This Chef Is Olympics Bound!

By Rebecca Maxon

October 20, 2025 — Alumnus Chad Schoonveld, BAIS’08 and MS’21, is no stranger to competition. While working as a sous chef at the Green Room in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Scotland, he competed with the Scottish national team in the ScotHot international competition, coming home with a bronze medal.

Now he has been selected to represent the United States in the 2028 IKA/Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany, the oldest and one of the largest international culinary arts competitions in the world. He will be training monthly for the next three years. “The American Culinary Federation devotes a lot of time and money to the team,” Schoonveld says.

Chad Schoonveld

The culinary artists train on certain weekends, flying to cities throughout the country. Training includes repetitive practice to perfect skills, exacting standards and physical and mental endurance.

“The Olympics will be a challenge, but I believe that a summation of all of my education (including certifications in culinary and pastries and a sommelier certificate from the Wine and Spirt Education Trust) helps me to have a diversified understanding of cultures and foods,” Schoonveld says.

Teams and individual chefs dedicate countless training sessions and meetings to perfecting their menus, programs, and culinary showpieces.

“Leadership classes during my time in the master’s program at FDU have been invaluable.” That experience helps him lead a collaborative effort to develop a menu and brainstorm themes.

After earning his associate degree at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, N.J, Schoonveld came to FDU through an articulation agreement between the two schools. “I had done two years at community college, but I wanted to stay on campus at FDU to get that full college experience.”

Now, he serves as a culinary arts/chef instructor at Brookdale. “I feel like I wear Brookdale Community College on my name tag, but right on the back is FDU,” says Schoonveld.

“So having that background to pull from and being able have an amalgamation of all those classes make their way into my repertoire is pretty interesting,”

As a student on the Metropolitan Campus, Schoonveld became active in the Club Management Association of America and was president of the Epsilon-Xi Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International for two years. He is now a member of the International School of Hospitality, Sports, and Tourism Management’s advisory board, the Hospitality and Tourism Alumni Chapter and the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, a professional organization for culinary and wine experts with a chapter based on the Florham Campus.

“FDU’s hospitality program is just unbelievable,” Schoonveld says. “My professors were just so instrumental during my education. They were a huge part of what made me love it. I still think about the ways they approached things.”

Schoonveld teaches students who’ve enrolled in Brookdale straight out of high school as well as adult learners pursuing their culinary dreams.

He is currently further developing the hospitality program at Brookdale College, with plans to move it from its current home in Asbury Park, N.J., to Brookdale’s main campus in Lincroft. The new facility is set to open in 2026. He also hopes to bring a Chaîne chapter to campus. “It is always good to have a professional organization at your back,” he says.

Schoonveld says his best advice to students is to say “yes.” “So many doors open because of the word ‘yes,’” he says. “Practice your craft and hone your talents in EVERYTHING. Approach life with the ability to learn and grow.”