When it comes to skills that separate home cooks from professional chefs, there's perhaps nothing that draws the line more clearly than butchery. Sure, the average home cook doesn't have very good knife skills (the #1 chef essential), but they can still manage to dice an onion, even if they’re not using proper technique. But home cooks typically don't even attempt butchery. They barely think about it. And if it weren't for the fact that many of them need to carve a cooked turkey on Thanksgiving, the concept of breaking down a whole animal might never even cross their minds.

Often referred to as the "Oscars of Food", the annual James Beard Awards honor the country's most respected chefs, restaurateurs, beverage professionals, food journalists, activists and media professionals. As one of the most anticipated culinary events each year, the JBF gala is always full of exciting wins for the ICE alumni community and offers an exceptional opportunity for current ICE students to volunteer alongside the industry's most respected chefs

Maine's Allagash Brewing Company is nearing its 20 year anniversary, producing beer in a state-of-the-art expanded space and serving their brews on tap in more bars and restaurants than ever before. ICE has long had a close relationship with Allagash founder and owner, Rob Tod, and was thrilled to have him lead a tasting of his signature beers, from classical to experimental.

ICE Creative Director Michael Laiskonis shares his recommended reading list for aspiring chefs.

This weekend marks the climax of the 2014 culinary awards season, as the industry's leading chefs and culinary professionals head to Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater for the 24th annual James Beard Awards.

In ICE's Culinary Management program, students learn key aspects of the bar business, including how to prevent bar theft or how overly generous bartenders affect your bottom line. Yet many students have never actually worked behind the bar. Each year, the annual Calvados cocktail competition gives these enterprising students an opportunity to train in mixology and challenge their palates.

I find eating a plant-based diet extremely rewarding, but I’ll be the first to admit that it is especially challenging to do so during the colder months. Eating a raw crunchy salad never seems to sufficiently warm me up after a long commute through freezing puddles and heavy winds.

Fans of the documentary Kings of Pastry are likely well-acquainted with Philippe Rigollot, who heroically was named Meilleur Ouvrier de France despite the demise of his sugar showpiece during the final moments of the competition. Yet what fans may not know is that Philippe's wife and business partner, Elodie - a chocolatier by background - is an integral part of his work at the couple's local pastry shop in Annecy, France.

At ICE, we pride ourselves on the diversity of our community. In any given class, recent high school or college graduates learn knife skills along-side clinical nurses, marketing executives or former investment bankers. When it comes to career changers, we tell our students that all the skills they gained in previous careers will be of huge benefit to them when they enter the industry. As for finding a student who exemplifies that truth, there are few better examples than Culinary Arts graduate John Feingold.

While my first module as an ICE pastry student contained mostly lectures and cooking demonstrations, my second module ("Mod 2" as we students refer to it) was much faster paced and hands-on. Our mission? Bread baking—which requires some seriously vigorous work. It’s all about speed, efficiency and the ability to produce mass quantities of bread without sacrificing quality.