Culinary entrepreneurs

Ebony, March, 2005 by Charlotte Lyons

GLORY FOODS INC. manufactures and distributes a specialty line of Southern food products. It was founded in 1989 by the late restaurateur and businessman Bill Williams, and partners Iris Cooper, Dan Charna and the late Garth Henley. When Williams and his partners first discussed the concept for Glory Foods, supermarket shelves offered a variety of ethnic brands for Jewish, Hispanic and Asian consumers, but Southern-style foods symbolic of the African-American culture were not available. The partners were challenged to develop this marketing segment and offer products that duplicated the fresh taste of vegetables prepared with the flavor of down-home, Southern-style cooking. After introducing Glory Foods' seasoned canned vegetables in 1992, Williams successfully revolutionized the way consumers experience and enjoy traditional Southern foods. Glory Foods, based in Columbus, Ohio, has steadily grown and offers consumers a variety of choices, including canned vegetables, frozen products and the more recently introduced line of fresh-cut, bagged vegetables. Currently, Glory Foods products are available in more than 140 supermarket chains in 38 states.

For Williams, the journey into the food business began in high school when he worked at a restaurant. His interest in food preparation caught the attention of the owner, who guided his development. Encouraged by his mentor, he studied and graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America. He then earned a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Massachusetts before working as food and beverage manager for several hotel and restaurant chains. Williams later opened the Marble Gang Restaurant in Columbus, which became one of the most popular soul food restaurants in that area. He sold the restaurant in 1998.

Glory Foods has also gained accolades for its partnerships with Black farmers in Mississippi's Delta region, which resulted in the introduction of Glory Foods' own line of sweet potatoes, grown on land leased from a small consortium of Black farmers in the historically Black township of Mound Bayou, Miss., now designated as an Empowerment Zone. Williams was among a group of businessmen whose support helped to revitalize the farming community.

G. Barry Huff is the current president who, along with Williams' widow, Betty Williams (a board member), and other Williams family members, keep the Glory Foods brand growing and thriving.

SMOKEY ROBINSON, legendary entertainer, Grammy Award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, introduced his "Smokey Robinson's Soul Is In The Bowl" product line in 2004. Just like the man's music, his products are soulful and delicious. Among the products are his Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya and more.

Since the early 1960s, Robinson's travels have taken him around the world, and he has sampled great foods from the kettles of the world's most renowned chefs and from the pots of some of the most soulful kitchens in the U.S. After years of coaxing by family and friends, Robinson finally put together a product line that includes some of his favorite dishes and recipes.

JULIE AND ALBERT NDJEE founded Ultimate Seasonings LLC in 2002 and began selling their products the following year. Julie, who grew up in a middle class family in the Republic of Cameroon, says she developed a love of fine cuisine because her parents enjoyed entertaining. After she moved to the U.S., Julie had to search for just the right herbs to give her foods the taste she loved from her native country.

"Healthy foods have always been a focus of mine. After starting a family, this became even more important to me," Julie says. "Therefore, I began shopping for spices and combining the seasonings that would taste just like what I had been accustomed to making in Africa, while always focusing on healthy food products without preservatives or additives. When I started cooking with my creation of unique seasoning blends for friends, family and colleagues, I quickly realized the great appeal of these products. I soon began to experiment and fine-tune my seasoning blends to appeal to American and international gourmet palates alike."

Julie, a political science graduate from the University of North Carolina, left her career in information technology to create Ultimate Seasonings LLC with her husband and business partner Albert Ndjee, a George Washington Law School graduate and computer engineer.

Ultimate Seasonings can now be purchased at many fine supermarkets and specialty gourmet stores throughout parts of the Northeast, and will be distributed by major supermarket chains across the U.S. this year. The company estimates that its sales will surpass $1 million this year.

PETER MORALES is president and founder of 57 Main Street Wine Company, the exclusive U.S. importer and marketer of KWV International, a leading producer of wines and spirits in South Africa. After a very successful career in consumer products, Morales parlayed his vision for a successful wine and spirits company and his love for cooking into a food and wine career. He sought an opportunity to connect with South Africa just after the U.S. lifted sanctions against the country. However, he was met with the challenge of introducing South African wines into the U.S. food industry, which previously didn't view South Africa as a wine-producing region. Morales has been successful in building a multicultural company and has gotten his products into such markets as Walt Disney World and prestigious celebrity restaurants, including those owned by Sean (P. Diddy) Combs.