National Restaurant Association

Mr. Sandelman heads the Los Angeles area office of Sandelman & Associates. In his role as CEO, he is responsible for the company's overall strategic direction and planning, and manages the development of new research programs. Mr. Sandelman has more than 32 years of marketing and advertising management experience in a variety of consumer product and service industries. He is considered to be one of the leading experts on foodservice market research and is widely quoted in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, USA Today, Nation's Restaurant News, Restaurant & Institutions, Chain Leader, Entrepreneur, Advertising Age, Adweek, Brandweek, and American Demographics. Mr. Sandelman has also been a speaker at several foodservice industry forums and conferences. Mr. Sandelman's marketing career began as a Marketing Assistant at General Foods Corporation. From there he moved to The Procter & Gamble Company where he served as an Assistant Brand Manager and later to Hunt-Wesson Foods where he was a Marketing Manager in the New Products Division. Mr. Sandelman left Hunt-Wesson to co-found Tandem Enterprises, a marketing consulting firm, and then later joined Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency where he served as Vice President, Management Supervisor. After leaving Ogilvy & Mather, he worked for General Consumer Electronics, Inc. as the Vice President of Marketing and then later joined keye/donna/pearlstein advertising agency where he was the Vice President, Management Supervisor. Mr. Sandelman earned both his Bachelor's degree and his Master's degree in Business Administration with high distinction from the University of Michigan.

Patti Weihl has been the National Restaurant Sales Manager for the North American Bison Cooperative since November 2005. She has sold gourmet products to chefs at the finest restaurants in the country for 15 years.A Mrs. Weihl has also attended cooking school in France featured in Harvesting Excellence by acclaimed Chef Alain Ducasse. She has attended Central Washington University and is is a member of the James Beard Foundation, the National Restaurant Association, and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.

Ms. Purcel has served as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Company since November 19, 2003. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Purcel served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Paper Warehouse, Inc., a publicly held chain of retail stores specializing in party supplies and paper goods, from 2002 until September 2003, during which time that company filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota. While she was with Paper Warehouse, she also served as its Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from 1999 to 2002. Over the course of her career, Ms. Purcel has held financial and accounting positions with Provell, Inc (formerly Damark International, Inc.) and Target Corporation (formerly Dayton Hudson Corporation). Ms. Purcel is a certified public accountant who spent five years with the firm of Arthur Andersen in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Aric Nissen joined Famous Daves of America, Inc in January 2009 as Vice President of Marketing and R&D. Mr. Nissen brings over 15 years of brand management and marketing expertise to the company where his job includes leading a team of marketing professionals, creative agencies, and culinary talent. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Nissen was Vice President of Brand Marketing for Dairy Queen where he worked for seven years. His accomplishments include increasing awareness and achieving large sales gains for the signature “Blizzard” brand and overseeing menu strategy for more than 5,600 Dairy Queen® locations and approximately 400 Orange Julius® locations across North America. Mr. Nissen began his career as a graphic designer and was a principle in the firm Design Time. He has led marketing efforts for the Country Kitchen and Leeann Chin restaurant chains. Mr. Nissen has appeared on television with Food Network and with Donald Trump as a guest judge on NBC’s The Apprentice. His marketing efforts have been featured in publications including Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business, USA Today, and Brandweek. In 2009 Mr. Nissen was named a “Forty under 40” honoree by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. Mr. Nissen is active in professional associations and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Marketing Executives Group (MEG) of the National Restaurant Association. He holds an Executive M.B.A. from the Carlson School of Management and a Bachelors Degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Gibbons is the president and CEO of Mainstreet Ventures, Inc., in Ann Arbor, Mich., a regional restaurant chain that began as a single restaurant venture. The portfolio currently features several diverse restaurant concepts operating in Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Maryland and Florida, including Real Seafood Co., Ristorante Gratzi, Blue Pointe Seafood, Palio Ristorante, La Dolce Vita, Tidewater Grill, Ciao, Chop House, Zia's, Carson's American Bistro and Carson's Steakhouse. Gibbons began serving on the Association's Board in 2000, and previously held the positions of treasurer and vice chairman, as well as being a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. In 2007, Gibbons dedicated one month to serving as a Hennessy traveler, joining a four-person team to tour dining facilities in nominated U.S. Air Force bases worldwide in their quest to earn the coveted Air Force foodservice award, the John L. Hennessy trophy. Active in state restaurant associations, Gibbons is a former president of the Michigan Restaurant Association and recipient of its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, and also received recognition as the 2001 Northwest Ohio as Entrepreneur of the Year. He remains active in Chambers of Commerce in communities where his restaurants are located, and supports numerous charitable organizations, including YMCA, Neighborhood Senior Services, and The Ability Center of Toledo. Additionally, he shares his skills as a teacher and advisor in local community colleges.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Restaurant Association, Dawn Sweeney leads the chief business association for the $537 billion restaurant industry. One of the nation's most powerful trade organizations, the National Restaurant Association represents an industry of nearly a million restaurant and foodservice outlets that employ approximately 12.8 million people. Along with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association represents, educates and promotes the rapidly growing restaurant industry -- the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Before taking the helm of the National Restaurant Association, Sweeney was President and CEO of AARP Services, the wholly owned taxable subsidiary of AARP. She was responsible for generating more than $700 million in annual revenue to support AARP's mission. The organization experienced double-digit sales and revenue growth each year under her leadership, and nearly 11 million AARP members used AARP Services products. Sweeney's stewardship of AARP Services included the launch of AARP Financial, which offers financial planning products and services such as AARP Funds, a suite of mutual funds. Sweeney previously was AARP's group executive officer for membership. In that role, she was responsible for member recruitment and retention, brand development, the launch of AARP's Hispanic membership development initiatives and AARP The Magazine/AARP Bulletin. Her 25 years of marketing, advocacy and policy experience include leadership positions at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the International Dairy Foods Association. She played a key role in the development of the marketing strategy, launch and implementation of the nationwide "milk mustache" campaign, which continues to reinvigorate milk sales today.

