Albert Uster
Founder and Chairman

As a professional chef turned businessman, Swiss-born Albert Uster has spent the last 50 years in an industry that he treasures. He developed an early interest in food, eagerly taking part in his family's daily cooking and seasonal baking. To become an executive chef, he trained at some of the finest restaurants in Europe. It was while working at the Hospes International Culinary Show in Bern, however, that he was offered a position in New York. Arriving at Ellis Island in October 1954, he began working at The Esplanade in what was intended to be a one year stint. Ten years later, however, he was still in the United States, now in Houston working at the Petroleum Club.

While in Texas, Mr. Uster attended the University of Houston, majoring in industrial psychology and management. He also opened three hotels for the Hotel Corporation of America in Houston, New Orleans and Hartford. While working as the executive sous chef at the Shamrock Hilton, he opened several more hotels in Kansas City, Aurora and Atlanta.

It was while working at the Washington Hilton as an executive chef that Mr. Uster decided to form his own company. Partnering with Harold Giesinger, Guido Gerosa and Sam Schattner, the team formed the Restaurant Corporation of America. At the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, they built a 30,000 square foot restaurant. To stock the pastry kitchen, Mr. Uster began searching for quality chocolate and other items such as fondant and marzipan. His search led him back to Switzerland for the solution and he began importing the products he couldn’t find stateside.

In 1978, Mr. Uster took the company out of the Watergate and under his own name. He built a warehouse in Gaithersburg, Maryland and began hiring employees, some of whom were from the Watergate. For the next 18 years, Mr. Uster built the company up, forming strategic partnerships with Swiss manufacturers and importing only the finest ingredients and products.

In 1998, he passed the reins of leadership to Philipp Braun. Today, he serves as chairman of the board, proudly overseeing the growth and expansion of the company into the frozen food (IcEscape) and savory food (Savoir Fare) business.