Explore the Power of Internal Alignment with Alison Patt
In this podcast episode by Winning at Work, host Tony Moore sits down with Thomas Cuisine President and CEO Alison Patt to discuss culture, sales, smart growth, and partnerships. This important conversation highlights Alison’s unique vision around business development, cultural embodiment as leaders, and the tough decisions that must be made in order to find ideal alignment within Thomas Cuisine’s partnerships. In the long run, it’s our partnerships that deliver on our calling to be the very best partner possible in culinary services.
To kick-off the podcast, Alison covers who Thomas Cuisine is and our commitment to REAL food. She explains how many companies have more freezers than fridges, for storing processed frozen food versus fresh ingredients. She says, “We are all about fresh, ideally local, sustainable ingredients. And so we allow our chefs to be chefs. You would be shocked at how many kitchens have more scissors than knives — it’s all about opening bags of frozen product. For us, we took an opposite approach. We were founded on the notion that food should taste amazing, but it should also fuel the body and be good for you. It should be something you look forward to and actually makes you feel better throughout your day.”
As part of her journey to joining Thomas Cuisine as President and CEO, Alison says the company’s mission resonated with her. “We do about 22 million meals a year. To me, we get 22 million opportunities to make a difference. And that’s done with a knife and some great ingredients, and a lot of passion.”
In the competitive foodservice management space, Alison also explains that they find partners that align in values. Thomas Cuisine serves the healthcare, senior living, independent schools, and corporate dining sectors, and they find partners in those spaces that share core values and care about food quality.
“Not only do we bring the health side, we have to be great financial stewards. And we have to set ourselves apart right up front. We have to build a reputation that is unique, and offer some very unique value to stay relevant in this space,” Alison says. “We want to be very thoughtful about how we grow. So we talk a lot about ‘smart growth.’ Not just growth for growth’s sake.”
To hear more about Alison’s insights into “smart growth,” building lasting partnerships, and nurturing a positive internal culture, tune into the full episode of Winning at Work Podcast: The Power of Internal Alignment below.