A key player in several business alliances, Shutley is chairman of the H-2B coalition and the Obesity Lawsuit Coalition and a member of the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition and the Merchant Payments Coalition. Before joining the National Restaurant Association staff, Shutley served as the chief legislative and political adviser to Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.), where he handled a wide range of issues. In this role, he was the point person for Keller's Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act, which would curb frivolous health-related lawsuits against restaurants and food companies. Shutley worked with business groups, including the National Restaurant Association, helping secure two separate successful House votes on the bill with bipartisan support. Shutley holds two undergraduate degrees from the University of Central Florida and a graduate degree in Political Management from George Washington University.

As Executive Chef of the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, Andreas Nieto has the ultimate responsibility for every meal served at the landmark property. Nieto brings to his position more than 15 years of experience, cooking at four- and five-star hotels and fine-dining establishments. Classically French trained, he also has extensive knowledge of pan-Pacific, Mediterranean, regional American, spa and Southwest cuisines. Most recently, he was executive chef at the Bel Age Hotel, in West Hollywood, where he returned the famed Diaghilev Restaurant to its previous five-star status. Prior to that, he was executive chef at the five-star Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows for two years, after a tenure as assistant executive chef at the Loews Santa Monica Hotel. A third-generation chef, Nieto complete the three-year ACF Chef's Apprenticeship program while at the Loews Anatole Hotel in Dallas and also completed training in nutrition and food and beverage management. His professional affiliations include: serving as a national member of the American Culinary Foundation, Chef de Cuisine of Los Angeles, and as a participant in many National Restaurant Association culinary shows and American Culinary Federation salons, where he was awarded gold and silver medals.

Co-owner and chief go-to-guy for Cotton Boll Catering since 1983. Andy served a two- year European style apprenticeship at the Greenbrier Inn in Boulder, Colorado under the tutelage of Austrian chef Herman Groicher and later with French chef Francois Peters. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of The National Caterers Association (now International Caterers Association) and seminar presenter at The Special Event, Event Solutions, National Restaurant Association, and other catering education events both here and in Canada. His hobbies include fishing, gardening, and wood frame construction. He and his wife are currently passionate about developing a ten-acre organic homeplace in northeast Shelby County.

