We’re so lucky to be situated so close to the world’s premiere culinary college, the Culinary Institute of America, right in Hyde Park. If you’re a Hudson Valley native, or even if you’re new to the area, hopefully you’ve had a chance to experience all that the CIA has to offer. Incredible food, breathtaking campus views, and up and coming chefs and restauranteurs perfecting their craft.
I was lucky enough to take my first visit to the CIA when I was a high school student studying Italian, visiting the Caterina de’ Medici with my class, which was the first of many visits over the past 20+ years.
After Nearly Three Decades, Well-Loved CIA Chef Prepares For Retirement
In an announcement on social media on Monday, December 29th, the CIA shared that following a nearly three decade tenure teaching culinary craft and skill, an admired chef will be packing up his knives and retiring.
Chef Schneller, who has ‘shaped generations of students not just with technique, but with purpose’ is retiring.
After 27 years at the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Schneller is retiring—and before he stepped away, we knew we had to capture one last video in Schneller’s cellar.
Through his work teaching Meat Identification, Fabrication, and Utilization and Seafood Identification and Fabrication, Chef Schneller shaped generations of students not just with technique, but with purpose—instilling respect for the product, the producer, and the responsibility that comes with the craft.
Following the news of his retirement, former students, as well as locals who know Chef Schneller from his time as a restaurant owner (Schnellers in Kingston) shared their well wishes, and stories from learning the culinary craft from him over the years.
Google Business, The Culinary Institute of America
Google Business, The Culinary Institute of America
One comment on Facebook, from a former student, shared a story from nearly two decades ago:
What an instructor! Chef, your the reason butchering and fabricating is still fun for me to this day (20 years later) I’ll never forget the day you stopped class to allow Marc Summers to come in and attend class and do his double dare skit. You earned your down time so to you chef I salute you.
Leaving A Legacy That Reaches Far Beyond ‘These Walls’
Known for his ability to mold future chefs to think critically, respect the food/food sources, and for his incredible butchering skills, the CIA took one final visit to ‘Schneller’s Cellar’ ahead of the Chef’s retirement.
Congratulations, Chef, and enjoy your well deserved retirement!
Explore The Egg at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY
Dining and Cooking