Members of the International Food & Beverage Forum with the
2002 Hall of Fame Inductees and the Scholarship recipients

     The International Food & Beverage Forum was founded in 1993 by four Food & Beverage Vice Presidents and one Beverage Consultant. Those five friends wanted to create a global association of Food & Beverage industry representatives with the purpose to form a truly global think tank for this industry.

     To cover all aspects of the upscale section in the Food & Beverage industry, they recruited individuals representing segments such as upscale hotels, cruise lines, airlines, independent restaurants, education and Food & Beverage publications. Each individual had to be recognized internationally for his achievements and high standards.

     In order to keep this association a close circle of highly recognized individuals, the total active membership is limited to 50 active members.

     Today, The International Food & Beverage Forum has an active membership based on six continents and has participated in panel discussions and industry events in major cities on four continents.

     Once they had outlined the structure of the association, the mission was formalized and reads: “The mission of the International Food & Beverage Forum is to enhance global dialogue, knowledge, viable creativity and to foster the education of young hospitality professionals”.

     From the mission statement, the challenge of how to foster the education of young hospitality professionals emerged. First, the association set up a special endowment fund with the help of major Food & Beverage related companies. Thereafter, a series of special awards was created and linked to a scholarship system.

     The next step was to select an educational institution which would provide the pool of students eligible for such scholarships. Once the International Food & Beverage Forum members got actively involved in lecturing and culinary demonstrations at Johnson & Wales University, a strong desire to go even a step further was born. With the opening of the Culinary Archives & Museum at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, the International Food & Beverage Forum members created the first “International Food & Beverage Hall of Fame”.

     We are currently negotiating the relocation of our “Hall of Fame” to another educational institution with a more international access.

     During the April 2003 annual meeting it was decided to encompass other educational Institutions as beneficiaries of our contributions.

     Since 1996, the International Food & Beverage Forum has honored 11 Restaurateurs of the year, inducted 20 persons into the Hall of Fame and distributed more than US $ 450,000 in scholarship awards.

Contact: Kurt H. Fischer, President
E-Mail: kurth@kurthfischer.com
Website: www.foodandbeverageforum.com

Date: January 06, 2008