Deli Star Corporation, producer of high-quality cooked meats, sauces and fudge, has hired five new employees in key areas for the company, including sales, quality assurance, logistics, and research & development. The new hires bring the Fayetteville, Illinois-based company’s staff total to 89. Deli Star’s newest employees include:

• Foodservice-industry veteran Larry Lamb will leverage his 30 years of sales, sales management experience as director of sales. Larry learned the business from the ground up, including distribution, manufacturing, brokering, in his own family’s grocery business. He has studied at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas (business), the University of Wisconsin (leadership) and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York (culinary training).
• Erik Bruce, a former supply chain manager with Economy Polymers & Chemicals in Houston, Texas, will serve as Deli Star’s new senior logistics manager. In addition to earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Bruce is nearing completion of his MBA at The University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business.
• Former Teklab Inc. senior environmental lab analyst Amber Sternau has joined the company as quality & specification manager. Sternau is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.
• Charolette Browder, a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, has joined Deli Star’s research and innovation team as a research & development chef. After earning her bachelor’s degree in culinary science from the CIA, she went on to serve as a corporate chef for Chicago-based restaurant chain, Portillo’s.
• Also joining the research and innovation team as research chef is Kenny Hoag. A former culinary specialist with the U.S. Army, Hoag graduated from the CIA with a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Science. He is relocating to the area from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“We are excited to be expanding the Deli Star family as we continue our focus on providing innovative, chef-driven ideas for our customers,” said Deli Star president Justin Siegel. “While our capabilities may be expanding to meet the growing needs of our customers and increasingly diverse customer tastes, Deli Star’s original goal – to produce high-quality products in a fun and collaborative atmosphere – remains constant. Our team members are part of our family, and we look forward to growing together.”

Deli Star recently was named a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post Dispatch based on metrics that include workplace culture, employee engagement and benefits.

Source: Deli Star Corp.