Chef Gerald Schmidt, C.E.C.

Gerald Schmidt, C.E.C., is Executive Chef and Culinary Director for Linger Longer Communities, which includes Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga. In this position, Chef Schmidt oversees all culinary operations for five clubhouses, The Lake Club and a full-service, country-style, as well as all catering events for the community that was named the “Best of the Best” Golf Community by the Robb Report.  He manages a culinary staff of over 50 people at this 10,000-acre golf and lake community, which covers more than 80 miles of shoreline on Lake Oconee.

Chef Schmidt’s experience before taking his current position in 1999 included four years as Executive Chef at The Citrus Club in Orlando, Fla.  As part of his work with this ClubCorp property, he became a Regional Chef Specialist, working with 14 clubs, and created a legendary “Chef’s Dinners” series that featured guest chefs from other ClubCorp properties. He also was part of the team that opened the University Club at Florida State University’s Doak Campbell Stadium, and was part of a traveling team of chefs specializing in corporate, wine and fundraising dinners throughout the ClubCorp network.

During his career Chef Schmidt has also worked as Sous Chef Tournant for the Grande Floridian Beach Resort in Orlando, a luxury property within Walt Disney World; as Executive Chef at the Stanhope Hotel in New York City; as Executive Chef at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, Long Island, N.Y.; as Chef de Cuisine for the Trumpets Dining Room (Donald Trump’s first hotel endeavor) at the Grand Hyatt New York; as Chef Tournant for Les Chefs de France at the EPCOT Center in Orlando; and in an externship that covered every line position at the Hyatt Palm Beaches and Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla.

A 1982 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Schmidt was a finalist for the White House Chef position in 2005 and prepared state dinners and cuisine for Congressional receptions as part of the interview process.

Throughout his professional career, Chef Schmidt has put an emphasis on community involvement and has been an active participant of the Share Our Strength food drive for the hungry, including serving in an organizer capacity for several years in Central Florida. He also prepares monthly and yearly meals for active-duty military personnel at Veterans Hospital in Augusta, Ga.

Chef Schmidt has also been active in forming the Lake Oconee chapter of Chaine des Rotisseurs and has helped to build it up to now be the organization’s third-largest starting chapter. In 2006, he received the Silver Star of Excellence award for leadership, dedication and commitment to the Lake Oconee Chaine, and was also awarded

first ever nationally-awarded Jeunes Commis Medal of Merit for commitment in training and mentoring young staff.