In July of 2004, I was working on a new menu at my Tribeca restaurant, Chanterelle. The summer Olympics in Athens were about to begin, which naturally got me thinking about Greek food. I decided to tap into memories of traveling in Greece, and also of cheap meals in cafeteria-style restaurants in Hell’s Kitchen, where I lived in the 1970s.

As a student enrolled in a dual-diploma program at ICE, I juggled a schedule for both the Culinary Arts and Culinary Management programs. Three days a week, I had management classes from 8AM to 12PM and then quickly I’d have to change for my 1PM culinary arts class, which ran until 5PM. On the days I didn’t have management classes, I would spend my mornings working on reading and classwork for management, and then the remainder of my day honing my cooking skills in class.

As the summer nears its end, tables at the greenmarket abound with gorgeous fruits and veggies — produce that will be sadly missed in just a few months time. Yet in the modern kitchen, an age-old cooking technique exists to keep enjoying those summery ingredients during chillier months — preservation.

New York City is home to some of the best eats in the country. If you're lucky enough to live here, you can get just about any dish your heart desires delivered to your door—at any time, day or night. But when it comes to the parts of the Big Apple that boast the best bites, some areas have more to offer than others. If you find yourself in the Financial District (“FiDi”) around lunchtime, and you're seeking something other than a typical food chain or overpriced "make your salad" station, you may be in for a tough time.

Recently my wife Cheryl and I had the good fortune to spend a few days in La Belle Province (Quebec) and visit one of our favorite culinary destinations: the beautiful city of Montreal.

You all know Alice Waters, Dan Barber and Rene Redzepi, right? These are the elevators of the humble beet, disciples of the heirloom tomato, pioneers of the potato pedigree. Each is a master chef, overseeing wildly successful restaurants and molding industry practices in the process.

Ben Wiley ( Pastry Arts ‘06), co-owner of five successful Brooklyn bars, is on the move. Whether he’s scooting to a jiu-jitsu class in Manhattan or popping into one of his bars for a weekly visit, he’s always headed somewhere—that and a passion for the service industry seem to be his calling cards.

Early last year, as the ICE staff was preparing to move from the school’s longtime home in the Flatiron District of Manhattan to its newly constructed downtown facility, I was immersed in organizing the details for our unique bean-to-bar Chocolate Lab.

On a sunny Friday afternoon, Rob Laing and I meet in a conference room at ICE, a clear view up the west side of Manhattan just outside. Rob is the founder of Farm.One, the organization that grows and tends to the fresh produce and herbs in ICE's hydroponic farm.

ICE’s Center for Advanced Pastry Studies (CAPS) is excited to announce our upcoming course on September 12-13, Ideas in Food: Gluten-Free Baking Science and Technique, led by Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot, chefs and creators of the award-winning blog Ideas in Food.