Baker College director joins elite culinary order, selects student for scholarship

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Thomas F. Recinella, CEC®, ACE, AAC®, has been inducted into the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque, an elite culinary order, and Marisol Andrades has received a $2,500 scholarship from the Order. The induction and scholarship presentation took place at the organization’s recent national annual meeting at Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth.

Recinella is program director and COURSES Restaurant executive chef at Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM). As the only newly inducted member from the annual meeting’s host state of Michigan, Recinella was asked to nominate a deserving student for a scholarship provided by the Order. He chose CIM-PH student Andrades, who is pursuing an associate degree in culinary arts. The native of New York City resides in Port Huron.

Membership in the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque is the highest acclaimed recognition a chef can receive in the U.S. It is limited to 100 lifetime members who have demonstrated professional attainment of high estate, abiding interest in professional progress, and devoted and distinguished service to the culinary profession and arts.

“I was fortunate to be able to share this personal recognition with one of our students via the scholarship,” said Recinella. “Marisol is a stellar student, impressively balancing her commitment to academic achievement with community involvement and family obligations. She is a role model for others at the CIM-Port Huron.”

Recinella has more than 30 years of culinary and food and beverage experience, working in private clubs, fine dining restaurants, catering, banquets and culinary education. Since 2012 when he was selected to head the CIM-Port Huron, Recinella has dedicated himself to teaching emerging culinarians at Baker College.

Recinella is the founding CIM-Port Huron program director and has been the recipient of multiple industry awards for excellence in teaching, including the 2014 Sharing Culinary Traditions Award from the American Academy of Chefs and the 2003 American Culinary Federation National Educator of the Year.

The four other chefs who joined the Order with Recinella are from Maryland, Texas and Missouri.

Members of the Order are chefs with at least 20 years of service who have been nominated by three active members and, after a screening process, have been granted final acceptance by the membership.

The Order was founded in France and brought to the U.S. in 1961 by Chef Pierre Berard. Its mission is to provide and foster a forum for the exchange of culinary knowledge and expertise so members may assist in the development of young culinarians and improve the quality of life in a multicultural world community.

For more information about the culinary arts programs at the CIM-Port Huron, 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 28,000 students on multiple campuses and online. Baker grants certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 150 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 graduate receives Lifetime Employment Assistance—free and forever. Baker is a pioneer in online 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 CIM-Andrades – Marisol Andrades receives a $2,500 scholarship from Jim Miller on behalf of the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque. Miller is grand commander of the Order. Andrades, of Port Huron, is pursuing an associate degree in culinary arts at Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan.

Baker CIM-Golden Toque presentation – Thomas Recinella, second from left, receives a plaque to commemorate his induction into the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque, an elite culinary order that restricts membership to 100 lifetime members. Representing the Order are, from left, Commander Secretary Joel Tanner, of Caledonia; Grand Commander Jim Miller, of Mentor, Ohio; and Commander Treasurer John Bogacki, St. Louis, Missouri.

Baker CIM-Golden Toque sponsor – Culinary legend Fredric “Fritz” Sonnenschmidt, of Hyde Park, New York, at right, is one of the three chefs who sponsored the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque membership nomination for Thomas Recinella, at left. Recinella is program director of Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan.

Baker CIM-Golden Toque group – Here are the members of the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque who recently attended the organization’s 2015 national annual meeting. Thomas Recinella, program director of Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan, was inducted into the organization, joining five other Michigan chefs as active members of the Order.