Jake Schmidt

The Climb

Before the kitchen, there was field work of another kind. Jake Schmidt began as senior safety and cornerback at Bemidji State University (Bemidji State Beavers) until 2011, a background that points to timing, stamina, and the kind of attention that holds up under pressure. That same discipline carried into hospitality, first as Executive Chef at The Omni Grove Park Inn, where consistency and execution are part of the job, then as Executive Chef of The Swag Country Inn, where his current work continues in the same register: controlled, seasonal, and exact.

Today

Southern cooking, for Schmidt, is seasonal rather than fixed. “When Southern ingredients are in season, their characteristics and flavors are second to none.” The point is restraint: when produce is right, the cook’s job is to avoid getting in the way. That same preference for directness shows up in his other line: “There is nothing like eating pole beans straight off the vine or salting and eating an heirloom tomato.” It is a plain argument for freshness, salt, and timing over ornament. That approach reads through the food as a matter of clarity. Jake Schmidt cooks toward the ingredient, not around it, favoring the season when it is available and letting the market set the pace. The effect is grounded rather than forced, with patience built into the method.

Signature

Jake's signature dishes include Swag Asparagus & Ramp Gribiche and Curried Cashews. The names point to a style that keeps to ingredient-led cooking, with green brightness in one dish and a warmer spice profile in the other.

In Their Words “There is nothing like eating pole beans straight off the vine or salting and eating an heirloom tomato.” “When Southern ingredients are in season, their characteristics and flavors are second to none.”