Garner Foods – famous for its Texas Pete® Hot Sauce – donated a total of $20,000 to two important charities during its annual charity benefit, the Texas Pete® Kitchen Hero Cook-Off.
“This year we were so impressed with the work of world-famous chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen that we added a $10,000 donation for his work across the world to feed those impacted by natural disasters,” Ann Garner Riddle, Garner Foods’ Chief Executive Officer.
Andres is a world-renowned chef with restaurant concepts across the U.S. He created an organization, World Central Kitchen, to accelerate emergency food production in areas hit by floods, fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Most recently, Andres’ team is providing much-needed support for those struck by Hurricane Michael in the Florida panhandle. His efforts have also included mobilizing kitchens to feed those affected by California fires, those displaced by flooding from Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, and Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico.
$10,000 went to the restaurant industry’s key charity, No Kid Hungry. “This charity provides food for hungry children in the U.S.,“ says Garner Foods’ Chief Marketing Officer Glenn Garner. “Our donations over the past six years have been enough to provide 600,000 meals to children across the country.”
The cook-off is held during the Multi-Unit Food Service Operators show in Dallas, and four national restaurant chain chefs are judged by four of their peers. Each participating chef must prepare a dish from the contents of a set of ingredients, such as a meat, a vegetable, and a Texas Pete® sauce.
This year’s contestants were:
- David Stadtmiller of Chili’s
- Chris Bushelman of Kitchen 1883/Kroger
- Todd Huppert of Captain D’s
- Justin Murrow of Sonic
Earning the title of Texas Pete® Kitchen Hero Cook-Off Grand Champion for 2018 was Chris Bushelman. Garner Foods made donations to the charities in the name of Bushelman and Kroger.
Watch highlights from this year’s event
