Students pursuing a career in the food-away-from-home business got a high-def picture of what their future might be like—and practical advice on plotting the journey—during a day-long event with leaders from the supplier side of the trade.
The industry’s present and future came together at IFMA The Food Away from Home Association’s Education Foundation Summit, a confab intended to let the industry’s would-be rookies learn from the sector’s established all-stars.
Now in its fourth year, the event refutes contentions that foodservice is just a place to earn a few bucks until a real career opportunity comes along. Industry veterans who’ve risen to senior positions within some of the nation’s biggest corporations shared their stories of stellar success, readily attesting they wouldn’t have chosen any other trade. And several noted they’d started in far different fields before switching to the food-away-from-home business.
They had an eager audience in the 50+ college students who came to the event from schools as far away as Florida and Arizona. The youngsters heard firsthand the career stories of standout successes like Herb Ring, National Foodservice Director for The Hershey Co.; Fleur Veldhoven, VP of Marketing-Food for Nestle Professional Solutions; and Eric Blumenthal, SVP of Foodservice Development & Growth for The Coca-Cola Co.
The advice was inspirational with a practical bent. “Someday you’ll be standing here at this podium,” said Hershey’s Ring, “and you’ll understand that the path you took was determined by the questions you asked.”
A panel of executives at earlier stages in their careers, participants in the association’s NexGen Execs program , also shared their industry stories.
Nuts-and-bolts advice for landing a foodservice job post-college was provided by a panel of human-resources executives from The Coca-Cola Co., Ecolab, and Kerry.
Despite the variety of perspectives, the presenters agreed that those at the start of their careers appeal more to potential employers if they demonstrate three attributes: Courage, confidence, and curiosity.
They also stressed the importance of candidates familiarizing themselves with the company that grants them an interview, and of having a positive social media identity that would-be employers might check for a more nuanced sense of the applicant’s personality. Several of the human-resources executives in attendance attested that they do exactly that to get a clearer picture of what a job candidate is like.
The information flowed both ways. A panel of students revealed what sort of job and potential employer would appeal to them, along with their reasons for pursuing a foodservice career.
Then students broke into groups of four or five to meet on a rotational basis with 11 of the seasoned executives in attendance. In 15-minute stretches, each group peppered the industry veterans with questions ranging from what should be in a business plan to how to find a mentor. Then they moved on to the next veteran to get his or her perspective.
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The foodservice executives shared their own barrage of questions, ranging from what places the youngsters hoped to visit while in Chicago to where they’ve already worked as hourlies.
The students expressed interest in a wide range of jobs within the industry. Many aired a desire to have their own restaurants, with a noticeable number of the would-be operators citing a coffee shop as the business they hoped to own and operate someday.
But at least as many cited alternative, less-obvious possibilities, such as landing a job as a food scientist or working as a restaurant marketer.
They also stressed their desires to find an employer with a compatible culture and a true dedication to positively affecting society. “I want a place where I can receive feedback and one that values me as a person,” said CJ Maple, a student from the University of Illinois.
He switched into the school’s hospitality curriculum after initially pursuing economics as his major. Maple explained that he made the switch, and was glad he did, because he wanted to deal with people, not numbers. “That’s what the hospitality industry is all about,” he said of that human factor.
Mark Molinaro, who’d brought a contingent of students from Northern Arizona University, described the event as “a master class in career building.”
“This is really a bridge” bringing tomorrow’s hires together with employers, said Molinaro, Executive Director of the Phoenix-area school. “That is what [the association] is trying to build.”
That assessment was not contested by IFMA The Food Away from Home Association CEO Phil Kafarakis. “We want to let the industry know we’re here and we’re ready,” Kafarakis said to the students.
Earlier in the day, Kafarakis, a lifelong food-away-from-home veteran, announced that plans for the 2026 Summit included adding an actual job fair.
All attending students at the Summit were given scholarships to the Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF), a long-time partner to IFMA The Food Away from Home Association. WFF’s CEO, Therese Gearhart, issued the scholarships and welcomed the students to attend a Leadership Development Workshop , plus enjoy WFF Membership for a year with full access to WFF Connect, the members-only digital learning community.
The day after the Summit, students were invited as guests to attend the association’s Gold and Silver Plate Awards, the annual gala recognizing the standout professionals from the trade’s various operator segments, from casual dining to K-12 foodservice.
There, they heard firsthand the success stories of remarkable industry executives including Ted Fowler, past CEO of Golden Corral; Kevin Hochman, CEO of Chili’s parent Brinker International; and Michael Skipworth, CEO of Wingstop.
The events dovetailed with the foodservice industry’s annual gathering, the National Restaurant Show.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.