Esteemed Chef Recognized with Special Display

Purdue Dining & Culinary is honoring one of its longtime chefs with a display in the Wabash Room of The Sagamore Restaurant.

The displays highlights the numerous career achievements of Hubert Schmieder, chef emeritus. Schmieder, 90, is a world-renowned chef who became the first professional chef to work in Purdue’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The display includes a selection of Schmieder’s numerous awards, honors and photos.

Schmieder’s culinary career began at the age of 14 in Germany during the height of World War II. His father brought him to Stuttgart, where he began a cooking apprenticeship while living above a restaurant. The war intervened however, as his school was destroyed.

Following the war, Schmieder had the fortune to land a job as a cook in an officer’s club in the camps of the occupying U.S. Army. During this time, he learned English and learned about managing a kitchen and cooking. After working in both Germany and Switzerland, he was eventually sponsored by the Marott Hotel (Indianapolis) and came to the United States in 1956 at the age of 26.

Upon his arrival in the U.S., Schmieder worked in different hotels and restaurants and continually competed at the IKA in Germany, winning several gold medals in the competition known as the “Culinary Olympics.” He served as president of three different chapters of the American Culinary Federation and remains a member of the ACF Indianapolis chapter. He is a member of the hall of fame of the Indiana Restaurant and Lodging Association. In 2016, the World Association of Chefs Societies honored Schmieder with its President Special Award in recognition of his work throughout his career. Schmieder has also been involved on a variety of cooking-related projects worldwide, including egg pasteurization experiments and work with the ostrich farming industry.

Schmieder’s culinary, networking, teamwork and competitive gifts were recognized by Purdue in 1989, when he was hired as a chef-instructor – the first professional chef to work in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. While at Purdue, he cooked for many high-profile events and dignitaries, including Neil Armstrong. Schmieder was inducted into the Purdue Hospitality & Tourism Management Hall of Fame in 2018.

“A chef is a craftsman who can take birds from the sky, and fish and crustaceans from the rivers and oceans, and all the eatable goods the good Lord has put on this planet and transform them into innovative, nutritional meals that sustain life,” Schmieder says.