Operators Earn 2023 IFMA Silver Plate Awards

The Int’l. Foodservice Manufacturers Association revealed the 69th class of IFMA Silver Plate Award winners today at the association’s 2023 Chain Operators EXchange in Tampa, Fla. This year’s recipients include the following:

• Independent Restaurants: Dickie Brennan, Owner & Managing Partner, Dickie Brennan & Co.
• Chain Full Service: David Deno, CEO, Bloomin’ Brands
• Business & Industry/Foodservice Management: Sharon Eliatamby, Senior Project Manager, The World Bank Group
• Colleges & Universities: Jill Horst, Executive Director, Campus Dining, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Travel & Leisure: Max Knoepfel, Executive Chef, Music City Center
• Chain Limited Service: Rob Lynch, President & CEO, Papa John’s Int’l.
• Grocery, Convenience, & Specialty Retail: Mendy Meriwether, Director, Fresh Food & Beverage, Wawa
• Elementary & Secondary Schools: Jessica Shelly, Director, Student Dining Services, Cincinnati Public Schools
• Healthcare: Randall J. Sparrow, Director, Food & Environmental Services, ProHealth Care

A panel of judges, comprised of trade press editors and previous award winners, choose the winners. One Silver Plate honoree will be selected as the IFMA Gold Plate winner, which will be announced at the 69th Annual IFMA Gold & Silver Plate Awards Celebration in Chicago in May.

“The IFMA Gold & Silver Plate Awards call out extraordinary achievement from operators across all segments of our industry,” says Phil Kafarakis, IFMA president and CEO, in a press release. “The Awards celebrate the best of food-away-from-home leadership and we’re very proud of the longevity and industry-wide respect the awards have maintained. I can’t wait to see which of these remarkable winners will receive the annual Gold Plate Award this May.”