Paul Sorgule

Paul Sorgule, born 1950, is respected for both his restaurant operations and as a culinary educator. A seasoned veteran with over 40 years of experience in the food industry, Chef Paul has a master’s degree in Hospitality from Rochester Institute of Technology.

He is proud that his first job was as a 16 year-old dishwasher which gave him the first taste of life in the kitchen. He went to work as an apprentice at Buffalo State Hilton school in a classic Escoffier style brigade and moved around learning about everything from butchery to pastry over two years. At that stage, he was tempted to move into restaurant management but soon missed the energy and camaraderie of the kitchen and cooking. As Sorgule has said: “the key is to always be curious and truly get to understand your ingredients.”

He returned to cheffing and became Executive Chef of the Mirror Lake Inn in New York State, bringing the fourth diamond recognition for the Inn’s food. He has held the position of Dean of Culinary Arts at Paul Smith’s College and and Vice President for Culinary Education at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.

In 1988, as a member of the New England Culinary Olympic Team, he was awarded a gold medal at the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2001, the American Culinary Federation recognized Chef Sorgule as the National Culinary Educator of the Year. In 2008, he was invited to bring the Mirror Lake Inn Culinary Team to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City. He is the author of a 2007 book entitled: “In the Shadow of Cooks” and a novel .

Chef Sorgule was previously Executive Chef of the Mirror Lake Inn, helping to bring the fourth diamond recognition for the Inn’s food. He has held the position of Dean of Culinary Arts at Paul Smith’s College and and Vice President for Culinary Education at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. He has been inducted as a member of the American Academu of chefs.

Chef Sorgule is now president of a restaurant consulting firm: Harvest America Ventures that provides menu-planning, systems development, training and quality assessment for restaurants and also works with a hospitality recruitment consultancy specialising in private chefsChef Sorgule was previously Executive Chef of the Mirror Lake Inn, helping to bring the fourth diamond recognition for the Inn’s food. He has held the position of Dean of Culinary Arts at Paul Smith’s College and and Vice President for Culinary Education at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.