Kyle Lore, corporate executive chef for Maverik convenience stores, is among 20 chefs selected for the seventh Culinary Leadership Class sponsored by Hormel Foods and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), who together collaborate on the Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP).
Lore (pictured), who has more than 20 years of experience in New American fine dining, has been in this role at Salt Lake City-based Maverik since 2014. Maverik is the only c-store chain in the field of 20.
The program’s objective is to teach an elite group of professional chefs how to identify, practice and master the necessary skills for culinary leadership and innovation, Austin, Minnesota-based Hormel said. Since the inception of the program more than 15 years ago, the educational modules have steadily evolved to reflect changes in the foodservice industry.
The CEIP Class of 2024 will feature chefs representing foodservice operations in both the commercial and non-commercial segments, ranging from multi-unit restaurants to hotels to universities and senior living facilities, Hormel said. The 12-month program, which offers advanced management training specifically designed for skilled chefs, starts April 3.
Lore, nearing four decades as a chef, has been the lead chef at four-diamond luxury resorts, several restaurants and at upscale grocery specialty foods. As an outgrowth of his careerlong emphasis on classical technique based on scratch cooking with local, sustainable ingredients, Lore started Nu Nooz Artisan Pasta in the Salt Lake City area in 2010. Nu Nooz Artisan Pasta is active in local farmers markets and in the Slow Food movement.
- Maverik is No. 21 on CSP’s 2023 Top 40 update of convenience-stores chains by total number of company-owned locations.
Maverik is the only c-store chain in this group, and this is the first time a c-store applied in the 12-year history of the CEIP program, Hormel said.
“I learned early on to use the absolute best ingredients I could afford and apply superior technique to high- quality/low-cost food ingredients to get great results,” Lore said in the questions he answered for the CEIP.
He also said his goal is to further his ability to influence the dietary wholesomeness of an ever-increasing number of people and support meaningful change in the food supply system.
“I would like to carve out a niche for more art and artistic food as I move toward my fifth decade in the kitchen,” he said. “Food styling and social media are growth areas for me. Long-term goals are important but must also be flexible and open to change.”
Annemarie Vaupel, vice president of foodservice marketing at Hormel Foods, said, “We want to help these chefs see the world a bit differently so they can bring a broader vision to their organizations and, ultimately, the industry at large. Through underwriting this program and sponsoring tuition for each of the participants, our company is helping prepare today's best and brightest chefs for leadership in our industry.”
David Kamen, director, CIA consulting client engagement and CEIP program director, added that the CEIP program is about enrichment and innovation. “In our previous graduating classes, we’ve seen how the participants use the information they’ve learned to better their menus, to challenge their purchasing position and to try to get better products into their establishments.”
CEIP participants gather for three intense days every six months, setting aside their daily responsibilities and immersing themselves in lectures, hands-on kitchen work and one-to-one dialogue with fellow chefs and visiting guest lecturers, Hormel said. Consisting of three academic and experiential modules, CEIP covers a range of topics including contemporary flavors and techniques, health and wellness, leadership and innovation, and menu R&D as a collaboration of culinary arts, consumer behavior, food science and management.
Participants will explore everything from the relationships among the five senses to principles of modernist cuisine. They’ll also tour a local farm and winery, create food focused on world flavor traditions to better understand its profit potential and explore novel approaches to developing new applications that help differentiate their operation, Hormel said.
The Class of 2024 will attend modules at three of the CIA college’s locations: Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Hyde Park, New York, giving them the opportunity to experience the seasonal differences in the institute’s programs across the country.
The CIA is based in Hyde Park, New York.
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