The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association has named the 2016 Silver Plate Award winners.
The prestigious award, celebrated at a dinner during the NRA Show, at which one of the honorees is named the Gold Plate Winner, honors excellence in nine foodservice categories.
The Silver Plate winners are nominated by IFMA members and industry leaders, and then selected by a jury of trade press editors, foodservice experts and past winners.
“Much like all the accomplished honorees who have come before them, the Silver Plate Class of 2016 demonstrates the highest levels of foodservice excellence,” IFMA president and CEO Larry Oberkfell said in a press release. “The foodservice industry congratulates this year’s honorees for their hard work, dedication and ongoing success.”
This year’s winners are:
• Independent restaurants/multi-concept: Thom Sehnert, founder/owner and president of Annie Gunn’s and The Smokehouse Market in Chesterfield, Mo.
• Chain full service/multi-concept: Stephen Carley, CEO of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, based in Greenwood Village, Colo.
• Chain limited service: Charlie Morrison, president and CEO of Wingstop Inc., based in Richardson, Texas
• Healthcare: Diane Imrie, director of nutrition services, University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vt.
• Elementary & secondary schools: Jeff Denton, director of the Child Nutrition Programs at Ponca City Public Schools in Ponca City, Okla.
• Colleges & universities: Rafi Taherian, associate vice president of Yale Hospitality at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
• Business & industry/foodservice management: Mike Barclay, president of Southern Foodservice Management, Inc., based in Birmingham, Ala.
• Specialty foodservice: Rick Abramson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Delaware North Companies, based in Buffalo, N.Y.
• Hotels & lodging: Wolfgang Lindlbauer, chief discipline leader for global operations for Marriott International, headquartered in Bethesda, Md.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary