Deli Star Corporation, producer of high-quality cooked meats, announced it has hired Charles Hayes, Certified Executive Chef (CEC), Certified Research Chef (CRC), and Certified Food Scientist (CFS), as the company’s vice president of culinary innovation. In this role, Hayes will lead the company’s research and development, sales, and marketing efforts, both at the company’s Fayetteville, Illinois, meat-processing facility and in the Deli Star Innovation Center located in St. Louis.
Hayes is a Culinary Institute of America graduate with more than 30 years of hotel, restaurant and food-processing experience. During his career he has worked at or consulted with major brands around the globe including Sara Lee, JMH Premium, Cara Operations LTD and Awrey Bakeries/Atkins Elegant Desserts. One of only 75 Certified Research Chefs in the world, Hayes is a pioneer of innovation, having run several large research and development teams on both the restaurant and manufacturing side of the business, launching several category-defining products in the process. A past president of the Research Chefs Association, Hayes remains active in the industry, having developed a solid network of relationships and contacts.