CHICAGO Charlie Trotter’s restaurant here, has won the 2008 Gold Plate Award, given annually by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association to honor excellence and achievement in the industry. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
The award was presented at the 54th Annual Gold & Silver Plate ceremony, a black-tie gala held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers during the recent National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
In a brief acceptance speech to the hundreds of attendees, he recognized the eight other Silver Plate Award winners, who also were eligible for the honor, and spoke of his calling to the field of hospitality. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
“We’re blessed to be in a world of service,” he said. “I do this because there’s a certain nobility in serving others.” —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
He traced his affinity for above-and-beyond service to his days as a young paperboy, when he’d carefully place newspapers at his customers’ doorsteps, even as his counterparts casually tossed them at the houses. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
That attention to detail has defined Trotter’s business at his flagship concept, Charlie Trotter’s, which is widely regarded as one of the country’s best restaurants. Since it opened in 1988, it has earned a reputation for its multicourse menu featuring fresh, organic fare. The restaurant also was the first in the United States to feature a chef’s table, where patrons could watch their meals being prepared. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
Over the years, Trotter also has expanded his brand to include Trotter’s To Go, a full-service catering operation in Chicago. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
More recently, he has expanded to new cities with Restaurant Charlie, a seafood concept that opened this year at the Palazzo Resort, Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, as well as “C,” a fine-dining operation which debuted in 2004 at the One&Only Palmilla resort in Los Cabos, Mexico. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
Trotter, who was honored in the independent-restaurants category, was selected from a class of nine Silver Plate Award winners representing nine areas of foodservice. The other 2008 Silver Plate winners were Pat H. Farris, director of school food services for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, in the elementary and secondary schools category; Phil Friedman, chairman and chief executive of McAlister’s Deli Corp. of Ridgeland, Miss., in the chain full-service category; Amy Greenberg, senior vice president for Citi of New York, in the business and industry category; Steve Hammel, dining services program manager of the U.S. Navy’s Southwest Region in San Diego, in the specialty foodservices category; Shawn LaPean, director of Cal Dining at the University of California–Berkeley, in the colleges and universities category; Richard E. Marriott, chairman of the board of Host Hotels & Resorts of Bethesda, Md., in the hotels and lodging category; Mary Angela Miller, administrative director of nutrition services for Ohio State University Medical Center of Columbus, Ohio, in the health care category; and Roland Smith, chief executive of Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc. of Atlanta, in the chain fast-service category. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
The Gold Plate winner is selected by secret ballot by a jury of past winners and editors of foodservice trade publications, including Nation’s Restaurants News’ editor, Ellen Koteff. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning
Dan Manning, 2008 IFMA chairman and Western region vice president for Coca-Cola Foodservice, and IFMA president and chief executive Michael J Licata presented the award. —Charlie Trotter, fine-dining pioneer and chef-owner of the award-winning