Sullivan University Department Chair Albert Schmid Wins Gourmand Award for the United States
Professor Albert Schmid, chair of Sullivan University’s Hotel-Restaurant Management, Beverage Management and Hospitality Management Departments, has won a Gourmand Award for his book, The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook. The awards committee, headed by Edouard Cointreau, president of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, announced that Schmid won in the category of Best Book on Cooking with Wines, Beers and Spirits for the United States. The award makes Schmid’s book eligible to win the category in the international level of the competition. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Paris, France, on March 2 as part of the opening of the Paris Cookbook Fair.
“I was hoping that the Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook would be a finalist in the competition so I could help increase awareness of the great culinary culture of Kentucky,” said Schmid. “I was so surprised and thrilled to win for the U.S.!”
The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook (ISBN: 9780813125794, $24.95, The University Press of Kentucky) features more than 50 recipes from notable chefs and cookbooks, accompanied by 16 color photographs. Featuring a foreword by Chef Dean Fearing, the book is organized by season, with each chapter showcasing fresh ingredients and Kentucky events. A chapter on cocktails opens the book, along with an introduction that explores the author’s personal journey in bourbon research. The book is available at area Borders, Barnes and Noble and Carmichael’s bookstores, and on Amazon.com.
Schmid has more than 25 years of professional and academic experience in the culinary, beverage and hospitality industries. In addition to chairing the beverage-management, hotel/restaurant management and hospitality-management programs for Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality Studies based in Louisville, Schmid has served on several committees and has been a featured speaker for the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He holds 10 professional certifications including Certified Culinary Professional, Certified Executive Chef, Certified Specialist of Wine, Certified Specialist of Spirits and Certified Food and Beverage Executive as well as three educator certifications. He holds a master of arts in Gastronomy and is the author of The Hospitality Manager’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits, published by Prentice-Hall/Pearson Education.