Bon Appétit CEO Fedele Bauccio Wins EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 Award in Northern California
Award recognizes entrepreneurial excellence in Services category
Update: On November 15, Fedele was named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Retail and Consumer Products Award winner, one of 11 winners chosen from 250 regional award recipients.
Palo Alto, CA (June 11, 2014) – EY announced today that Fedele Bauccio, CEO and cofounder of the pioneering food service provider Bon Appétit Management Company, received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 Award in the Services category in Northern California. The awards recognize outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Prior to his win, Bauccio was selected as a finalist from more than 100 entrants by a panel of independent judges. (Watch his EY video.)
“I am extremely proud to receive this award, but it truly belongs to the 14,500 chefs, managers, and employees; our hundreds of clients, and the more than 1,400 small farmers and ranchers who make up the Bon Appétit family,” said Bauccio. “They’re the ones who’ve made my dream of providing ‘food service for a sustainable future’ possible.”
Now in its 28th year, the program has honored the inspirational leadership of such entrepreneurs as Howard Schultz of Starbucks Coffee Company, Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc., and Mindy Grossman of HSN. Recent US national winners include Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn; Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani; and 2013 winner Hamid Moghadam, CEO and Chairman of Prologis.
Bauccio cofounded Bon Appétit Management Company in 1987 on the then-revolutionary premise that he would hire professionally trained chefs to cook restaurant-quality food — from scratch, using the freshest, most flavorful ingredients — for corporate employees and university students. “People told me I was nuts,” he recalled. Naysayers thought he would never be able to attract talented chefs, and that few businesses would view providing lunch as anything other than a necessity to be done as cheaply as possible. Bauccio, however, was confident that if he gave his chefs the freedom to cook what they wanted, with no “menu cycles” and using top-quality ingredients, they’d join him. He also believed that in the nascent culture of Silicon Valley, offering quality food would soon become a differentiator for employers, and someday even a requirement.
“I am extremely proud to receive this award, but it truly belongs to the 14,500 chefs, managers, and employees; our hundreds of clients, and the more than 1,400 small farmers and ranchers who make up the Bon Appétit family.”
He was right. Bon Appétit’s high-profile clients in 32 states now include corporations such Google, Oracle, eBay, Starbucks, and Electronic Arts; universities and colleges such as the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and Johns Hopkins University; and beloved cultural institutions including the Exploratorium, Getty Center, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
A leader in environmentally sound sourcing policies, under Bauccio’s direction Bon Appétit has developed programs addressing local purchasing, the overuse of antibiotics, sustainable seafood, the food and climate change connection, humanely raised meat and eggs, and farmworker welfare. It has received numerous awards for its work, from organizations including the James Beard Foundation, Chefs Collaborative, Natural Resources Defense Council, Seafood Choices Alliance, and The Humane Society of the United States.
As a Northern California award winner, Bauccio is now eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 15, 2014.
About Bon Appetit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Company is an on-site restaurant company offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, and specialty venues. Based in Palo Alto, CA, Bon Appétit has more than 500 cafés in 32 states.
Contact: Bonnie Powell, Director of Communications, Bon Appétit Management Company, [email protected], (650) 798-8022
About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are sponsored in the United States by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America. In Northern California sponsors include King & Spalding, RoseRyan, Scherzer International, Smart Business Network, Inc., SolomonEdwards and The Big Picture.
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information, please visit ey.com.