The food industry agrees: ICE graduates enter the workplace with an edge. But what exactly is ICE’s recipe for success? We chatted with some of NYC’s top chefs and restaurateurs to find out. Scroll down to watch Marcus Samuelsson, Alex Guarnaschelli, Daniel Boulud, Danny Meyer and more praise ICE in the video below (plus: get a peek inside ICE’s facilities).
ICE’s light, airy facilities overlooking the Hudson River make it a unique and inspirational learning environment. Zac Young, ICE graduate and Pastry Director of Craveable Hospitality Group, said, “It’s completely state-of-the-art. It’s like no other culinary school that I’ve seen, in terms of the technology, the space, the layout…” Indeed, the space affects the energy of the entire ICE community.
As Bill Telepan, Executive Chef of Oceana, observed, “You can just see everybody’s walking a little differently and moving a little quicker.” ICE chef instructors share with students both technical expertise and the type of professional insight that can only be gained through years of experience.
Said David Burke, restaurateur behind NYC mainstays like David Burke Kitchen, “The instructors at ICE are chefs that have worked in some of the greatest restaurants in the country, so they’re bringing that homegrown intensity to the students.” Innovators themselves, ICE chef instructors teach students the latest culinary techniques — offering truly forward-looking training.
According to Michael White, chef and owner of the Altamarea Group, “There are so many new techniques in the kitchen, whether it’s sous vide cookery or immersion circulators — things that have not always been taught are now being taught at ICE.” Bill Telepan noted, “They’re doing a lot of the new molecular cooking; they’re expanding their horizons beyond the classics… The fusion of cuisines is much more refined than it was 20 years ago and they’re really looking at that.”
The real champions of ICE — who inspire us through their ambition, their curiosity and their tenacity — are the students. Marcus Samuelsson, restaurateur and chef of Harlem’s celebrated Red Rooster, said, “I love working with ICE graduates… They’re very passionate and determined because they very often left another field to come into culinary.”
In the same vein, Alex Guarnaschelli, the culinary brains behind Butter and former ICE instructor, said, “When you get people that have life experience on top of starting a new career, then you get those layered and complex people that really enrich the food industry.” And you can be sure: ICE graduates hit the ground running.
Said Marc Forgione (of the eponymous restaurant), “New York City is the city that never sleeps. It will chew you up and spit you out if you’re not ready for the pressure. Because they were trained in New York, [ICE graduates] don’t get too star struck when they get into a fast-paced kitchen.”
So when it comes time for hiring, what does the industry think about ICE graduates? As prominent restaurateur Danny Meyer aptly put it, “My sense about alumni of ICE is that they should all work for us instead of only some of them working for us.” The food industry loves working with ICE.
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