Baker College of Port Huron CIM student excels at prestigious regional culinary competition

Calie Nelson, of Otisville, a student at Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM), finished first runner-up in the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Central Regional Culinary Salon in St. Louis, Missouri, March 11-13.

Nelson competed against three other student chefs for the title of ACF Central Region Student Chef of the Year. Each chef had one hour to prepare two portions of a dish incorporating chicken.

Nelson presented the judges with a trio of chicken: chicken breast arrose with a fresh herb forcemeat (including chicken) and butter-poached potato cup filled with braised chicken leg. Butternut squash puree, haricot verts and a natural jus lie accompanied the trio.

Judging was based upon a set standard. All four competitors earned silver medals. Nick Norton, of Foristell, Missouri, scored the highest number of points and will advance to the July 2016 national competition in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Advancing to an ACF regional salon is a considerable accomplishment so we were very proud to be there to support Calie,” said Thomas F. Recinella, CEC®, ACE, AAC®, HGT, program director and COURSES Restaurant executive chef at CIM Port Huron. “It was a very close competition, and Calie did an amazing job, performing like a professional and impressing the judges with her skills.”

In 2015, Nelson won the ACF Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association (MCCA) Student Chef of the Year Championship in southeastern Michigan, making it the second consecutive year that a CIM Port Huron student earned the designation. She also earned a gold, two silver and two bronze medals in other ACF-sanctioned competitions in 2015.

A Marmaduke, Arkansas native, Nelson expects to complete an associate degree in culinary arts in June 2016 and hopes to move to New Orleans to work in fine dining.

ACF is the standard of excellence for chefs in North America with more than 17,500 members in nearly 200 chapters. It offers educational resources, training, apprenticeships, programmatic accreditation and a chef certification program. The ACF Student Chef of the Year award recognizes up-and-coming students who possess a high degree of professionalism, culinary skill and passion for culinary arts. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.

For more information about programs at Baker College of Port Huron Culinary Institute, 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

Baker-PH-SCOY-Calie Nelson – Calie Nelson, a student at Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan, finished first runner-up in a regional ACF competition.

Baker-PH-ACF regional-Calie Nelson – Calie Nelson prepares two portions of a dish incorporating chicken at the ACF Central Regional Culinary Salon in St. Louis, Missouri.