2014 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award Winners

PRESENTING THE 2014 PRODUCE EXCELLENCE IN FOODSERVICE AWARD WINNERS

Honoring the Use of Fresh Produce in the Culinary Arts

Sponsored by

On behalf of the United Fresh Board of Directors, all of our mem to introduce the recipients of the 2014 United Fresh Produce E BUSINESS IN INDUSTRY

Chef Daniel Benigno, Guckenheimer Executive Chef at TD Ameritrade, Omaha, NE Following Guckenheimer’s goal of featuring fresh and flavorful dining options, Chef Daniel Benigno provides an ever-changing menu featuring fresh produce for his regular guests at TD Ameritrade Headquarters. Chef Daniel showcases fresh produce daily, with displays throughout each of his stations that creatively highlight produce items and provide interesting information and facts about the fruits and vegetables used in his daily menus. During peak seasons for local produce, Chef Daniel hosts a fresh vegetable market where his guests can purchase fresh produce. During the market, Chef Daniel interacts personally with his guests and gives them tips on how to cook and serve their produce purchases at home. Chef Daniel also volunteers his time as the foodservice director for local Cub Scout Packs, including leading demonstrations on the importance of healthy eating and how to incorporate fruits and vegetables into a well-rounded diet.

CASUAL & FAMILY DINING RESTAURANTS

Chef Carlito Jocson, Executive Chef, Yard House, Irvine, CA From sautéing to stir-frying to steaming to raw preparation, Chef Carlito Jocson spotlights the colors and flavors of fresh produce in his culinary creations. With 90% of Yard House’s menu items containing at least one produce item, Chef Carlito introduces guests to an amazing variety of foods, including green papaya, daikon radishes, rapini and shishito peppers. House favorite menu items include the Pan Seared Ahi with fresh asparagus and fried basil and “Street Tacos” featuring ingredients such as green cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and spicy papaya salad. Chef Carlito actively encourages the next generation of chefs, partnering with the California Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, Cal Poly Pomona and other organizations as a culinary competition judge and keynote speaker. He is also the yearly host of Kathy Ireland’s Holiday Gala, which benefits children in need, as well as an active participant in Second Harvest Food Bank and Share Ourselves events.

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

Chef Chandon Clenard, Senior Executive Chef of Performance Dining, Stanford University Residential Dining Services, Stanford, CA Chef Chandon Clenard nourishes the Stanford University community’s minds while pleasing their palates with an ever changing, healthy produce-packed menu. Stanford students enjoying the Performance Dining menu can choose from a variety of produce focused dishes, including shaved rainbow root vegetables with baby greens to portabella mushroom salad with quinoa cake, along with green smoothies with kale, mango and spinach. In addition, education is a core part of the Stanford University dining experience. Chef Chandon’s regular Stanford Dining Newsletter column provides insights on food trends, along with recipes for students to try on their own. Chef Chandon actively participates in campus special events, providing meals abounding with fresh produce, culinary demonstrations and opportunities to meet with produce vendors to sample and ask about how fruit and vegetable production.

Chef Chandon and his team also regularly collaborate with academic departments as guest lecturers on food systems and sustainable dining.

mbers, and our program sponsor, Pro*Act, LLC, we are proud Excellence in Foodservice Awards in the following categories: FINE DINING RESTAURANTS

Chef Adam Hegsted, Chef/Owner for Eat Good, Wandering Table and Yards Bruncheon, Spokane, WA

A native of Washington State, Chef Adam’s love of the Northwest Region and its cuisine infuses menus that celebrate its fresh produce offerings. After attending culinary school in Washington and working at the Space Needle and a variety of restaurants in Spokane, Chef Adam created The Wandering Table’s nomadic dining experience. Each month, Chef Adam and his team travel around the Northwest producing an individualized twelve course dinner that features regional ingredients. Chef delights his dinners with a variety of creative produce offerings, such as Shaved Beets with Washington Pears, Blackberries and Almonds and Roasted Dates with Bacon Ice Cream. Chef Adam was one of the first chefs in the Northwest to voluntarily provide nutritional content and promote fresh vegetables as part of a high-end dining experience. He is actively involved in his community, volunteering his time with the “Big Table,” an organization which helps low income restaurant workers in times of need.

