A CHEF’S JOURNEY TO BECOMING

ACF-CERTIFIED

Born in 1926 and raised in Switzerland,

Leopold K. Schaeli, CMC®, was the youngest of 8 children. He began his culinary career in Giswil Kt. Obwalden, making cheese in his father’s dairy while attending school.

During WWII at the age of 13, Schaeli joined the military, achieving lead chef within 4 months, earning what would be the equivalence of 90 cents a day. Later, he moved with his company, and began working at the Schweizerhof Hotel Bern. His lead chef was “crazy and hit everyone, but was a genius, so everyone put up with him”. After the war, Schaeli learned English working at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin and then returned to Switzerland to serve as the executive chef of the Hotel ermitage Am See, Kurncacht.

Schaeli’s desire for change from the hotel industry led him to travel to Turkey—Istanbul and Ankara—working in officers clubs, at NATO headquarters and the American Embassy, doing catering and parties.

Back in Zürich, he was hired at the Mövenpick Restaurant, which was the first restaurant in Switzerland to serve a meal on a plate. The Mövenpick Restaurant was successful, spreading to other countries and still exists today. In 1960, Harold and Charles Reder visited the Mövenpick Restaurant and hired Chef Schaeli to teach and train their staff in the U.S. After transferring to several of their well-known restaurants, Restaurant on the Mountain, 1896 House Restaurant, and Top of the Plaza Restaurant in the Midtown Towers Hotel, Rochester, N.Y. customers began asking for him by name and following him when he left one restaurant for another. In 1968, while in Detroit, he took the position of executive chef de cuisine/manager at Jim’s Garage Restaurant, which was like a museum for old cars. He was working Monday through Friday, with weekends off, which he had never experienced before. Then he “made the mistake of accepting parties, and from then on, it was seven days, booked out well in advance.”

After working at both the Money Tree, followed by The Drawbridge Restaurant in Northville, he took a position at Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills. It was rumored that Jimmy Hoffa frequented Red Fox and was a fan of the rack of lamb a la Leopold. The Red Fox Restaurant parking lot was where Hoffa was last seen—by anyone who’ll admit it, anyway.

In 1984, a new challenge arose and Schaeli traveled 850 miles to Hyde Park, N.Y., as a candidate for the 10-day Certified Master Chef ® exam. Things were going well until the last day—Day 10 of the exam. Schaeli, age 56, headed down the corridor to present the first course in his Mystery Basket to the judges (50% of the grade). He slipped on a freshly mopped floor and his tray of moules marinière went shooting down the hallway. He landed on his elbow, which left a huge gash. Bleeding and with no Band-Aids available, Schaeli hurried back to kitchen #13 and redid the mussels. “I’d made it this far, and you could not have held me back with 10 horses.” He had successfully achieved his CMC®certification.

At the time of his retirement, he had been responsible for 10 restaurants, 650 employees and three pastry retail shops. In 1991, he went into education as the master chef instructor at Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Mich. He spent 10 years with students at Schoolcraft College before retiring for a second time.

Leopold Schaeli, CMC®, has been a member of the American Culinary Federation since 1988. He is passionate about food and ACF certification.