23 ICC Graduates Among 2020 Michelin Star Recipients

This is the 15th year that a MICHELIN Guide has been published for New York City, but the first time that it has been expanded to Westchester, where Blue Hill At Stone Barns is located. Chef Barber’s other restaurant, Blue Hill — located in Manhattan — has retained one star since 2008. Earlier this summer, the MICHELIN Guide announced another big shake-up — the announcement of the first statewide guide in the U.S. for California which included ICC alumnus, Joshua Skenes’ new restaurant Angler.

The 2020 announcements feature exciting new additions to the annual guides where International Culinary Center alumni are leading both front- and back-of-house teams to success. Lisa Kalemkiarian (Professional Culinary Arts ’16) is the Head Baker at Benno, a fine-dining restaurant combining French technique with contemporary Italian cooking, and helped to earn the restaurant its first MICHELIN star this year.

Additionally, Atomix — where Intensive Sommelier Training graduate Jhonel Faelnar is the Wine Director — was elevated to two stars in their second year of operations. Dan Catinella, Director of Business Operations at Crown Shy and Professional Culinary Arts graduate, shared that he is “excited for the team at Crown Shy and always happy to see them recognized.” Crown Shy is also a new addition to the NYC MICHELIN Guide this year.

Two ICC graduates are making their mark on the D.C. food scene as new additions to the list of MICHELIN-starred restaurants. Vincent Badiee, ICC alumnus and Chef de Cuisine of Gravitas, helped to earn the restaurant its first star. Maydān, which is helmed by co-executive chef/owner Gerald Addison (Professional Culinary Arts ’08), earned its first star after receiving much acclaim over the past year.

In total, 23 ICC alumni plus Dean David Kinch have received a combined 36 stars this year alone — a record breaking number for the ICC community! ICC is proud to congratulate the winners across America being recognized by the industry for their hard work and dedication to their craft, especially our alumni and Dean, and their respective restaurants. Check out the full list below of ICC graduates, and our Dean, to see where the MICHELIN Guide recommends making a reservation in 2020!

NEW YORK CITY

THREE STARS (“EXCEPTIONAL CUISINE, WORTH A SPECIAL JOURNEY.”)

Per Se, Anna Bolz, Pastry Chef

TWO STARS (“EXCELLENT COOKING, WORTH A DETOUR.”)

Atomix, Jhonel Faelnar, Wine Director
Blue Hill At Stone Barns, Dan Barber, Chef/Owner
Ko, David Chang, Chef/Owner
The Modern, Thomas Allan, Chef de Cuisine

ONE STAR (“HIGH-QUALITY COOKING, WORTH A STOP!”)

Agern, Rhonda Crosson, Head Baker
Bâtard, Jason Jacobeit, Wine Director
Benno, Lisa Kalemkiarian, Head Baker
Blue Hill, Dan Barber, Chef/Owner
Contra, Jeremiah Stone & Fabian Von Hauske, Chefs/Owners
Crown Shy, Dan Catinella, Director of Business Operations
Gramercy Tavern, Howard Kalachinikoff, Chef de Cuisine
Meadowsweet, Polo Dobkin,  Chef/Owner
NoMad, Mark Welker, Pastry Chef
Oxomoco, Justin Bazdarich, Chef/Co-Owner
Tuome, Tom Chen, Chef/Owner

CHICAGO

ONE STAR (“HIGH-QUALITY COOKING, WORTH A STOP!”)

Sepia, Andrew Zimmerman, Executive Chef 

 WASHINGTON D.C.

ONE STAR (“HIGH-QUALITY COOKING, WORTH A STOP!”)

Gravitas, Vincent Badiee, Chef de Cuisine
Maydān, Gerald Addison, Co-Executive Chef
The Dabney, Alex Zink, Owner/Bar Director 

 CALIFORNIA

THREE STARS (“EXCEPTIONAL CUISINE, WORTH A SPECIAL JOURNEY.”)

Manresa, David Kinch (ICC Dean), Chef/Owner
Quince, Aaron Babcock, Sommelier

TWO STARS (“EXCELLENT COOKING, WORTH A DETOUR.”)

Saison, Joshua Skenes, Chef/Owner

ONE STAR (“HIGH-QUALITY COOKING, WORTH A STOP!”)

Angler, Joshua Skenes, Chef/Owner
Rich Table, Sarah Rich, Chef/Owner

This blog post was originally published by the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. Explore your culinary education where the legacy lives on.