Leopold Schaeli, CMC

Leopold Schaeli, CMC, AAC, Inducted Into American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame

St. Augustine, Florida, August 06, 2014—The American Academy of Chefs® (AAC), the honor society of the American Culinary Federation (ACF),   has inducted Leopold Schaeli, CMC®, AAC®, HOF, into the American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame. He was honored at the 43rd Annual AAC Induction Dinner held at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, Kansas City, Missouri, during the 2014 ACF National Convention.

Established in 1988, the American Academy of Chefs Culinary Hall of Fame recognizes AAC Fellows for their accomplishments and extraordinary contributions to ACF, the culinary profession and the AAC throughout their life.

Leopold Schaeli, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, was born in Switzerland where he began his culinary career at the age of 13 when he joined the military during World War II. He worked as executive chef in several hotels and restaurants across Europe before moving to the United States in 1960.

In the U.S., Schaeli served as executive chef at numerous restaurants including Restaurant on the Mountain, Rochester, New York; Jim’s Garage Restaurant, Detroit; The Drawbridge Restaurant, Northville, Michigan; and Machus Red Fox Restaurant, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1984,  he became an ACF-certified Master Chef® (CMC), a certification held by only 66 other chefs in the U.S. In 1991, he became a master chef instructor at Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Michigan, where he spent 10 years before retiring. Schaeli is a member of ACF Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association.