Des Moines, IA- Oct 11 – On Monday October 8th, Senator Michael Breitbach of Iowa’s 28^thDistrict was awarded the 2018 Legislator of the Year Award by the Iowa Restaurant Association. Breitbach was presented the award at a ceremony in Des Moines by the Incoming Chairman of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors Joe Essa of Wolfgang Puck Worldwide and the Current Chairman of the Iowa Restaurant Association Board of Directors Darin Beck of Barmuda Companies. “When Iowa’s restaurant and insurance industries collaborated to bring about changes to Iowa’s liquor liability insurance laws, the choice for a floor manager and issue champion in the Iowa Senate was self-evident,” said Jessica Dunker, president and CEO for the Iowa Restaurant Association. “Senator Breitbach has both an insurance and a hospitality background. He was not only familiar with the definition of DRAM Shop insurance but was just as frustrated by the lack of options available to Iowa business owners as many hospitality business owners.” Breitbach who lives in Strawberry Point grew up in the hospitality business. His parents owned “The Hub” a tavern in Colesburg which they both ran and lived above. Breitbach still believes locally owned restaurants and taverns are “the hub” of many Iowa small towns.  For more than 30 years, Breitbach has been an insurance agent.  He became a partner in Smith Insurance LLC in 1992. As Vice Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and member of the subcommittee which moved the Association’s proposed DRAM legislation, as well as the Senate Floor leader, Breitbach passionately argued for the need of restaurant and tavern owners to have access to affordable insurance and be held to reasonable standards for liability. The final DRAM legislation hit all tenants of Breitbach’s personal commitment to bring common sense back to the government by updating outdated regulations, reducing unnecessary costs to business owners and increasing personal responsibility. A video showcasing Breitbach can be found at www.restaurantiowa.com. Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association is an advocacy organization supporting Iowa’s restaurant and bar industry with educational and promotional programs across the state. Media Contact: Josephine Jensen, Public Relations Specialist jjensen@restaurantiowa.com 319-464-0766

Des Moines, IA- Oct 11 – On Monday October 8th, Drew Beck, Division President of Reinhart Foodservice, was awarded the 2018 ProStart Mentor of the Year by the Iowa Restaurant Association for his commitment and dedication to future industry leaders. Beck was presented the award at a ceremony in Des Moines by the Incoming Chairman of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors Joe Essa of Wolfgang Puck Worldwide and the Current Chairman of the Iowa Restaurant Association Board of Directors Darin Beck of Barmuda Companies. Beck always knew he wanted to work in the restaurant industry but when he enrolled college at Eastern Illinois University, there was no culinary program, so Drew opted to study business—but his interest in the restaurant industry held and upon graduation he landed a job as an assistant manager for Bennigan’s.  He still looks back and marvels that at age 22 he helped open and operate a restaurant in Peoria, Illinois. He eventually moved to the distribution side of the food industry working at Hawkeye Foods, U.S. Foods and finely at Reinhardt Foodservice. It was in his current role that he became engaged with Cedar Rapids Washington High School and began to mentor their ProStart students. ProStart is a high school program focused on culinary and restaurant management skill development. As a ProStart mentor, Drew sees his investment in the students as a great return on investment for our industry “Year in and year out our industries biggest problem is labor: not enough, not well trained, and not seeing our industry as a long-term career path. I believe in and support the ProStart program because it is proactively addressing our industries need to develop future leaders,” concludes Beck. A video showcasing Beck can be found at www.restaurantiowa.com. Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association is an advocacy organization supporting Iowa’s restaurant and bar industry with educational and promotional programs across the state. Media Contact: Josephine Jensen Public Relations Specialist jjensen@restaurantiowa.com 319-464-0766

Des Moines, IA- Oct 10 – On Monday October 10th, Chef Aaron Holt, Executive Chef at RoCA, was awarded the 2018 Chef of the Year Award by the Iowa Restaurant Association for his determination and commitment to RoCA’s success. Aaron was presented the award at a ceremony in Des Moines by the Incoming Chairman of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors Joe Essa of Wolfgang Puck Worldwide and the Current Chairman of the Iowa Restaurant Association Board of Directors Darin Beck of Barmuda Companies.   Aaron Holt is proof that you don’t need a culinary degree to be an award-winning chef.  He started working in restaurants at age 15—but at the time, it didn’t occur to him that he could make a career in the industry. In college he pursued an architecture degree but continued to work in restaurants.  During his sophomore year, at age 21, something happened that changed the course of his life—he was promoted to an executive chef position.   He worked several front of the house and chef positions— gleaning everything he could from every restaurant and role.  In 2007 Aaron approached award-winning Chef Andrew Meek and offered to work for him for free just so he could learn from the best and develop a better sense of fine dining cooking.   As the Executive Chef at RoCA, Aaron has been instrumental in creating and building the menu as well as helping to create the ambiance that RoCA tries to provide their guests night after night. He loves to use local and seasonal ingredients in his dishes, including produce he grows on his family’s farm. Not only is he fully committed to continually improving the customer experience at RoCA, but he also is paying it forward by serving as a teacher and mentor aspiring chefs. A video showcasing Aaron can be found at www.restaurantiowa.com. Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association is an advocacy organization supporting Iowa’s restaurant and bar industry with educational and promotional programs across the state. Media Contact: Josephine Jensen Public Relations Specialist jjensen@restaurantiowa.com 319-464-0766

