Alumni

The 2018 James Beard Media Award Winners were announced and Stacy Adimando's (Culinary '10) international cookbook Nopalito (Ten Speed Press, Spring 2017), which she co-authored with the chef from San Francisco's Nopalito restaurant, won in the Cookbooks and Broadcast Media category. Stacy is a food and travel journalist, cookbook author, recipe developer, and the Executive Editor at Saveur magazine. She is the former Test Kitchen Director at Saveur, Food Editor at Every Day with Rachael Ray and Recipes Editor at Food Network. Before graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education's Culinary Arts program in New York City, Stacy graduated from Wake Forest University.

Photo credit: Karen Mordechai

The James Beard Awards Semifinalists were announced and Missy Robbins (Culinary '95) was among the honorees for Best Chef, New York City. Missy Robbins came to ICE after graduating from Georgetown. She spent the next few years cooking and learning at Anne Rosenzweig’s Arcadia and Lobster Club and Wayne Nish’s March. After interning in three different restaurants in Italy, she joined the Soho Grand Hotel, eventually becoming sous-chef there, before taking the helm at Chicago’s acclaimed Spiaggia restaurant. In October 2005, Robbins won the coveted William R. Rice Most Promising Chef Award at the Chicago Wine and Food Festival. In 2008, she returned to New York to serve as executive chef at A Voce, and opened the restaurant’s second location in the Time Warner Center. Food & Wine chose her as one of its 2010 Best New Chefs. In 2016, Missy opened her first restaurant, Lilia, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, bringing "the best of Italy to Williamsburg where wood fired seafood, hand crafted pastas, classic Italian cocktails and warm hospitality come together to create a casual dining experience." Looking back at her time in school, she says, “ICE was particularly helpful when it came time to go on externship. The school made it possible to get hooked into exactly the restaurant I wanted to be and things just took off from there.”

The James Beard Awards Semifinalists have been announced and Rachel Yang (Culinary ’01) is in the running for Best Chef Northwest for her restaurant, Joule in Seattle. Yang enrolled at ICE just months after earning a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and visual arts at Brown University. She continued her training at DB Bistro Moderne, where she rotated through the garde manger, entremetier, poissonier, and rotisseur stations. She moved on to Ducasse, then Per Se. By 2005 she was heading up the kitchen at the Korean D'Or Ahn, where she first incorporated her Korean heritage into her cooking. Now in Seattle, at Joule and Revel, Yang and her husband, Seif Chirchi, continue in this vein, with creations such as mochi in a ragout of oxtail, lacinato kale, and soy cured egg. The Seattle Times gave the pair its Innovation Award in 2009. The restaurant has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, as part of Food & Wine’s 10 Best Restaurant Dishes of 2008, and as one of Seattle Metropolitan’s 2008 Best New Restaurants. Yang was also a James Beard Awards semifinalist in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The Los Angeles Times announced its 10 Best Dishes of 2017, and the minestra nel sacco from Steve Samson’s (Culinary ’97) Rossoblu landed on the list. After graduating from ICE, Samson worked in several New York restaurants and before long, famed restaurateur Piero Selvaggio took notice, sending the young chef to stage in two- and three-Michelin-star Italian restaurants for more than a year. In 1999, Samson returned to the US and worked as sous chef at Valentino Las Vegas, followed by stints at Selvaggio’s Posto in Sherman Oaks and Valentino Santa Monica. His work at the latter lead to a 2004 James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Restaurant while Samson was executive chef. He then joined David Myers’ Sona, and became executive chef and partner at Pizzeria Ortica when it opened in 2009. While at Ortica, StarChefs recognized Steve as one of Southern California's Rising Star chefs. In 2011, Samson partnered with his wife and Zach Pollack to open Sotto, which has since been named one of Esquire Magazine's “Best New Restaurants in America” and Los Angeles Magazines #1 “Best New Restaurant."

Greg Proechel (Culinary '10), executive chef of Ferris, received a glowing review from The New Yorker, for his inventive cuisine. During his time at the ICE, Proechel completed his externship at Eleven Madison Park, where he became a full-time hire after its first four-star review in the The New York Times. From there, Proechel became a sous chef at Jesus Nunez’s Graffit, where he also appeared on Iron Chef America. Proechel went on to join Blanca as sous chef under Carlo Mirarchi, where he helped the restaurant earn its second Michelin star, among many other achievements. Most recently, Proechel opened popular Lower East Side destination Le Turtle, where he was executive chef. During his time leading the kitchen at Le Turtle, the restaurant garnered various accolades and was named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants of 2016. Most recently, Proechel worked with Charles Seich to open Ferris, which has since caught the attention of many.

