(Press Release)

(WACO) — When Mark Schneider, 37, cooks, he puts so much heart and soul into it, it shows. So much so, that on the Texas Chefs Association’s 50th anniversary, they chose to give Schneider their highest honor – Texas Chef of the year 2008.

This is no easy feat for a chef in Texas. Each of the 15 association chapters elects their own chef of the year. Partial criteria for this award are chapter involvement, dedication at the state level and national Culinary Federation participation, not to mention they must be excellent cooks.

The last part is probably the easiest for Schneider. He can beat most chefs forks down. A six-year master instructor at Texas State Technical College Waco, he is no stranger to awards. In the past three years, he has earned four gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals through various competitions in the American Culinary Federation (ACF) — including Taste of San Antonio.

In addition, he has been awarded best in show in two of the competitions he has performed in and has received the Bernard Urban Judges Award from the Ben E. Keith Foodservice Distributors at its Ft. Worth 2008 ACF Competition.

Perhaps Schneider’s cooking is so good because of his karma. He likes to serve others more than win contests. In fact, he spends the majority of his time helping others. Over the years, Schneider has served as the Heart of Texas director for two terms; the chapter sponsors national ACF practicum and competitions housed at TSTC Culinary Arts.

On the national level, he serves as an Approved Certification Evaluator and has evaluated more than 50 chef certifications. And, recently elected as second vice president of the Texas Chefs Association, he works tirelessly in that outfit, holding statewide seminars for chefs wanting to improve their professional careers through certification, among other duties.

And his peers have noticed: “Chef Schneider being elected the Texas Chef’s Association 2008 Chef of the Year is a tremendous personal and professional achievement he whole-heartedly deserves,” said Len Pawelek, director of the Texas Chefs Association HOT chapter. “His hard work, dedication and pride have benefited culinarians everywhere at the state and local level.”

Make no mistake, though, it does takes a lot of hard work to get where Schneider is. He graduated from the Greater Cincinnati Culinary Arts Academy in 1993 with a one-year culinary arts diploma and from TSTC Waco with an Associate of Applied Science degree with Board of Regents (4.0) honors from Food Service/Culinary Arts. He is due to receive his bachelor’s degree of Applied Science in Business Administration in the summer of 2009. In the meantime, he’s been cooking professionally 18 years. He was certified by the American Culinary Federation as a Certified Executive Chef in 2002.

“I am delighted to bring this prestigious award to TSTC and to show the students what can be accomplished with professional dedication,” said Schneider.

“I am very proud of Chef Schneider's accomplishments. He is an excellent faculty member and mentor to the Culinary Arts students,” said Debby DeFee, program chair for Food Service/Culinary Arts. “It is with honors such as this that I hope the ‘best kept secret’ in culinary education in Texas is finally laid to rest.”

Added Pawelek: ”Our chapter is well represented by Chef Schneider and we salute him with a tip of the toque. Job well done, Chef.”
-#-
Mark Schneider lives in Waco with his wife, LeAnn, daughter Olivia, and son William, who “have allowed me the time and given me the support I needed to reach this point in my career.” He specializes in both hot food competitions and cold food salon competitions, but loves to cook Italian and Asian. His desire is to be always exceeding guest needs and desires both in food and service.