August 7 2019  |  People

Buddy's Kitchen names new President and VP Culinary and Innovation

By Rick Lundstrom

Joseph Chiovera

Food manufacturing company Buddy’s Kitchen, Inc. announced this week the retirement of Buddy’s CEO Dave Smith and the promotion of Chef Joseph Chiovera to President of the company.

In addition, Buddy’s hired Chef Joshua Rappaport of LSG Sky Chefs/Alaska Airlines to lead its Culinary and Design team.

Chiovera was promoted to President of Buddy’s Kitchen effective June 1. He holds a BA in Food Service Management and an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.

Chiovera spent eight years as Regional Food and Beverage Marketing Specialist for Marriot Management Services (Sodexo). He also has experience in convenience store supply, spending four years as Concept Development Manager for Sheetz and eight years at ExxonMobil On the Run.2000, where he ended as Foodservice Development Manager.

Additional experience includes three years as Senior Director of Fresh Foods for 7-Eleven, Inc. and two years with Alimentation Couche-Tard as Vice President of Food Service for Circle K Stores Inc. North America.

After forming XS Foodservice and Marketing in 2013, he worked with Buddy’s Kitchen on a consulting basis before being offered the full-time position of President of Emerging Channels and Innovation in 2017.

Chiovera’s contributions to Buddy’s growth and success include enhancing and expanding culinary offerings in all channels as well as a key role in breaking into the emerging channels network. He has set the footings for a custom product company with functionality from the sky to the street corner.

“Becoming President is the next step in this journey,” said Chiovera in a statement. “I am extremely passionate about working closely with our customers, addressing their challenges in the ever-changing and evolving world of food service in today’s demanding ‘I want it my way and I want it now!’ atmosphere. We will continue to dig into understanding needs and required functionality before developing platforms for our customers. This is the most excited I’ve been about food in my career. There are no rules and with the migration of other cultures coming into our country, flavors are exciting and limitless. Let’s go!”

Joshua Rappaport

Joshua Rappaport, the new VP Culinary and Innovation for Buddy's, is a graduate of Brown University as well as the New England Culinary Institute. After a decade of luxury hotel experience with Four Seasons and Fairmont, he transitioned to roles as Executive Chef and District Chef with Eurest/Compass. In these roles, he developed and oversaw corporate dining facilities for Microsoft and managed a team of 27 chefs and 32 locations, generating more than $100 million annual revenue. Since 2013, Rappaport has worked as Executive Chef for LSG Sky Chefs and served as Chef for Alaska Airlines. In his new role at Buddy’s Kitchen, he will lead the Culinary and Design team serving multiple airline, convenience store, big box, grocery and restaurant customers.

“From the moment I started working with Buddy's as a customer, I have been continually impressed with the customer-driven approach and spirit of teamwork which infuses everything the organization does,” said Rappaport. “I thrive on open communication and collaboration, which makes Buddy's a great fit for my own style of innovation and leadership. I look forward to bringing my culinary and airline experience to bear in such a positive and dynamic environment.”

Buddy’s Kitchen, based in Burnsville, Minnesota, specializes in custom culinary solutions. In 2017, the company was acquired by Canadian Premium Brands Holdings and is now part of the North American Sandwich Group along with SK Foods and Rayberns.

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