Avital Ungar 39, is the owner of Avital Food & Drink Experiences. She's based in San Francisco. A quote from her nomination: "Avital has been pushing boundaries in the corporate event space for the past 14 years through innovative and interactive food and drink experiences."
My day-to-day: "Every day starts with our team huddle. In our huddle, everyone shares their one priority for the day—the one thing that has to get done. It keeps us focused and moving forward. I also have various meetings throughout the week with our sales, marketing, product, and operation departments.
In general, mornings are often dedicated to business strategy and growth, whether that’s expanding partnerships, improving our marketing, or exploring new opportunities. Afternoons might involve more 'on the ground' product development—testing new concepts, product research, or collaborating with our hosts to elevate the guest experience."
My career journey: "After studying art history, French, and Mandarin Chinese at UCLA, I bought a one-way trip to China to work in the Chinese contemporary art market. After returning to my hometown of San Francisco, I ran a performance art space and Chinese contemporary art gallery, but on the side I began leading food tours. In 2011, I took the leap and founded my own company, focusing on food tours for corporate clients looking for unique ways to do team building and engage clients. What started as a single-city operation quickly grew—we expanded to Los Angeles, then New York City, bringing our progressive meal concept to new markets.
Then, like so many in the hospitality industry, the pandemic forced us to rethink everything. We pivoted, innovated, and came out stronger. We expanded beyond food tours, relaunching as a food and drink experiences company complete with several unique virtual experiences, like our water tasting. Fun fact: I am both a certified wine and water sommelier!
In 2023, coming out of the pandemic, we launched a completely new product line, which we call our interactive meal in 12 cities—an interactive, hands-on dining experience that blends private dining with a trio of unique foodie experiences (flavor tripping, anyone?). In 2024, we developed and began producing large-scale activations for brands, conferences or for reception-style events, which we plan to continue to grow this year." 
"We’ve served over 110,000 guests and have a five-star rating on Google," she says.Photo: Courtesy of Avital Ungar
What inspires me: "I’m inspired by the magic that happens when people connect over food and drink. Our company mission is to strengthen human connection through interactive food and drink experiences, and that drives everything we do.
I’m also so inspired by innovation—pushing boundaries, reimagining what a food experience can be, and finding new ways to engage guests. Whether it’s exploring quirky foodie trends like charcuterie chalets or savory s’mores, designing unexpected comparative tastings like my tinned fish or water tasting, or creating novel ways to tell a story through flavor, curiosity truly fuels my creativity."
My greatest career accomplishment: "Not just keeping Avital Experiences afloat during the pandemic, but tripling it in size. While much of the hospitality industry was forced to downsize, we pivoted quickly—launching virtual experiences that kept teams and corporate groups connected.
What I’m most proud of, though, is that we were able to employ so many bartenders, chefs, and hosts at a time when many were being laid off. We created new opportunities, adapted to an entirely new landscape, and, ultimately, came out stronger. As the world reopened, we brought back many of our HQ and host team members as we continued to offer virtual experiences and expanded our in-person markets."
The advice I'd give my younger self: "Sell before you build. It’s easy to get caught up in perfecting every detail before putting something out into the world, but the real test is whether people actually want it—and are willing to pay for it!
I’d tell my younger self to validate ideas early, get real customer feedback, and iterate quickly. When you focus on solving real problems for real people, you’ll build something that truly resonates—and you won’t waste time creating something nobody asked for."
My most memorable event: "Emceeing our Charcuterie Chalet Showdown at the Fancy Food Show. We had conference attendees competing head-to-head with a Chopped champion in quick-fire rounds to build and/or decorate charcuterie chalets (savory gingerbread houses made out of items found on a charcuterie and cheese board). All the meats and cheeses were sourced from the Deli Pavilion and exhibiting companies. The last round was our 'quirky' round where the contestant and chef both had to decorate their charcuterie chalet using miniature plastic hands. The spectators (and I) couldn’t stop laughing and it appeared on a bunch of social media feeds! 
"The resulting chalets were so creative and delightful to see!" says Ungar.Photo: Courtesy of Avital Ungar
On the opposite, more refined culinary spectrum, early on in my career, I had the pleasure of introducing an 80-year-old man to an oyster for his very first time. Watching his reaction as he tasted it was such a special moment (and luckily a positive one for him!). It was a reminder that food has the power to create lasting memories and connect people across generations. It’s experiences like these that make me so excited about what we do at Avital."
My leadership style: "I really try to empower people to love what they do. When a team feels valued and inspired, they can accomplish incredible things. Our core values drive this leadership approach—one of them being 'Embrace Quirky.' I believe in celebrating each person’s unique qualities and quirks, which leads to a truly collaborative and positive work environment.
Another key part is viewing challenges not as failures, but as opportunities for growth. This aligns with our core value of 'continuous Improvement,' inspired by the Japanese manufacturing term and philosophy kaizen, which I love."
My ideal day OOO: "Spending time with my husband, Randy, and our 3-year-old son, Curio. We love to visit the botanical garden, then go out for dinner at a local Italian restaurant—Curio loves their squid ink pasta!"
What's next: "The focus right now is continuing to grow the interactive meal presence in all 12 cities and expanding our custom activations and reception-style events for corporate entertainment. I'm also working on growing another business, Edible Architecture, which sells charcuterie chalet and charcuTree kits."
