Specialty Food Association recognized its five 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients and nine Hall of Fame inductees during the Summer Fancy Food Show, Sunday.
“As a not-for-profit trade association, the SFA’s purpose together with our members is to shape the future of food,” said Bill Lynch, SFA president, during the event. “The honorees we recognize today embody the spirit of that purpose through their many contributions to the industry and the legacies that they have built that inspire us all. Their stories remind us that the specialty food industry is a community where everyone, regardless of background or experience, can and does find success.”
This year’s Hall of Fame inductees, announced by Jill Giacomini Basch, SFA board officer and owner of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, are as follows:
• Shawn Askinosie, Askinosie Chocolate
• Alisa Barry, Bella Cucina Artful Food
• Domonic Biggi, Beaverton Foods
• John A. Ciano, World’s Best Cheeses/Crystal Food Imports
• Dave Hirschkop, Dave’s Gourmet Inc.
• Agnes Saghatelian, Valley Lahvosh Baking Co.
• Giuseppe and Savatore Salzarulo, Lioni Latticini Inc.
• Lynn Giacomini Stray, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese
“The Hall of Fame’s mission is to honor individuals whose accomplishments impact contributions, innovations, and successes within the specialty food industry deserve praise and recognition,” said Giacomini Basch.
Shawn McBride, IWG council member and past Lifetime Achievement Award winner, introduced this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winners. The honorees were selected from members of SFA's Hall of Fame. They are:
• Donato Cinelli, Universal Marketing S.R.L.
• Lou Foah, Foah International LLC
• Sam Mogannam, Bi-Rite Family of Businesses
• Alain Sinturel, 3 Little Pigs/Les Trois Petits Cochons
• Eli Zabar, Eli’s Bread
Cinelli was thankful for his ongoing relationship with the association.
“I would like to thank the Specialty Food Association for the many years of supporting me and for the collaboration I have had with them throughout the years,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to work to promote Italy through the Fancy Food Show, which I believe is the best exhibition in the world.”
Foah shared that his father was the Association’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award inductee and that he was honored to be recognized for the same award. He also remarked on his 34-year career which involved frequent collaboration with SFA.
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