Apr 20, 2015

Food Marketing Institute to Sponsor Live Competition at FMI Connect 

APRIL 20, 2015 – ARLINGTON, VA – Fifteen top grocery store chefs from around the country have been named finalists in the 2015 Supermarket Chef Showdown.  They now must compete for the title of Grand Champion during the annual FMI Connect conference in Chicago, June 8-11. 

“FMI started this competition in 2012 to shine a spotlight on the culinary talents of the chefs who are driving the fresh-prepared food trends,” said Dagmar Farr, senior vice president of member services at the Food Marketing Institute. “And, we could not be more delighted by the record-breaking response from chefs. We received close to 300 recipes from 95 individual chefs across the nation. Without a doubt, the competition is tough. The dishes that the 15 finalists will prepare at the cook-off in Chicago are superb. Our judges will certainly have a difficult job!”

The 15 finalists include:

  1. Dayton Carroll from Hy-Vee in Keokuk, Iowa.
  2. Keoni Chang from Foodland Super Markets, Ltd. in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
  3. Yolanda Chatman from Kroger Co. in Sugar Hill, Georgia.
  4. Elizabeth Davis from Hy-Vee in Davenport, Iowa.
  5. Timothy Donnelly from Publix Super Markets, Inc. in Lakeland, Florida.
  6. Brian Dunn from Roche Bros Supermarkets in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts.
  7. Amy Gleason from Hy-Vee in Omaha, Nebraska.
  8. Alois Maierhofer from Giant Eagle Supermarket in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  9. Jason Miller from Balducci’s Food Markets in Rockville, Maryland.
  10. Greg Retz from BiLo in Jacksonville, Florida.
  11. Greg Roach from Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
  12. Kirsten Shabaz from Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville, Minnesota.
  13. Glenn Terrell from Brookshire Grocery Company in Tyler, Texas.
  14. Bryan Williams from Rockbridge Hy-Vee in Columbia, Missouri.
  15. Dustin Miller from Giant Eagle Market District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

Each of these chefs represents one of three finalists in one of the five following categories: Breakfast to Go; Holiday Party Platters; Ethnic Dishes; Affordable Family Meals; and Desserts. Each has won a trip to Chicago to prepare their winning recipes at the 2015 Showdown, to be held June 10 at McCormick Place. The chef with the best recipe in each category will receive an additional prize of $1,000. One grand champion – the best in the entire competition – will win an expense-paid trip for two to the Italian Culinary Institute in Calabria, Italy.  

The FMI Supermarket Chef Showdown is made possible by sponsors, including McCormick & Company, Campbell Soup Company, The Hershey Company, Hillshire Brands Company, The J.M. Smucker Company, Mondelez International, The Pictsweet Company, and Good Cook kitchenware products.  Ingredients for this year’s cook off are being donated by Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.

The Supermarket Chef Showdown and Supermarket Chef Culinary Community are programs provided and owned by the Food Marketing Institute. FMI proudly advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. FMI’s U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion. Through programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations, FMI offers resources and provides valuable benefits to more than 1,225 food retail and wholesale member companies in the United States and around the world. FMI membership covers the spectrum of diverse venues where food is sold, including single owner grocery stores, large multi-store supermarket chains and mixed retail stores. For more information, visit www.fmi.org and for information regarding the FMI foundation, visit www.fmifoundation.org.

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