It's been barely two months since Seohyung Im faced off with three of her culinary peers to represent ICE at the Northeast Regional San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. Since then, she not only met regularly with her chef advisor, James Briscione, to practice the various techniques required for her dish but also mentally prepared for the hectic media frenzy that would surround her in the kitchen.

Yesterday evening, students and alumni welcomed back ICE Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Chef Ivy Stark for a demonstration of Oaxaxan Chichilo mole and Agua Fresca.

Volunteer events are among the many opportunities for ICE students to further their craft. This weekend, Culinary Arts students supported an array of international chefs at the New York Times 10th Annual Travel Show.

In the European tradition, aspiring chefs would learn their trade through apprenticeships. Even in this age of professional culinary schools, all ICE graduates fulfill this traditional on-site training as part of their graduation requirements.

When we hear the word "start-up", typically what comes to mind is a small, forward-thinking, creative company in the technology sector. But in the food world, start-up ventures are equally exciting, innovative...and risky. That's why ICE instructors Kathryn Gordon, Jeff Yoskowitz, Jessie Riley and Alan Someck created Food Start Up Help, a consulting service for food entrepreneurs looking to launch a new business.

When Chef Chad Pagano isn't rustling up wild game for his new radio show, he's usually elbow-deep in flour, instructing our Pastry & Baking Arts students. But this morning, he rose early to share his talents with another audience, on CBS New York's "2 In the Kitchen".

Lior Lev Sercarz is spice blender to the stars - star chefs, that is. From Eric Ripert to Michelle Bernstein, Paul Kahan and Apollonia Poilâne, his roster of clients is a veritable "who's who" of culinary innovators. Even those chefs who know how to blend their own spices agree: Sercarz just does it better.

ICE alum and Chef's Advisory Council member Jason Apfelbaum is far from your average culinary entrepreneur. When he first enrolled, his dream was to own a boutique hotel in a remote location (and, eventually, to become the mayor of that small town). The choice to attend culinary school was a "back up plan", in case one of his employees didn't show up to work.

Chad Pagano's backstory isn't that of your average pastry chef. Long before he spent his days instructing in the art of kneading dough, he was serving in the United States Army's 10th Mountain Division, utilizing his recreational hunting skills as a scout/sniper. After leaving the army, Pagano enrolled in culinary school, where he discovered a passion for natural, earthy and organic foods.

How does an aspiring marketing professional become one of New York's top bakers? Like many of our students, Amy Scherber was a career changer, motivated by her passion for food.