I moved from South Florida to Southern California just one week before the first day of class. In the days prior, I said goodbye to my loved ones and crammed all I could fit into my SUV to embark on a cross-country road trip to my new state. After five long days of driving, I finally made it to Pasadena, California. I couldn’t believe it: I was finally going to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a chef.

My first ruffle cake appeared in New York Weddings magazine, which coincidentally was my first cake in print. A mixture of buttercup yellow and periwinkle, it had a tapered-in center section and ruffles zig-zagging back and forth across it. The tops of the ruffles were adorned with small, glittery, handmade sugar sequins. I soon realized that there would never be enough glitter or gold on cakes for my taste. A ruffle rosette cake I made after that became a very popular design and was featured in Brides magazine. You can say I have a special place in my heart, and my cake toolbox, for ruffles. Since that first go at it years ago, ruffles have really developed into an art...

As the CEO of Fatty Crew for more than a decade, Rick Camac operated kiosks in Central Park and the Financial District, and concessions in Barclays Center. His Pullcart, Fatty 'Cue and Fatty Snack concepts were well reviewed but short lived. Now ICE's Dean of Restaurant & Hospitality Management, Rick shares what he learned and what to consider and anticipate when pursuing mobile eatery success.

Chef Diego Lozano is on a mission to expose the pastry world – and his own countrymen – to Brazil’s multitude of exotic and largely unknown ingredients. The owner of pastry school Escola de Confeitaria in São Paolo spends one month a year creating new recipes and developing new techniques for classes. His prerequisite before updating the curriculum? Testing his findings out in master classes around the world, like he’ll do at ICE's Center for Advanced Pastry Studies this month.

"Top Chef" season 15 competitor Bruce Kalman visited ICE’s Los Angeles campus in June to demonstrate his best-selling pasta. The former executive chef and co-owner of Northern Italian restaurant Union in Pasadena, California, has appeared on the Food Network and Esquire Network, received a James Beard Award nomination for Rising Star Chef and founded Bk Hospitality Group. When he's not developing new concepts, Chef Kalman's strumming his guitar, hanging with his young son and running a pickle company called BK Brinery.

At ICE, our mission is to help students find their culinary voice — that creative drive within each of us that determines how we express ourselves through food. Whether with a career training program, a recreational course in cookies or a special event featuring culinary entrepreneurs, we’ll give you the tools to hone your culinary creativity.

Los Angeles campus Lead Chef-Instructor Louis Eguaras knows first-hand what goes on inside the White House kitchen. Born in the Philippines, Eguaras first worked as a dishwasher and line cook at a tavern in Delaware at age 15. In 1991, he completed Navy boot camp, trained at the Naval Academy in culinary arts and was recruited to work at Camp David upon graduation. He was one of just two recruits chosen from a pool of 249 candidates vying for the prestigious post. From there, Eguaras joined the White House culinary staff where he cooked for celebrities, dignitaries and, of course, the first family. Chef Eguaras holds a fourth-degree black belt in Hawaiian Kenpo, and while that didn’t factor into his...

Recently, at a talk for the Greater New York Dietetic Association, I was asked to share my thoughts on food waste, access and education. I’ve focused on food waste in the past, but access to food is not something we talk about enough and I appreciated the opportunity to address it.