Jenny explained in her previous post, the virtues of shrubs — those trending drinking vinegars made from a combination of fruit, sugar and vinegar — are many. For one thing, they aid in digestion and keep blood sugar levels in check. They also happen to mix well with most spirits, making them the perfect, healthy-ish mixer for cocktails at your summer barbecue.

Chef Kathryn Gordon, chef instructor in ICE’s Pastry & Baking Arts program, has been named one of Dessert Professional Magazine’s 2017 Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America and inducted into their prestigious Hall of Fame. We’re ecstatic, we’re proud and we’re breaking out the bubbly — and serving it with Chef Kathryn’s elegant and celebratory pomelo and cantaloupe calissons.

The Center for Advanced Pastry Studies (CAPS) at ICE is designed for current industry professionals looking to expand their skill sets. These single- and multi-day continuing education workshops are taught by master chefs and critically acclaimed artists from around the globe.

Why should I get a culinary or hospitality education? Can’t I just get a job and learn the business while I work? What a great question and one that should be asked. I hear this almost weekly. As a dean and instructor at ICE, I often meet dreamers who are navigating the very intense process of looking down a long, unpaved and rocky road to the future, evaluating what can only be termed a “seismic” career change.

There are few things in life more satisfying than freshly baked naan: the supple, chewy flatbread found in many central Asian cuisines. Made from just a few ingredients and leavened with yeast, the recipe isn’t much different than the breads found in so many cultures all over the world.

In the United States, 40% of food is wasted each year. This staggering figure sets off alarm bells: the status quo is unsustainable (pun intended). That’s why ICE and The New School organized the first-ever Zero Waste Food conference — to drive the conversation surrounding eliminating food waste and increasing sustainable food production.

Much of my day-to-day work at ICE — in its kitchens and in the Chocolate Lab — revolves around unraveling the inner workings of ingredients, recipes and the finished preparations that result. This is an important aspect that all cooks consider on some level. Whether seeking to create inventive new dishes or perfect the classics, a pinch of food science will always help us achieve our goals.

In a dining room on the ground floor of the Whitney Museum, where an open kitchen sits across from a towering glass wall and not an inch can escape the natural sunlight, I met with Suzanne Cupps (Culinary Arts, ’05), executive chef of Untitled. With a menu featuring colorful contemporary American cuisine, Untitled has enjoyed warm critical reviews, including a place on the New York Times “Critic’s Pick” list.

ICE and USHG have paired up to offer Understanding Wine: a unique wine course led by James Beard Award-winning Wine Director and Master Sommelier, John Ragan. The course is based on the same insider educational curriculum taught to all USHG sommeliers, and ICE’s Content Manager Caitlin Raux had the chance to tag along on this 10-part voyage into the world of wine.

Bright, fresh and packed with flavor, herbs are an essential part of every chef’s training.