CHICAGO Jon Luther, chairman and chief executive of Dunkin’ Donuts parent Dunkin’ Brands, was named the 2007 foodservice operator of the year by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association last night.
He was selected for the honor, known as the Gold Plate, from among nine executives who had earlier been chosen as the tops within their respective industry sectors. Luther had been selected as the best in the Chain Fast Service category. Other winners of the segment-specific honor, known as the Silver plate, included Cameron Mitchell, president of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, in the Chain Full Service classification; Niki Leondakis, chief operating officer, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotels & Lodging; Susan Feniger, co-owner, Border Grill and Ciudad restaurants, Independent Restaurants; John Holeman, consolidated food manager, Monroe Correctional Complex of the Washington State Department of Corrections, Specialty Foodservice; Pavel Matustik, chief administrative officer, Santa Clarita (Calif.) Valley School Food Services Agency, Elementary & Secondary Schools; Rick Postiglione, CEO of corporate foodservices, Compass Group North America, Foodservice Management; Michael Rice, director of auxiliary services, Michigan State University, Colleges & Universities; and Kris Schroeder, director of nutrition services, Swedish Medical Center (Seattle, Wash.), Health Care.
The nine in effect served as nominees for the Gold Plate. The winner of that honor — the best of the best, as IFMA officials characterized honorees — was announced at a gala during the National Restaurant Association’s annual convention here.
In accepting the award, Luther read a list of friends, mentors, associates and relatives, including a grandma, who had shaped him during a long career that took him through the Popeyes fried-chicken chain and the airline feeding business of Delaware North. "No one gets here alone," he said.
