CHICAGO Famed chef Charlie Trotter was named the top independent restaurateur of the year and McAlister’s Deli Corp. chairman and chief executive Phil Friedman was selected as the top full-service chain operator in the annual Silver Plate competition of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.
Roland Smith, CEO of Arby’s Restaurant Group, was chosen as Silver Plate winner — or best within the field — for the quick-service chain sector. Richard Marriott, chairman of Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., was chosen for the Silver Plate in the hotels and lodging category. Steven Hammel, dining services program manager for the U.S. Navy’s southwest region, was selected in the catch-all Specialty Foodservices classification.
In the on-site market, this year’s Silver Plate winners include Amy Greenberg, senior vice president of Citi in New York City, in the Business and Industry/Foodservice Management category; Shawn LaPean, director of dining at the University of California-Berkeley, won in the colleges and universities sector; Mary Angela Miller, director of nutrition services for Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, took the honor in the health care segment; and Patricia Farris, director of school foodservice for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, won in the sector of elementary and secondary schools.
The Silver Plate winners were selected by a committee consisting of the prior year’s honorees and editors of the industry’s business-to-business publications. Nation’s Restaurant News editor Ellen Koteff was among those on the selection jury.
In a secret ballot, the jury votes for which of the nine deserves the Gold Plate, an award recognizing the foodservice operator of the year. The Gold Plate winner will be disclosed at a banquet on May 19 in Chicago, during the industry’s annual convention.
Last year's Gold Plate recipient was Dunkin' Brands chairman and CEO Jon Luther.