Left to right: Jeff Palmer, UC San Diego; Sean Gamble, Cinemark; Jerry Morgan, Texas Roadhouse; Leisa Bryant, MD Anderson Cancer Center; Chip Wade, Union Square Hospitality Group; Scott Murphy, Dunkin'; Sally Minier, Jane Street; Danielle Bock, Greely Evans School District No. 6; Brad Hada, Casey's
CHICAGO, May 19, 2026 — Mudslingers with a bead on the restaurant business have clearly never come within a stone’s toss of the Gold & Silver Plate awards banquet, a celebration of the industry’s best.
Chip Wade, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, 2026 Gold Plate winner, Independent Restaurants
They paint foodservice as the dead-end fallback for underachievers who can’t do anything but flip burgers for a living. At the 72nd awards presentation, held Saturday night in the Grand Hall of Chicago’s Union Station, they would have witnessed Chip Wade being named this year’s recipient of the Gold Plate, an honor synonymous with Operator of the Year. Wade started in the business as a Dunkin’ Donuts crew member, picking up parking lot litter. He’s now CEO of arguably the nation’s most influential fine-dining empire, New York City’s Union Square Hospitality Group.
Wade accepted his honor on behalf of the renowned company’s 3,000 employees.
Left to right: Michelle Korsmo, CEO of the National Restaurant Association, Richard 'Dick' Marriott, 2026 Legends Awards winner
Richard “Dick” Marriott acknowledged that he was born into the business—“the best decision I never made”—but noted that his genetic good fortune didn’t spare him from having to start in the dish room, scraping plates at his family’s Hot Shoppes restaurant.
He noted that most of the operators among the 600-plus people in attendance had also wrestled with a dish room rinse hose early in their careers. Now they were gathering in formal wear for the poshest event of the industry’s annual convention, many if not most of them millionaires many times over.
Marriott, by the way, was there to receive the National Restaurant Association’s Legends award, a recognition of the 71 years he’d spent in a supposedly dead-end business.
That theme of finding stellar success in a field bashed by outsiders as a job option of last resort was sounded repeatedly during the awards banquet. Wade and other awards honorees added topspin by their very presence.
Wade was selected for his honor from a group that included the year’s best operators in nine different channels of the food-away-from-home business. Those winners of a Silver Plate ranged from Sean Gamble, CEO of the Cinemark line of movie theaters and concession stands, who won in the Travel & Leisure category, to Danielle Bock, who runs the student feeding operations of Greeley-Evans School District in Colorado, the top finisher in K-12 foodservice.
Scott Murphy, who both runs Dunkin’ and oversees all the beverage and snacking concepts of parent Inspire Brands, took home the Silver Plate in the Chain Limited Service competition. Texas Roadhouse CEO Jerry Morgan won for Chain Full Service.
Jeff Palmer of the University of California at San Diego won the Silver Plate in the field of Colleges & Universities; Leisa Bryant’s management of the foodservice at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, earned her the top honor in Healthcare; Sally Minier was selected for the Silver Plate in Business & Industry/Foodservice Management; and Brad Haga took home the top honor in Grocery, Convenience and Specialty Foodservice for leading the Casey’s c-store chain’s ambitious foodservice program.
Wade won his Silver Plate in the category of Independent Restaurants.
Left: Ted Balestreri accepts the 1984 Gold Plate award for independent restaurants. Right: Balestreri attends the 2026 Gold & Silver Plate Awards
The 2026 winners were joined at the event by past Silver & Gold Plate winners going back to 1984 (Ted Balestreri of The Sardine Factory, winner of the Silver Plate for independent restaurants and the Gold for that year.)
Students in culinary, hospitality and food science programs from the following schools attended the 2026 Education Foundation Summit: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State University, Northern Arizona University, Kansas State University, Florida International University, Penn State, Purdue University, University of Missouri, Georgia State University and Kendall College
Also in attendance were many of the college students who had participated the previous day in the IFMA The Food Away from Home Association’s Education Summit, where the youngsters were given a big serving of career advice and encouragement by current successes in the business, including Wade and Morgan.
Both the Gold & Silver Plate celebration and the Summit were hosted by IFMA The Food Away from Home Association.
Phil Kafarakis, President & CEO of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association
“Looking around this room, I see the heart and soul of our industry – leaders, innovators and the next generation of talent,” association CEO Phil Kafarakis said in opening the banquet.
He, too, sounded the theme that foodservice is an industry of opportunity.
“My first taste of the American dream, literally, was behind the counter at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour,” he revealed, explaining that he’d landed a job as a scoop man at a shop coincidentally run by the Marriott family. “Thank you, Mr. Marriott. It set me on a path that led to an education and a career I cherish. My story is just one of millions.”
“While Phil was scooping ice cream, I was serving pancakes, starting as a food server at an IHOP in San Diego,” chimed in the emcee for the evening, former IHOP and Applebee’s CEO Julia Stewart. “It’s been a remarkable ride ever since and I have been privileged to lead some of America's most iconic and beloved brands.”
Julia Stewart, Silver Plate Winner 2005, Gold & Silver Plate Host 2026
“To everyone here, let’s continue to embrace innovation, champion well-being and never stop seeking new ways to enrich the lives of those we serve,” said Stewart. “Let’s look forward to a future where our industry continues to thrive, contributing to the health, happiness and prosperity of America for centuries to come.”
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.