Robert (Bob) Bansberg is an award winning sommelier and wine educator at the four star restaurant Ambria and faculty member at the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago. Since 1992, Bansberg has taught a Wine and Beverage Management Class at Kendall College's School of the Culinary Arts and for five years has hosted the The Wine Series, a wine appreciation and food-pairing course for the community. Since 2000, he has lectured at the Alliance Francais and The Calphalon Culinary also based in Chicago. He is an active board member of the "Toast to Humanity" charity and has donated his time to the National Charity "Share our Strength". In 2004, Bansberg was one of five nominated for "Best Sommelier" in the Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence. In their July 2000 issue, Food & Wine magazine Bansberg selected in a national poll of their readership as "The Best Sommelier in Chicago", Chicago Magazine also listed Bansberg as the cities best in their August 2000 issue. In 1999, Bansberg was nominated for the highly coveted James Beard Award. He has won regional French sommelier competitions. He is a senior wine judge at the Beverage Testing Institute and has judged for the National Restaurant Association's Wine Classic, and has served on numerous panels for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. He has written for Wine & Spirits and The Wine Enthusiast, and has lectured at the Midwest International Wine Exposition as well as Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. He has been writing wine tasting notes for Sante Magazine in 2004. Bansberg is a graduate of Northwestern University and studied in the Neurophysiology Graduate Program at the University of Illinois Medical Center. He resides in Evanston with his wife and their two children. He continues to be a leader and educator in his community. A gifted and gracious man in many respects, he is truly the "Sommelier's Sommelier."

Carol Amaya, SPHR, is the Senior Recruiter in charge of PeopleConnect's Hospitality Division. She has over 15 years experience in the hospitality field. Prior to opening Hospitality Educators, Inc., in November of 1994, Ms. Amaya was the Director of Education for the California Restaurant Association. Since 1995, Ms. Amaya has been an instructor of human resource management for the Hospitality Management Department at San Francisco State University. In addition, she taught a variety of hotel and restaurant operation courses while working with the Management College of San Francisco as an adjunct faculty member of the American Hotel & Motel Association. Prior to entering the hospitality arena, Ms. Amaya worked in corporate finance on Wall Street and in corporate and consumer banking after relocating to San Francisco. Ms. Amaya received her Senior Professional Human Resource ("SPHR") designation in 2002 from the Human Resource Certification Institute ("HRCI"), the credentialing body of the Society of Human Resource Management. Ms. Amaya is a certified instructor for the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association.

With more than thirty years in the restaurant and foodservice industry, Frank Guidara was a natural choice for CEO of UNO Chicago Grill. Guidara was previously with Au Bon Pain for five years. Guidara led an extraordinary turnaround of the Au Bon Pain business through a chain-wide remodel program, expanded menu offerings and upgrades to the food and operational systems. (More...)

Gerri Kies, Vice President, brings more than 20 years of experience in Executive Recruiting and Human Resource Leadership roles to the Taylor Winfield Team. Prior to joining Taylor Winfield, Gerri led successful practices for two retained search firms in sectors including consumer branded goods, retail, foodservice, manufacturing, high-tech consumer products and financial services. Her extensive senior level human resources experience includes such leading Fortune 500 Companies as PepsiCo, Macy's and Nations Credit. Gerri has recruited executives into both public and private companies including 7-Eleven, Home Interiors & Gifts, Neiman Marcus, Boston Pizza, EatZi's, Quick Trip, Match.com, Cerillant, Ace Cash Express, Pizza Hut, Swift Foods, Dickies, Double D Ranch Wear, King Ranch, Buy the Color, AutoNation, Divita, Health Stop, Kohler, Capital One, Sterling Bank, Walmart, Disney Entertainment and Brinker. The searches were for a broad range of executive positions including C-level sales, marketing, human resources, operations, and finance. Gerri completed her Bachelors Degree in Administration from Austin College and holds a J.D. from South Texas College of Law. Now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, she is active in SHRM, Women in Food Service, National Restaurant Association, American Society of Compensation and Benefits, American Society of Training and Development, ENetworking and has served on the Boards of Limbs for Life and the Dallas Mayors special committee for schools.

Joanna Wood is the Food Service Director at Granite Ledges of Concord. She holds an Associate's degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University. She has been a Food Service Director with Genesis Health Care for 10 years, and was part of the start-up operation of Granite Ledges five years ago. She is responsible for all aspects of the fine dining experience offered, from menu development to theme events. Joanna's 20 years' experience in food service includes restaurants, outing clubs, resorts, and private catering. Prior to her employment with Genesis HealthCare, she was the Sous Chef at the Manchester Country Club in Bedford, New Hampshire. Joanna is Serve Safe certified by the National Restaurant Association, Educational Foundation.

