Perhaps you met our new Executive Chef Clayton at our booth or at his cooking demonstration at ANC this summer or possibly at one of the regional state shows. He’s been quite busy travelling the country! I want to introduce you to one of our newest members of the E S Foods team, in case you have not met personally.

A dynamic and motivated pro, Clayton Pride III joined us early this year in our newly created position of Executive Chef-Sales Associate. In this role, Chef Clayton is involved in product development, strategic sales planning, and expansion into new channels throughout the foodservice industry, beyond the K12 market.  Chef’s passion is inspiring others to cook with creativity and showing people that healthy foods can be delicious.

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Chef Clayton has more than 20 years’ experience in the culinary industry. After graduating from culinary school, his background includes working as a corporate sous chef and most recently in food management in the hotel industry.  Some fun facts include his brushes with greatness as he once catered for Stevie Wonder and the was a personal chef to NFL’s Brandon Spikes and other celebrities.

Learning to create tasty and nutritious foods following USDA guidelines for K-12 foodservice is no easy task, but Chef has approached it in ways that will make our food lines even more appealing. He said, “The E S Foods team has challenged me with using my culinary training in finding groundbreaking ways using various spices, liquids, and proteins that will add flavor without excessive salt, saturated fat and other undesirable additives.”

Chef Clayton is currently working on menu ideas and creating different sauces to accompany our Field Farms and Penn Pretzel brands. Recipes and tips from Chef Clayton coming soon!