1941 - 2008

Richard Ysmael, longtime head of Food Works, the in-house dining operation at Motorola, Inc., passed away October 14th after a long battle with lymphoma. Winner of the Silver Plate Award in 1982 in the Corporate Dining category, Ysmael was a highly respected and influential figure in the onsite foodservice industry.

Food Works for many years was regarded as the largest self-operated B&I in the country and a major innovator in the segment. A mentor and friend to countless operators and executives in the business dining segment, Ysmael was a founding member of the Society for Foodservice Management (SFM) and a member of its first board of directors. He was honored many times over the years by SFM and other foodservice organizations.

In 2001, SFM launched the Richard Ysmael Distinguished Service Award, given annually to recognize exceptional service to SFM and onsite foodservice. Ysmael was the first recipient.

FM asked several of Ysmael’s long-time colleagues to offer memories of him for this page.*

“Richard Ysmael was the consummate leader and innovator in Business Dining for the past 35 years. He had the vision to take the foodservice program at Motorola from a “tray line” style of service to individual stations featuring fresh food cooked to order throughout the café. He implemented cashless payment, networked POS systems and external catering well before these initiatives were common in our business and has been recognized with every major award in our industry.

“He successfully transitioned the largest self-operated foodservice program in the US to Compass Group, retaining all the staff and adding the benefits of a global foodservice organization to the Food Works team.

“Richard was my mentor, my friend, my hero. He will never be forgotten.”              

— Greg Schroth

“Richard was a gentle giant  and his legacy is woven throughout foodservice. His rich contributions are seen in hundreds of the industry’s successful leaders and in thousands of young people who benefitted from the leadership and wisdom he passed on to others. 

“Good’ was never in Richard’s vocabulary. Your own “personal best’ was always the standard. More importantly, he held himself to that standard and shared his enthusiasm with all who met him.  

“The way Richard lived his life made me and many others reach for something more. He never accept the obvious, but always asked, “What if … you tried this... what if you looked at it this way...what if you considered….  He always saw beyond the expected and the accepted.”        

—Debi Benedetti

“Richard was a good man, a gentleman, a calm man, a hero and a mentor to many of us. Above that, Richard was a visionary. He hired women and people of color when it wasn’t a Human Resources necessity to do so.  He did it because it was the right thing to do, because it strengthened his organization. He always sought out and valued differing opinions and I will miss his counsel.”             

—Laura Lozano