Baker College of Muskegon culinary students earn silver medal

Baker College of Muskegon’s Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) hot food team earned a silver medal at the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Central Regional Culinary Salon in St. Louis, Missouri, March 11-13.

The winning student chefs are team captain Mike Kenat, of Holland; Alejandro Guzman, of Waukegan, Illinois; Diamantae Evans, of Saginaw; Eddie Jackson, of Farmington Hills; and Gjeka “Jake” Juncaj, of Utica. Kenat and Guzman are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in food and beverage management; Evans, Jackson and Juncaj are earning associate degrees in culinary arts.

“Our students represented Michigan well and were able to network with other student chefs from throughout the nation,” said Bruce Konowalow, CCE, CIM Muskegon dean of culinary arts. “Advancing to an ACF regional salon is a considerable accomplishment, and we congratulate them on their superior performance.”

Team advisors are instructor chefs Christopher Sowa and Cory Barrett, of Muskegon.

The competition is complex, including knife and pastry preparation skills, and producing four servings of a four-course menu.

The CIM Muskegon team prepared pain de mie crusted striped bass; salad of winter vegetables; Poulet Sauté Saint-Lambert, pan-roasted chicken with celery root puree and potato soufflé; and a dessert of warm apple cake with vanilla semifreddo and cider caramel.

The event was at the Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College with teams representing states from Wisconsin to Texas.

Judging is based upon a set standard. Of the 10 teams competing, four had higher scores than the CIM Muskegon team, so the CIM Team will not be advancing to the national championship.

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. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.

For information about the programs at Baker College of Muskegon’s Culinary Institute of Michigan, contact Kathy Jacobson in the admissions office at 231.777.5200 or kathy.jacobson@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 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 MU Hot Food team – The Michigan championship hot food team earned a silver medal at the ACF Central Regional Culinary Salon in St. Louis, Missouri, March 11-13. From left are Baker College CIM Muskegon team advisor Chef Christopher Sowa; student chefs Gjeka “Jake” Juncaj, of Utica, team captain Mike Kenat, of Holland, Alejandro Guzman, of Waukegan, Illinois, and Diamantae Evans, of Saginaw; team advisor Chef Cory Barrett; and student chef Eddie Jackson, of Farmington Hills. This photo was taken after they won the ACF Michigan championship earlier this year.