We’re rallying together to celebrate the brightest stars from our family of 28 companies. Award winners receive star treatment during their entire stay in Orlando, which is capped off by Compass Night of Stars – a gala filled with tributes to their accomplishments.

Please join us in congratulating this year’s award winners. And to all our Compass associates, you are the heart of our business, and we thank you for winning every day with your creativity, innovation and dedication.

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RDNs make a difference in countless ways in our business and in the lives of our guests. Supporting premature babies with the nutrition they need to thrive. Inspiring a lifelong love of fruits and vegetables in elementary students. Teaching college students how to cook with flavor.  Sourcing the best snacks to fuel the workforce throughout the day. Helping seniors navigate ever-changing food and medication interactions. Developing new recipes that support a commitment to reducing our carbon impact. Ensuring we implement industry-leading food safety practices. Collaborating on research initiatives. Training our associates to serve guests with food allergies, safely. Bringing innovative technology solutions to personalizing the nutrition experience.

“Our Registered Dietitians are an integral part of our Compass Group family. They make it possible for us to care for our people, our culture and our communities through healthy eating and living,” said Aleshia McMath, Compass Group VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “Whether it’s building and celebrating cultural awareness and the connection to food, collaborating with our culinarians to develop delicious recipes, or educating us on the importance of access to healthy food.”

In 2021, Compass Group founded the RDN Diversity Equity and Inclusion Community Network. This team of cross-sector RDNs will lead efforts to drive diversity, equity and inclusion within the company, profession and industry. We are committed to:

• Encouraging, supporting and mentoring diverse students pursuing dietetics careers 
• Attracting and retaining diverse candidates to the Compass internship program and RDN positions
• Expanding cultural humility across food and nutrition services 

“I’m so proud of the many Compass Group RDNs who have chosen to give back to our profession through volunteer work in their communities and servant leader roles in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,” said VP of Nutrition and Wellness Deanne Brandstetter, MBA, RDN, CDN, FAND. “We are a family dedicated to making change in the personal health of the patients, guests, students and clients we work with, while fostering positive changes in planetary health. We’re curious and innovative as well, embracing emerging technology, scientific discovery and always asking ourselves, ‘What’s next?’”

As the world’s largest foodservice provider, Compass Group offers a diversity of positions and career paths for RDNs.

“I am proud to work for Compass Group where the opportunities are endless. There is a place for everyone to make a lifelong difference,” said Director of Talent Acquisition Lisa Abbay, MBA, RDN, LDN, FAND. “I started my career with Compass 22 years ago as a hospital Registered Dietitian.  I’ve had many opportunities from clinical nutrition to foodservice, and now I’ve landed my dream job in talent acquisition. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I’d be leading a team of hungry, inquisitive and humble recruiters as a Director of Talent Acquisition!”

Interested in growing your career with Compass Group? Visit compassgroupcareers.com to get started!

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Congratulations to our amazing chefs and thank you to our partners!

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Compass chefs have trained in the most prestigious restaurants, prepared meals for presidents, celebrities and dignitaries, and now bring that best-in-class expertise to the 5.5 billion meals they serve globally each year, at every milestone in guests’ lives.

“Our chefs are leaders – in our kitchens, in our company, in our community and in our industry. They inspire and nourish millions of people each and every day – one meal at a time.” Rick Post, COO Compass Group.

The week of celebrations offers a platform for clients, customers and co-workers to thank all the people behind the food. Three extraordinary chefs will be named Compass Chef of the Year based, respectively, on outstanding dedication to growing the business, developing their teams, and creating a positive impact throughout the food system. Thousands of nominations will be cast this year through the digital voting booth found here. In addition, leaders in each sector selected SuperChefs to represent the Compass family of companies.

“At Compass, food is at the core of what we do. And we have some of the best chefs in the world, creating innovative dishes, delivering healthy nutritious meals, and sharing their passion for food with our consumers and our people,” Dominic Blakemore, CEO Compass Group PLC.

Chefs will share their passion with guests through in-house interactive cooking demos as they showcase their favorite meals with Menu Takeovers and interactive Appreciation Stations designed to drive the customer experience as they highlight our chefs.

Follow the celebration on social media with #LoveYourChef and watch a video message from our Celebrity Chef partner, José Andrés.

“Our people – especially our great chefs – are the heart of our company and our industry. Chef Appreciation Week is the perfect opportunity to recognize and thank all of the people behind the food,” Gary Green, CEO Compass Group North America.

About Chef Appreciation Week
In 2013, Donald and Lisa Crutch of the National Pink Tie Organization “Chefs Against Cancer” division, co-founded Chef Appreciation Week to honor and recognize all those serving in the culinary industry for their dedication, love of food and willingness to serve their community.

About Compass Group North America
Based in Charlotte, NC, Compass Group North America is the leading food and support services company with over 265,000 associates and $18.6 billion in revenues in 2018. Compass Group North America was named the No. 1 food company on Fast Company’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in addition to ranking on Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity and Best Employers for New Graduates lists. With close to 600,000 associates worldwide, its parent company, UK-based Compass Group PLC had revenues of £23.2 billion ($31.4 billion USD) in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.

