Dieter Schorner, a longtime pastry chef and professor at the Culinary Institute of America since 1999, turned 75 on June 19. Schorner was one of the opening chefs for the Apple Pie Bakery Café on the Hyde Park, N.Y. campus in 2000 and currently teaches Basic and Classical Cakes.
"Chef Schorner's professional successes and accomplishments in the industry are many. His ability to create memorable desserts to the elite always came naturally to him and many of his innovations are now standard in the field of pastry," Thomas Vaccaro, dean of baking and pastry arts at the CIA, said in a statement. "Dieter's countless contributions have shaped the curriculum of the CIA and prepared students to become leaders in the industry."
Schorner was the owner of Patisserie-Café Didier in Washington, D.C. until selling it in 1998. The restaurant was named the third best in America by Condé Nast Traveler in 1994. Schorner also previously was executive pastry chef for Warner LeRoy at Potomac Restaurant in Washington and Tavern on the Green in New York. He was also pastry chef at such locations as Le Cirque, Le Chantilly, La Côte Basque and L'Etoile in New York; the Savoy Hotel in London; and Cafehaus Konig in Baden-Baden, Germany.