A Globe-Trotting Chef Finds a Home at ICE
Meet Chef Lorrie
With the heart of a globe-trotter and a passion for lifelong culinary education, Lourdes Reynoso (Chef Lorrie) is always up for an adventure. Whether shes stationed in St. Petersburg for a three-month teaching residency or exploring the best parrillas in Buenos Aires, Chef Lorrie is continually feeding her voracious appetite for foods and cultures of the world. She shares both her global perspective and her expertise in international cuisines with the culinary arts students at ICE.
Chef Lorrie comes from a big, food-loving family in the Philippines. Seven of the nine Reynoso siblings, including Chef Lorrie, work in some facet of the food industry. In fact, her sisters, pioneers of their time, founded a culinary school in Manila in the 1960s. Today, the counts among the most well-known culinary schools in the Philippines. As Chef Lorrie explains, In Manila, my family is more or less synonymous with culinary school地nd good food.
After receiving a bachelors degree in world history, Chef Lorrie earned the prestigious Grand Dipl繫me from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She remained in Paris to study the French language at Le Sorbonne and art history at the Louvre museum, before returning to Manila to join the teaching staff at her sisters culinary school. Her ultimate career path came as no surprise to her family.
Even when I was in high school, I was teaching childrens baking courses during the summer, says Chef Lorrie. Teaching in the kitchen was her calling from a young age. Drawing upon the classical French techniques she learned at Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Lorrie taught culinary arts in Manila for several years.
When she wasnt in the kitchen classroom, she was travelingfeeding her second passion for discovering new foods and cultures. The opportunity arose to teach at the New York Restaurant School (now The Art Institute of New York City) and Chef Lorrie jumped on it.
Asked about the intercontinental move, Chef Lorrie recalls, I wanted to be in New York. At that time, it was just becoming the food capital of the world and a true melting pot. She continued to teach there for twenty-one years, helping to train such prominent chefs as the current executive chef of Nobu, Ricky Estrellado, who considers Chef Lorrie a mentor.
In 2008, when The Art Institute announced that it would discontinue its culinary program, Chef Lorrie immediately thought of ICE. Since 2009, shes been part of the ICE teaching staff and has continued her own culinary education by traveling when not in the kitchen classrooms. Her most recent adventure has been her multiple teaching stints in St. Petersburg, Russia at , a top hospitality and culinary arts school that partnered with ICE in 2012.
Though she was hesitant to go at first, Chef Lorrie quickly fell in love with St. Petersburg. The food culture is extremely advanced. Thats why Swissam was opened. Before it opened, Russia had new wealth and great chefs like Alain Ducasse and Jaime Oliver were going there. But they still had communist-style hospitality schools. The owner decided to establish the best culinary and hospitality school he could. Chef Lorrie has enjoyed being one of the ambassadors of the ICE curriculum, all while taking in Russian art and culture.
From sampling the spices in the souks of Morocco to exploring the best parrillas in Argentina, Chef Lorrie has had her fair share of culinary voyages recently. For this lover of international cuisines and passionate teacher, ICE is the perfect place to call her permanent home.
Want to get in the kitchen classroom with Chef Lorrie? Click here to receive more information on ICE's career programs.
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