Leadership Inside and Outside the Kitchen: Highlighting Black & POC ICE Alumni

This post has been updated for 2023.

Mashama Bailey (Culinary Arts, '01)

Chef Mashama graduated from ICE with a Culinary Arts diploma in 2001, rounding out her lifelong culinary education from her female relatives with a formal degree. Growing up in New York City, she spent over a decade working as a chef at several restaurants across the city. In 2014, she co-founded The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, where she works as executive chef. In 2019, Bailey received a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Southeast for her work at The Grey, and this year won the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef. Chef Mashama is also the Vice Chairman of the Edna Lewis Foundation, which serves to protect and preserve Chef Edna's legacy as a champion of Southern cooking. 

Read More: ICE Alum Mashama Bailey Wins Top Honors at 2022 James Beard Awards

Michael Jenkins (Culinary/Management, '06)

Chef Michael got his start at Butter Restaurant in New York City while at ICE pursuing a double diploma in Culinary Arts and Restaurant & Culinary Management. He met Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, who was teaching at ICE New York at the time, and turned his Butter externship into a full-time job. In 2010, Michael won "Chopped," and in 2016 he claimed another TV-chef championship title as the winner of "Cutthroat Kitchen." Under the tutelage of Chef Alex, Chef Michael gained experience in culinary television while also establishing himself as a creative restaurant chef. In May of 2020, Chef Michael stepped in as executive chef at Lola Taverna in New York, which was recognized with Michelin Plate status in 2021. Now, Chef Michael works as executive chef at Butter, where it all started. 

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Adrienne Cheatham (Culinary, '07)

The "Top Chef" finalist grew up around the food industry, helping out in the restaurants her mother managed in Chicago. After graduating college with a degree in business and journalism, Chef Adrienne wanted to dive back into food, picking up work at restaurants throughout Florida. Eventually, Chef Adrienne moved to New York City to pursue a diploma at ICE while gaining experience in kitchens across the city. After graduating, she received an offer to work as a commis at Eric Ripert's three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Bernardin. She was there for eight years, working her way up to executive sous chef. Chef Adrienne's experience in the industry extends beyond the kitchen, as she's worked on several restaurant openings and cookbook productions. In 2015, she joined the Marcus Samuelsson Group as chef de cuisine and, not long after, was promoted to executive chef at Red Rooster. In 2017, she founded Sundaybest, a pop-up dinner event hosted in Harlem that celebrates Southern cuisine. Her debut cookbook of the same name published this spring.

Shenarri "Greens" Freeman (Health-Supportive Culinary, ‘20)

Chef Shenarri graduated from ICE's Health-Supportive Culinary Arts program in 2020. While taking classes at ICE, she worked as the head chef at Greedi Vegan and volunteered at the James Beard Foundation House. Chef Shenarri also gained experience in the private event sector, working as a sous chef to several chefs for closed parties. She now works as executive chef at Cadence in New York City, where her tasty, sustainable, vegan soul food put the spot on the The New York Times' list of best restaurants of 2021. Chef Shenarri went vegan in 2017, and her interest in green cooking grew from there, as she now strongly believes in the power of healing through food, which inspires her cooking.

Roger Rodriguez (Pastry & Baking, ‘07)

Chef Roger was introduced to chocolate making while studying Pastry & Baking Arts at ICE. After graduating, he got his first job as a pastry chef at Anthos in New York City, eventually going on to work in the kitchens of Jean-Georges, Gramercy Tavern and Del Posto. Chef Roger quickly discovered a passion for chocolate and sought out a distinct cacao company to set his dishes apart from those using commercial chocolate. This search led him to Cacao Prieto in Brooklyn, serving as head chocolatier for the past nine years. In 2020, Chef Roger co-founded Vesta Chocolate, a bean-to-bar chocolate shop, with his wife, Julia.

Rose Noel (Culinary, ‘13)

Chef Rose fell in love with cooking at a young age, but it wasn't until she finished college that she considered turning that passion into a career. After graduating and receiving a full-time offer from her externship site, Dovetail, Chef Rose continued to gain experience at several restaurants around the city, including Narcissa, Maialino, Monument Lane and La Pecora Bianca. In 2018, she and Chef Jason Pfeifer opened Danny Meyer's Manhatta, with Chef Rose serving as executive sous chef. In 2019, she left New York City for Washington, D.C. to work on a new Union Square Hospitality Group project, Maialino Mare, as executive chef. Now she's back, and is serving as the Executive Chef of Marcus Samuelsson's seafood-driven restaurant Hav & Mar. 

Kwame Williams (Culinary, ‘07)

Chef Kwame launched his career working in fine-dining destinations like The Ryland Inn, Rat’s, The Bernards’ Inn and Pleasantdale Château. In 2014, Kwame became chef and partner at Vital Dining, putting a modern twist on Jamaican cuisine. Chef Kwame now works as a private chef for clients in the tri-state area, using his culinary voice to advocate for sustainable food practices. He helped contribute to "Waste Not," a cookbook by the James Beard Foundation, and supports youth organizations like No Kid Hungry, Edible Schoolyard and Montclair Community Farms. 

Kamal Rose (Culinary, ‘09)

At 15 years old, Chef Kamal moved to New York City from the Caribbean. Throughout high school, he worked in the kitchen at Tribeca Grill, and in 2009 he won a national cooking competition, receiving a $20,000 scholarship he used to enroll at ICE. While taking classes at ICE, Kamal continued working at Tribeca Grill, becoming executive chef in 2012. Kamal has also worked as executive chef at Harlan Publick in Norwalk, Connecticut. After over two decades of working in restaurants, he now works as the Corporate Executive Chef at Thompson Hospitality.

Rasheeda Purdie (Culinary Arts '15)

After working as one of New York’s top fashion stylists for over a decade, Chef Rasheeda Purdie hung up her hat to pursue her culinary degree at ICE. Graduating in 2015, she gained experience under industry legends like Chef JJ Johnson of The Cecil & Minton’s Playhouse, Melba Wilson of her eponymous Harlem institution touted for its Southern fare and Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Harlem. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Rasheeda went on to start her own ramen business, Ramen by Rā, bringing gourmet ramen kits to the comfort of people’s homes. She now hosts demo classes at ICE and teaches at CUNY/Hostos as a chef-instructor, specializing in African/Asian/American fusion foods. 

Everton Tulloch (Culinary Arts '19)

Chef Everton Tullock graduated with his Culinary Arts degree in 2019. Despite coming from a long line of chefs in his family, he didn’t always know he was destined to be a chef. In fact, he worked in sales at Coca-Cola for almost 12 years before being laid off in 2019. To cheer him up, his wife purchased tickets to the “STEVE” show, hosted by Steve Harvey. In a chance conversation, the talk show host advised him to pursue his true passion: cooking. With support from the Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation, Chef Everton completed the Culinary Arts Program at ICE’s Los Angeles campus. He now works full-time as a chef at Beauty & Essex in New York, and plans to open a Jamaican food truck that hones in on his childhood in Jamaica and time-honored family recipes. 

These chefs are just a handful of the many impressive ICE alumni making their mark in the industry. ICE is proud of its alumni, and recognizes the success and accomplishments of Black and POC chefs.