19 Things We're Celebrating from 2019

1. Alumni Honored at the James Beard Awards

   We were thrilled to have another ICE alum earn a James Beard Award when Mashama Bailey (Culinary, '01) won Best Chef: Southeast in May. Congratulations are also in order for nominees Miguel Trinidad (Culinary, '07) and Rachel Yang (Culinary, '01) and semifinalists Sohui Kim (Culinary/Management, '02), Ann Redding (Culinary, '02) and Missy Robbins (Culinary, '95).

2. Michelin Guide Recognition for ICE Grads

   In June, the debut Michelin Guide California awarded Santa Monica’s Rustic Canyon two stars, where Zoe Nathan (Culinary, ‘01) is a co-owner and head baker, and Bib Gourmand designations for four L.A. restaurants featuring ICE alumni in leading roles. In October, the 2020 Michelin Guide New York City and Westchester County recognized pastry chefs Mina Pizarro (Pastry, ‘02) at L'Appart and Karen McGrath (Pastry/Management, ‘02) at The River Café, among others.

   

3. Dozens of Guest Lectures and Panels

   Legendary L.A. chefs, owners and restaurateurs Michael Cimarusti, Susan Feniger, Tim Hollingsworth, Antonia Lofaso, Kim Malek and more guests shared their success stories with our culinary and management students and alumni. In New York, Bret Csencsitz, Suzanne Cupps, Jeffrey Katz, Mark Maynard, Lyon Porter, Ron Silver and Geoffrey Zakarian spoke on entrepreneurship, career advice, sustainability and hospitality.
   Read the recaps.

4. Grand Prizes for ICE Grads

   While externing at Marea, Culinary Arts student Amanda Lee competed against culinary students from five schools — the International Culinary Center, Johnson & Wales University Providence, Johnson & Wales University Charlotte, Miami Culinary Institute and Nicholls State University — at the United States of Umami Culinary Competition in Charleston, South Carolina, in November. Her umami-rich glazed duck and eggplant squash dishes earned her the grand prize trip to Japan. Plus, Yi Han has won five first-place prizes at cake competitions since completing The Art of Cake Decorating at ICE, including the grand prize spectacular at the 36th Annual San Diego Cake Show in March.

5. New Restaurants from ICE Alumni

   From a Filipino-inspired wine bar on New York’s Lower East Side to fast-casual paella in Las Vegas to Vietnamese brunch on Bainbridge Island, ICE grads introduced a variety of food concepts across the country this year. Joncarl Lachman (Culinary, '02) opened Winkel in Philadelphia in May, New York’s 232 Bleecker debuted in December with Suzanne Cupps (Culinary, ‘05) as executive chef, Matt Hyland (Culinary, '05) expanded his pizza empire to Nashville and Philadelphia, and Natalie Dionisio (Pastry, '12) opened The Cakery in Connecticut in September.

   

6. Unforgettable Commencement Speakers

   Culinary icon Wolfgang Puck posed with every single graduate for a photo at our first Los Angeles commencement in June, following an inspiring address on mentorship, patience and persistence. Weeks prior, Blue Hill legend Dan Barber championed real community and real connection at the New York campus commencement. We were also honored to host alumni speakers Adrienne Cheatham (Culinary, '07) and Matthew Leung (Culinary, '19).

7. Our First Health-Supportive Culinary Arts Graduates

   In January, we introduced the Natural Gourmet Center with vegetable-forward, holistic, integrative curriculum inspired by the former Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI). Classes began in March at our New York City campus and in April at our Los Angeles campus. Students from around the world have completed the Health-Supportive Culinary Arts program and launched culinary careers at vegan and vegetarian restaurants and beyond.

8. A Growing Family of Faculty

   With our new program came a new director of nutrition, Celine Beitchman; expert chef-instructors like Elliott Prag and Olivia Roszkowski; and Ayurveda expert Rich LaMarita. We also had alum Lorne Feldman (Pastry, ‘04) return as the new dean of students at our New York campus, and welcomed six new instructors at our Los Angeles campus.

