Jack Galione, 1938-2016

Jack Galione

Jack Galione, a pioneering figure in the corporate dining end of the industry, passed away on March 28. He was 77.

Galione founded Corporate Food Service (CFS) in 1972 and built it into what was generally considered the first boutique contract foodservice firm in New York City, at its peak in the late 1980s serving dozens of high end clients ranging from top-tier law firms to insurance and financial institutions and generating revenues of around $40 million. CFS was acquired by Marriott Management Services in 1989 and Galione left the company two years later to go into consulting.

For his achievements, Galione won the IFMA Silver Plate award in 1983 and he was also a founding member of the Society for Foodservice Management (SFM, now SHFM).

“The passing of Jack Galione came as quite a shock to many of us,” Ed Sirhal, president of Restaurant Associates, said. “Jack was an icon and bigger than life personality in the early days of corporate dining. He was a true pioneer with a passion for quality...hiring restaurant chefs who cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients. He built a premier company in NYC and always made time to share best practices with the rest of the industry. Jack will be greatly missed, may he rest in peace.”

“Because of the efforts of people like Jack Galione who forced change even against the wishes of clients who most often paid for these massive menu and facility improvements, today's food service directors are benefiting from all those who toiled before them,” noted Neil Reyer, former head of corporate dining at JPMorgan Chase (Reyer’s extended tribute to Galione can be viewed here).

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