Food Service

Before sunrise Monday, Kevin and Shelley Taylor set out from their Millersville home to a new employment center for the Maryland Live! Casino, a slots parlor next to the Arundel Mills mall seeking workers for 1,500 jobs. Having tracked the progress of what will be the state's largest casino, the Taylors believe the facility could provide opportunity for their five-member family. Though Kevin Taylor has a job, he wants a better-paying one. And Shelley Taylor has been out of work for several months.

"Our chef is amazing. " Checking on our table between appetizers and entrees, our waitress waxed poetic about chef Cyrus Keefer, the culinary force behind 1542 Gastropub in Federal Hill. She was nearly gushing, but she was also right: Keefer's food is top-notch. It's creative, interesting and expertly executed — a welcome addition to the Federal Hill food scene. 1542 Gastropub, owned by Sean White and Andrew Dunlap, opened in March as the new incarnation of the duo's former spot, The Reserve.

Albert Carl Fields, a former educator who later became food service manager at Calvert Hall College High School, died Saturday of complications from Parkinson's disease at St. Joseph Medical Center. The longtime Timonium resident was 76. Mr. Fields was born at home on Hillen Street and later moved to Woodbourne Avenue. He was a 1953 graduate of Calvert Hall and earned a bachelor's degree in 1959 from Loyola College. From 1957 to 1977, when he changed careers, Mr. Fields taught English and drama at his old high school.

Wedding Day: June 9, 2012 Her story: Carly Mistovich, 28, grew up Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. Her father, Ken Mistovich, is vice president at L&L Supply Corp., a brick company. Her mother, Lisa Mistovich, is a server and bartender for several catering companies in the area. Carly moved to Federal Hill six years ago for her job. She's the director of sales for Aramark food services at M&T Bank Stadium. His story: Greg Patronik, 29, grew up in Reisterstown. His father, Nick Patronik, owns Patron Services, Inc., a logistics company that's involved with importing and exporting cargo.

James W. Boretos, a retired food service distribution executive, died of respiratory failure Monday at Howard County General Hospital. He was 65. Mr. Boretos was born and raised in Rutland, Vt. After graduation from high school, he served in the Army from 1959 to 1961. A longtime resident of Highland, he was formerly employed at Sysco Frosted Foods and Independent Foods. Until retiring in 1992, he was senior vice president of U.S. Foodservice, a Columbia-based firm that supplies foods to restaurants, hospitals, prisons and other institutions.

Donald E. Marsh, a food and nutrition administrator at Morrison Healthcare Food Services, died of cancer Monday at his Ellicott City home. He was 62. Born and raised in Warren, Pa., Mr. Marsh graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1961. He went to Pennsylvania State University, where he met Joanna King, whom he married in 1965. He graduated in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in food service administration. Mr. Marsh worked at various hospitals, including Warren General Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice has threatened legal action against the operator of a Web site that has become a conduit for food-service employees to exchange news and gossip and view articles related to the company's recent accounting scandal. The site's operator, Steve Hoschler, a food-service industry veteran who is now a fifth-grade schoolteacher in Sacramento, Calif., has temporarily shut down its "news and comment" section and is seeking legal help from a New York law firm. Though convinced he has the law on his side, Hoschler said, "I immediately complied with everything they asked me to do."

U.S. Foodservice announced a three-year, $600 million contract yesterday with Chili's that will make the Columbia-based company the restaurant chain's provider of food and related products. Chili's had a contract with AmeriServe Food Distribution Inc. and its predecessors for more than 10 years, said Chili's spokesman Louis Adams. "Our contract was up and we decided to look around at other companies that might be a better fit," Adams said. The contract turnover to U.S. Foodservice will take place over the next few months in Chili's restaurants other than those in Florida and some parts of Alabama.

U.S. Foodservice, the Columbia subsidiary of Dutch supermarket company Royal Ahold NV, announced yesterday that it has completed the purchase of a Florida food distributor for an undisclosed amount of cash. The acquisition of Mutual Wholesale Co. of Lakeland, Fla., gives U.S. Foodservice, the second-largest food service distributor behind Sysco Corp., a wider reach in Central and South Florida. Mutual Wholesale had annual sales of roughly $300 million and serves 4,200 accounts, primarily restaurants, schools, universities and health care institutions.

