Brian Palazzolo, President of Classé Catering, ltd.
At the age of 19, Brian began his entrepreneurial venture with Classé Catering.  With an unparalleled dedication to growing the company and a vision of greatness, Brian began to eat, sleep, and breathe the industry.  He has sustained a relentless commitment to excellence and exuded undying passion-driven leadership which has inspired his team to successfully produce thousands of weddings and special events and has earned Classé Catering numerous awards including:

Also notable during the 15 year evolution since inception in 1993 –

Brian Palazzolo earned a Master of Service Certification, Instructed catering design classes at the Culinary Institute of America, Founded Event Producers, Inc - a Special Events Design & Production Firm, and was recognized by the Business Review as one of the most influential business leaders under 40 in the Capital Region in 2007. 

His dynamic blend of knowledge, skills, and experience propelled him into a Senior Consultant position with Catersource and catersource magazine.  As the Director of Service Training & Image Consultant for Catersource (2002 to present), Brian has wowed thousands of caterers with high-energy performances and demonstrations of innovative and effective techniques in catering service and event design.  

Speaking at conferences, private consulting, and contributing to Catersource magazine was only the beginning – His incredible spirit to “give back” to the industry motivated Brian to develop a trademarked Guest Experience Management model.  The GEM model is a strategic tool used to enable companies to deliver exceptionally memorable guest experiences and serves as the basis for the Academy of Service Arts, a specialized training school Brian founded in 2007 designed to help caterers by developing the proficiency of their personnel.  

Brian has further contributed to the industry by authoring and producing a series of Service Arts Training and Development DVD seminars that are distributed internationally.