ICE Hosts NYC Wine & Food Fest with Acclaimed Chefs and Food Influencers

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Of all the benefits of attending culinary school in NYC, one of the most biggest is access — specifically, access to the events, restaurants, chefs and entrepreneurs who hold the keys to the country's premier food scene.

One such event — the annual New York City Wine & Food Festival — held master classes at ICE last weekend, and our students enjoyed networking and volunteer opportunities throughout.

The festival is a five-day culinary extravaganza featuring walk-around tastings, intimate dinners, cocktail parties and master classes. The events celebrate the city’s vibrant food scene while showcasing renowned chefs, restaurants, mixologists, TV personalities, and creators.

This year’s star-studded roster included José Andrés, Padma Lakshmi, Daniel Boulud, Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli (a former ICE instructor), Kwame Onwuachi, Rachael Ray, Eric Ripert, Aarón Sánchez, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Not only did ICE students have access to the festival because it happened at the NYC campus, they worked alongside and networked with several of its participating culinary icons.

Networking with Industry Pros

Attending a culinary demonstration or panel discussion can open the door to a connection with an industry professional. Want to make a lasting impression? Volunteer with them.

Working alongside the country's top chefs isn't just about practicing your craft and honing your skills, though this does, of course, happen. Rather, it's about opportunity. (Chefs are often on the lookout for new talent.)

Culinary volunteering enables students to showcase their technical skill, organization and work ethic to a chef who may be hiring or knows someone who is. And in this surprisingly small industry, connections matter.

Hands-on work experience is a great talking point for future interviews, and at the very least, helps students hone in on what they want (or don’t want) in a career. The ICE Career Services team publishes volunteer opportunities in the school's weekly student and alumni newsletters. And just this year, recent grads volunteered with Chefs (and alumni) Ayesha Nurdjaja and Sohui Kim for our “Back to Culinary School” video series.

Read a first-hand account of a student's volunteering experience

The New York City Wine & Food Festival at ICE

This past weekend, ICE New York hosted all eight of the festival’s master classes. ICE students ensured these hands-on cooking lessons ran smoothly and worked directly with:

Clemente Bar, a cocktail bar run by Chef Daniel Humm located above Eleven Madison Park
Suwincha "Chacha" Singsuwan of Bangkok Supper Club, who won the Michelin Guide’s 2024 New York Exceptional Cocktails Award
Chef and bakery owner Danielle Sepsey, founder of The Hungry Gnome and seen on HBO’s “The Big Brunch”
Ben and Zikki Siman-Tov, the family duo behind the social media account Bengingi and city’s first bureka shop, Buba Bureka
Chef Danny Christensen, featured in The Modern Huntsman cookbook
Chef Nozomu Abe of two-Michelin-starred Sushi Noz
Josh Russ Tupper, the fourth-generation co-owner of New York’s iconic Russ & Daughters
Chef Dale Talde, a James Beard nominated chef and Top Chef competitor

In addition to student volunteers, ICE had a presence amongst the featured chefs throughout the festival. New York restaurant chefs and ICE alumni Ayesha Nurdjaja, Esther Choi, and Helen Nguyen hosted intimate dining experiences and/or had booths at walk-around tasting events. Additionally, alumna Alessandra Ciuffo was a panelist at FoodieCon® (a tasting event with panel conversations with food and lifestyle influencers).

Chef Nozomu Abe does a sushi demo. — Chef Nozomu Abe from Sushi Noz demonstrates his technique for slicing fish.

Sharing ICE's Culinary Capital with Students

The New York City Wine & Food Festival isn’t the only culinary event in the city that students can take advantage of. There’s the Le Best Chef competition, City Harvest fundraisers, the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund’s Annual Benefit, Salon du Chocolat, Chef's Conference... the list goes on! Talk with your Career Services advisor to find out how you can plug into the culinary experiences this city has to offer.

Cory Sale

Cory Sale is the Senior Content Manager at ICE and an alumna (Culinary Arts '22). She enjoys writing about seasonal produce almost as much as visiting NYC’s greenmarkets, where she finds new flavors to add to ice cream. When she’s not cooking (or eating), you can find her on the frisbee field chasing down a piece of plastic.