We are almost two weeks into the new year, and hopefully most of you are still sticking to your resolutions.

Earlier this week, ICE Instructors, students and alumni returned from a nine-day trip to Vietnam where they explored the cuisine and culture of Southeast Asia.

For the past week, Guns n' Roses' Patience has been playing like a soundtrack in my mind during some of the most frustrating moments of my day. Moments like waiting 45 minutes in line to buy a bottle of champagne at 6:00 pm on New Year’s Eve, finding out my train is late or making molded chocolates in class.

When ICE President Rick Smilow and Anne E. McBride wrote "Culinary Careers: How to Get Your Dream Job in Food," they discovered a plethora of food jobs they had never heard of before. Since the book's release, they have been discovering even more interesting career paths in the food world. DICED shares some of them with you in a reoccurring feature, “Unique Culinary Careers.”

Each of ICE’s Chef Instructors is a treasure trove of knowledge. Chef Instructor Nicole Kaplan is an ICE alum who worked in the kitchens at Eleven Madison Park and Del Posto before joining the team at ICE. Working in these award-winning restaurants, she earned praise for the desserts and dishes she designed and created for the menu. She brings that expertise to her classroom to share with her students, but now she will also be sharing it here on DICED in a recurring feature, “Sweet Treats.” She’ll sample pastries and desserts from around NYC and report back here. In the first installment, she tells us about canelés and how to find authentic versions.

The year is about to come to a close and we are gearing up to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

I was raised in the kind of household where a meal wasn’t a meal if there wasn’t meat involved. This strategy served me well until I decided to move to Brooklyn.

Chocolate is, quite honestly, a mess.

I have had fresh white truffles from Italy about four times in my life. On December 13, I had more of them in one night than anyone deserves, served by the chefs at Eleven Madison Park, Marea and Locanda Verde.