Wichita restaurateur wins prestigious national award, like the Emmys of the food industry
It’s one of the restaurant industry’s biggest national awards — often compared to the Emmys of food service — and only a few other Wichitans have ever won it.
But now, there’s another.
On Tuesday, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association announced that it had added Wichita’s Scott Redler, a co-founder and the chief operating officer of the Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers chain, to its roster of Silver Plate Award winners.
Redler, 59, will pick up the award in May at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.
The Silver Plate is awarded annually to the country’s leading food service operators, and this year, there are nine winners, each in different categories. Redler won in the “Chain Limited Service” category. Awards are also given to food service directors in schools, colleges, health care facilities and more.
Only a few other Wichitans have ever been named Silver Plate winners, including Pizza Hut co-founder Frank Carney in the 1970s. Patti Dollarhide won the award as the food service director for Via Christi Regional Medical Center in 2004, and Dale Evert won in 1994 when he was director of nutrition and food services at Wesley Hospital.
Each year, industry leaders and IFMA members nominate their peers for the awards, then a jury that includes national trade press, food service experts and past winners selects the new winners. At the convention in May, a top Gold Plate winner will be named from the list of Silver Plate winners.
Redler said he found out he was nominated by a small supplier that Freddy’s uses.
“I was breathless,” he said of the moment he learned he’d been selected. “I just sat at my computer for a few minutes not saying a word. It was a ‘Holy Cow’ moment, just to be recognized by your peers like that.”
Redler, a St. Louis native, got his start in restaurants at age 15. He paid his way through college by managing steakhouses and earned a degree in restaurant and hotel management from the University of Missouri.
He moved to Wichita to work for Latour, and then in 1997, he opened Timberline Steakhouse with Bill Simon. Five years later, he partnered with Simon and his brother, Randy, to launch Freddy’s. Today, there are more than 370 Freddy’s stores across the United States.
Here’s a list of all of the 2020 Silver Plate winners:
2020 Silver Plate Class:
Independent Restaurants/Multi-Concept: Joe Essa, President & CEO, Thomas Keller Restaurant Group
Chain Full Service: Phil Hickey, Chairman, Miller’s Ale House Restaurants
Chain Limited Service: Scott Redler, COO/Co-Founder, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Health Care: Eric Eisenberg, Director of Dining Services, Rogue Valley Manor, Oregon
Elementary & Secondary Schools: Bertrand Weber, Director, Culinary & Wellness Services, Minneapolis Public Schools
Colleges & Universities: Zia Ahmed, Senior Director of Dining Services, The Ohio State University
Business & Industry/Foodservice Management: Victoria Vega, Senior Vice President, Specialty Group, Unidine Corporation
Retail & Specialty: Brandon Chrostowski, Founder/President/CEO, EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 2:34 PM.
.jpg)