An article in yesterday's editions of The Sun said the Maryland Attorney General's office took action against Continental Food for deceptive practices in its direct food sales to home consumers. That operation has no connection to restaurant food distributor Continental Food Service Inc.Pub Date: 12/13/97

Carroll County public schools should strengthen financial controls and network security, seek all valid Medicaid-related reimbursements, review some of their contractor arrangements and re-evaluate their food service operations, according to a report released by the state Office of Legislative Audits. Those measures could save the county as much as $4 million a year, said the report released last week. "These are recommendations," said Bruce A. Myers, legislative auditor. "We have no enforcement power, but we can advise.

Only recently, with the controversy over the proposed demolition of the Read's drugstore at Howard and Lexington, are we beginning to take note of Baltimore's important and early role in the civil rights movement. A few weeks ago, a copy of a new book, "Round and Round Together," arrived with much to say. Its title refers to Gwynn Oak's merry-go-round, which the author treats as a kind of centerpiece and metaphor for the local movement of the 1950s and 1960s. I later spoke with the author, Amy Singewald Nathan, a Baltimorean from Hunting Ridge who had just graduated Western High School during the summer of 1963, when Gwynn Oak was the subject of national attention.

Millions in federal funds used to provide services to those living with HIV are again flowing to local programs after a months-long delay. Eighty one Maryland health organizations rely on about $61 million a year from the federal Ryan White Care Act to provide services for those who can't afford their own care, and some officials said they had no choice but to trim their offerings. One of them was Moveable Feast, a nonprofit group that provides food to those who are sick, including 370 with HIV and AIDS in the Baltimore area.

Federal dollars that localities use to fund care for those living with HIV have been cut off for months, leaving some who can't afford their own care without services. Millions in unpaid funds are expected to begin flowing through city and state offices to 81 Maryland health organizations in the next couple of weeks, but the groups say people have already had to slash their budgets for food, housing and some medications. "When you're on HIV medications, you need food, and some of these people have nowhere else to get it," said Tom Bonderenko, executive director of Moveable Feast, a nonprofit group that provides food to those with illness, including 370 with HIV and AIDS in Baltimore area.

Charles S. "DC" Reed, former food service director at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Greater Baltimore Medical Center, died July 24 of lung cancer at his Towson home. He was 79. Born and raised in Towson, Mr. Reed attended Loyola High School and graduated in 1949 from Towson Catholic High School. Mr. Reed enlisted in the Navy and served as a gunner's mate aboard the subchaser USS Crestview and later on the carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt and the destroyer USS Hemminger. After being discharged from active duty, he remained a naval reservist until 1958.

Waterstone Bar and Grille has been serving Mediterranean fare for more than a year and a half in the spot that formerly housed Coconuts Cafe. That has, you'd think, given the management plenty of time to work out the kinks. But on two recent visits, a combination of mixed service, up-and-down food and odd decoration choices all prove that Waterstone has a ways to go. After we were seated in the middle of the handsome dining room, the noise was the first thing we noticed. It was louder than we expected, given that the restaurant was barely half-full.

U.S. Foodservice, the second-largest national food service distributor, said yesterday that it has completed the purchase of Superior Products Mfg. Co.The Columbia-based company said the acquisition will enable it to expand its food service equipment and supply business.Analysts expect Superior to play a significant role in the company's electronic commerce initiative, which is expected to be announced next week.St. Paul, Minn.-based Superior had sales of $127 million last year and has as its customers 160,000 food-service operators nationwide.

Albert Carl Fields, a former educator who later became food service manager at Calvert Hall College High School, died Saturday of complications from Parkinson's disease at St. Joseph Medical Center. The longtime Timonium resident was 76. Mr. Fields was born at home on Hillen Street and later moved to Woodbourne Avenue. He was a 1953 graduate of Calvert Hall and earned a bachelor's degree in 1959 from Loyola College. From 1957 to 1977, when he changed careers, Mr. Fields taught English and drama at his old high school.