Judges Announced for Inaugural F&B@Sea Awards
Taking place on the 11 April during F&B@Sea, a one-of-a-kind cruise F&B experience, the inaugural F&B@Sea Awards aim to recognise leadership and innovation within the global food and beverage cruise community. Open to both cruise lines and suppliers and sponsored by Campari Group, the awards are comprised of eight different categories, ranging from Most Sustainable Product & Wellness Pioneer to F&B Maverick of the Year.
This year’s judges include:
- Kimberly Brock Brown, CEPC, CCA, AAC, American Culinary Federation, Board of Directors member and immediate past National President
- Margie Jones, Collins College of Hospitality Management, Interim Dean, “The Wine Professor”
- Rudi Scholdis, Kenoz Caviar Development Center, Casa de Amalia & Amandine Bistró, Culinary Director, Maitre Cuisinier
- Bret Thorn, Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, Senior Food & Beverage Editor
- Rick Welch, RMW Global Consulting, President
- Katherine Wojcik, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Luxury & Lifestyle, Director of Beverage Programs + Partnerships, Certified Sommelier
- David Yeskel, Several trade and consumer publications, Travel Journalist, “The Cruise Guru”
Ken Taylor, Senior Vice President, MarkeTeam and Holly Payne, Deputy Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Seatrade Cruise Review will be presenting the awards on 11 April 2024. More information on the judges can be found here.
This year’s awards are sponsored by Campari Group, a major player in the beverage industry with a portfolio of 50+ premium and super premium brands, including Aperol, Appleton Estate, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey, and Grand Marnier.
A spokesperson for the company said: “We are thrilled and honored to be a sponsor of the F&B@Sea 2024 awards. At Campari, we believe in celebrating excellence, innovation, and the passion that drives the food and beverage industry. ‘The F&B@Sea awards are a testament to the relentless pursuit of perfection within the industry, and Campari is proud to support and acknowledge these exceptional talents.”
The annual F&B@Sea event takes place April 10-11 at Miami’s Mana Wynwood Convention Center. This two-day event connects cruise lines with suppliers across cruise drinking and dining in a vibrant, immersive marketplace. Plus, attendees will sample goods, witness live demos, and become fluent in F&B trends. F&B@Sea runs in tandem with Seatrade Cruise Global from April 8-11 at Miami Beach Convention Center, with a shuttle bus running between the two venues.
F&B@Sea, now in its second year, was developed in close consultation with cruise lines, food and beverage stakeholders, and culinary leaders with support from Cruise Lines International Association, Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association and industry consulting leader MarkeTeam.
For more information on F&B@Sea or the awards, visit: www.seatradecruiseevents.com/fnbsea.
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Fortune International Appoints Top Executives
Fortune International, LLC, the country’s leading processor, distributor and importer of quality seafood, meats and gourmet products, has appointed six senior executives to further strengthen and expand the company’s financial, operational and marketing capabilities.
Joel Jorgensen
Fortune named Joel Jorgensen as chief financial officer, Richard Deferia as chief revenue officer and Kevin Hoople as chief information officer, all reporting to President and CEO Sean O’Scannlain. The company also named Ethan Farber as vice president of marketing, Steven Gwozdz as vice president of frozen seafood and Trey Kidd as market vice president of Texas.
“We are very pleased to announce the addition of six exceptional new senior executives to our leadership, corporate and regional teams at the start of 2024,” O’Scannlain said. “We continue to attract the industry’s very best talent, which allows us to invest in and build stronger customer relationships, accelerate business momentum and drive growth into new markets. I look forward to supporting my new colleagues in their new responsibilities. This is an exciting way to start off the new year.”
Jorgensen will oversee overall financial and operational management at Fortune, as well as play a key leadership role in strategic business planning, M&A execution and integration. He brings over 15 years of financial executive experience in food distribution and packaging to Fortune.
Previously, Jorgensen was chief financial officer at B2B Industrial Packaging, LLC in Addison, Ill., where he led and supported the acquisition of 16 companies and built out the company’s leadership, treasury and HR functions. Before that, he was CFO at Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors in Detroit. He received his B.A. in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa.
Richard Deferia
Deferia will lead and support the continued national expansion of the Fortune Fish & Gourmet distribution business. He has over 15 years of experience in the food and restaurant industries, starting his career as a chef before transitioning into sales and marketing. Before Fortune, Deferia spent 13 years at Sysco, starting his career as a marketing associate before working up to Regional vice president of sales mideast region.
Prior, he was an executive chef at Dockside Jack’s and JB’s Wharf in Michigan. Deferia received a degree of culinary arts from the French Culinary Institute and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame.
Kevin Hoople
Hoople will be responsible for overseeing Fortune’s IT, information security teams and strategy, with an initial focus on data collection infrastructure. He has been an IT executive in the food and distribution industries for over 20 years.
Prior to Fortune, he spent 14 years at Lawson Products, starting as a director of ERP integration & deployment and rising eventually to chief information officer. Before Lawson, Hoople spent 10 years at Reyes Holdings L.L.C. and Martin-Brower L.L.C. He received his B.A. in management computer systems from the University of Wisconsin.
