|
Jerry's first experience in the food business was waiting and bussing tables at a Chicago-area restaurant between college and law school. While at the time it seemed to be just a way to make some spending money, the pace, passion and excitement of the food industry made a deep impression, especially when he later had the opportunity to compare it to corporate law. So when Jerry left law to pursue his MBA at Harvard and saw that Legal Sea Foods was recruiting there, he decided to go for it. As a top aide to the founder of Legal Sea Foods, Inc. he learned a process of packaging fresh, refrigerated soups utilizing a rapid chilling method. He also saw the potential of using this technology to make a higher quality soup with a longer shelf life than had ever been available to foodservice operators before.
With this knowledge in hand, Kettle Cuisine was born. Jerry's vision was to provide restaurateurs the ability to buy fresh, all-natural prepared soups made from scratch, soups which were just as good (or even better) than the soups they had made in their own kitchens.
Working with chefs, Jerry developed a line of fresh soups using the finest quality, natural food ingredients and classical artisan cooking techniques. In Kettle Cuisine's kitchen, chefs braised fresh meats, prepared and sautéed fresh vegetables, and simmered made-from-scratch stocks for hours - just as we continue to do today. Jerry started out by selling these exceptional refrigerated soups in bulk to restaurants and food-service establishments, and soon to delicatessens and grocery stores, all of which marketed the soup as their own, made-on-premise soup.
In 1999, retailer interest sparked the idea to package selected varieties in individual 10-ounce bowls and sell them from refrigerated cases under the Kettle Cuisine brand name. Since then, Kettle Cuisine has provided packaged soups to a number of retailers, both under the Kettle Cuisine brand and under the stores own brand.
Today, the company offers a selection of over 70 varieties of soups, chilis, and chowders and services over 5,000 restaurants, cafés, delicatessens and supermarkets in the eastern United States.
Jerry is currently President Elect of the Refrigerated Foods Association and a Board Member. As an active member of Kettle Cuisine's local community, Jerry has served as president of the Chelsea Chapter of the Kiwanis Club and is currently on the Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee of the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce.
Jerry and Lorna, his wife who has put up with Jerry and Kettle Cuisine for over 25 years, live in Newton and have two daughters, one in college and the other a recent college graduate. His hobbies include traveling, music and a variety of athletic endeavors, the most important of which is refereeing rugby. | 