Edgar Bader
Executive Chef
Corporate Account Manager

With almost 35 years of experience in the airline foodservice industry under his belt, nobody is better equipped to take care of Albert Uster Imports' airline accounts than Edgar Bader. He knows the problems of the airline chefs. He knows their needs. "My knowledge of food and airline menus is a helpful tool in assisting airline chefs to select the right products for their menus," says Mr. Bader.

A native of Germany, Mr. Bader always loved food and cooking. Consequently, he completed an apprenticeship as a chef. "I wanted to see the world," he remembers. That he did.

Mr. Bader earned a degree in hotel management and gastronomy from the Constance Culinary College. He got hands-on experience as a chef in several hotels and restaurants in Germany. In 1960, he won a gold medal for cold food preparation at the Frankfurt Culinary Olympics.

In 1961, Mr. Bader served as a chef at Lufthansa's Frankfurt Airport kitchen. After a year, Lufthansa transferred him to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport as a sous-chef. In 1975, he switched to United Airlines. For the next 19 years, until his retirement in 1994, Mr. Bader worked for United Airlines in various capacities. He started as sous-chef at the Cleveland Airport, but was quickly promoted to executive chef and transferred to Washington National Airport. When the National Airport kitchen closed, he moved to Washington Dulles Airport. At Dulles, he supervised a kitchen crew of 100 people, preparing between 10,000 and 13,000 meals a day. "Quality wise, the first-class and business-class meals stood up to any fine restaurant," Mr. Bader notes.

During Mr. Bader's tenure, Ozark Airlines was one of United's customers. Mr. Bader won Ozark Airlines' Caterer of the Year Award for two years in a row. He also catered the food for Vice-Presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro, on her flights from the East Coast to the West Coast back in 1984. During the Reagan Administration, Mr. Bader catered for the President's press plane on Ronald Reagan's frequent trips from Washington to the Western White House in Santa Monica.

After retiring from United Airlines, Mr. Bader went to work for Albert Uster, whom he had met years before when both of them were teaching culinary classes at Fairfax High School in Fairfax, VA. "I love sales," he says. "I love the contact with my international clientele." His detailed knowledge of the airline catering business has clearly given him an edge in opening up this market for Albert Uster Imports. Mr. Bader has been quite successful, establishing accounts with, among others, Lufthansa, British Airways, TWA, Delta, Singapore Airlines, and South African Airlines.