Highland Park, founded in 1798, still makes Scotch with the same enduring belief and integrity, and according to the same exacting standards that have defined the brand for centuries. Its proud distilling tradition, exquisite attention to detail, and deep-rooted honesty combine to make Highland Park one of the most respected single malts in the world.

With 60 locations across the country, US Foods is one of America’s leading foodservice distributors, able to combine an expansive national presence with an emphasis on quality local product. It offers more than 350,000 national brand products and high-quality private label items, ranging from basic pantry items to locally sourced meats and produce.

Steelite International is a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of award-winning, tabletop ranges for the international hospitality industry. The company’s core chinaware products are manufactured at its factory in Stoke-on-Trent, one of the most modern and efficient tableware production units in the world. In addition to worldwide geographical coverage trading with over 120 countries, Steelite International’s business spans a number of industry sectors. The company works exclusively for the hospitality and catering industry, giving it a full understanding of what is important to professionals, both practically and aesthetically.

From the fresh, open farmlands of New Zealand comes Cervena Natural Tender venison. To meet the Cervena standards, the farmed animals must meet specific criteria: they must be three years old or younger, and they must have been naturally raised. That means that every deer Cervena certifies roamed and grazed freely, was never given growth hormones or steroids, and was fed solely on grass, hay, and silage. Cervena venison is transported and processed according to strict quality-assured standards of the Cervena brand.

Emmi Roth USA, a subsidiary of the Emmi Group, is a leading provider of specialty and artisan cheeses and premium fresh dairy products. Their expansive portfolio includes award-winning cheeses from Switzerland, Europe, and the United States, each crafted with pride from the freshest local milk. Key cheese brands include Kaltbach Cave-aged, Grand Cru and Buttermilk Blue. For all of its products, Emmi Roth USA balances tradition and innovation to deliver distinctive offerings of the highest quality to the retail and food service trades.

Fresh Origins Farm produces MicroGreens, PetiteGreens, TenderGreens and Edible Flowers in the North San Diego County town of San Marcos. Their ideal growing climate allows them to produce a micro green that is robust, healthy, and highly flavored. Combining the benefits of an amazing climate with a deep passion for quality and innovation, Fresh Origins has become the largest grower of MicroGreens and Edible Flowers in the country.

There is only one brand of dinnerware used for service at the 2011 StarChefs.com Rising Star Galas, and it's Verterra. While Verterra’s Fallen Leaves can't promise that your dish will be guilt-free, they can promise that your dinnerware will be. Their environmentally-friendly plates, bowls, and serving dishes are made from only two products: fallen leaves and water. They're non-toxic, biodegradable, compostable, durable, lightweight, convenient, and downright stylish.

Chefs’ Warehouse is an owner-operated specialty foods distributor that began sourcing products for high-end chefs over 30 years ago. With locations in gastro hubs like New York City, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami, Chefs’ Warehouse supplies high quality goods to the finest restaurants, hotels, catering companies, and gourmet stores. From bottarga di mugine to Harney & Sons Organic Passion Plum Tea to pâté de campagne, Chefs’ Warehouse products are sourced to meet the expectations of chefs around the country.

What Europeans have raved about for decades, Gullo Specialty Foods brought to America. Beyond its tenderized octopus and cuttlefish, Gullo Specialty Foods offers an array of other seafood products from across the globe—items like shrimp, langoustines, calamari, scallops. Not only does it serve the finest restaurants in the New York City tri-state area, but Gullo also has been praised by local area magazines and top chefs. Regardless of what product they provide, Gullo Specialty Foods stands behind every product it provides, guaranteeing quality and freshness.

A family-owned, wholesale fish business with a fourth generation Rozzo at the helm, F. Rozzo and Sons has served the tri-state area for more than 100 years. With origins in the fish cart of Neapolitan immigrants Felix and Nanciadio Rozzo, and evolutions in stride with the technological and culinary growth of New York, F. Rozzo and Sons has grown into a thriving business. Now in the hands of Louis Rozzo, the company continues to purchase some of its product from the Fulton Street Fish Market (now located in the Bronx), but also sources from around the world, selecting the best product for its hundreds of devoted, prestigious customers.

With a fine wine, the terroir where a varietal is grown determines the taste of what you drink. An olive's fruit is also determined by the climate and region of where it is grown. From the southern olive groves of Andalucía to the northern region of Catalonia, Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil. Spain offers the widest variety of unique oils that are as distinctive and diverse as Spain's multitude of micro-climates.

Created by the all-star link-up between Pernod and Ricard in 1975, Pernod-Ricard now has one of the most comprehensive and premium portfolios in the industry—a catalogue to fulfill any mixologist’s spirit dreams. Brands include ABSOLUT, Ricard anise and Scotch whiskies led by Chivas Regal, as well as Ballantine’s, The Glenlivet, and Royal Salute, Jameson Irish whisky, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Kahlúa and Malibu liqueurs; Mumm and Perrier-Jouët Champagnes; and Jacob’s Creek, Brancott, Campo Viejo, and Graffigna wines. Currently active in 70 countries, the Pernod-Ricard group has been committed to a policy of social responsibility, embracing three priorities: responsible drinking, environmental ethics, and the development of cultural initiatives or social entrepreneurial projects.

It was in the 1920s that two Armenian brothers—Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian—first introduced Paris to the magic of caviar and, in doing so, founded the company that today is the premier buyer and importer of Russian caviar worldwide. For more than 80 years, the Petrossian family developed the caviar market, maintaining a rare and privileged relationship with the Russian fisheries. Even today, the family personally chooses, onsite, the very best of the fresh, high quality caviar produced in Russia during each catch. Petrossian Caviar products possess an unmistakable superiority in taste, texture, color, and size.

Woolco Foods Inc. has provided the finest restaurants, hotels, caterers, and institutions in the New York/New Jersey metro area with exemplary service and top quality name-brand merchandise for over 20 years. With a wide array of products—everything from pecans and pignola nuts to salsify to nori—Woolco has an impressive, extensive footprint in the industry. But it’s more than a matter of the quality of its products. Woolco’s dedication to customer service and its comprehensive knowledge of the foodservice industry enables it to meet (if not anticipate) and exceed all of its customers’ needs.

The water that is served with wine determines how we have the possibility to process and experience different tastes. For example, normal tap water, which often has a taste of earth, clay and chalk, makes wine acidic and harsh. The FRESH unit from Nordaq Fresh produces and purifies the water directly on-site. The water circulates through a cooler, is carbonated according to desire, and is then drawn into a specially designed glass bottle at a temperature of approximately 5 degrees Celsius. In just a few seconds it creates natural still or carbonated drinking water of the highest quality, with all the necessary salts and minerals preserved, but free from added chemicals or flavors.