Baldwin Richardson Foods: Milly Le, Milton Folk III
Baldwin Richardson Foods, an Oak Brook-based manufacturer of custom ingredients for the food and beverage industry, has appointed Milly Le as food innovation manager and Milton Folk III as a food innovation technologist.
Le and Folk join the company's growing presence in Oak Brook. They both will play a crucial role in the upfront concept ideation and design phase of Baldwin Richardson Foods' innovation process. They will work closely with its customers to meet the needs of their consumers.
Le will lead product innovation projects and platforms for the organization. She will use her passions and interests in the culinary arts to work with cross-functional partners (marketing, purchasing, operations and engineering) to drive all food innovation initiatives for Baldwin Richardson Foods.
Most recently, Le served as the research and development manager for Pecan Deluxe Candy Company, where she directed a team of food technologists and culinary scientists, providing them with culinary and technical guidance. She has specialized in key accounts, including national quick-service restaurants, cereal and yogurt corporations. Le's responsibilities at BRF include driving product innovation projects and platforms for all new products with key QSR customers for the company.
Le received a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University, majoring in Food Science & Technology. She has also attained a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, Dallas. She is also a member of the Institute of Food Technologists as well as the Research Chefs Association. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Le now resides in Downers Grove, Illinois. Folk has also joined Baldwin Richardson's Oak Brook-based team, as a food innovation technologist focused on the company's food innovation practice. Folk has been a part of the Baldwin Richardson Foods team since 2013, but recently relocated to the Greater Chicago area to support the company's expansion and growth in the Chicago market, where Baldwin Richardson's corporate headquarters are housed.
Folk brings nearly 10 years of experience in the food/ingredient industry to his role as food technologist. His previous efforts were focused on laboratory scale-up and commercialization of finished syrup applications. Prior to joining Baldwin Richardson Foods, Folk held the position of food technologist at Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, where his responsibilities included finished beverage concept development and flavor modification for customer demos and trade shows.
Folk has a Bachelor of Science from California State University Northridge, in Los Angeles, majoring in nutrition dietetics and food science. He is also a member of Institute of Food Technologists. A southern California native, he resides in Bolingbrook Illinois.
The new hires come at a time when Baldwin Richardson Foods is expanding its Chicago-area presence in a strategic effort to partner more closely with its customers, enhancing partnerships by providing an even higher level of service and enhance its speed to market.