OTC student’s food art to be featured at show

H.J. Schumer is not only a student at OTC but also an artist, photographer, instructor and chef.

On Friday, Schumer will display some of his talents at the OTC Fine Arts Gallery as part of the November Art Walk event.

Schumer’s photo exhibit will include pictures he’s taken himself and others that he has helped design for local photographer Tom Davis. Some of Schumer’s multi-media art that has been displayed at the Watercolor USA show at the Springfield Art Museum, also will be shown Friday.

Food and photography have always been part of Schumer’s life. At one time, he worked for a local newspaper shooting pictures along with cooking at a restaurant.

“After losing several jobs to businesses that closed, I decided to do something I loved. I went into cooking and catering. I was approached by Tom Davis to do some food styling for him,” Schumer said.

Together, Schumer and Davis produced photographs for companies such as Bass Pro, French’s and Eagle Brand products.

It was Schumer’s wife, Kim, who convinced her husband that he should get some “culinary credibility” and enroll in OTC’s Culinary Arts program. This semester he is working in the student-operated Scallions restaurant.

“She said if I wanted to do food photography, I had to go back and get a culinary degree,” he said. He graduates from OTC in May with an associate’s degrees in culinary arts and baking.

Schumer, who works as an in-house chef and acting manager of the cooking school at the Price Cutter Bistro on Republic Road, said that getting his culinary education at OTC has been a big help.

“It has made a difference. I can visualize what’s needed for a picture. I’ve learned about creating a variety of dishes. I’ve learned that baking is a science and cooking is an art,” he said.

Steve Koehler is corrdinator of media relations at Ozarks Technical Community College.