Les Eckert, MBA, CEPC, CCE, AAC
Director of Great Lakes Culinary Institute
Les Eckert currently holds the position of Director of Great Lakes Culinary Institute. She has been in the culinary industry for over 25 years, is a Certified Executive Pastry Chef and Certified Culinary Educator. Chef Eckert has a BA in Culinary Management and an MBA with an emphasis in Hospitality Management. She has been an active member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) since 1992, was named ACF’s National Chef Educator of the Year in 2013 and Southeast Regional Pastry Chef of the Year in 2014, and inducted into the American Academy of Chefs in 2015.
Chef Eckert’s previous work experiences have encompassed pastry and baking work in fine dining establishments, artisan bread bakeries, and Marriott hotels, owner and operator of a dessert catering company, community culinary instructor, and higher education pastry instructor and culinary school program director. This Floridian moved to Michigan in 2019 and is enjoying the up north experience.