LA & SF Specialty hosts foodservice professionals

LOS ANGELES — An estimated 1,000 chefs, purchasing directors, restaurant owners and other hotel and restaurant representatives sampled products, rated top chefs’ dishes and learned how to control food waste at an event called Cultivating Our Community, sponsored by LA & SF Specialty.

Each year, the Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based foodservice distributor hosts a customer event, said Rick Fisher, vice president of sales and marketing.

In alternate years, the company takes chefs and restaurateurs on farm tours.

This year, guests were able to sample products from 81 large and small growers and artisan suppliers during a vendor showcase on May 16.

They also rated dishes prepared by local chefs in a chef/charity challenge. Ray Garcia, chef at Broken Spanish restaurant, Los Angeles, received $5,000 for an area charity, Bracken’s Kitchen Inc., Huntington Beach, Calif., which rescues potential food waste and turns it into nutritious meals for those in need.

Charities represented by other chef competitors each received a $1,000 donation.

During a panel discussion, guests learned about industry- and government-sponsored programs designed to combat food waste.

Several programs have been developed to divert food waste from landfills, where 97% of food waste ends up, said Amy Hammes, recycling specialist with Los Angeles-based EcoSet Consulting LLC.

Food waste makes up nearly 20% of local landfills, she said.

“Waste isn’t waste until we decide it’s waste,” added Claire Cummings, waste programs manager for Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bon Appetit Management Co.

She touted programs to repurpose food and mentioned the company’s Imperfectly Delicious program, which discourages tossing out cosmetically flawed produce.

“There needs to be innovation on all levels,” she said.

Cultivating Our Community was created to inspire chefs and employees of LA & SF Specialty, help them understand where food comes from and learn best practices, Fisher said.

The company distributes 7,500 products throughout California, Arizona and Nevada, said Jin Ju Wilder, director of marketing.

Besides traditional fresh produce, the company carries several specialty items, cheeses, noodles, flour, meats and a wide range of other products.

The firm recently opened a 260,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, Calif., to serve the Bay Area.