Last night, ICE students and recent graduates cooked with the culinary stars at the James Beard Awards. Among the hundreds of volunteer opportunities we organize each year, these annual awards stand out as one of the most exciting, providing students with the chance to cook alongside such influential chefs as Grant Achatz, Michael Mina and Marcus Samuelsson.

Ramps are wild onions that are foraged in the spring. The edible leaves taper to a pencil-shaped shaft with a faint purple stain where the two meet. Because of their narrow shape, they are often grilled or quickly sauteed.

This week, the New York culinary community celebrated the 20th anniversary of Chefs Collaborative, the leading national nonprofit network of chefs invested in creating a more sustainable food landscape.

Whether it's aiding victims in the wake of Hurricane Sandy or supporting the day-to-day efforts of City Harvest, ICE has long been committed to contributing to the larger New York Community. But there are causes further afield that are also near and dear to our hearts, perhaps none so much as Streets International.

Not too long ago, Susan Stockton, Senior Vice President, Culinary Production at Food Network, was a culinary arts student at ICE. I first met Ms. Stockton when she spoke about Food Network and Cooking Channel at the school in August 2012. As a recent graduate, I immediately began to imagine how inspiring it would be for current ICE students, prospective students, and other alumni to hear a bit more about her incredible journey, experiences, and accomplishments in the food industry.

Last night, ICE was thrilled to host the 11th annual "Cookin’ with Allagash" Scholarship competition. It was a wonderful night filled with great food, delicious beers and generous prizes!

Whisk yeast into water, add flour and salt, then mix until smooth. That's bread dough. Humble ingredients that—once combined, nurtured and baked—amount to much more than the sum of their parts.

As we gear up to launch our new Techniques and Art of Professional Cake Decorating program on May 2nd, we are very excited to share one of Chef Toba Garrett's cake and icing recipes.