9. Interactive Demonstrations and Tastings

   Los Angeles campus students prepared Korean temple cuisine with famed South Korean chef Jeong Kwan, Georgian khachapuri (cheese bread) with The League of Kitchens; Jitlada’s bestselling druken noodles with co-owner Sarintip “Jazz” Singsanong, and neo-Neapolitan pizza with Daniele Uditi of Pizzana. Additional events on campus covered California produce and olive oil, a meat purveyor and an authentic wheel of Italy's prized Parmigiano-Reggiano. New York students explored invasive species with Chef Bill Telepan, Polyscience equipment with Chef Barry Tonkinson and lamb butchery with Jamison Farm.

10. Renowned Companies Recruiting on Campus

    In New York, Career Services hosted 232 Bleecker, ABC Restaurants, Convene, The Hoxton, Nordstrom, OTG, Sprinkles and Wegmans in the Student Lounge throughout its Pop-Up Recruiting series. In March and September, the bi-annual Career Fairs featured more than 35 restaurant and hospitality groups and businesses.

11. A New Advanced Demo Series

    The Elite Chef series brought Nicolas Sale, Paul Liebrandt and Fredrik Berselius to our New York campus for high-level demonstrations of their signature dishes and techniques. The chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants shared sea bream, hare royale and kohlrabi dishes, respectively, with interactive elements and advice from their highly acclaimed careers. Register for our upcoming demos with Daniel’s Jean-François Bruel and Aquavit’s Emma Bengtsoon.

    

12. Student Volunteers at 20+ Events

    ICE students worked with industry chefs for charitable causes throughout the year, namely at the New York City Wine and Food Festival, City Harvest’s annual Bid Against Hunger, the annual Chefs' Tribute to Citymeals on Wheels and The Great Chefs Event NYC with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. ICE students also volunteered at The Big Chocolate Show, StarChefs International Chefs Congress and a variety of James Beard House events.

13. ICE Chefs on Epicurious

    ICE faculty demonstrated more than two dozen elevated comfort food recipes on Epicurious’ 4 Levels series this year, from Chef Frank Proto’s short rib burger to Chef Tracy Wilk’s lemon meringue pie doughnuts.
    Watch the videos.

14. Field Trips in America’s Culinary Capitals

    Los Angeles students explored Grand Central Market, Amy’s Farm, Lukshon and more Southern California food destinations this year, while New York students toured Chinatown, the Oculus and Union Square greenmarkets, Google’s Chelsea campus, Legacy Records and local hotels.

15. New, Unique Recreational Classes

    Our recreational division offers more than 800 cooking, baking and beverage classes at any given time with new topics and themes released each season. In December, we added Vegan Umami, Techniques of Lamination, The Art of Dosa, Dinner in Italy, Modern Country Cooking, Bagel Brunch, The Sculpted Cake and Les Petit Fours.
    See upcoming classes.

16. Cookbook Releases from ICE Alumni

    Stacy Adimando (Culinary, ’10) published “Piatti: Plates and Platters for Sharing, Inspired by Italy” in May; Sarah Copeland (Culinary, ’02) released “Every Day is Saturday: Recipes + Strategies for Easy Cooking, Every Day of the Week” in June; and Adeena Sussman (Culinary, ’05) debuted “Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen” in September, among others.

17. Custom Special Events

    Our New York campus hosted 400 corporate events, parties, tastings and more special events this year with hands-on cooking and a menu of customizations, now including team building enhancements. Guests can incorporate new healthy competition options into flavorful, fun and interactive gatherings at ICE.
    Plan your next event at ICE.

18. A Full Roster of Master Classes

    The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), New York Wine and Food Festival (NYCWFF) and Ritz Paris each hosted a series of classes with celebrity chefs at our New York campus this year, featuring Rick Bayless, Dorie Greenspan, Alex Guarnaschelli, Ellie Krieger, Olivier Laine, Scott Peacock, Joanne Weir and others.

19. Two New Professional Development Programs

    Two of our three Professional Beverage Studies courses are officially open for registration! Earn a certificate in Beverage Program Management and/or Fundamentals & Service of Wine with pro instructors Eamon Rockey and Anthony Giglio throughout 16 lessons each, including guest lectures from industry experts and field trips to area businesses.
    Pursue beverage studies at ICE.

    And at our new Natural Gourmet Center, study allergy-free cooking, alternative diets and more alongside experts from the food, health and nutrition fields in the Culinary Nutrition course or translate a dietary prescription into practical meal planning and preparation in Food Therapy. Learn more here.

Resolve to find your culinary voice at ICE in 2020.