Press Releases

MONTEREY, Calif. -The International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) has announced the appointment of industry leader, Ted Balestreri, to the position of Honorary Chairman of the Board. Mr. Balestreri's role with IFESA will be to heighten awareness of the Military Food Service Excellence Awards, the yearlong evaluation performed by IFSEA members.

IFSEA aims to heighten public awareness of the outstanding professionalism evident during IFSEA's inspection tours. IFSEA believes this aim is an integral part of recognizing the Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command and Navy for their efforts to feed the men and women protecting our freedom.

Ted Balestreri is a visionary, deeply involved in the evolution and development of the famed Cannery Row in Monterey, California. Mr. Balestreri is the general managing partner of the Cannery Row Company, through which he and his partners have successfully worked for over 25 years to revitalize Cannery Row. Mr. Balestreri is general managing partner of the Foursome Development Company, the parent company. Their majority ownership of commercial properties on and around Cannery Row, including shopping centers, hotels, motels, offices, retail stores and food and beverage outlets, has significantly contributed to the transformation of the area into the bustling attraction it is today, one of America's true icons. Mr. Balestreri's success is in part due to his long-standing commitment to the community, and his successful, long-term working relationships built on trust and friendship. Mr. Balestreri has achieved enormous success as a restaurateur, a businessman, community leader and astute in political affairs.

Mr. Balestreri has served as President and/or Chair on the boards of numerous restaurant and culinary industry organizations, including the National Restaurant Association (NRA), California Restaurant Association, U.S. Culinary Team Foundation, International Gold & Silver Plate Society, Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DIRoNA), and the NRA Educational Foundation. Mr. Balestreri served on the Board of Directors of the National Chapter of the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs as Conseiller des Professionels des Etats-Unis. In 1996 he was appointed to the CRA Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. Additionally, Mr. Balestreri has served on many school and college boards, and charitable organizations, and has been a major contributor to scholarship funds through local and national educational foundations.

IFSEA has sponsored the Military Excellence in Foodservice Awards since 1957, some 25 IFSEA members each form a team with two military personnel, travelling the world for 1 to 8 weeks, carrying the honorary rank of Brigadier General. The winners selected by each team attend the annual IFSEA conference, along with their Commanding Officer and 10 or more Admirals and Generals representing the various world regions.

The next awards ceremony is August 27, 2003 at the Hyatt Regency Reunion Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Several weeks before the scheduled April conference, at the request of the military, IFSEA took the unusual step of moving the conference to August, so the winners could be properly honored once the war ended.