Every year, I lead groups of ICE alumni and other food aficionados to eat, drink and study cuisine in France with a diverse group of chefs, butchers, bakers and pastry chefs.

Other than cooking, the most important thing the students and I do in class every day is taste and eat.

Today much of the food world is uniting to celebrate what would have been the 100th birthday of the passionate French chef, Julia Child.

Eight short months ago, I walked into kitchen 1402 at The Institute of Culinary Education with sixteen other people for the first day of class in the weekend culinary arts program.

Is it possible to grow an old concept and still wow people with it?

The nouvelle cuisine revolution brought intensely flavored broths and coulis’ that replaced the heavier, traditional sauces of classic French cooking. Now, we have fluid gels, which take the bright, clean flavors of nouvelle sauces to a new level. What is a fluid gel?

Hot off winning a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, Mindy Segal visited ICE this week to share her experience opening the Chicago gem, Hot Chocolate.

Although her kitchen doesn't use many "modernist" ingredients, she wanted to learn more.