Beyond
2024 | Volume 10 | Issue 1
the FORK
...celebrating 10 remarkable years! And remarkable is NOT an exaggeration! There are so many things that justify everyone who has been closely involved through these years with the Les Cheneaux Culinary School in a multitude of ways, to feel enormously proud to be celebrating its 10th anniversary. The proof lies not just in the successes of its students, personal and career-wise, and the acclaim The Restaurant has continued to receive, but in the fact that Zach Schroeder, as School Director and Executive Chef, and June Patton, as Director of Administration, have dedicated themselves to ensuring its success and the fulfillment of its mission since its founding in 2014. The members of the Board of Directors deserve to pat themselves on the back, too. Not only have they worked so well as a team, but they have remained focused on fulfilling the school’s mission. They have wisely served as overseers, not as supervisors and managers; entrusting the staff with handling the day-to-day operations and incremental needs, and respecting their knowledge and expertise to attain common goals. This mutual trust and respect have been the keys to the school’s notable achievements. Now back to the students’ successes… due to limited space, we can list only those we have been most recently in touch with, beginning with the first class, which graduated in 2015.
Sean Hammond always planned to remain in the Harbor Springs/Petoskey area. Currently, he is sous chef at Pour Kitchen & Bar in Petoskey, a 5-star restaurant featuring “an eclectic menu with worldly flavors from scratch daily. We pride ourselves on bringing a unique experience to the area, and serving as a vessel for the abundance of local farmers and producers to showcase their own talents and products.” https://pourpetoskey.com/ Matthew Nelson never has wavered from his dream to become an executive chef and eventually have his own restaurant, and he is well on his way. The last couple years he has been Food & Beverage Director at the premier Bay Harbor Yacht Club in Bay Harbor, Michigan, and recently moved up to Club House Manager. Yea for Matt! Nic Rossi, Class of 2018, has never been anything but passionate about a culinary career. We featured his story in the 2022 issue, reviewing his first job following graduation at the legendary 5-star restaurant Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village in NYC, then moving back to his hometown Detroit to work at another 5-star, Wright & Company, when Covid
changed his world. “I worked at five different places in the matter of two years. Out of those five, I happened to open three brandnew restaurants, and I am now working on opening another under my own delegations.” Now that the culinary world has managed to survive that dark period in time, and with Nic as proof of “survival of the fittest”, he is with Alpino, voted Detroit’s Best New Restaurant of 2023 by Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, and Eater Detroit. Their tagline is “our menu is inspired by ingredients sourced from hills, fields, rivers, and streams.” https://alpinodetroit.com. Gabriel Kromer, Class of 2020, is a native of Mackinac Island. Following his father Phil Kromer’s footsteps, long-time executive chef at the 1852 Grillroom in Island House Hotel, in just three years Gabe has become Banquet Chef at Boyne Mountain Resort in Harbor Springs, Michigan.
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