Specialty food distributor Food Innovations Inc. announced the hiring of chef Jonathan Steckler as director of National Sales and corporate chef.

A graduate of Yale University and Manhattan's New York Restaurant School, Steckler interned under chef Michael Romano at the Union Square Cafe. Steckler worked in some of New York's finest restaurants before moving into the test kitchens at Creative Food Solutions, recipe development subsidiary of Madison Avenue marketing and advertising firm The Food Group. At CFS, Steckler secured national account placement for products from foodservice vendors including McIlhenny, Lipton, Nabisco and Uncle Ben's, as well as the American Egg Board and Florida Department of Citrus.

Steckler stated, "I'm excited by the opportunity to work with Food Innovations the country's true one-stop shop for the highest quality perishable products. Our team of chefs, coupled with the boats, farms and ranches that Food Innovations chooses to utilize, delivers what great chefs need. Our sales relationships allow us entry into tens of thousands of accounts across the country. I feel that Food Innovation's is uniquely situated to capitalize on a tremendous growth opportunity moving forward."

Chef Joe DiMaggio, Jr., Food Innovation's Inc. founder and CEO, stated, "We are excited that chef Jonathan Steckler chose to accept the position as director of National Sales; his background in product placement and sales adds tremendous value to our company's brand of 'Fresh from the Source' services. He brings to our company a definitive sales and customer service plan to proceed with marketing our brand of high-quality perishables not easily attained in most markets."