U.S. Frozen foods company Contessa Premium Foods is entering a liquidation process, according to an attorney who represented the company until the decision was made late at night on 30 April.
Craig Wolfe, a partner at the New York law firm Sheppard Mullin, told SeafoodSource on 1 May he represented the food company up until 9:03 p.m. the night before, 30 April.
At that time, he said, the company “commenced an assignment for benefit of creditors.” Wolfe said the company is entering a liquidation process, to be managed by Development Specialists, a California company. Wolfe said Contessa will continue operations during the process, but eventually the ultimate plan is to sell all the company’s assets and shut it down.
The process, he said, does allow for someone to purchase Contessa and restore it before then. The company is known for producing frozen foods, largely seafood products.
Published media reports have speculated that celebrity chef Ina Garten, who is known for the unrelated Food Network program, "The Barefoot Contessa," might be interested in buying the company to rescue it from liquidation. When asked if Garten was interested, Wolfe said he didn’t know for certain, but said, “She was spoken to over the last few weeks about the process.”
