Jeffrey Zurofsky

Jeffrey’s passion as an entrepreneur and love for food started at the age of eight, attempting to replicate in his family’s New Jersey kitchen what he saw master chefs create on classic PBS cooking shows. His mother, a small business owner, encouraged his budding interest in everything culinary, and Jeffrey put his self-taught skills to work in professional kitchens while studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He paid his way through school in the area’s best restaurants, and eventually became sous chef at the Mobil four-star La Residence. Upon graduation, he moved to New York City and attended ICC.

In 2003, Jeffrey partnered with chefs Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortúzar to co-found ’wichcraft as a sandwich shop where the ingredients and cooking techniques are rooted in fine dining but served in a casual and welcoming environment. Since then, Jeffrey has overseen all aspects of the business, spearheading its expansion to sixteen stores including locations in San Francisco and Las Vegas and employing over 400 team members.

More recently, the original partnership opened Riverpark, a fine dining restaurant awarded two-stars by The New York Times, as well as the innovative Riverpark Farm, New York’s most urban farm, adjacent to the restaurant.

Prior to the founding of ’wichcraft, Jeffrey worked in some of Manhattan’s most prestigious kitchens including a stage at Lespinasse, Savoy (while enrolled at ICC), Union Square Café, and as opening sous chef at Restaurant AZ. With desire to leave the stove and feed his entrepreneurial passion, Jeffrey took an offer at a tech startup, Bank Pass, where he developed his interest in business growth. After honing his business acumen, Jeffrey found his way back to his passion at Payard where he was Director of Operations and CFO at Francois Payard Patisserie and Bistro.

Jeffrey Zurofsky graduated from 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. ICC’s culinary education legacy lives on at ICE, where you can explore your own future in food.