Media Inquiries
Laura Moore, Sr. Communications Mgr.
Laura.Moore2@compass-usa.com
704-351-8660

Jessica Rainbolt, Communications Mgr.
Jessica.Rainbolt@compass-usa.com
860-995-7351

The post Compass Group to Celebrate Chef Appreciation Week 2019 appeared first on Compass USA.

The company selected Charlotte over Atlanta and Washington because the city had two direct flights to Britain and company officials believed staff in Spartanburg would more likely relocate to Charlotte than the other locations in order to keep the team intact, and the majority did relocate.

Compass Group USA chose a new office building only minutes from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, initially occupying two floors with about 75 employees. Today, the company has over 2,000 corporate employees who fill that entire building along with a sister building nearby. Nationwide, the company’s employee base has grown from about 18,000 in 1994 to more than 267,000 today.

Another key has been Compass Group USA’s expertise in purchasing, a strength it brought from Britain and enhanced when it happened upon Foodbuy in 2000.

Compass Group purchased Foodbuy in 2001. Today, it is the largest foodservice and hospitality procurement organization in North America, with managed volume of more than $20 billion annually. Serving Compass Group and other organizations, Foodbuy offers sophisticated ordering, tracking, compliance tools, and data platforms.

Woven through the Compass Group USA story of purchasing expertise, employee engagement, client retention, sectorization, and growth is leadership. When CEO Green and his predecessor came to the US in 1994, they took active roles in the daily life of the business. Such hands-on leadership continued as Compass Group USA acquired more operating companies over the next 25 years.

The post All About The People appeared first on Compass USA.

Jennifer Kirk has been a Canteen regional sales director in California for 10 years. The pasta lover shares how she likes to unplug – literally, in a rustic cabin with no electricity or plumbing.

What’s the first thing you do at work each morning?
I grab a cup of coffee and go through my emails.

What is something at work you’re especially good at?
Getting along with my coworkers and clients.

What are you currently reading and watching?
Reading “The Yoga Mind” by Rina Jakubowicz, listening to the audiobook “Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain and watching the news – local and BBC World News America.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to travel. I try to take one big trip a year. I just got back from India and I think it was one of the best trips I have ever taken. The food and people were amazing and the spiritual element was fascinating.

In the summer, I like to go to our family cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s very rustic, with no electricity or plumbing, and it really allows you to unplug. We usually do a lot of hiking, canoeing, card playing, and spend quality time with friends, family and enjoying nature.

My family and a few friends live in Napa, which is only about an hour away, so I go up there often on the weekends. It’s a beautiful region of California and there’s always good food and wine!

I love trying new restaurants and food, which is why it’s important – and fortunate for me – that I enjoy working out. I try to mix it up: hiking with friends, running, yoga, hitting the gym and working out at home with free weights. I also enjoy reading.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given?
Do what you love.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Compass?
The people I work with at Compass and the clients I meet.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Pasta – I love carbs!

If you could travel somewhere right now, where would you go and why?
Cuba. I think it would be very interesting, a bit like stepping back in time.

If you could have a super-power, what would it be and why?
Flying. I think it would be very cool to be able to soar through the sky!

Why did you join Compass?
It was important to me that I work for the best company in the industry.

The post Meet Our People: Jennifer Kirk appeared first on Compass USA.

Luke Martindale has been a regional sales director for FLIK Independent School Dining for one-and-a-half years. This food lover shares what meal he would eat for the rest of his life, what he does to stay active outside of work and what animal he wanted to be when he grew up.

What’s the first thing you do at work each morning?
The first thing I do is check my email. Being on the West Coast, I usually wake up to multiple emails from home base back east.

What is something at work you’re especially good at?
Eating. Also connecting with new prospects and building relationships quickly.

What are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading “To Shake the Sleeping Self,” by Jedidiah Jenkins.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Anything active. But in the winter, snowboarding!

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever been given?
Trust your instincts.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Compass?
The sheer magnitude of Compass. We truly can change the way people consume food daily.

If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Wow, this is difficult. Have to go with a steak and mashed potatoes with gravy.

If you could travel somewhere right now, where would you go and why?
Italy – it has been on my list for far too long.

If you could have a super-power, what would it be and why?
I would want to be able to time travel. I think it would be amazing to see places untouched by man and go back to witness some of our great moments in history.

If you were an animal, what would you be?
I told my family at age 4 I wanted to be a lion when I grew up.

Why did you join Compass?
Right before I joined Compass, I was working for a small, privately owned company and I was laid off. I took my time in my new job search and started looking for a company that had growth opportunities and a great culture. I had opportunities with other companies, but the people at Compass drew me in and I’m happy with the decision I made.

Photo from Luke’s hiking adventure through Zion National Park in Utah.

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