Institute of Culinary Education Announces Historic Move to Lower Manhattan

NEW YORK (June 17, 2015) – New York City’s oldest culinary school is now its newest, as today the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) announces the opening of its brand-new location at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan. This historic move marks the school’s 40th anniversary and follows record high career student enrollment. It is also the largest culinary education facility built in a major American city in more than 10 years.

ICE offers students an unmatched diversity of culinary education and programming. The combination of career education in culinary arts, pastry arts, culinary management and hospitality management; 2,400 recreational courses annually; more than 500 special events each year and extensive opportunities for professional development is unique among culinary schools. The new 74,000-square-foot facility (increasing in size from ICE’s prior 45,000-square-foot Flatiron facility) was designed to expand upon that tradition with both creativity and community in mind, featuring a Culinary Technology Lab, indoor hydroponic farm, dedicated student lounge and Chocolate Lab featuring “bean-to-bar” education.

“With a 20-year lease and millions invested in building this exceptional culinary school, ICE is positioned to be one of the world’s leading culinary education centers for decades to come,” said Rick Smilow, ICE president and CEO. “This year marks my 20th as ICE’s president and the third expansion since the school’s inception, and I am proud to open this outstanding new facility and mark another chapter in ICE’s history.”

ICE’s new school, which includes 12 teaching kitchens and six lecture halls, offers various features that will enrich students’ daily educational experiences and support programmatically diverse course offerings. All culinary teaching kitchens are equipped with gas, induction and French top burners, representing the full range of preferred cooking methods across the globe. Likewise, all pastry teaching kitchens are equipped with high volume professional equipment, including steam injection deck ovens, proofers, large-scale mixers and more.

Special Features at ICE’s New Facility:
• The Chocolate Lab: Features an artisanal chocolate studio and full range of bean-to-bar chocolate production equipment—from roasting beans all the way through to the process of tempering and molding single origin chocolate bars and confections. This is the nation’s first education-focused bean-to-bar chocolate production lab.

• Culinary Technology Lab: Features specialized equipment like a hearth oven, tandoor, plancha and vertical rotisserie, as well as a full range of modernist equipment. This will not only provide students with a global overview of traditional cooking methods, but will also represent the evolution of cooking technology over time, from such ancient equipment as a tandoor oven to current modernist tools like a rotary evaporator and a centrifuge.

• Hydroponic herb garden and vegetable farm: Opening in phase two, the farm will produce several hundred pounds of herbs, micro greens, fruits and vegetables to supply the school each month. ICE has consulted with an entomologist who plans to periodically introduce insects, such as ladybugs, into the garden to maintain a self-sustaining and organic environment.

• Mixology & Beverage Center: Offering the opportunity to learn mixology and beverage management in a professional bar atmosphere. The bar itself was designed by mixologists to encourage an efficient, professional space in which to create modern cocktails.

• Stock-making and smoking kitchen: Hundreds of gallons of stock will be prepared each month for all classes and this kitchen will also house equipment to smoke meats, vegetables and spices.

• Demonstration kitchen & reception space: This space will offer opportunity for special events, including corporate entertaining, team building, personal celebrations, product launches and more–enhanced by river views.

• Student lounge: With floor to ceiling windows overlooking a dynamic cityscape, this space will encourage a sense of community, offering a place to mingle, relax or study.

From an architectural, structural and Manhattan office perspective, the requirements for ICE’s new facility were in a rarified class of ambition and scope. The air handling system requirement includes more than 175,000 pounds of ductwork. All 12 kitchens feed into two massive Trion precipitators, which clean and scrub the kitchen exhaust before it is released outside. ICE’s facility includes 38 ranges, 42 hoods, 54 sinks and 66 refrigerators/freezers (the equivalent of 18 restaurants!). Likewise, the “finish level” and interior design of ICE far exceeds what is typically found in a school, with special attention paid to lighting, tiling and other design features.

All kitchens are equipped with brand-new, top of the line equipment from brands including Jade (ranges), Southbend (ranges), Blodgett (convection ovens), Traulsen (refrigeration), Glastender (mixology), Scotsman (ice), Hobart (warewashing), Baxter (proofers/retarders), Spring (induction), BlueStar (ranges), Cacao Cucina (chocolate production), Tomric Systems (chocolate production), Wood Stone (culinary technology) and Altosham (combi ovens).

About the Institute of Culinary Education
The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) is one of the largest and most diverse culinary schools in the world. Established in 1975, ICE offers award-winning six to 13-month career training programs in Culinary Arts, Pastry & Baking Arts, Culinary Management and Hospitality Management – with more than 11,000 successful alumni, many of whom are leaders in the industry. ICE also offers continuing education for culinary professionals, hosts more than 500 special events each year, and is home to one of the world’s largest recreational cooking, baking and wine programs with more than 25,000 students annually. In 2015, marking the school’s 40th anniversary, ICE moved to a new, transformative 74,000-square-foot facility at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan, designed for inspiration, creativity and community. Visit us at ice.edu or join us on Twitter and Facebook @iceculinary to find your culinary voice™

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CONTACT:
Stephanie Fraiman
Public Relations Manager
Institute of Culinary Education
(212) 847-0703
sfraiman@ice.ed