IFMA The Food Away from Home Association has proudly presented the Gold & Silver Plate Awards for over 70 years. The Silver Plate Awards recognize professionals who have demonstrated foodservice industry segment leadership and noteworthy achievement and have made lasting contributions to the advancement of the industry. 

The deadline for nominations is September 30, 2025. 

For questions related to the Gold & Silver Plate Awards, please contact programs@ifmaworld.com.

Nominators


Open to the Industry



Nominations may be submitted by anyone in the industry.



Brand Recognition



Association members who nominate Silver Plate winners will be recognized in press mentions, during the event, and in pre- and post-event materials. 

Celebration



Association member nominators will also be asked to escort their award recipient down the red carpet at the awards celebration. 


Watch: How to Craft a Winning Silver Plate Nomination



Award Eligibility

  • Anyone, worldwide, engaged in the active ownership, management, supervision of or employment at an establishment in one of the designated operator award categories listed is eligible 
  • The candidate must be actively employed at the time of jury selection. 
  • Nominees who were not selected from previous years may be renominated. 

Awards Criteria

The Silver Plate Awards recognize professionals who have demonstrated foodservice industry segment leadership and noteworthy achievement and have made lasting contributions to the advancement of the industry. Silver Plate nominees should:

  • Have spent at least two years in foodservice operations management within the nominated segment
  • Have hands-on experience and knowledge that is well founded within the foodservice industry
  • Show a commitment to foodservice as a lifetime career
  • Maintain the highest standards of ethical and moral behavior
  • Demonstrate outstanding leadership and innovation in such areas as financial & operational management, human resource programs and menu/concept execution
  • Demonstrate strong support of association and industry-related activities in order to promote, protect and enhance the industry and its image
  • Demonstrate a sense of civic pride through voluntary involvement in societal activities

Award Category Definitions

Operators in nine specific categories of foodservice may be awarded Silver Plates. All categories may not be recognized every year, depending on the number and quality of candidates. That decision is made by the jury. 

Independent Restaurants /
Multi-Concept Operator

  • Includes companies with up to 9 foodservice locations under the same or different names/trademarks

  • Companies with 10 or more units under the same name are considered chains

  • Establishments generally have:

    • Serve dinner as the primary meal, with lunch also offered

    • Offer custom cooking of a full or broad menu

    • Provide wait service to seated patrons

    • Employ professional chefs or cooks

    • Serve adult beverages in a dining room or cocktail lounge

    • Create a relaxed ambiance for business or entertainment dining
Chain Full Service

  • Includes companies with 10 or more foodservice establishments under the same or different names/trademarks

  • Must maintain some level of centralized or multi-regional control

  • Establishments generally have:

    • A moderate price point (based on average check per diner)

    • On-premise dining with wait staff

    • Pre-prepared and/or scratch-made food

    • Menus that may be specialized, narrowly focused, or mainstream

    • Adult beverages may or may not be served

  • Eligible concepts include casual dining, family dining, fine dining, coffee houses, steak houses, pancake houses, and sandwich shops
Chain Limited Service

  • Includes companies with 10 or more foodservice establishments under the same name/trademark

  • Must maintain some degree of centralized or multi-regional control

  • Lunch is typically the primary meal, though dinner and/or breakfast may also be served

  • Service is limited (not full service)

  • Eligible concepts include hamburger, chicken, pizza, or ethnic food chains (e.g., Mexican, Chinese), as well as sandwich shops, doughnut shops, and frozen custard, yogurt, or ice cream stores
Healthcare
  • Healthcare: Includes most non-profit, for-profit and government-run public hospitals – patient, employee and guest feeding.
  • Retirement Centers, Nursing Homes & Senior-Living Facilities: Includes skilled nursing homes, nursing and personal care facilities, and residential care facilities – patient, employee and guest feeding.
Elementary & Secondary Schools
  • Includes foodservice in elementary and secondary schools (Grades K-12) and related public and private school systems.
Colleges & Universities
  • Includes higher education institutions beyond Grade 12.
  • Includes foodservice served in public and private colleges, universities, vocational, business and technical schools, and military and military academy foodservice. 
Business & Industry/Foodservice Management

  • Includes all operators within the corporate dining sector and senior foodservice management personnel with multi-segment responsibilities. Category encompasses:

    • Independent corporate dining self-operators
    • On-premise office and in-plant liaisons
    • Executive or regional management-level personnel from professional foodservice management companies with multi-segment responsibility (i.e. operations in more than one segment such as health care, colleges and universities, correctional feeding, etc.)

IMPORTANT: Foodservice management company personnel with multi-unit or single-unit responsibility in one segment only must be nominated in that segment category.
Grocery, Convenience, & Specialty Retail
  • Includes foodservice professionals from such operations as:
    • convenience stores
    • supermarket foodservice operations
    • department store and retail store foodservices (ie. in-retail coffee shops, specialty counters).
Travel & Leisure Foodservice
  • Includes hotel and motel management and foodservice professionals at every level of foodservice in establishments that provide both lodging and foodservice to the general public.
  • Examples: banquet, off-premises caterers, room service, full service, coffee houses, snack shops, lounges, cruise ships, clubs, etc. Also includes foodservice leaders in establishments at theme parks, stadiums and sports arenas; museums; and airlines.


Nominate an Operator