Albert Uster, a longtime veteran of the specialty food industry who most recently had been senior vice president of sales and marketing at White Toque, died recently after battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 49.
Uster spent much of his career at Albert Uster Imports and AUI Fine Foods, a specialty food company founded by his father, also named Albert Uster. It was acquired by Roland Foods in 2019. Uster also worked at Gourmet Foods International before joining White Toque, an importer and supplier of commercial kitchen ingredients and frozen food supplies for restaurants and hotels.
Before joining his father’s company, Uster was a purchasing manager for Procter & Gamble in Switzerland.
Uster’s father, a former chef at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., died in a plane crash in 2008.
The younger Albert Uster joined White Toque in 2019 as vice president of the baking and pastry category, according to his LinkedIn profile. He became vice president of sales in 2020 and was named to his most recent position in 2022.
Didier Amiel, president, White Toque, described Uster as “an ambassador for the culinary arts and the specialty food industry for all his life,” as his father had been.
“During the pandemic, he was the soul of our group, keeping everyone motivated and the team together,” said Amiel.
Uster is survived by his wife Maria and his two sons, Albert and Mathias.
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