Just over two decades ago, Bon Appétit Management Company began our annual tradition of challenging our chefs to cook an entire meal made exclusively with ingredients grown within 150 miles of their café. The rules are simple: All elements of the meal must be grown, harvested, milled, raised, or produced locally — the only exception is salt.
From Our Blog
Introducing our 2025 Chef of the Year: Nimal Amarasinghe
Our 2025 Chef of the Year, Nimal Amarasinghe, is 13 years into his career at Bon Appétit and stands out for the way he leads with purpose, innovation, and heart, according to Regional Vice President Michael Aquaro, who nominated him for the award.
Bravo Solutions Stories: Office Optional, Hospitality Required
The phrase “return to office” has become something of a corporate bogeyman — dreaded by employees, debated by leadership, and tied to broader questions about culture and engagement. In the era of hybrid work, office life has a different rhythm, one that flexes by the week, the team, even the weather.
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Leading By Example
Bon Appétit Management Company is an on-site restaurant company offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, museums, and other specialty venues. Based in Palo Alto, CA, we operate more than 1,000 cafés in 33 states. Our chefs cook from scratch, including sauces, stocks, and soups. Widely recognized as a pioneer in environmentally sound sourcing policies, we are proud to be the first food service company to:
Directly support small, local farms- Strive to serve only sustainable seafood
- Address antibiotics overuse in our meat supply
- Switch to cage-free eggs, both shell and precracked/liquid
- Tackle food’s role in climate change
- Advocate for farmworkers’ rights
- Commit to pork raised without gestation crates
- Switch to third-party verified humanely raised ground beef
Timeline
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One of our newest higher education accounts, Wingate University, just opened a new retail space ...
One of our newest higher education accounts, Wingate University, just opened a new retail space operated by our team @bonappetitwingate called Victor E's! Menu items include pizzas, sandwiches, and more. They also hosted an opening bash featuring locally made cake pops and fun jams. #LoveBonAppetit
Goodbye summer, hello fall! Chef Fred at @bonappetitcwru explored the best of the inbetween with a ...
Goodbye summer, hello fall! Chef Fred at @bonappetitcwru explored the best of the inbetween with a pop-up featuring butternut squash and grilled peach bruschetta with a honey mascarpone spread. #LoveBonAppetit
September is one of the most abundant and flavorful moments of the year. In celebration of Eat Local...
September is one of the most abundant and flavorful moments of the year. In celebration of Eat Local Challenge earlier this week, we're waxing poetic about this vibrant mix of late summer produce and early fall crops, whether they be tomatoes hanging heavy on the vine or juicy pears and apples throughout orchards. 😋
Although abundant, the September harvest is deeply shaped by geography:
🌽 The Midwest features sweet corn, eggplant, and bell peppers.
🍇 The West Coast promises late-season figs, grapes, melons, and root vegetables galore.
🍎 The Northeast is all about potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and apples.
🍉 At the same time, the South is still filled with summer squash, watermelon, and tomatoes.
That's why local sourcing is at the heart of Bon Appétit’s mission to create food service for a sustainable future. By buying from local farms year-round through our Farm to Fork commitment, the benefits reach every plate we serve:
1️⃣ Local ingredients deliver better flavor and higher nutrition.
2️⃣ Close relationships with food producers build resiliency in regional food networks.
3️⃣ Our investments allow smaller-scale operations to integrate sustainable practices like composting or natural pest management.
4️⃣ Most importantly, eating locally helps to connect us with the seasons, with the people who grow our food, and with the land around us.
Savor the abundance of September with us! #SeptemberHarvest #FarmToFork #SustainableEating #SeasonalEating #EatLocal #SupportLocal
Most Recent News
Inside Penn Dining’s plan to achieve ‘near-zero waste,’ improve sustainability
Penn Dining, the University’s on-campus food service department, and Bon Appétit, the catering company that partners with Penn, are taking steps to adopt sustainable practices and embrace environmentally friendly policies.
How Bon Appétit is building a culture around food education
From 2020 to 2024, Bon Appétit Management Company impacted more than 138,000 guests with its food education programs, including 3,000 children in Healthy Kids cooking classes, 1,500 student athletes learning about performance nutrition, and 1,000 chefs learning about plant-forward cooking.
Renovation Investment Transforms RWU Upper Commons Dining Experience
Roger Williams University students returned this fall to a refreshed Upper Commons, following a summer-long $2 million renovation project designed to expand dining options, highlight sustainability, and enhance the student experience.
Join Us
We’re always looking for great people to join our teams! If you:
- Get excited when fresh, local produce arrives on your loading dock
- Enjoy creating all-new dishes from scratch
- Love interacting with people through delicious and nutritious food
- Thrive when part of a close-knit team that takes your and others’ safety seriously
- Enjoy helping people reach their full potential, nourishing them through at-work learning opportunities
Then you may be a fit for us!