Wednesday, August 15, 2018 – West Des Moines, IA Top Chefs Wow the Crowd The competing chefs were challenged to make salad dressing recipes which used Mori-nu Soft Silken Tofu as the base of the dressing, were consumer friendly, gluten-free and delicious enough to put on a restaurant menu. Each chef demonstrated the process of making the dressing and then served four judges as well as a crowd of fair-goers. Migliero Wins Champion: Chef Migliero took home the gold with an orange walnut tofu dressing over a mixed local greens salad. Other competing chefs included: 2nd Place: Chef Jessi Dolson, Barley’s Bar & Grill in Council Bluffs, IA – Orange ginger soy shrimp salad 3rd Place: Tyler Kubiak, Hy-Vee Market Grille, Waukee -Lemon Mint Tofu Dressing 4th Place: Chef Joe McConnville, Gusto Pizza Des Moines – Creamy pesto with balsamic All participants received cash prizes. Contest judges included Soy producer and IA Soybean Association board member, Jeff Frank, Food blogger Cristin Clark with Food & Swine, Reporter Ben Oldach with WHO TV 13 and Chef John Andres with the Iowa Culinary Institute. All of the chefs’ recipes are available online at both the Iowa Restaurant Association and The Soyfoods Council websites: www.restaurantiowa.com and www.thesoyfoodscouncil.com.

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The Soyfoods Council The Soyfoods Council is an affiliate of the Iowa Soybean Association. The mission of The Soyfoods Council is to serve as a catalyst, leader and facilitator to mainstream soy-based foods into the global marketplace-America and beyond. www.thesoyfoodscouncil.comIowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association is an advocacy organization supporting Iowa’s industry with educational and promotional programs across the state. www.restraurantiowa.com Media Contact: Josephine Jensen Public Relations Specialist jjensen@restaurantiowa.com 515-276-1454

April 30, 2018 – West Des Moines, IA – Don’t wait to make your restaurant reservations. Mother’s Day surpasses even Valentine’s Day as the most popular holiday on which to dine out according to research from the Iowa Restaurant Association. In fact, nearly half of moms would pick a favorite restaurant as the place to celebrate Mother’s Day. Not sure what to include with that card? “There’s really no need to worry about how to celebrate the moms in your life,” said Jessica Dunker, Iowa Restaurant Association president and CEO. “Moms love restaurants. Not only do restaurants provide a much-deserved reprieve from cooking at home, they also provide a celebratory atmosphere.”  Restaurant gift cards and certificates are also a top gift pick for moms, with one in five saying this is their preferred gift. Dunker noted that it is important to get on top of making Mother’s Day restaurant reservations. “It’s not too soon to make reservations regardless of the meal you’re planning to celebrate,” said Dunker.  Fifty-five percent of Mother’s Day diners will go out to a restaurant for dinner, 34 percent lunch, 30 percent brunch, and 12 percent for breakfast.  In addition, one in five Mother’s Day diners (23 percent) will go out for more than one meal that day. Atmosphere is also an important factor because children are a major part of the mix when dining out on Mother’s Day. Two-thirds of those dining out on Mother’s Days this year will have children under the age of 18 in their party. Find a Restaurant Looking for a new restaurant to try this Mother’s Day? Dunker encourages people to check out Dine Iowa, a free statewide restaurant directory.  Available online as well as a free smart phone app and on Facebook, Dine Iowa allows consumers to check out menus and hours, as well as run unique searches on everything from Gluten Free offerings to patio seating.  It is available at www.dineiowa.org.

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Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association is an advocacy organization supporting Iowa’s hospitality industry with educational and promotional programs across the state.  www.restaurantiowa.com. Media Contact: Katelyn Kostek Public Relations Specialist 515-276-1454 kkostek@restaurantiowa.com

Thursday, April 5, 2018 – Des Moines, IA – Congratulations to Jessica Dunker, President & CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association, who has been named the 2018 Inspiring Women of Iowa Courage Award Recipient by the Girls Scouts of Greater Iowa. Dunker was nominated by an anonymous source for the Courage Award which is given to a woman who has shown strength in the face of fear, pain, or grief and persevered. Dunker accepted the award at a luncheon held at the Des Moines Marriott on Wednesday, April 4. In her acceptance speech, Dunker commented, “I realize the courage that was required by the women who were nominated in this category and the things they’ve had to overcome in their lives and I am so honored to be in their company. Every one of the nominees are women of courage, character and confidence.”

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Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association provides advocacy, education and promotional support to Iowa’s restaurant and tavern industry. www.restaurantiowa.com Media Contact: Katelyn Kostek Public Relations Specialist kkostek@restaurantiowa.com 515-276-1454

West Des Moines – February 12, 2018 – Today the Iowa Restaurant Association announced that in 2017 more than 6,000 foodservice professionals earned their food safety management certification. The Association also reported that more than 17,000 have received the credential in the past three years. The credential is earned by taking a class and passing a national exam on topics ranging from contamination prevention, appropriate hold and cook times and temperatures, and sanitation imperatives. “State Law requires every foodservice establishment to have one person who is a certified food protection manager,” said Jessica Dunker, President and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association. “The fact that triple that number of foodservice professionals have earned this designation shows that Iowans can be confident about the quality and safety of their meals in restaurants of all types across the state.” To receive the credential, foodservice professionals take ServSafe™ – a one-day, nationally developed class based on the current food code and best practices. Training classes are offered in English and Spanish at the Iowa Restaurant Association office and across the state via Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Classes are $150 and can be found online at www.restaurantiowa.com.

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Iowa Restaurant Association The Iowa Restaurant Association provides advocacy, education and promotional support to Iowa’s restaurant and tavern industry. www.restaurantiowa.com

Media Contact: Katelyn Kostek Public Relations Specialist kkostek@restaurantiowa.com 515-276-1454