About

Meet our Food Team

Robert S. Ukrop
President and Chief Executive Officer

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, Bobby Ukrop drives the company’s passion and enthusiasm for fresh, delicious food. He began his business career in high school as a courtesy clerk at Ukrop’s Super Markets, the grocery store chain his family founded. A graduate of the University of Richmond and the Darden School at the University of Virginia, Bobby spent over 40 years growing the Ukrop’s retail business and continuing his family’s passion for food while serving as the President and Chief Executive Officer for the past twelve years.

Bobby is actively involved in the community including:  a co-founder and currently president-elect of the Richmond Sports Backers. He serves on the boards of Communities in Schools of Virginia, Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, The Richmond First Tee; and is on the Advisory Boards of the Massey Cancer Center and the Salvation Army.

Thomas Pearce
Executive Chef

Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods Executive Chef Thomas Pearce has spent more than 25 years in the food industry. He trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., then worked at a five-star French restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio. He draws on his classic French training for all the recipes he develops for Ukrop’s. He’s also brought a focus on producing items by hand and using fresh vegetables and herbs during the height of their growing seasons. “My kitchen and recipe development philosophies are deeply rooted in the classics,” he says. “I stay true to what I learned in culinary school,” he says. Most recently, Chef Pearce developed the Ukrop’s Bakes collection that provides quick, delicious meals for families. He also oversees quality control in Ukrop’s central kitchen, ensuring Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods are consistently carefully prepared for delicious flavor.

Jim Goodman
Executive Pastry Chef

Oddly enough, Ukrop’s executive pastry chef Jim Goodman’s passion for pastries began when he was assigned the role of Baker in the Marines. Goodman’s relationship with Ukrop’s began even earlier when he worked as a courtesy clerk at the Staples Mill location while he was in high school. Once he was honorably discharged from the Marines, Goodman returned to work for Ukrop’s as a delivery driver for Dot’s Pastry Shop. Since then he’s worked in almost every aspect of Ukrop’s Bakery. Goodman trained with master baker Bill Dvorak of Dot’s Pastry Shop and with certified Master Pastry Chef Otto Bernet and he’s currently a certified Executive Pastry Chef. He’s also Vice President of the Virginia Chef’s Association, chairman and organizer of the Annual Chocolate Festival and chairman of the Otto Bernet Memorial Scholarship Committee.

Goodman’s obviously got the stats to prove his expertise, but his passion for creating custom cakes is what makes him stand above the rest. He’s won gold and silver medals in national pastry arts competitions; made car-shaped cakes for NASCAR drivers including Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Jonny Benson and Greg Sacks; decorated the inaugural cake and several birthday cakes for former Governor George Allen; and provided cakes for many other prestigious events. “I like to make things that are a challenge,” Goodman says. Some of the projects he’s tackled include icing cakes to replicate historic Richmond buildings, constructing a groom’s cake in the shape of a regulation-sized basketball and building hill-shaped cakes with streams flowing down the sides.

Buntith Chhuon
Certified Pastry Chef

When Buntith Chhuon took a part-time high school job working for Chef Otto Bernet’s pastry shop, he had no idea it’d lead him down a cake-designing career path. He was working as an electrician when he decided he’d rather be in the kitchen. He got a culinary degree from Richmond Technical Center and eventually became a certified Pastry Chef. After working at The Jefferson, Chhuon came to work at Ukrop’s with Bernet in 1991. His favorite part of making custom cakes is mastering new techniques. “I try to teach myself something every day - I love designing cakes.” Chhuon gets an adrenaline rush from the chance to create a unique cake, construct a new flower or tackle a fondant style he’s never tried before. Of the 1,000 different edible flowers Chhuon can create, some take several days to finish. “That’s why we need notice to bake a cake,” he says. “Sometimes I have to make one petal at a time and let each one dry separately.”

Julie Bishop
Manager of Product Development and Quality

As the Manager of Product Development and Quality for Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, Julie works closely with our development chefs and combines her passion for great food with the science and technology behind it to ensure Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods meet exceptional quality standards.  She holds a M.S. in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Food and Nutrition Science and a minor in chemistry. Julie has been with Ukrop’s since 1993.

Patrick Hadden
Manager of Food Safety

Pat has spent his entire career focusing on keeping food safe. He came to Ukrop’s in 1995 after working as a consultant and microbiology laboratory manager for a major laboratory that served the entire food industry. He worked with a variety of food industry and government clients, both manufacturers and retailers, in the United States and abroad. He also taught Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points courses as part of the American Meat Institute/ Food Processors Institute HACCP workshops. He’s worked as Director of Engineering, Manager of Product Development, Research Engineer, Manager of Product Technology and Labs, and Food Scientist all for a major food equipment manufacturer and as a food technologist with an emphasis on food safety for a national brand ready-to-eat meat processor.

As Manager of Food Safety for Ukrop’s, Pat uses his broad technical background to keep Ukrop’s food fresh, safe and clean. He focuses on food safety and security, sanitation, USDA and FDA, labeling, laboratory operations, shelf life testing and environmental regulatory compliance activities. He also trains associates in food safety. Since 2001 he has also been involved in bioterrorism prevention efforts in the food industry.