Profile in Pastry: Harry Schimp, Pastry Chef

About author / Rebecca Michaels

Queen of the desserts and pastry chef extraordinaire; graduate French Culinary Institute; Golden Scoop Award winner; Flying Monkey Bakery founder

A veteran of World War II, Harry Schimp was an infantry soldier trained for combat as a machine gunner. Thankfully, he was spared the front lines and spent his tour of duty behind a desk in the Judge Advocate branch of the Army. And then his life took a very different turn.

After the war, he needed to earn some money. At that time, the only apprenticeships available for veterans were either watch repair or baking. Mr. Schimp took a job with a baking company that had moved up from Chicago to Milwaukee. With his expertise, the company grew from four outlets to 70 stores. While working at the management level, new hires organized a union and Mr. Schimp was forced to leave the company as part of the union demand that working supervisors be let go.

Fortunately, another expanding grocery chain was waiting for a person with his skills and experience. Mr. Schimp remembers the owner of that bakery fondly; he was an excellent baker from Germany and he wanted Mr. Schimp to help create "the best bakery in America." He helped the company continue to expand to over forty outlets. But then, as before, a union was voted in and he decided at that time to leave the retail bakery business and move on to other pastry projects.

He moved on to become the pastry chef at the four-star Marc Plaza Hotel (now the Hilton) in Milwaukee. He began to experiment with pulled sugar, teaching himself the difficult craft of pulling and twisting molten sugar into beautiful glass-like shapes and flowers. As the pastry chef at the University Club in Milwaukee, he was allowed to expand his skills because the Club allowed him to work without being restrained by cost.

He suddenly was in hot demand. He received job offers from many top restaurants and hotels across the country. And the rest is history, as they say. Mr. Schimp has spent a lifetime working in some of the finest dining establishments in Milwaukee and beyond.

When President Kennedy visited Milwaukee, Harry made a cake with the president's likeness on it. But one of Mr. Schimp’s favorite stories comes from The University Club. "I was busy, very busy. One of the waitresses came into the bakeshop telling me that the German ambassador and his wife were dining, and he wanted her to be sure and come back to tell me that he and his wife travel all over the world. Wherever their destination they make a special effort to sample the cheesecake and the Ambassador wanted me to know that mine was the best he had ever eaten."

Mr. Schimp continues to be stimulated by working in the food industry as a cake decorator for a large supermarket chain. He is still constantly challenged to meet customers’ expectations and continues to learn and grow in his profession. Mr. Schimp is entirely self-taught in pastry. He took the initiative and pored over baking primers in his spare time to hone his craft. "I never stopped learning and testing my abilities, mostly by reading and trying to apply on my own. One never stops learning, always striving for excellence."