Tuscan Kitchen Founder to Speak at UNH CEO Forum

Submitted by the University of New Hampshire:

Joe Faro ’91, owner of Tuscan Kitchen and Tuscan Market in Salem, will speak at the next meeting of the University of New Hampshire CEO Forum Thursday, March 13, 2014, at 9 a.m. The program begins at 8 a.m. at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics with coffee and networking, with a full breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

Faro will talk about his passion for Italian food, his time at UNH, developing Joseph’s Pasta into a $60 million business, and launching Tuscan Brands and Tuscan Market in Salem. Attendees also will have the opportunity to tour Paul College.

With more than 25 years of food experience, Faro grew up appreciating the artisan craftsmanship behind creating great food by working in his parents' bakery in Haverhill, Mass. His first company, Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta and Sauces, came to life first as a business plan that he was required to write for a UNH business class. After entering the UNH Whittemore School Holloway Prize Innovation-to-Market Competition – and coming in second – Faro launched his small, hand-crafted pasta company.

Faro sold Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta and Sauces to Nestlé Prepared Foods in 2006. He then launched Tuscan Brands and opened the three-story Tuscan Kitchen and Tuscan Market in Salem. Tuscan Kitchen has been recognized for providing a gourmet, artisan dining experience.

Initiated in 1997, the UNH CEO Forum is an outreach program of the UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics serving CEOs, presidents, and senior managers of companies in northern New England. The forum provides its members with opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with their peers in business and industry in an informal setting. The UNH CEO Forum is sponsored by the law firm of Pierce Atwood, Optima Bank and Trust, Sprague Operating Resources, and Crystalvision. For more information about the CEO Forum, visit http://www.unh-ceoforum.org/.