Elliott Prag is the Dean of Students

Elliott Prag

Dean of Students & Director of Career Services
Faculty

"There's an opportunity to do everything in the kitchen with love ⎯ prep, cooking, plating, even cleaning ⎯ and doing that always makes a profound difference."

Biography

Elliott Prag has more than 15 years of experience teaching recreational and professional cooking classes, specializing in local, whole, seasonal and organic foods. After experience with events and parties as the chef-owner of a catering company, followed by eight years as a multi-client personal chef, he taught a variety of classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute while managing the school's social media for a stint, serving as the liaison for Wellness in the Schools, and ultimately managing curriculum development.

Chef Elliott also writes on healthy eating and food trends for publications such as Vegetarian Times and develops recipes in commercial, educational and publishing contexts. He's completed professional development in international bread baking and is skilled with health-supportive recipe development and preparation.

Chef Elliott relocated to Los Angeles in 2019 to teach the first Plant-Based Culinary Arts (formerly known as Health-Supportive Culinary Arts) students at ICE's campus in Pasadena, California. He returned to New York in 2020, where he is the program's lead chef at our New York campus and enjoys "exploring time and again the health-promoting power of food that's whole, local, seasonal and organic" and "meeting students who share [his] passion and commitment to this way of eating."

Education

  • International Culinary Center, The Art of International Bread Baking, 2013
  • Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, Chef's Training Program, 1995
  • Wayne State University, BA in English, 1982

Work History

  • Instructor, Natural Gourmet Institute, 2005-2019
  • Chef, Kibea Restaurant in Bulgaria, 2003-2005
  • Instructor, Natural Gourmet Institute, 1998-2003
  • Caterer, Siegfried & Prag, 1998-2003
  • Private Chef, 1995-2003
  • Cook; Candle Cafe, Herban Kitchen, Sacred Chow, Whole Foods; 1995-1997
  • Communications Specialist, Towers Perrin in Detroit, 1994-1995

Certifications

  • City of New York's Food Handler's Certificate, 2012
  • NY State Education Department's Basic Teaching Methods, Becoming a More Effective Teacher, and Advanced Classroom Management classes, 2012
  • ServSafe, 2000

Specialties/Areas of Interest

  • Pastry and bread technique and instruction including whole grain, vegan and gluten-free baking
  • Alternative, health-supportive cuisines including macrobiotic, Ayurveda, celiac diet, vegan and more
  • Converting recipes into healthier versions, including low-fat, low-sodium, anti-inflammatory, allergen-free and more
  • Writer, editor and researcher
  • Curriculum development
  • Recipe development and testing
  • Social media manager

Elliott Prag on the Blog