for accelerated global growth for Invafresh and extends the functionality of their AI/ML enhanced Fresh Retail Platform with Whywaste’s end-of-life solutions including advanced date checking, markdown price optimization, and donation platform capabilities. Customers using the Whywaste platform on average realize 30% less waste and 17% increase in revenue from optimizing discount pricing. Merging the two platforms will provide grocery retailers with a platform to drive revenue, reduce shrink, deliver a superior shopping experience to their customers, and help retailers achieve their sustainability targets. 

Products on the Market

Chicken of the Sea has teamed up with the spice masters at McCormick to bring consumers three new mouthwatering wild caught tuna flavors. Developed with one goal in mind – keep people fueled for daily adventures no matter where the day takes them – these new packet offerings are available in convenient formats for consumers to take on-the-go or to elevate their favorite weeknight meal.