Bon Appétit Management Company

A few decades ago, when the majority of hogs lived outdoors and were able to eat whatever they wanted, pork was deliciously fatty and juicy. As industrial agriculture grew, pork became known as “the other white meat.”Director of Culinary Operations Bernie Laskowski from the Art Institute of Chicago would like to do something about this state of porky affairs.

Writer Jessica Battilana spent a day trying to keep up with Bon Appétit CEO Fedele Bauccio for this in-depth profile that 7×7 Magazine published in its February food issue.

Students at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, are already well-versed about the importance of sourcing food locally, but it’s not often they get to actually visit one of the farms that supplies the café and see first-hand what it means to run a family farm.

Over time, Valentine’s Day changed from a day to celebrate martyrs named Valentine to a romantic day filled with hearts, flowers, cards, and of course, chocolate. But in the past few years, chocolate production has been under public scrutiny because of numerous reports about human trafficking and child labor associated with growing and harvesting cacao. Just as Valentine’s Day has evolved, it’s time to change our chocolate habits and support organizations with fair, humane, and sustainable practices.

You’ve no doubt heard the phrase “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”Well, a few students at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, CA, got lemons and went way beyond lemonade to create desserts, sandwiches, salads, and more.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Larga Vista Ranch in Boone, Colorado along with some of the Bon Appétit team from Colorado College. Doug Wiley, who owns Larga Vista Ranch along with his wife Kim, is one of those passionate, charismatic people that I could listen to all day. A fourth-generation farmer working land that has been in his family for 95 years, he is well versed in everything from the benefits of raw milk to climate change and food safety.

Mother-son team Elizabeth MacAlister and Mark Gillman run Cato Corner Farm — a small, pasture-based, and family-owned cheese operation in Colchester, CT.

Located in the heart of ranching country, Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, is proud to support the work of grass-based ranchers like Cheryl and Robert Cosner of Upper Dry Creek Ranch.

Last fall I had the pleasure of traveling to beautiful Colombia to visit the birthplace of the delicious Fair Trade Certified™ Cordillera chocolate with which Bon Appétit Management Company chefs bake. Now that I’ve gone over the basics in my first post and told you all about farming cacao in my second, I can now talk about the social responsibility aspect of the business.

At the crack of dawn one Saturday morning, a group of Gallaudet University students visited Even’ Star Organic Farm, a longtime Farm to Fork partner of Bon Appétit Management Company, to learn about where exactly their food comes from.