Share Our Strength, the nonprofit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America, announced the 2010 Leadership Awards during its annual Conference of Leaders, held Oct. 17 to 18 in Washington, D.C.
Volt chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio makes his acceptance speech at the Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders
The awards recognize community volunteers, companies, and corporate executives who have made a significant impact on the nonprofit’s work to end childhood hunger in the United States. Among the foodservice industry winners were:
- 2010 Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit Leadership Award--Stephan Pyles, Stephan Pyles Restaurant, Samar by Stephan Pyles, Dallas, Texas
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out Leadership Award--Diana Hovey, senior vice president of marketing, Corner Bakery Café, Dallas, Texas
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Fundraising Innovation Leadership Award--Marc Buehler, CEO, Kona Grill, Scottsdale, Ariz.
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Advocate of the Year--Ray Blanchette, CEO, Ignite Restaurant Group, Houston, Texas
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Chef/Restaurateur of the Year--Bryan Voltaggio, chef/owner, Volt, Frederick, Md.
- 2010 Share Our Strength's Humanitarian of the Year--Jody Adams, chef/owner, Rialto Restaurant, Cambridge, Mass.
Rialto chef/owner Jody Adams accepts her award
For a complete list of the winners, visit www.strength.org/conference.
At City Harvest's 16th annual Bid Against Hunger restaurant tasting event on Oct. 19, the organization raised nearly $1.1 million. The money raised will provide food for more than 4.5 million meals for New York City's hungry.
The sold-out event, which took place at Manhattan's Metropolitan Pavilion, featured chefs and culinary experts from over 70 of Manhattan and Brooklyn's top restaurants, including Le Bernardin, Tribeca Grill, Craft, Blue Hill, Buttermilk Channel and Landmarc. The walk-around tasting and auction provided guests with the opportunity to see some of the city's top chefs in action.
City Harvest is the world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city's hungry men, women, and children.
The nation's nearly 1 million restaurants are encouraged to apply for the National Restaurant Association's (NRA) 2011 Restaurant Neighbor Award to be recognized for their community service contributions.
The annual award, which the NRA created more than a decade ago along with founding partner American Express, will honor four national winners with $5,000 contributions to their charitable projects. The categories from which winners will be selected are small business, mid-size business, large business/national chain and cornerstone humanitarian. Restaurants may apply online at www.restaurant.org/rna before Jan. 11.
Chef Ken Vedrinski of Trattoria Lucca, Charleston, S.C., and chef Laurent Gras of L20 Restaurant, Chicago, will partner for a charity dinner in Charleston on Oct. 24 to raise money for cancer charities.
Both chefs will start the day by riding in the Jerry Zucker Ride for Hope, a 100-k bike ride to benefit local cancer charities that begins and ends in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The chefs will then prepare a four-course meal with wine pairings at Trattoria Lucca that will also feature eight-time Olympian George Hincapie. A portion of the proceeds from the dinner will also go toward the Jerry Zucker Ride for Hope.
"Like many Americans, my family has been affected by cancer, so to participate in a sport I love and host a dinner with a world-renowned chef such as Laurent is an amazing way to give back to cancer charities," Vedrinski said in a statement.
Peter Davis, executive chef of Henrietta's Table at The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, Mass., was named "Sustainer of the Year" by Chefs Collaborative. The award recognizes a chef who understands that food choices emphasizing delicious, locally grown, seasonally fresh, and whole or minimally processed ingredients are good for us, for local farming communities, and for the planet.
Davis (pictured, left) is an avid conservationist with close ties to area fishing and farming communities, which is reflected in his dishes. In October 2008, he released a cookbook titled, "Fresh & Honest: Food from the Farms of New England and the Kitchen of Henrietta's Table." He also has been honored by the James Beard Foundation as one of the Best Hotel Chefs in America.
Chefs Collaborative works with chefs and the greater food community to celebrate local foods and foster a more sustainable food supply. Visit www.chefscollaborative.org for more information.
The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) will provide guidance and support to the National Restaurant Association (NRA) on animal-welfare issues, according to a recent announcement from the NRA. CFI will provide counsel to the NRA on animal-welfare issues. The organization's extensive consumer research and trust-building model will provide guidance for the NRA and its member companies.
"Animal welfare is an issue of interest to our members and consumers," said Scott DeFife, NRA's executive vice president for policy and government affairs, in a statement. "We appreciate the experience and insight that CFI brings to the issue and the support they can provide to the National Restaurant Association and our members."
CFI's member organizations represent all sectors of the food system including farmers and ranchers, processors and companies that deliver food products under local, regional and global brand names. For more information, visit www.foodintegrity.org.
Contributed by Michael J. Wildes, Wildes & Weinberg
By now, you know that the U.S. government has been performing widespread investigations and audits of employers to crack down on employment of undocumented noncitizens. You should also be aware that you must maintain Form I-9, an employment authorization verification form issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), for all your workers.
Failure to comply can be a very serious offense that may result in substantial civil or criminal penalties. Here are five steps to avoid that mistake:
- Read and refer to the Handbook for Employers (M-274). The M-274 is published by USCIS to help employers better understand the purpose of the I-9. For a one-page form, the I-9 can be surprisingly confusing. The handbook should answer many of your questions about compliance.
- Store your I-9 forms safely. It is best to keep your I-9 forms in one place--separate from other personnel files--so that sensitive information will not be unnecessarily revealed during an audit.
- Perform internal audits regularly. An internal audit is the best way to detect and correct errors. It may also demonstrate a "good faith effort" that could spare you serious penalties in the event of a government audit.
- Avoid employment practices that are considered discriminatory. Employees must be treated equally regardless of citizenship or immigration status, national origin or native language. Many well-intentioned actions can be considered discriminatory; for example, employers may not ask to see work authorization documents before hiring on the grounds that someone seems "foreign" or is not an American citizen.
- When in doubt, consult a professional. When it comes to I-9s, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. Consulting a professional could spare you hefty fines or even jail time.
Michael J. Wildes is managing partner of Wildes & Weinberg, an immigration law firm with offices in New York City and Englewood, N.J., and has counseled popular New York restaurants including Tavern on the Green, Dallas BBQ, Mr. Chow, and the Russian Tea Room.
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Chef's Stirrings is the official blog of Chef Magazine, the industry publication for restaurant and foodservice professionals. The blog offers culinary news and online exclusives from the editors ofChef.
Volt chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio makes his acceptance speech at the Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders
Rialto chef/owner Jody Adams accepts her award
