Contact Us

Mike Burley

President

P: (952) 943-1970
E: mburley@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Mike founded Burley Foods in November 1976. He feels very blessed to have great customers and a team that takes care of them in the manner he envisioned when he launched the company.

While he appreciates the rewarding relationships he has generated with all of Burley Foods clients over the decades, Mike still feels his biggest achievement is when he first became an actual paid consultant of what would become his biggest customer.

In his free time Mike likes boating, Minnesota Gopher sports, and spending time with his Grandkids.

 

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Bryan Burley

Vice President / Account Manager

P: (952) 345-4246
E: bburley@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Bryan started at Burley Foods in August of 2002, spending 3 years as a customer service representative, and moving into sales in 2005. He was named Vice President in 2009.

As Vice President, Bryan is intimately aware of the needs for all of Burley Foods’ clients. He continues to have direct account responsibility for some, and works closely with Burley Foods’ other Account Managers on others.

He is a member and Vice President of the FIND group – a nationwide network of Food Ingredient Representatives.

Bryan is a dog nut with 2 furry monsters at home. He loves being active, and appreciates the outdoors – specifically back country hiking, canoeing and camping with his wonderful wife. Bryan enjoys watching Lacrosse and most other sports. He is a member and Co-Director of Special Events for the Duluth Lacrosse Alumni Committee.

 

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Janine Maurer

General Manager / Account Manager

P: (952) 345-4242
E: jmaurer@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Janine started working for Mike 17 years ago as a customer service representative and was always looking for more challenges. After 7 years in customer service she moved into a sales position. In recognition of her contributions to Burley Foods’ success Janine was promoted to General Manager back in 2005 while continuing her sales responsibilities.

She enjoys the friendships she’s developed with both customers and suppliers. She also welcomes all the learning opportunities – whether it’s being at a supplier’s facility to see how food components are manufactured or learning about supplier capabilities. Janine values spending time with Burley Foods’ customers to understand their needs, and then investigating what will best fit their application. She especially appreciates the challenges that come along because they make her a better salesperson and manager.

Away from Burley, Janine enjoys spending time with her family at the park, reading, or playing hide-and-go-seek. On weekends in the fall and winter she likes to spend time away, scrapbooking with friends. During the summer, Janine escapes to her parents’ lake place where she can put her feet up or fish and swim with the family.

 

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Jenny Williams Nelson

Account Executive

P: (952) 345-4244
E: jwilliams@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Jenny came to work for Burley Foods, 15 years ago, with a background in banking, a brief stint in real estate sales, and time as a stay at home mom.

Establishing excellent client relationships and working to creatively solve the business needs of others has always been the prevalent theme and most rewarding aspect of her careers. Jenny feels Burley Foods encompasses all of these elements. Every day there is a new ingredient challenge generating another opportunity to learn something new and exciting. Her responsibilities have evolved from customer service to sales. She strives to provide the best all-around service and feel’s rewarded by providing creative solutions for the dynamic and varied group of food researchers she has the pleasure of working with.

Working in the food ingredient business has made Jenny a “foodie”. Outside the office she spends her time: entertaining and cooking for guests and her grown family; reading and buying cookbooks; experimenting and learning about interesting ingredients and concepts; and making weekly trips to the farmer’s market. To work off the food she loves to eat, Jenny has a passion for long walks, gardening and golfing with her husband.

 

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Mark Chura

Executive Chef

P: (952) 345-4248
E: mchura@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Mark started with Burley Foods in 2010, bringing with him unique insights developed over 20 years of creating and executing food solutions for Five Star/Four Diamond resorts, family resorts, premier private clubs, restaurants and catered events.

He is a Culinary Institute of America Graduate and has extensive knowledge of French, Italian, Latin American, Asian and fusion cooking. Mark’s focus is to showcase Burley Foods’ products and ingredients to its clients by combining his culinary expertise with his knowledge of ever changing food and market trends

Mark is an active member of the American Culinary Federation as well as the Research Chefs Association. He credits this network of some of the greatest minds in the industry with furthering his education and giving him an inside edge on trends and products to come.

 

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Jeff Baker

Assistant Chef

P: (952) 345-4239
E: jbaker@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Jeff joined the Burley team in December, 2010. He appreciates getting to see the food industry from a completely different perspective than when he was a chef in a country club or restaurant. Being able to work with new varieties of foods and collaborating with creative people keeps his job interesting, challenging and demanding (in a positive way).

He was awarded the Le Cordon Bleu culinary certificate in 2002.
Outside of work Jeff is a “terrible golfer” that loves the game too much to quit. He is also a former league billiard player and yard game junkie. Other interests are mountain biking, fishing, disc golf, and grilling.

 

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Shannon Wheeler

Administrative Assistant

P: (952) 345-4247
E: swheeler@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Shannon began working at Burley Foods in 2007. She appreciates the diversity of her work – having the opportunity to do a little bit of everything in the office – and the fact that everyone at Burley really works well as a team. She especially likes the Burley Food Fairs because she gets a chance to meet the researchers from the clients Burley works so closely with.

Shannon enjoys gardening, watching movies with her kids and traveling.

 

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Sandra Peterson

Customer Service

P: (952) 345-4240
E: speterson@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Sandra started working at Burley Foods in 2008 and works with both suppliers and customers. She enjoys this diversity and unique service opportunities each provides. She especially enjoys the relationships she’s cultivated with both groups. She feels it’s been very rewarding to watch the growth of Burley Foods during the time she’s been there.

The variety and pace of the job makes the time really fly for Sandra. She appreciates that Burley Foods is a small, tightly knit group. She enjoys each day with her co-workers, and they never hesitate to pitch in to make sure every customer service opportunity is handled as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Most people will recognize Sandra as the one with the ‘accent’. She’s originally from Scotland and has also lived in several European countries, the Middle East, and visited India. Sandra has been a Minnesotan for 23 years and – apart from the deep freeze in January – finds it very easy to live here compared to many countries. Her home is in the country where she lives with her husband, and 2 adopted kids – now teenagers – from Russia. She also has a pug and a horse named Ziggy (her main interest). She especially enjoys covering many scenic miles of trail riding each year.

 

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Krystle Waldorf

Administrative Assistant / Customer Service

P: (952) 345-4231
E: kwaldorf@burleyfoods.com

 

 
Krystle became part of Burley Foods in November, 2010. She likes working as a team with the Burley group because they all care very much about their business, their customers and each other.

In her free time she likes going to watch her fiancé play baseball, creating arts and crafts, and attending Minnesota Twins baseball games in the Spring/Summer and Minnesota Wild hockey games in the Fall/Winter.