It’s that time of year again. The prestigious James Beard Foundation has announced the 2018 finalists for restaurant awards — and not surprisingly, the short list is full of ICE alums.

Entries are officially open for the 2018 #CulinaryVoice Scholarship Contest, and this year, the pot gets even sweeter: scholarship finalists will compete on ABC’s The Chew for the chance to win one of four full scholarships – worth more than $160,000 – to attend one of ICE’s award-winning Culinary Arts or Pastry & Baking Arts career programs.

With less than 24 hours until the first day of spring, we’re hitting the market for our favorite spring vegetable: asparagus. Here, Chef Simone Tong (Culinary Arts, Culinary Management ’11), of the critically acclaimed Yunnan-inspired rice noodle restaurant, Little Tong Noodle Shop, shares a unique take on asparagus, incorporating some umami, a hit of spice, and pidan, aka century egg — a delicacy in Chinese cuisine that adds a layer of complexity and richness to any dish.

At ICE, we make it our mission to help students find their culinary voice — that creative drive within each of us that determines how we express ourselves through food. Whether it’s a career training program, a recreational course in seasonal vegetables or a special event featuring iconic chefs, we’ll give you the tools to hone your culinary creativity. Join us as we ask some of today’s leading food industry pros to share their culinary voices.

Students enroll in our pastry arts program for many reasons — for some, it’s to mix flour, eggs and sugar for the first time and launch a budding pastry career. For others, it’s to hone their skills and enhance their existing experience. Diploma (and whisk) in hand, our pastry grads set out on a range of career paths — from recipe writers to startup chefs to educators and more. Here’s a snapshot of the many possibilities of what you can do with professional pastry training from ICE.

Richard Olney’s book “Simple French Food” is one of my favorites. This exploration of “simple” food has a 40-page introduction explaining in detail what the author means by simple — clearly, simplicity can be complicated. The idea of the book — focusing on preparing simple foods very, very well — was made clear to me during a trip to France, years before I opened my restaurant Chanterelle.

Anything worth having is worth waiting for, and that’s especially true with bread. “Bread baking, especially when using wild yeast, is a faith-based enterprise,” says Chef Sim Cass, dean of bread baking at the Institute of Culinary Education. “You need to believe that the bread will rise. Then you have to have the patience required to get your perfect loaf.”