Bon Appétit Management Company

I had believed that social change came from the world of nonprofits. How could do-gooders both stay true to their vision and make money? Didn’t that take grants and volunteers and 501c3 status? It was exciting to see true sustainability at work: a for-profit business model that was also loyal to a socially responsible mission. From then on, I knew I wanted to work for Bon Appétit.

Birthdays are a great time for reflection. When Bon Appétit Management Company was founded 25 years ago, in 1987, our priorities were cooking restaurant-quality food from scratch using the freshest ingredients, and delivering outstanding customer service. In 2004, we formally committed to sustainability, which we defined as “food choices that celebrate flavor, affirm regional cultural traditions, and support local communities without compromising air, water or soil, now and in the future.” We’ve been looking ahead to our next 25 years, and asking our teams around the country — and our guests — for their input on what should be next.

Making healthy choices often seems tough for college students. Between social activities, doing homework, and participating in extracurricular, personal well-being can often take a back seat. But Bon Appétit makes the healthy choice the easy, default choice in the dining hall and we were recently recognized for our efforts.

This summer, Bon Appétit chefs gathered around the country to learn the ins and outs of cooking authentic Indian cuisine. At Emmanuel College in Boston, I joined a group of New England chefs attending the culinary training, titled “Flavors from the Turmeric Trail” and given by Raghavan Iyer, a native of Mumbai and a celebrated chef, author, and teacher.

When it comes to food, students know what they like – and what they don’t. Long gone are the times where students would eat mystery meat, things covered in gravy, and canned vegetables. Thanks to Bon Appétit, they don’t have to.

Although farmers planted corn in record numbers this year — the most acres since 1937 — the current drought affecting the Midwest means yields are predicted to be well below last year’s. However, very little of the corn planted in the Midwest is edible: most of it goes to feed animals or for fuel. But there are farmers who grow against the grain, so to speak. Last year, when Bon Appétit District Manager Sam Currie discovered Hutterian Brethren Farms had a surplus of the sweetest corn he’d ever had, he jumped at the opportunity to find a way for our accounts to use it.

Bon Appétit Management Company was founded in 1987, by two food service industry veterans — CEO Fedele Bauccio and President Ernie Collins, later joined by COO Michael Bauccio — who had a vision of different kind of company. They set out to bring restaurant-quality food to corporations, universities, and specialty venues. Bon Appétit has become an industry pioneer in many other ways: the first to commit to local food, sustainable seafood, and cage-free eggs, and the first to tackled thorny issues such as food’s role in climate change, the reduction of antibiotics in agriculture, and farmworker rights. To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we worked with a great team at InHouse Creative Services to make this video about how we got here, and where we want to go next: The Story of Bon Appétit Management Company from Bon Appétit Management Company […]

Three years ago, I was getting ready to graduate from college with a major in anthropology, which everyone swore was a death sentence for a job search.

I remember clearly the serendipitous meeting that landed me with the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation. Through a series of extremely random events, I attended a presentation by Bon Appétit CEO and founder Fedele Bauccio, Vice President Maisie Greenawalt, and Foundation Director Helene York. In that one hour, I learned more about the problems of our food system than I had in my entire college career — and that’s despite the fact that I had long been interested in sustainability issues and had even spent time living with organic coffee farmers in Mexico. These three corporate executives talked about things like rBGH, reduced antibiotics in animal husbandry, and sustainable seafood [BAP1] — some issues I had never even heard of. I was blown away.

Summer is almost here and that means one thing: it’s time to move cooking outdoors. Grilling is a great way to infuse flavor into food while keeping your house cool. Burgers are the iconic grill food, but some of our local Bay Area chefs are getting much more creative and grilling everything from fruit to lettuce!

Bon Appétit Management Company CEO Fedele Bauccio is proud to be among the 70 leading chefs, authors, food policy experts, nutritionists, CEOs, and environment and health organizations that have today sent an open letter to Congress urging lawmakers to revise the draft of the 2012 Farm Bill — which should more properly called the Food Bill, as it is the largest and most significant piece of legislation affecting what, how, and even whether Americans eat.