BLT Fish with ICE Alum Amy Eubanks

Eubanks graduated from the Culinary Arts program in 1999. She started working with Laurent Tourondel as an extern at Cello, where she ended up staying for two and a half years. While there she spent a year as poissonier, no small feat considering that the famed restaurant specialized in seafood. Because she wanted to learn how to cook meat, she then went to Cafe Boulud, where she worked with Daniel Boulud and Andrew Carmellini.

When Tourondel opened BLT Steak in 2004, he hired her as a lead line cook, followed by a promotion to sous chef. Because of her strong seafood skills, she became sous chef of BLT Fish upon its opening, then chef de cuisine in 2006 and executive chef in March 2010. In 2010, she was inducted into the ICE Alumni Hall of Achievement for her accomplishments.

During yesterday’s demo, she discussed the art of cooking with the students, telling them, “When something is seasoned properly you should taste it on all parts of your mouth — you taste the bitter, you taste the sweet, you taste it all.” She emphasized the importance of focusing on techniques and learning the basic skills that will help cooks advance in a restaurant kitchen — “Learn how to get your knife sharp and keep it sharp. After that, learn the skill of cleanliness. Learn to move efficiently and organize yourself so you don’t have to run around in circles…  Focus on technique and getting it right.” Her advice and experience will help these new ICE students as they set out on their own culinary careers.