Food, Flavor & Family are Powering the Business of Restaurants

Nearly 70% of family-owned businesses are sold before they even make it to one additional generation.

That’s not the case with Food Related.

Food Related is a food importer and supplier of, well, food and food-related items, and CEO Luciano Ciociari is carrying on his father’s legacy of treating everyone the company deals with, from customers to producers and suppliers, like family.

On this episode of Run the Pass with Executive Chef Andre Natera, Ciociari joined Natera in his kitchen to explore this commitment to relationships, dive into how Ciociari has kept his family business running strong in such a competitive industry, and how Food Related constantly innovates to match the incredible pace of evolution in foodservice.

One of the first tasks when Ciociari was tasked with carrying on his father’s legacy was finding the right name. Originally, the business was know as Gaucho Gourmet, and Manuel Ciociari’s children found it difficult to stray from that identity.

However, they eventually realized that, while a name carries weight, culture carries more.

“What was most important was to carry forward our value system and DNA, not so much the name,” Ciociari said.

While crafting the “perfect” charcuterie board alongside Natera, Ciociari talked about Food Related’s mission to provide customers with “anything that helps [them] enhance their experience” and do their jobs more effectively.

The duo also touched on why Ciociari has crafted an exact replica of his father’s garage office to Food Related’s new space to remind him of the spirit that began the company, how a Vince Lombardi poster continues to inspire him, and how an expanding product offering has allowed the company to continue serving the needs of chefs and restaurants everywhere.

The Next Episode Airs October 6th!

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