Last night in San Francisco, ICE took home the International Association of Culinary Professionals Award of Excellence for “Cooking School of the Year”. We are thrilled to win this honor, having previously won other IACP awards in 2008 and 2011. This award is made possible by the skill and passion of the dozens of chef-instructors who teach in ICE’s School of Recreational Cooking. Additionally, this award is a credit to our staff from stewards and the customer service team to the kitchen assistants and maintenance crew, who coordinate the schools’ almost 24 hours a day of operations. In particular, this year’s win recognizes the planning and creativity of Kate McCue, Director of our School of Recreational Cooking, as well as Susan Streit, Associate Manager and Dan Stone, Recipe Editor.
ICE’s roots go back to 1975, when Peter Kump, who also went on to found the James Beard Foundation, started teaching cooking techniques in a small, one kitchen school on Manhattan’s upper east side. Today, ICE runs the world’s most diverse and active schedule of “hands-on” recreational cooking, baking and wine education courses. There is probably no place else on the planet where you could find a cooking class menu that includes “Bourbon, Bacon & Beignets”, “Modern Scandinavian Cuisine”, “A Persian New Year’s Feast, “Gluten Free Tapas” and “Sous Vide at Home”.
The IACP, whose roots go back to 1978, is a worldwide forum for the development and exchange of information, knowledge, and inspiration within the professional food and beverage community. The organization has over 3,000 members and runs an annual spring international conference, which includes the Awards of Excellence program. We feel very fortunate to have been recognized at this year's awards ceremony, in the company of so many esteemed friends and colleagues.
Last but not least, we would like to thank our students for their curiosity and passion for cooking. As home to four professional training programs, a school of professional development and the School of Recreational Cooking, we serve more than 26,000 students each year. This vibrant community is proof that, in an age when many report the loss of culinary skills, there remains an enthusiastic movement towards preserving, passing down and furthering the art and technique of cooking and baking. We look forward to continuing to be a part of that movement!
Rick Smilow President and CEO Institute of Culinary Education
