Baker College culinary students win 7 medals in state championship

Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) student chefs continue to outpace the competition, recently taking seven of nine medals in the SkillsUSA 2016 Michigan Post-Secondary State Championship.

The CIM team swept the commercial baking category taking gold, silver and bronze. They also earned gold and silver in culinary arts and silver and bronze in restaurant services. The two gold-medal winners will compete against winners from the other 49 states at the national championship in Louisville, Kentucky, June 20-25.

“The outstanding performance of our students was unprecedented, but not surprising,” said Thomas F. Recinella, CEC®, AAC®, HGT, program director and COURSES Restaurant executive chef at CIM Port Huron. “The students trained hard, had outstanding coaches, and, in the end, their determination and dedication paid off. All advanced their skills.”

The CIM entered three students, the maximum number allowed, in each of the three categories: commercial baking, culinary arts and restaurant services. The students competed against culinary students from The Art Institute of Michigan, Oakland Community College and Macomb Community College. A total of 16 students took part in the competition, which was hosted by the CIM.

The winning CIM students are:

• Commercial baking - Baking/pastry student chefs Angela Mejia, of Potterville, gold-medal state champion; Brooklyn Orosco, of Saginaw, silver medal; and Leah Andary, of Sterling Heights, bronze medal.
• Culinary arts - Culinary arts student chefs Bethany McKenzie, of Jeddo, gold-medal state champion, and Jamie Cook, of Saginaw, silver medal.
• Restaurant service - Baking/pastry student chef Allen Sechrist, of Croswell, silver medal, and culinary arts student chef Shannon Bower, of Port Huron, bronze medal.

Culinary arts student chefs Jordan Holley, of Saginaw, and Robert Brooks, of Capac, also competed.

In addition to Recinella, the CIM coaching team was comprised of Chefs Paula Recinella, CHE, Scott Twichell and Nick Cornfield.

For more information about culinary programs at Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan, contact Dan Kenny in the admissions office at daniel.kenny@baker.edu, 888.262.2442 or 810.985.7000, or visit www.baker.edu.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is a not-for-profit higher education institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It serves more than 23,000 students on multiple campuses and online. Baker College grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 100 programs across diverse academic fields, including business, health sciences, engineering, information technology, education and human services. An impressive 97 percent of available graduates are employed. Every Baker College graduate receives Lifetime Employment Assistance—free and forever. Baker College is a pioneer in distance education and offers students the option of completing a degree 100 percent online, without ever visiting a campus. For information, visit www.baker.edu or follow Baker College on Twitter, @bakercollege, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/bakercollege.

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Photo captions:

Photo 2: Baker College students who participated in the recent culinary SkillsUSA competition are, from left, Robert Brooks, Brooklyn Orosco, Leah Andary, Bethany McKenzie, Jamie Cook, Angela Mejia, Jordan Holley and Allen Sechrist. Not pictured is Shannon Bower.

Photo 3: Baker College student Angela Mejia creates her gold medal-winning confection.

Photo 4: Baker College student Bethany McKenzie designs the perfect presentation, taking the culinary arts gold medal.