HOTELS & HEALTHCARE

Chef Rolf Nettesheim, Executive Chef & Food Service Director, The Palace Group, Miami, FL Growing up in a family of chefs and working in the family restaurant in Cologne, Germany, Chef Rolf Nettesheim gained an inspiration and passion for food and made the decision to dedicate his life to cooking. When creating his menus for residents and guests at The Palace Group, Chef Rolf specializes in using produce to create a riot of colors and textures that typifies the “Floribbean,” Fusion, and Asian culinary influences that compliment his classic cooking style. He enjoys incorporating unusual items such as sea beans, stinging nettles and purple asparagus, as well as tropical produce such as malanga, boniato and yuca. Chef Rolf’s creativity with produce has brought a delightful dimension to The Palace’s special event menus. Given the challenge to develop a White Winter Wonderland menu featuring only white food, Chef designed a menu that included white asparagus, Belgian Endive, cauliflower gratin and fresh fruits dipped in white chocolate.

K-12 SCHOOL FOODSERVICE

Chef Jason Morse, Executive Chef, Douglas County School District, Castle Rock, CO Chef Jason Morse is on a mission to improve the quality of school meals, particularly increasing the fruit and vegetable consumption of his students. From salad bars to individual menu items, he is constantly using fresh and local fruits and vegetables to encourage students to make healthier choices. In addition, Chef Jason uses creative competitions and challenges, such as the “Fruits & Veggies Challenge” in which 57 elementary schools competed against each other in order to see who could consume the most produce. Chef Jason is also champion for the improvement of school meals on a broader scale, and is heavily involved in the “Let’s Move” Initiative. He frequently speaks about his successful program at events such as The General Mills Dietetics Conference, Chefs Move Salad Bars to Schools, National Foodservice Management Institute, National Onion Association and School Nutrition Association.

QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANTS

Jeff Sinelli, Founder, CEO and Chief Vibe Officer, Which Wich, Dallas, TX Diners looking for a great vibe and fresh sandwiches find exactly what they’re looking for at Which Wich’s more than 300 locations. The Which Wich menu offers over 50 customizable sandwiches, salads and wraps that customers can enhance with a variety of produce items, including mushrooms, banana peppers, and more. Vegetarian options heavily feature produce, from a tomato caprese to artichoke hearts with provolone & parmesan. To ensure all Which Wich restaurant locations maintain the company’s high standards of freshness & quality, all new franchisees participate in in-depth training workshops that include produce safe handling procedures, including washing, storage, temperature control, shelf-life and appearance. Jeff’s innovative approach to quick service dining has brought him and the company numerous awards, including Gourmet Live’s 2012 Top 25 American Food Entrepreneurs and Restaurant Business’ 2011 50 Great Ideas.

ABOUT THE PRODUCE EXCELLENCE IN FOODSERVICE AWARDS PROGRAM The United Fresh Produce Excellence in Foodservice Award Program pays special tribute to chefs and their companies for excellence in the use of fresh produce in the culinary arts.

Through a competitive application process, one finalist in each of seven business categories is selected based on his/her excellence in incorporating fresh produce into menu development, using protocols for correct storage and handling of produce and building an overall positive dining experience that features fresh produce. The seven business categories are: Business in Industry, Casual & Family Dining Restaurants, Colleges & Universities, Fine Dining Restaurants, Hotels and Healthcare, K-12 School Foodservice and Quick Service Restaurants. All finalists receive complimentary registration, travel and hotel accommodations to the annual United Fresh convention, where they and their companies are honored during the association’s Produce Celebration Gala.

While only a few of the many thousands of chefs from across the country can be recognized through this program, United Fresh salutes all chefs working to promote the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and the better health of their diners. This program honors all of their efforts and serves to promote role models of excellence across our industry and the foodservice sector.

Special thanks to our sponsor

Look for the 2015 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program!

Information on the 2015 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards will be available this fall, with winners to again be honored at the United Fresh convention, to be held June 9-11, 2015 in Chicago. We encourage all foodservice establishments and produce marketers to use this program to honor the chefs that work every day to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables in the culinary arts.

Applications for the 2015 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards program will be available on the United Fresh website: www.unitedfresh.org.

1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20006 202-303-3400 www.unitedfresh.org