October is always an exciting time for food events in New York City, and this year, ICE was at the forefront of all the biggest gatherings. From the NYC Wine & Food Festival to StarChefs International Chefs Congress to City Harvest’s annual Bid Against Hunger, our alumni, faculty and student volunteers were rubbing elbows with industry leaders and showing their ICE pride.
At this year’s New York City Wine & Food Festival, not only did 55 student volunteers help headlining chefs serve thousands of festival attendees, but ICE’s own Director of Culinary Development James Briscione was among the featured presenters at the festival’s Grand Tasting event. With the help of three Culinary Arts students, Chef James wowed the crowd with his ancho chili lamb—and more than 2,500 cheddar biscuits. James also led the charge at StarChefs annual industry conference—with ICE as the event's official culinary school partner—serving as the opening day emcee for talks with such celebrated chefs as Dan Barber and George Mendes.
Alumnus Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats led a “Whole Hog” workshop at the savory stage and wowed the crowds with his harissa smoked chicken, while fellow alumni Marita Lynn of Marita Lynn Catering (and the recently opened restaurant Runa in Red Bank, NJ) was on hand representing the cuisine of Peru. On the sweet side of things, ICE alumnus Tiffany MacIsaac, served the signature macarons, cookies and hand-dipped candy bars from her new D.C. bakery Buttercream Bakeshop. Five additional alumni—Angela Maris, Denise Latella, Dave Nagel, Emily Peterson and Hadar Aviram—worked behind the scenes as prep cooks for the conference's culinary presenters. Finally, student volunteers were on hand to provide additional help to industry leaders and also enjoyed the opportunity to listen in on the conference’s innovative panels.
"Thank you for the amazing opportunity of working at this year's StarChefs ICC. It was definitely a great experience and I was able to network with a lot of people who have been in this industry for many years!" - ICE alumnus, Angela MarisLast but not least, at City Harvest’s annual Bid Against Hunger charity gala, ICE was proud to stand among the organization’s primary supporters. Moreover, we were thrilled to see such alumni as Marc Murphy (Benchmarc Restaurant Group), Ivy Stark (Dos Caminos), Matthew Riznyk (Great Performances), Kamal Rose (Tribeca Grill), Rick Mast (Mast Brothers) and Matt Hyland (Emily) donating their time and talents to the cause. Our current students also enjoyed the opportunity to network with these inspiring alumni and other successful chefs, all while helping raise $1.4 million for the charity.
For more information about these and other exciting volunteer opportunities for students, click here.
