51³Ô¹Ï

NEW YORK, September 4, 2008 — The 51³Ô¹Ï is launching today the Center for Food Media at ICE® (CFM), the latest among its professional development programs. From podcasting and blogging to cookbook writing and food history, this unique assortment of 25 classes covers all aspects of media as they pertain to the culinary world. Three special events with Food & Wine editor in chief Dana Cowin, author Michael Ruhlman, and Food Network Vice President of Culinary Production Susan Stockton are also scheduled for 2008-2009. A complete schedule is available here.

Classes include food writing (for print and online, in one or multiple sessions), becoming a publicist, culinary travel writing, working with an agent, creating a TV show, food styling and photography, primers in food economics, pop culture, and experimental cuisine, doing research, restaurant reviewing, food essay writing, and media training. They target career changers, beginners, and seasoned pros, whether they work freelance or on staff.

"Career tracks that combine a love of food with writing, visual, or technological skills have become ever more viable, and plentiful," said CFM Director Anne E. McBride. "At the same time, one cannot afford to master only one aspect of the food world to succeed. The classes we offer aim at creating well-rounded food media professionals."

Instructors, who include author and photographer James Peterson, writer and blogger Andrea Strong, writer David Leite, marketing and public relations expert Jennifer Baum, food scholar Fabio Parasecoli, and syndicated columnist Marge Perry, are all actively engaged in the profession about which they teach, and possess a strong command of the media world on a national scale. They are passionate about what they do, and about teaching it to their students.

"Our decision to launch this food media initiative is a logical confluence of time, place, and resources," ICE® President Rick Smilow commented. "Our career students express an ever-growing interest in food media, ICE® is in the center of the media capital of the country, and so many of the experts who will be teaching at the center are already friends of the school."

Complete schedule and class descriptions are available online at www.iceculinary.com/media. For further information, please contact Kelly Ann Hargrove at 212-847-0700 ext. 217 or via email at khargrove@iceculinary.com.