Schorner named Pastry Chef at Culinary Institute's Apple Pie Bakery Café

Dieter Schorner, once called the best pastry chef in the United States by Time magazine, has been named Pastry Chef at the Apple Pie Bakery Café of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). The position took effect on August 2, 2000. Schorner, a Certified Master Baker, joined the CIA's faculty in early 1999 and has taught the college's Pâtisserie and Pastry Skill Development courses.

The Café opened in January 2000, and prepares students for careers in the industry by providing a real-life setting for the college's baking and pastry degree program students to gain hands-on experience in a professional bakeshop.

"It is more than just school. This class teaches both the joys and frustrations of running a business," Chef Schorner says. "When graduates leave here, they now just continue in the industry. They don't have to make an adjustment from the classroom."

The Café is open to the public and plays what the school calls "an integral part of the college's new, expanded baking and pastry arts curriculum." In their final course before earning their associate degrees, students spend six weeks in the Café – three weeks in the bakeshop under the direction of Chef Schorner and three weeks in the dining room under the direction of Lecturing Instructor Carleen Von Eikh.

Chef Schorner was the owner and pastry chef at the renowned Café Didier in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC, until he sold it in 1998. Condé Nast Traveler named Café Didier the third best restaurant in America in 1994, and it was cited as serving the best breakfast in Washington. He has prepared desserts for Presidents Nixon, Carter, and Reagan. A native of Bavaria, Dieter Schorner has been pastry chef at such distinguished restaurants as Tavern on the Green, Le Cirque, and La Côte Basque in New York City; Potomac Restaurant in Washington; and the Savoy Hotel in London.

The Apple Pie Bakery Café is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. No reservations are necessary. Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent, not-for-profit college offering bachelor's and associate degrees in baking and pastry arts and culinary arts. Courses for foodservice professionals are offered at the college's main campus in Hyde Park, NY, and at its branch for continuing education, The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, CA. For more information, visit the CIA's Web site at www.ciachef.edu.

For more information, contact Culinary Institute of America at 433 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499 Phone 914.452.9600

Edited by Bob Sperber