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?

Trying to figure out what to do with your life at any age can be overwhelming, stressful and exciting. I thought that at 24 years old I would have a good idea which direction I wanted my life to go, but that wasn’t the case. There’s no question that I’ve accomplished things I’m proud of, including earning a Congressional Award Gold Medal, publishing a book and managing a couple of blogs, but there was still that nagging question, “ What do I do with my life?” Ultimately I realized my path involved food—and more than just eating it.

Many people believe that to find success in the food industry, you need to start working in kitchens by the age of 18. At ICE, we’ve helped students from the ages of 17 to 70 discover their road to culinary success. Among those graduates is Culinary Arts alum Paras Shah, the executive chef at Kat & Theo in New York City’s Flatiron District.

While some ICE students have never set foot in a professional kitchen before coming to culinary school, others are looking to take their career to the next level. Take Culinary Arts student Peter Martinez, who had already held the title of executive chef at a small restaurant before enrolling at ICE.

It used to be that once you entered the workforce, you stayed with the same company for 30-40 years, and then you retired. But for the generation entering the workforce today, exploring a wide range of career options is far more attractive than staying on one set path from the start. The ability to develop more than one skill set or area of expertise over the course of her career was what attracted Chef Sarah Chaminade to the culinary industry.

As a culinary school student, I spend most of my weeknights catching up on laundry, going to the gym or making dinner plans with friends. Last month, when ICE Chef Instructor Jenny McCoy approached my classmates and I in our sunny student lounge, my Wednesday night plans got a significant upgrade.