Gomes joined Old Edwards Hospitality Group in November 2003. His responsibilities include the overall operations, development, and construction of the nine existing properties and future acquisitions. Gomes has a 33-year career in the hospitality industry. He most recently worked for Crown American Hotels in Atlanta, GA, where he was regional director of operations for 13 properties in the Southeast. Prior to Crown American he held senior positions for 21 years with Omni Hotels in Atlanta including director of operations and food and beverage director. He is a member of numerous industry associations, including the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA). His certifications include Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) and Certified Food & Beverage Executive (CFBE).

For somewhere pretty close to 40 years, Michael Jubinsky has taught various aspects of baking, specializing in yeast breads. (Time certainly flies when you're doing something you love!) He was Senior Spokesman for the King Arthur Flour Company based in Norwich, Vermont for over 25 years, and recently filmed two bread baking videos for King Arthur Flour, on Sweet Holiday Bread and Artisan Bread. He has also made numerous radio and television appearances and was featured in articles in Modern Maturity Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine and USA Today. Phew! Michael has been a Culinary Arts instructor in the Connecticut vocational school system, was a licensed retail baker and a staff instructor for the Connecticut Culinary Institute. He has been a guest instructor at the Silo, in New Milford, Connecticut and at Sur La Table in Virginia. Michael and Sandy were co-founders of Mystic Cooking School in Mystic, Connecticut. Michael is also an instructor for the National Restaurant Association and teaches Food Safety in Maine and Connecticut.

Mr. Hebert is the executive chef/co-owner of Bintliff's Restaurant in Ogunquit Maine Mr. Hebert is also the Department Chair of the Hotel and Restaurant Operations and Culinary Arts at York County Community College in Wells, Maine. In his position as Chair, he was responsible for the development process of two (2) year degree programs, one in Culinary Arts and the second in Hotel and Restaurant Operations. Also with in Mr. Hebert's department, are three (3) one year certificate programs; they are Food Service Specialist, Lodging Operations and Food and Beverage Operations. As well as Department Chair he teaches a number of different subjects with in the Hotel/Restaurant Operations Program, as well as being the lead Chef Instructor for the Culinary Arts Program. Mr. Hebert is the former Executive Chef/ Food and Beverage Director of the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, Maine. Mr. Hebert holds both an Associate's and a Bachelor's Degree from the renowned Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Hebert came to the college with more than 18 years of experience in the food service industry as a former Executive Chef with Ramada Hotels, Dedham Country and Polo Club in Massachusetts and also worked at a number of coastal resorts in Rhode Island. Along with his culinary industry experience, Mr. Hebert has taught both at Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts and at the University of Maine in Bangor in their Hospitality Management program. Mr. Hebert has been an active member of Maine Innkeepers Association and the American Culinary Federation since 1995. Mr. Hebert was awarded the Piscataqua Chapter of the American Culinary Federation Chef of Year Award for 2003. Mr. Hebert is active in Maine Restaurant Association and has served on their Board of Directors. In 2004 Mr. Hebert was presented the Maine Restaurant Association's Chef of the Yea Award. Mr. Hebert is a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE) through the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and is certified as a Foodservice Management Professional (FMP) through the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association.

Ray Collins is the Laboratory Manager for the San Antonio location. Ray has worked at Food Safety Net Services since 2005, after completing over 20 years in the United States Army. While in the army, Ray served in the U.S. Army Veterinary Service. He also earned his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration while serving in the military. Ray is certified as an instructor for the Food Management Program and the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, as well as a registered auditor for the ISO 9001:2000 Lead Auditor Training Course. Ray and his wife, Tina, have three sons, Joshua, Ryan, and Raymond.

Mr. Bromberg is a Managing Partner of Maven Capital Management Group LLC, the Managing Partner of Maven Capital Fund LP. Mr. Bromberg is the Chairman and CEO of Apex Restaurant Group (www.apexrestaurants.com) and the former Chairman of Dallas-based Metromedia Restaurant Group, operators of Steak & Ale , Bennigan's and Ponderosa Restaurants. Prior to that he served as President of Apogee Hospitality Group and East Side Mario's Restaurants (a subsidiary of PEPSICO) and was President and CEO of Toronto-based Prime Restaurant Group. Mr. Bromberg is a former Chairman of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association and Director of the National Restaurant Association; he also serves on various industry advisory committees and boards. mbromberg@mavencapital.com mbromberg@mavencapital.com