Mashama Bailey’s (Culinary ’02) The Grey has been announced as Eater’s 2017 Restaurant of the Year. After earning a Culinary Arts diploma from ICE, Mashama worked alongside her friend and mentor, Gabrielle Hamilton, at NYC’s acclaimed restaurant Prune. She then moved on to Executive Chef and partner at The Grey. Recently, she was included in Vogue's article, "How Female Chefs Are Changing Restaurant Kitchen Culture," as well as the NY Times. In December 2016, Mashama was hosted by the James Beard House, where she prepared a southern-themed menu. 

Adrienne Cheatham (Culinary '07) has been announced as one of the contestants on the upcoming season of Top Chef. After earning a Culinary Arts diploma from ICE, Adrienne worked as executive sous chef at NYC’s acclaimed restaurant Le Bernardin. While there, she tested recipes for Executive Chef Eric Ripert's TV show and cookbook, and helped open his Aldo Sohm Wine Bar and private dining venue Prive. Adrienne went on to assist Marcus Samuelsson in opening Streetbird (which received a Michelin Bib Gourmand) before being promoted to executive chef at Red Rooster in Harlem. 

Little Tong Noodle Shop, the newly opened East Village restaurant with Simone Tong (Culinary/Management ’11) at the helm, continues to earn praise from the media, with glowing articles in Vogue and Eater, plus a two-star review from The New York Times earlier this year. Known for its tasty and inventive mixian - rice noodles from the Yunnan Province - Little Tong Noodle Shop has become an instant hit. Recently on the ICE blog, Simone dished on mixian, restaurant ownership and her unique culinary voice.

With his acclaimed restaurants, Maharlika and Jeepney, Miguel Trinidad (Culinary ‘07) has created a mini-empire of Filipino cuisine in New York City. After graduating from ICE, Miguel landed a gig as executive chef at a popular restaurant in Soho, where he first met his now co-owner, Filipino-American Nicole Ponseca, Today, Miguel and Nicole helm two restaurants, and they’re in the works on a cookbook, due in fall 2018. They’re Michelin-rated, Zagat-rated and have been listed in the NY Times as a Critic’s Pick. Maharlika won Metro New York’s Best New Restaurant and was featured on Condé Nast Traveler’s list of Where to Eat in the World, while Jeepney received two stars from the New York Times, three stars from Time Out New York.

Little Tong Noodle Shop, the newly opened East Village restaurant with Simone Tong (Culinary/Management ’11) at the helm, recieved a two-star review from The New York Times. Known for its tasty and inventive mixiam - the long, round spaghetti-like rice noodles popular in the Yunnan Province - Little Tonge Noodle Shop is already a hit.

Frank DeCarlo (Culinary Arts ’86), the longtime chef/owner of Peasant, frequented by chefs like Daniel Boulud and Eric Ripert, and Bacaro, in Manhattan, is about to open his third restaurant, Barba Bianca, this time out in Greenport, on Long Island’s North Fork. The seafood-heavy Greenport restaurant is already earning press in the likes of The New York Times and Grub Street.

Two years after opening Danny Meyer’s vegetable-centric American restaurant Untitled as chef de cuisine, ICE alum Suzanne Cupps (Culinary Arts ’06) is taking the helm as its new executive chef and will introduce a fresh new menu at the restaurant, adding more fish to the menu, along with flavors and ingredients more common in Asian cuisine.

As chef Michael Anthony steps aside from the position, he is excited for what Suzanne will bring to the table. Featured in a recent Eater article, “Anthony says it’s Cupps’ demeanor and approach to mentoring that made her an ideal fit for Untitled, where an open kitchen in a small dining room means the energy of the cooks transfers to guests. She’s calm and specific, and she reaches people without resorting to the ‘emotions and frustrations’ historically present in kitchens, he says. ‘She’s the perfect combination of talent and humility. She has a natural ease with people.’ Anthony says.”