From award-winning restaurateurs and chefs to food media leaders, hotel managers and entrepreneurs, our alumni continue to rank among the most noteworthy names in the food and hospitality industries.
Graduates can pursue positions as executive, pastry or private chefs; event or public relations professionals; food policy or non-profit leaders; retailers or product developers; authors or on-air hosts; and, of course, wine or mixology experts. See how former students have achieved success in catering, hotel management, product sourcing and beyond.
Check out the recent headlines featuring ICE graduates below. And meet some of our all-star alumni here
ICE graduates make headlines with awards and nominations, restaurant rankings in the media, television appearances and great reviews. Read more about the latest restaurant openings and expansions, promotions and successes among ICE’s community of alumni.
A great way to network and find new opportunities in the culinary and hospitality industries is to get involved with industry organizations. ICE students and graduates participate in the most highly regarded institutions of their fields.
See above for a list of industry organizations.
Our graduates have pursued a wide array of careers in the culinary and hospitality fields with ICE diplomas and certificates, from cooking and baking positions to restaurant, bakery or food business ownership, hotel management, and events planning. See where an ICE education can take you.
Here are some of the ICE alumni who have inspired us in the past year:
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.
A great way to network and find new opportunities in the culinary and hospitality industries is to get involved with industry organizations. ICE students and graduates participate in the most highly regarded institutions of their fields, including the following industry organizations:
