Winn Meat Company Names Corporate Chef Jamie Samford Vice President of Product Development
DALLAS (August 20, 2007) – Jamie Samford, one of the Southwest’s leading chefs, has been appointed Vice President for Winn Meat Company, company officials announced today.
Winn is one of the United States’ premier providers of fine proteins, serving Texas’ multi-billion-dollar restaurant and hospitality industry through operations in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Austin/San Antonio.
Samford joined the company in 2006 to head the company’s product development and expanded outreach to the continually growing upscale restaurant, country club and hotel business in Texas and neighboring states.
Along with directing the company’s product development kitchen, Samford has led Winn Meat Company’s marketing initiatives. Samford has brought to the company extensive experience in the fine dining and retail markets in Texas. He is also regularly featured on morning show television as an entertaining expert who inspires viewers on the joys of cooking and fine flavors.
As Vice President of Product Development, Samford will lead new initiatives that leverage Winn’s extensive history of serving Texas’ foodservice industry, with innovations and custom-programs to serve the specific needs of chef customers.
“Jamie Samford’s appointment to Winn Meat Company as corporate chef was a solid strategic move to add to our intellectual capital and provide leadership and tools for our team of chef and culinary professionals throughout all departments,” said Walter Wilkerson, co-president of Winn Meat Company. “His leadership on initiatives to enhance our programs for chef customers in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Austin and beyond has been tremendous, and we look forward to his continued expert contributions as Vice President of Product Development.”
“Jamie’s work with our powerful group of premier protein brands continues to help grow our service and product offerings to our customers,” said Todd Winn, Co-president of Winn Meat Company. “He thoroughly understands the high standards we maintain and how that supports the success of our customers. Jamie’s ongoing leadership is greatly valued.”
“I’m proud to be a part of the amazing Winn Meat Company team – with a tradition of quality that is genuine, through and through,” said Chef Samford. “I’m enthusiastic about all the facets of the fine protein business – from purveying the best offerings, customizing to chef’s particular needs, to recipe development, to culinary innovations – and to helping continue the Winn tradition of excellence in service to customers as our company grows throughout Texas and the Southwest.”
Winn Meat Company has five-star restaurants and hospitality brands throughout Texas’ major markets on its client roster. Winn is also the exclusive supplier in the region of Sterling Silver® Premium Meats, a prestigious line of superior-quality beef and pork.
Samford will work closely with Winn’s expert sales teams in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio and Houston. The sales team is comprised of seasoned foodservice professionals including several chefs. Recent additions to the team include Michael Pearce who was a chef at Austin’s famous Driskill Hotel and Nick Zotos who was a chef and trainer for the prestigious Smith & Wollensky brand.
Samford came to Winn Meat Company having served as Executive Chef for famous fresh-market concept Central Market’s Dallas location, where he led a 80-member culinary team in cooking restaurant-quality food in Café on the Run for the store’s enormous North Texas customer base. Samford also helped develop recipes for Central Market and was an expert commentator for television and print news reports.
About Chef Samford
With 17-plus years’ experience in the food and hospitality industries, Jamie Samford heads Winn Meat Company’s expanded outreach to the continually growing upscale restaurant, country club and hotel business in Texas and neighboring states. Along with directing the company’s product development kitchen, Samford is responsible for Winn Meat Company’s new marketing initiatives. His vast experience in the fine dining and retail markets in Texas allows many creative approaches to informing and educating current and new clients about the broad range of high-quality products and service solutions available at Winn Meat Company.
Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Samford developed a passion for cooking, eating and community service from his mother. “She was a fabulous cook and loved to entertain. On one hand she had lavish table settings that were fit for the President, yet she never missed her opportunity to deliver Meals on Wheels.” Always in the kitchen, Samford was able to whip up creative meals even when family members complained that there was nothing to eat in the refrigerator.
While he didn’t start out in the kitchen when he began working as an adult, his talents kept bringing him back to the culinary arts. Samford applied for a chef apprenticeship through the culinary program of El Centro College with the Double Tree Lincoln Center in 1988. Samford’s duties covered all kitchen stations, from banquet and fine dining to Garde Manager and dishwasher.
During his last year of apprenticeship, Samford went to school, worked at the Double Tree and studied as a line cook at the renowned Baby Routh under the tutelage of Stephan Pyles and Kevin Rathbun. He also worked under Dean Fearing at The Mansion on Turtle Creek as a lunch cook after graduation from El Centro.
Samford provided his leadership skills to high profile hotel businesses in North Texas, rising quickly to Executive positions for Bristol Hotels & Resorts and the Rosewood Corporation.
He soon missed the creativity and inspiration of haute cuisine and the “heat” of the kitchen. He satisfied his desire for originality as an Executive Sous Chef of the Hotel Crescent Court and Chef de Cuisine at Angeluna in Fort Worth.
In 2000, Samford was given the opportunity to open Lola, The Restaurant, in Uptown Dallas, which served New American cuisine. In the two years Samford was the Executive Chef, the establishment received rave reviews. Lola was recognized as one of the “Top 10 New Restaurants” in Dallas, a four-star restaurant by The Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Observer. His recipes have been published in Food & Wine, Southern Living, Dallas Morning News and Ft. Worth Star Telegram, among others.
In the mid-90s, moved by his mother’s commitment to the less fortunate, Samford grabbed the opportunity to get involved with Dallas’ inaugural training class for Operation Frontline, a program sponsored by Share Our Strength through the North Texas Food Bank that teaches participants how to eat healthy, economically and safely. Winn Meat Company is the 2007 protein sponsor for Operation Front Line. Samford is currently part of OFL’s task force and teaches classes. Chef Samford enjoys giving back to the community and the hospitality industry through his efforts with numerous charities, non-profits and culinary education.
Mr. Samford’s free time is joyously spent being a husband to his beautiful wife Carol, and a father to his children Hannah and Price, as well as his bonus children Cassie and Beau.
About Winn Meat Company
Winn Meat Company has been providing food service customers with top-quality meat products and services for over 100 years. The company was originally founded as Bunting’s Wholesale Market in 1902. Robert Winn bought the company in 1974. Today, Todd Winn and Walter Wilkerson continue the family tradition of service excellence that is now the hallmark of Winn Meat Company.
From specialty cuts to custom orders, Winn Meat Company is dedicated to giving customers not only high-quality products and services, but value. With a team of experts from the culinary and meat and protein industries, Winn Meat Company’s capabilities range from sourcing unique products to in-house development of products to meet customer specifications. Winn Meat Company is proud of many longstanding relationships built on a commitment to quality and service. Winn Meat Company offers a broad range of products, from true dry-aged beef to fresh all natural game birds. For more background, please visit www.winnmeat.com.
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