Category: 2017 Page 2 of 4

Vice President of Business Development, Church Brothers

Ernst van Eeghen is vice president of business development for Church Brothers and has been active in the produce industry for 13 years. He moved from The Netherlands to the United States in 2000 and started his career as a product marketer at Monterey Gourmet foods.

In 2004 Joe Nucci convinced Ernst to move into the produce industry as marketing manager at Mann Packing Co. During this time Mann Packing introduced several successful new products including Snacks on the Go, Steam Vegetables & Sauce items and Fresh-cut Sweet Potatoes.

In 2007 Ernst was asked to join Church Brothers/True Leaf Farms that had just purchased a large processing facility in San Juan Bautista. During Ernst’s first 7-year spell at the company he was vice president of marketing and product development and successfully introduced a full line of value-added vegetables that included fresh cut lettuce, coleslaw, florets and whole leaves. Additionally Church Brothers Farms introduced industry-changing items such as Teen Green Sandwich Leaves, Euro Romaine Lettuce Cups, Red Heirloom Spinach and Wasabi Arugula.

In 2014 Ernst left Church Brothers and moved his family to Texas to be closer to his in-laws in Oklahoma & Texas. Ernst spent a year at Twang Partners, an innovative flavorings manufacturer operating in retail, convenience and B2B channels. During his stay in Texas, Ernst’s team was responsible for successfully launching a new line of Café Zuca coffee flavorings and an innovative line of produce seasonings under the Zas! brand. When returning to the Central Coast in California, Ernst joined Germains Seed Technology as head of sales and marketing. Germains is an industry leader developing proprietary and innovative seed treatments for the horticulture markets across North America.

In July of this year Ernst was approached to return to Church Brothers Farms at the time when Brian Church was its appointed chief executive. Ernst has a strong passion for innovation and his expertise is heavily focused, but not limited, to fresh produce innovation in foodservice and retail channels. Ernst travels the world to search for and ‘borrow’ ideas from abroad.

Executive Chef, Skidmore College

Jim Rose is Executive Chef at Skidmore College, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He advises all culinary/dining service operations and serves as the College’s culinary expert and visionary for food quality, culinary creativity, menu development, staff training, and menu presentation.

Jim is a 1982 alumnus of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y. as well as receiving a degree in Food Service Administration from SUNY at Cobleskill. He is recognized as a Certified Executive Chef (CEC) through the American Culinary Federation and is the recipient of numerous culinary awards.

Since graduating in 1982, Jim has dedicated over thirty years in the foodservice industry. He particularly enjoys mentoring younger culinarians.

Prior to joining Skidmore, Jim was the Chef/Proprietor at the Union Hall Inn Restaurant and Catering in Johnstown, N.Y. where he was proud of building a successful 16-year family business by doing what he loved “pleasing customers with good food and service”. He and his wife, Shelly currently own and operate Wine and Roses Restaurant, Broadalbin, N.Y. Jim was also the Executive Chef at the prestigious Mirror Lake Inn Hotel, Lake Placid, NY.

Among his many accomplishments at Skidmore, Chef Roses dining services team has been ranked in the top ten of “Best College Dining Services” by the Princeton Review and Niche Magazine. Jim is an advocate of promoting and introducing good sustainable practices for Skidmore’s Dining Services program. He prides himself on achieving high customer satisfaction, through working directly with student groups, faculty and administration, and the dining services team.