“Two bites: It’s about moderation but also about sophistication and elegance—two very French traits.” An excerpt from the introduction of ICE chef instructor Kathryn Gordon’s new cookbook Les Petits Sweets: Two-Bite Desserts from the French Pâtisserie, co-authored by Anne E. McBride.

In my last blog post, I described my search for historical traces of chocolate in lower Manhattan. In a relatively short time, chocolate traveled from its South and Central American origins to Europe and later into North American settlements. Though the early Dutch colony of New Amsterdam rose and fell well before chocolate became a permanent fixture, by the early 1700s, New York’s port was an important link in cocoa trade.

Have you been to a fine dining restaurant in, oh, say, the last twenty years? If so, you may have wondered about the mysterious ant-sized leaves carefully placed on top of your dish—probably using tweezers and perhaps some under-the-breath cursing.

John Rooney, sportscaster and master of catchphrases once said, “The quickest way to become an old dog is to stop learning new tricks.” For so many cooks and chefs, that mantra rings true as we progress in our careers and strive to gain more culinary know-how. That’s why ICE established the Advanced Culinary Center — a series of continuing education classes to enable culinary professionals and aficionados to pick up new tricks in the kitchen. We’ve got a few exciting classes in store, beginning with a chance to learn pickling and fermenting from one of the most successful and innovative pickle packers in the country.

With the heart of a globe-trotter and a passion for lifelong culinary education, Lourdes Reynoso (“Chef Lorrie”) is always up for an adventure. Whether she’s stationed in St. Petersburg for a three-month teaching residency or exploring the best parrillas in Buenos Aires, Chef Lorrie is continually feeding her voracious appetite for foods and cultures of the world. She shares both her global perspective and her expertise in international cuisines with the culinary arts students at ICE.

On a Tuesday evening in the midst of September Fashion Week in New York City, I meet Thea Habjanic (Pastry Arts '10) at La Sirena, the buzzy new restaurant in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan where Thea leads the sweet side of the kitchen as executive pastry chef.

We’re falling for fall. The cozy knits, the bounty of apples, the fall-spiced beverages and, of course, the pumpkins — what’s not to love? The below pumpkin-centric dessert comes from chef and cookbook author Melanie Underwood.

Drinking vinegars, also known as shrubs, have become increasingly popular. Restaurants like Pok Pok NY in Brooklyn are now bottling drinking vinegars and selling them in grocery stores across they country. Even though not everyone knows about shrubs, drinking vinegar for health purposes has been done for a very long time.

In today’s culinary world, food sourcing is more important than ever. Locally-sourced produce has become the standard, rather than the exception. To stay at the forefront of this industry-wide movement, ICE built a state-of-the-art indoor hydroponic garden in its new Brookfield Place facilities.