The Damask rose is known for its fine fragrance and is commercially harvested for rose oil, used in perfumery and to make rose water. The flower petals are also edible, but it blooms only once a season, so you must make plenty of these amazing preserves when you can. My neighbor has at least 100 of these shrubs, so I went over and picked pounds of roses.

When I first discovered Piquant, a blog which Ana Nicole co-runs with three other writers, I was instantly taken with the fun, colorful content. Learning that she works for one of my favorite parks (just a few avenues over from ICE!) was the cherry on top. Here's her story:

At the beginning of culinary school, you're learning from the bottom up. Start to finish. The basics. And while home cooks may take this critical step for granted, that means diving head first into “stocks”. Eight hours of class, six different stocks and eight very eager students = a recipe for a great day at ICE.

The first time I ever ate at Le Pain Quotidien was near the old town market in Nice, France. The cafe was charming, with excellent bread, spreads and other pickings. If you had suggested to me that it was a chain, I would have scoffed in disbelief. And yet, Le Pain Quotidien—whose name literally means "the daily bread"—has become a ubiquitous presence in the food industry, with upwards of 170 locations in 17 countries around the world. In fact, it was in Paris that I first realized LPQ was a chain, and even in that renown bread city with hundreds of independent bakeries, the shop's cozy tables were always crowded with happy customers.

Hilton Hotels certainly ruffled a few feathers this month, when it was announced that their largest New York City property would discontinue room service to all 2,000 of its rooms.

What do you get when you cross a group of high-achieving specialists in molecular biology, physics, and fine arts with a burning curiosity for the science of cooking? Three best-selling authors and culinary pioneers who are forging our current understanding of the science of food.

Here at ICE, we're thrilled to have a long-standing relationship with Dessert Professional, a revolutionary magazine that, as Hall of Fame inductee Florian Belanger explained, was one of the first publications connecting professional pastry chefs with peers in their field.

It was exactly one year ago, this month, that I made the decision to start consuming a plant-based vegan diet. Eating vegan is challenging in today’s culture, but not impossible. Usually all I have to say is “hold the cheese” when ordering at restaurants, but breakfast foods are a different story. I remember the day when my dad took me our favorite diner for breakfast and I realized the only thing vegan I could order was black coffee and hash browns—that is, if they weren’t cooked in butter.

Where do celebrities come when they need help from culinary visionaries? The Institute of Culinary Education of course!

My first week working at ICE, I was invited to join other new staff members for dinner at Gramercy Tavern. Never having been in this legendary New York restaurant, I was thrilled by the attention to detail and the quality of the dishes I tasted—not least of all, by the dessert. Needless to say, I was impressed to learn that an ICE graduate, Jessica Perkiss was one of the pastry sous chefs at the restaurant, and I'm thrilled to share her story.