For more information, contact:
Sara Pokorny
sara@tlegstaging.wpengine.com
For immediate release
June 23, 2017 – Amelia Ekus, of New York City, has been named a 2017 Eater Young Gun by the renowned culinary resource Eater, a website that taps into the who and what of the nation’s most important gastronomic happenings.
Levi Miller Photography
Ekus, a western Massachusetts native, grew up in the food industry. Her father Lou owned and operated barbecue restaurant Holy Smokes, where Ekus worked as a teenager. Her mother Lisa runs The Lisa Ekus Group, a full service culinary agency for cookbook authors and chefs. The NYU graduate grew up in a house where cookbook authors, chefs, and restaurateurs often gathered.
While working as a manager at Manhattan’s lauded dell’anima and L’artusi, Ekus created the position of Director of Community Development for the restaurant group Epicurean Management. She quickly demonstrated a vision toward philanthropic and environmentally sound practices. After five years at Epicurean, Ekus transitioned to manager at Jonathan Waxman’s West Village staple, Barbuto. She then moved on to Neuehouse, a private membership community, where she was able to integrate her love of the arts into day-to-day service in her role as the head of Food + Beverage.
It was no surprise when Guckenheimer sought out Ekus. As GM at Twitter NYC Cafe, she has the opportunity to engage and test out concepts in an environment that values innovation through experimentation. Guckenheimer is a premier on-site corporate restaurant management and catering company known for feeding the minds of Google and other media giants. Through #puns, relationships with local purveyors, and daily changes to the menus, Ekus has married the brand with cultural, economic, and environmental ethos.
“I am honored to be selected among so many amazing hospitalitarians – yes, my own word – as an Eater Young Gun,” Ekus said.
Eater Young Guns is an annual search that throws the spotlight on the best and brightest talent in the restaurant industry. The nominees are all under 30 years old or have less than five years of experience, and they run the gamut from executive pastry chefs and chef de cuisines to beverage directors and production managers.
“Particularly exciting,” Ekus said, “is the fact that this is the first time Eater has recognized a Young Gun in the corporate food industry – a sector of the business that typically inspires visions of hair netted lunch ladies and chipped-tray cafeteria food. I am thrilled to be recognized for the innovation. As leaders in our market, I take tremendous pride in the creative food activism and service we cultivate at Guckenheimer..”
This year, Eater received over 1,000 nominations for nominees who reside in 101 different cities across the United States and Canada. With input from Eater editors, past winners, and our judging committee of industry leaders, the list was whittled down to 50. The finalists were announced on June 22.
You can view the list of winners here, and read Ekus’ profile here.
For more information, please contact Sara Pokorny at sara@tlegstaging.wpengine.com.
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