Farber brings nearly 20 years of experience in brand and creative strategy, strategic planning and business insights to the company. Prior to joining Fortune, he was Senior vice president and partner in creative planning at FleishmanHillard in Chicago. Before that, he was executive vice president and U.S. head of planning at BCW Global, formerly Burson-Marsteller, for nearly six years. He is an alumnus of Bowdoin College.
Experienced in front-line retail operations, Gwozdz is a senior food industry leader with expertise across fresh commodities and other categories. Before joining Fortune, he was a category manager III of Seafood Merchandising at Stop and Shop Supermarkets. Gwozdz also spent three years as category manager III of meat merchandising at Giant Food Stores and, before that, as a manager of meat merchandising at Price Chopper/Market 32. He is an alumnus of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams.
Based in the Greater Houston area, Kidd is a proven sales and operations leader with over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. Before joining Fortune to oversee Texas operations, he was general manager for three years at BakeMark, a manufacturer and distributor of bakery ingredients. Prior to that, he spent nearly 22 years at Sysco, rising from a marketing associate to vice president of field sales for the Southern Market. He received his B.S. in agriculture from Texas A&M University.
Fortune International, LLC, is the parent operating company of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a full-service processor and distributor providing white-tablecloth restaurants, private clubs, elegant hotels and gourmet retail stores with the finest quality fresh, live and frozen seafood and gourmet foods. The company handles more than 18,000 unique products daily and delivers to more than 35,000 customer locations throughout the United States with a fleet of refrigerated vehicles, and nationally through FedEx and common carriers. For more information, visit www.fortunefishco.net.
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Prime Shrimp to Give Away Free Products to New Orleans Winner
Prime Shrimp, a New Orleans-based maker of seasoned and sauced frozen shrimp products, is ringing in the New Year with its Free Shrimp for a Year 2024 giveaway. One lucky winner from the greater New Orleans area will receive a 1-year supply of free shrimp equal to 4 pounds per month. Consumers can enter via Instagram or Tik Tok on or before Dec. 30. The brand has partnered with New Orleans-based content creator Alex Robinson to spread the news via Tik Tok and Instagram.
“Shrimp is a staple in the Gulf South, and we want to create exciting new options that offer value and convenience, so shrimp is an easy choice to cook even more often,” said Matt Rosenthal, commercial manager at Prime Shrimp. “With this giveaway, we hope to share what we’ve created with the greater New Orleans community, and to create excitement about an innovative new shrimp product.”
Prime Shrimp, a company steeped in nearly 80 years of seafood industry knowledge, is working to revolutionize the seafood category with a fresh take on shrimp offerings. The brand offers sustainably sourced seasoned and sauced shrimp in vacuum-packed boil-in-bag technology unlike anything else seen in common seafood aisles today. With this unique value-added product, Prime Shrimp combines the best of quality and convenience to make shrimp a quick protein option for home chefs of any skill level.
The winner of the Free Shrimp for a Year 2024 giveaway will receive eight packages per month of any flavor of Prime Shrimp’s frozen boil-in-bag seasoned and sauced shrimp products delivered directly to their home for a total of 12 months, beginning January.
All shoppers are invited to enter via Instagram or Tik Tok. To enter the giveaway, shoppers must follow Prime Shrimp on Instagram and/or Tik Tok and comment on the giveaway post tagging two friends on or before December 30.
The potential winner will be chosen at random and notified by social media direct message on or around Jan. 3. The notification will be sent to the profile used to enter the giveaway via Instagram or Tik Tok comments. After the potential winner responds to the email and their eligibility is confirmed, Prime Shrimp will provide further instructions on obtaining their 12-month supply of shrimp. Shrimp may be dispatched monthly or all at once, according to shopper preference.
For simple steps on how to enter, visit https://www.primeshrimp.com/blogs/news/free-shrimp-for-a-year-sweepstakes-2024
Regardless of the giveaway, all shoppers can save on shrimp throughout the holiday season with weekly sale promotions from Prime Shrimp now through the new year. Available in a range of sauced and seasoned varieties, Prime Shrimp’s frozen shrimp are carefully peeled, deveined and packed with precision in the United States, delivering unmatched freshness and quality.
Customers can shop all seven flavors plus a variety of merchandise and gift card options with the flexibility and convenience of Prime Shrimp’s website. Every shopper’s first order ships free. For more information about the giveaway and holiday promotions, visit Prime Shrimp’s website.
Prime Shrimp makes restaurant-quality seafood accessible at home. Headquartered in New Orleans, Prime Shrimp was created by the original shrimp experts. We’ve combined three generations in the shrimp processing game with easy cooking methods, sustainable sourcing, and world-class flavors, so food lovers everywhere can add delicious, clean seafood to any meal. In an era when increasingly fast-paced lifestyles mean less time for home-cooked meals, Prime Shrimp upscales convenience food, so even busy and beginner home chefs can eat gourmet any day of the week.
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