Hormel Foods Launches Next Installment of Cooking & Culture Video Series

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Aug 15, 2018, 11:11 ET

AUSTIN, Minn., Aug. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) has launched the seventh episode of Cooking & Culture, the company's award-winning video series that brings renowned chefs to Hormel Foods to discuss cultural perspectives and lessons about diversity and inclusion (D&I) while they expertly prepare recipes with Hormel Foods employees.

Watch as veterans Certified Master Chef Ron DeSantis and Angelita Zynda make a Porchetta roast in this episode of Cooking & Culture.

Certified Master Chef Ron DeSantis and Angelita Zynda during the latest episode of Cooking & Culture, a video series by Hormel Foods.

The series launched in February 2017, during Black History Month, with a chapter on soul food. Subsequent episodes have featured recipes and discussions of Asian cuisine and culture, Hispanic heritage as well as episodes on LGBTQIA community, millennial trends and farming communities.

Cooking & Culture also draws on the support and extended network of external talent to appear in each episode. Both up-and-coming and world-renowned chefs are lining up to lend their culinary expertise, as well as their deep ties, to the topics.

The latest episode features the company's employee resource group (ERG) for veterans, HMVET. The episode was hosted by Certified Master Chef and veteran Ron DeSantis and Angelita Zynda, an employee at Hormel Foods who is also a veteran.

"HMVET has made real difference for vets at Hormel Foods and, as a veteran, I was honored to represent this group as the host for this chapter of Cooking & Culture," said Angelita Zynda, executive administrative assistant at Hormel Foods. "When people get out of the service, there's an adjustment period. Thanks to HMVET, there are people to talk with and written information for those who don't want to talk. Our group teams up employees who are veterans with each other to help bridge the military and civilian worlds."

"Cooking & Culture was such a fun project to be a part of because I got to work with Hormel Foods employees who shared similar experiences pertaining to food and the military. I love the fact that this company is archiving food and culture not just from the United States, but from all over the world," said Ron DeSantis, Certified Master Chef and Principal Adviser for CulinaryNXT. "There's such value in diversity, and the fact that we get to enjoy this great melting pot of cultures through food benefits the culinary profession."

Hormel Foods has nine ERGs that support the D&I goals and objectives of the organization. They provide an excellent support system within Hormel Foods to foster awareness, respect and inclusion within the workplace.

Watch the episode here.

About Hormel Foods – Inspired People. Inspired Food.™
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY^®, SPAM^®, Hormel^® Natural Choice^®, Applegate^®, Justin's^®, Columbus^®, Wholly Guacamole^®, Hormel^® Black Label^® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the ninth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125^th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.