Corporate Executive Chef Michael Joy

Whitsons Culinary Group

Michael Joy has spent a 30-year career living up to his name bringing joy to his customers� palate with creative and innovative dishes.

Joy�s background in hospitality and food science collides to create the perfect storm to deliver consistency, convenience and culinary delights. As an early adapter of the �cook chill� and �sous vide� technologies, Joy created a line of soups, entrees, and sauces for a 15-unit chain in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic region so customers were able to enjoy the same high quality, popular flavors of their favorite meal from unit-to-unit.

Prior to his current stint with Whitsons Culinary Group as Corporate Executive Chef/Research and Development, Joy was part of the team behind the commercialization of the premium soup line made famous by a temperamental character in a television sit-com.

Overseeing the new product development for Whitsons' proprietary line of Chef Quality healthy meals, Joy is able to meld his classically trained culinary background with his extensive research and development experiences.

Creating a line of healthy meals starts with the best ingredients, and Joy turns to Fresh Hass Avocados for inspiration. An example of Joy�s creative thinking can be found in his Singapore Avocado Chili Crab Burger. Infusing flavor while reducing the fat, Joy adds diced avocados to the crab burger; the avocado acts as the binder and delivers on taste and texture. For flavor without the salt, Joy relies on red and green Thai chili, cilantro, and a dash of lemon and lime juice to brighten the overall taste.

Joy has been recognized by the foodservice industry with many culinary accomplishments. In addition to taking First Place in the Hass Avocado Board�s recipe competition for the Sandwich Category, he also took First Place in the People�s Choice Salsa Category and Third Place in the New Jersey State International Chili Society Green Chili Category.