BakerFaculty in the News featuring Chef Michael Schmidt
Here comes the judge!
The Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) at Baker College is thrilled to announce that Chef Michael Schmidt, CEC, of CIM Port Huron, has been named an American Culinary Federation (ACF) Certified Competition Judge. With his appointment this month, Chef Michael joins the prestigious ranks of fewer than 90 ACF Certified Culinary Competition judges nationwide.
Chef Michael, a culinary and baking/pastry adjunct faculty member, has been an instructor at CIM Port Huron for seven years. To become an ACF judge, Chef Michael had to meet a variety of rigorous criteria, including a requirement to win four gold medals at ACF sanctioned competitions over a 10-year period, one each across four different categories of cooking. He also had to serve as an apprentice judge at a minimum of five sanctioned competitions in two years, and attend a special judges training seminar.
“Chef Michael has worked extremely long and hard on this accomplishment, and I have very much enjoyed seeing him prosper and flourish as a competitor, and throughout his apprentice judging process,” said Chef Tom Recinella, CEC, AAC, HGT, Dean of Culinary at Baker College and ACF certified judge. “It is great to see him added to the judging list. His accomplishment reflects greatly on the CIM and the quality we all strive to attain each day.”
As a special treat, Chef Michael has shared one of his favorite recipes for us to try at home. This Lime Asada Marinade is useful for adding flavor and moisture to any protein.
Asada Marinade
Recipe makes 1 ½ cups of Marinade
- ½ Cup Cilantro, picked and rinsed
- 2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and whole
- 1/8 Cup Onions, rough chopped
- ½ Jalapeno, rough chopped with seeds
- 2 Limes, juice only
- ¾ Cup orange juice
- ½ Cup Canola oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
Process: Place all prepped items into a blender or Vita-Mix and blend until smooth. Pour over desired protein in a Zip-loc bag or non-metallic container and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Ideal is overnight. Cook desired protein as you choose, grilling is the ideal cooking method of choice.
Join us in congratulating Chef Michael on this exciting and hard-earned accomplishment!
For more on Baker College’s Culinary Institute of Michigan and its programming, visit the CIM Webpage.