If there’s one thing that will make your time in the kitchen effortless, efficient and enjoyable, it’s tackling basic knife skills. Below you’ll find our essential tips and a video of ICE Chef Michael Garrett demonstrating how to cut three common vegetables that are surprisingly tricky to break down: an onion, a pepper and a head of cauliflower.

When it comes to generating new ideas, it’s easy to feel like everything’s been done before. In the past few years, however, the food industry has had an influx of fresh, innovative concepts that challenge that old adage. Among the first-time entrepreneurs successfully disrupting the food market is ICE alum Mary McAuley, founder of Ripe Life Wines.

No matter what your goals are after graduating culinary school, there are countless ways you can maximize your education. While the classroom provides an incredible environment to learn in, real-world experience is critical for thriving both personally and professionally.

The fried chicken sandwich, by law, may only contain bread, chicken, pickles and sauce. Nevermind which law that is — the point is this: if you try to put anything more on my sandwich, we are going to have problems. With just four components to build it out, this sandwich is perfect in its simplicity, so each ingredient that goes into it better be perfect, too. Any missteps or half measures are going to stand out big time and completely throw off your chicken sandwich mojo.

For 27 years, the U.S. Pastry Competition, hosted by Paris Gourmet, has provided opportunities for experienced professionals and up-and-coming pastry chefs to display the best of their talents. As the most prestigious pastry competition in the country, the event has long been an incredible opportunity for networking and career advancement.

When ICE Vice President of Education Richard Simpson took on the duty of overseeing the build-out of ICE’s new, 74,000 square foot facility at Brookfield Place, he knew he was undertaking a project whose scope was unprecedented in New York City. With 12 teaching kitchens extending across a single floor of an A-class office building, the project required the manpower and logistics of opening 12 restaurants simultaneously—plus the complications of coordinating construction with prestigious neighbors Equinox and Saks Fifth Avenue.

In our must-read cookbooks series, we’ve covered ingredient-focused books, vegetable bibles and the sweetest pastry selections. But there’s one area of the kitchen we’ve not yet touched, and that’s the meat section. From butchery to charcuterie, simple pan sauces to showstopping roasts, animal proteins are an essential part of culinary education.

Breaking bread may be the traditional cornerstone of any feast, but I’ve always found it to be one of the more intimidating—and time-consuming—food products to make by hand. Beyond the naturally leavened, French-style bread that consumes so much of the current culinary conversation is a whole world of international loaves—many of which are far easier to recreate at home.

When many non-Irish descendants think of St. Patrick’s Day, it’s all about four leaf clovers, corned beef, cabbage, whiskey and Irish soda bread. But what is soda bread?