When approached by young cooks and students seeking advice on what to read, which chefs to follow on social media or which techniques they should study, I always underscore the importance of traveling and going out to eat. When you’re forming your style and sense of what is “good,” it’s essential to taste as much as possible—be it at your local bakery or a gastronomic temple overseas. I didn't make much money as a young chef, but by scrimping and saving what little I did earn, I invested in my edible education as often as I could afford.

It’s not every day that a student gets to return to his or her alma mater, to walk the halls as not only an alumnus, but also a teacher. ICE Culinary Arts graduate Charles Granquist has more than earned his place among our faculty, with a resume that includes such diverse experience as the fine-dining kitchens of Blue Hill and the fast-paced food media world of the Food Network.

As any restaurant chef who has had their dishes featured in food magazines can attest, there is more than one way to write a recipe. No experience has made this statement more obvious to me than seeing my second cookbook, Modern Eclairs, published during the same period that I have been developing new cookie recipes for the professional pastry and baking program at ICE.

Among the many emerging opportunities for food entrepreneurs, few sectors have seen as much growth as the cook-at-home meal delivery market. Beyond such omnipresent brands as Blue Apron, a wide range of creative chefs and business owners are launching specialized products that serve the needs and tastes of a niche market. Case in point: ICE Culinary Arts alum Madhuri Sharma, co-founder of Indian-inspired meal kit service Saffron Fix.

Cooking, like all art forms, is a subjective medium. Just as fine artists or musicians have different styles, ask any group of professional cooks, and you’re sure to find varying perspectives on what makes food “good.” It would be nearly impossible to find a restaurant kitchen where all the chefs hail from the same place, hold the same beliefs or boast the same level of culinary experience—and the same holds true in a culinary school.

New Yorkers know a thing or two about happy hour—but how much do they know about the ingredients and techniques behind their favorite drinks? At ICE’s hands-on mixology parties, students dive into the history of the world’s most iconic cocktails and take top shelf bartending skills for a spin.

Best known as the host of Food Network’s Sweet Dreams, Gale Gand is the author of eight cookbooks, a partner in the Michelin-starred Tru in Chicago, an artisanal root beer maker and so much more. This spring, on May 16, we’re thrilled to invite this multi-talented entrepreneur to teach a “signature desserts” class at ICE, focused on an ingredient we often take for granted: vanilla.

As the former private dining chef at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Daniel, ICE Director of Culinary Development James Briscione knows a thing or two about plating techniques in fine dining restaurants. If you’re ready to take your dishes from edible to truly eye-catching, check out Chef James’ take on the essential plating tools you’ll need in the video below

Every step of the chocolate-making process, from fruit to bean to bar, presents an opportunity to influence the flavor and texture of the finished chocolate. After harvesting, fermenting and drying at origin, beans are shipped around the world. Once received at the factory, raw cocoa undergoes several steps of transformation—what we call the “bean-to-bar” process. Previously I’ve discussed the bean-to-bar steps of sourcing and roasting. In this post, we will look at the intermediate steps necessary to turn flavorful roasted beans into the refined product we know and enjoy.

From food trucks to pop-ups, the food world has expanded both where and how we like to eat. With supper clubs, there’s a dining adventure for every appetite: chef-driven supper clubs, art-focused supper clubs, anti-food waste supper clubs and so much more. But how many of these business ventures survive the test of time?