CIM competitors and certified ACF judges at the 2022 Roland E. Schaeffer Culinary Classic ACF Sanctioned Competition at the Culinary Institute of Michigan in Port Huron.
MUSKEGON and PORT HURON, Mich. (May 4, 2022) – Twenty-one student chefs and 11 instructors from both the Muskegon and Port Huron, Mich. campuses of the Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM), a division of Baker College, earned a variety of honors at the 2022 Roland E. Schaffer Culinary Classic, an annual American Culinary Federation (ACF) Sanctioned Competition. The CIM competitors were awarded more than 40 medals combined at the in-person competition held April 22-23, 2022 at the CIM Port Huron campus.
At ACF sanctioned competitions, chefs compete for their own individual honors, not head-to-head against other chefs, and are judged on a variety of criteria, including: safety and sanitation, craftsmanship, technical skill, utilization of product, taste and nutritional balance. New to the competition this year, for the first time ever in the 93-year history of the ACF, chefs took on a Table Side Cookery Dining Room Service competition category.
The inventive and challenging new category was created and designed for Food and Beverage Management students by Baker College’s Dean of Culinary, Chef Tom Recinella, CEC, AAC, HGT and CIM Program Director, Chef Paula Recinella, CHE, HAAC and then approved and adopted by the ACF National Competition Committee.
Throughout every competition category, those chefs who score high enough are awarded a bronze, silver or gold medal, as warranted. Collectively, the 21 students and 11 instructors from CIM Port Huron and CIM Muskegon together earned a total of 42 medals, including 11 gold. Additionally, several chef competitors earned Best in Show and Awards of Excellence for their performances.
The CIM students and instructors were joined at the competition by entrants from seven Michigan high schools and Dorsey College, as well as 14 non-CIM professionals.
A complete listing of competitors and results is below.
| Name | Category | Medal | Campus |
| Students | |||
| Jessica Mitchell | SWPCollege SWP Best in Show | Gold | PH |
| Sierra Franks | SWDRSRoland E. Schaeffer Award for Excellence in Table Side Cookery | Gold | PH |
| Danielle Little | SP1Student Best in Show SP1&Roland E. Schaeffer Award for Excellence in Pastry Arts | Gold | PH |
| Hannah Denys | SP-2Student Best in Show Pastry SP2 | Gold | MUS |
| Nathaniel Chalmers | SWCollege SW Best in Show&Roland E. Schaeffer Award for Excellence in Student Culinary Arts | Gold | PH |
| Samantha Hecht | SP1 | Gold | PH |
| Haley Proffitt | SWDRS | Gold | MU |
| Kindi Dietz | SC4Student Best in Show Cold Salon | Gold | PH |
| Samantha Hecht | SC4 | Gold | PH |
| Gracie Becker | SC2 | Gold | MU |
| Samantha Hecht | SC2Most Artistic Student Entry | Silver | PH |
| Tinae Robinson | SC2 | Silver | MU |
| Emily Rozema | SKStudent Best in Show Culinary SK&Student Most Improved | Silver | PH |
| Alisabeth Grage | SDMost Creative Student Entry | Silver | MU |
| Alexander Pruchnicki | SWDRS | Silver | PH |
| Hannah Denys | SP2 | Silver | MU |
| Danielle Little | SC4 | Silver | PH |
| Andrew Mendez | SK | Silver | MU |
| Steven Stempnik | SK | Silver | PH |
| Maya VanBuskirk | SC4 | Silver | PH |
| Bria Dove | SC4 | Silver | PH |
| Danielle Little | SC2 | Silver | PH |
| Maya VanBuskirk | SP1 | Bronze | PH |
| Angel Haines | SC4 | Bronze | PH |
| Austyn Polker | SK | Bronze | PH |
| Alexis Baker | SC4 | Bronze | PH |
| Alexis Baker | SC2 | Bronze | PH |
| Kindi Dietz | SP1 | Bronze | PH |
| Ysabella Fox | SD | Bronze | MU |
| Name | Category | Name | Campus |
| Faculty | |||
| Jill Tucker, CSC® | KC | Gold/Best in Show Professional | PH |
| Michael Schmidt, CEC® | G | Silver | PH |
| Kassie Beach | KC | Silver | |
| Samantha Joslin | Silver | PH | |
| Jessica Hazel | E2 | Silver | PH |
| Michael Schmidt, CEC® | F4 | Silver | PH |
| Karlee Valley, CWPC® | KP1 | Silver | PH |
| Christopher Sowa, CEC® | F2 | Silver | MU |
| Scott Twichell, CEPC® | KP2 | Bronze | PH |
| Karlee Valley, CWPC® | KP2 | Bronze | PH |
| Ashley King | E2 | Bronze | PH |
| Nicholas Cornfield, CEC® | F4 | Bronze | PH |
| Samantha Joslin | E2 | Bronze | PH |
Special Awards:
- High School Competitor Best in Show- Ashley Shabo, Dakota High School
- Student SWP Best in Show- Jessica Mitchell, CIM-PH
- Student SW Best in Show- Nathaniel Chalmers, CIM-PH
- Student Best in Show Cold Salon- Kindi Diet,z CIM-PH
- Student Best in Show Culinary SK- Emily Rozema, CIM-PH
- Student Best in Show SP1- Danielle Little, CIM-PH
- Student Best in Show Pastry SP2- Hannah Denys, CIM-MU
- Student Most Improved- Emily Rozema, CIM-PH
- Most Creative Student Entry- Alisabeth Grage, CIM-MU
- Roland E. Schaeffer Award for Excellence in Pastry Arts- Danielle Little, CIM-PH
- Roland E. Schaeffer Award for Excellence in Student Culinary Arts- Nathaniel Chalmers, CIM-PH
- Roland E. Schaeffer Award for Excellence in Table Side Cookery- Sierra Franks, CIM-PH
- Most Artistic Student Entry- Samantha Hecht, CIM-PH
- Professional Best in Show- Jill Tucker, CSC, CIM-PH
“It was a tremendous BakerProud two-days for CIM students and staff…with 100 entries, 11 Certified ACF judges, professional competitors from all over Michigan, high school students and our own students and staff coming together for a weekend of great competition,” said Chef (Tom) Recinella. “The CIM continued forging its path of excellence and exceptional student outcomes, and I am so proud of our performance and demonstration of our continuous improvement.”
CIM student chefs will next compete in the Skills USA Post-Secondary National Championships for Commercial Baking, Culinary Arts, and Restaurant Service in Atlanta, GA, in June and the ACF Student Chef of the Year and Student Pastry Chef of the Year National Championships at the ACF National Convention in Las Vegas, NV in July. More information on Baker College’s Culinary Institute of Michigan is available at baker.edu/cim.