About Us

Andrew Schudlich
Chef/Proprietor

© Brian Confer Photography 2012

Andy was raised in Union Lake, MI. Many an afternoon was spent fishing with his father and brother or picking berries with his mother and aunt. It was this time spent in the outdoors that laid the foundation of Andy's interest in food. The cultivation and harvest of local and regional food also captivated Andy from an early age, and fostered an interest in how to find and prepare food for friends and family.

Andy attended Orchard Lake St. Mary's, and then continued on to earn a B.A. in Studio Art from Mercyhurst College. His professional cooking experience began with many short stints in professional kitchens. Andy learned production cooking at the Blue Bird in Leland, MI during collegiate summer breaks from 1991-1995. Following graduation, Andy moved to Leelanau County permanently, where he continued to cook at the Bluebird Restaurant in Leland. Andy then refined his skills at the Riverside Inn in Leland, MI, where he was given the opportunity to explore his own culinary ideas as well as to begin his foray into catering.

Travel through the Caribbean, Mexico, North America, South America and Central America inspired Andy. It was during these travels where he learned that the highest quality ingredients are those sourced locally and inherent to each region. He experienced how straightforward cooking techniques applied to these regional ingredients is really what identifies "local cuisine". This underlying epiphany drove him to seek out friend and fellow cook Cammie Buehler to apply this philosophy to the resources of the Leelanau County.

Forming Epicure Catering gave Andy and Cammie the opportunity to express their culinary vision of "Contemporary Local Cuisine". A secondary benefit became a chance to employ friends with exceptional culinary vision and a special connection with Leelanau County. After 10 years of hard work with Epicure Catering, Andy's goals and dreams are coming to fruition and the future looks bright.

Since the beginning of Epicure Catering, Andy has continued to educate himself in the craft of clean and minimalist cooking and processing practices. He has assisted Charcuterie expert Brian Polcyn at Pig Stock 2010/2011 where he began his training in seam butchery. He has spent the last decade developing close knit relationships with area producers from whom he takes guidance and advice. Each and everyday Andy pushes himself to create dishes that respectfully reflect the intentions of the land and people that bore them.

Andy resides very happily in Lake Leelanau.

Camilla Buehler
Chef/Proprietor

© Brian Confer Photography 2012

Cammie was born into a family of food lovers in Cincinnati, Ohio where cooking was far beyond a means to an end in her household. Countless hours were spent in the kitchen with her mother, aunt, and sister and she came to think of the kitchen as a place of creativity and refuge. Her cooking career began as a dishwasher in a fine dining restaurant, where she became drawn to the energy in commercial kitchens. Cammie continued to work in various kitchens throughout high school and college, including La Petit Pierre in Cincinnati, OH and the Riverside Inn in Leland, MI. Upon graduation from Ohio University, Cammie's degree in outdoor education took her to Lake Tahoe, California where she pioneered a women's-specific snowboard instruction course at Squaw Valley.

Living in California- the cradle of the local food movement in America- fueled her interest in professional cooking. By day, Cammie made tracks all over Northern California's best terrain. By night, she labored under the sound tutelage of Douglas Dale at Wolfdale's. Trained in Japan, Chef Dale's clean, healthy and respectful approach to food captivated the young pupil. It was Douglas's example of being an athlete, family man, chef, teacher, restaurateur, and coach simultaneously that solidified Cammie's view that the life of a chef could be fulfilling and diverse. While in Tahoe, she also worked as a baker at Plumpjack's Squaw Valley Inn, and as a private chef. In search of new terrain on the mountain and in the kitchen, Cammie then spent a winter working under Stephanie Krizman at the Windy Ridge Bakery in Park City, Utah.

After 8 years in the West, the pull from the Midwest was too great to ignore. She returned to Michigan and reconnected with her friend and fellow cook, Andy Schudlich. Inspired by the abundance of local foods and anxious to facilitate commerce in Leelanau County, Epicure Catering was born in 2003.

In 2005, Epicure Catering moved into their state of the art commissary at Cherry Basket Farm in Omena, MI. It was also in 2005 that Cammie and Andy began their relationship with renowned chef Mario Batali. Mr. Batali has since hosted numerous dinners at the Cherry Basket Farm and utilized Cammie and Andy as cooks on the photo shoot for his cookbook, Italian Grill.

In 2009 Cammie was named a recipient of the Marigold Salute to Women in Business award. When she is not at the beach or cruising the local farm markets, she is networking with her fellow local events vendors and contributing to the success of Simply Blue Weddings, which she co-founded in 2012. Simply Blue Weddings is an online resource for engaged couples looking to Northern Michigan as a destination wedding location.