Sonnenschmidt was born in Bavaria and worked in hotels in Germany and England before immigrating to the United States in the early 1960s. A Certified Master Chef, he was named the American Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year in 1994.
A fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sonnenschmidt is co-author of Dining with Sherlock Holmes (Fordham University Press, 1990), among his several cookbooks.
College President Tim Ryan, CMC, AAC, had Sonnenschmidt as an instructor when he was a CIA student in the 1970s. Following Sonnenschmidt’s address, Ryan called him “truly one of the finest chefs who has ever walked these halls.”
As one of the longest-serving faculty members in the history of the college, Sonnenschmidt was named a CIA Heritage Professor in 2006.
Photo:Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, AAC (l.), president of The Culinary Institute of America, enjoys a light moment with keynote speaker Fritz Sonnenschmidt, CMC, AAC, during commencement ceremonies at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus on March 1, 2013. Sonnenschmidt is one of the longest-serving faculty members in the history of the college, and Ryan was his student in the 1970s. Courtesy of CIA/Phil Mansfield