ICE Chef Instructor Michelle Tampakis has been nominated as one of the Top 10 Pastry Chefs of 2010 by Pastry Art and Design, a division of Dessert Professional Magazine. Chef Michelle has been an instructor at ICE since 1986 and is the school’s resident expert on chocolate. Congratulations to Chef Michelle for this extraordinary honor!
Meet the Culinary Entrepreneurs: Greg Brewer
“From the fruit to the bottle, that’s what I do,” said Greg Brewer, winemaker at Melville Vineyards and Winery in Lompoc, CA. Brewer, who produces wine at three different vineyards, spoke to a packed room of ICE Management Program students, staff and attendees during today’s Meet the Culinary Entrepreneurs session, the second in a series of eight lectures.
“I want to be taken somewhere. I want to be challenged. And I want someone who cares,” Brewer said, advising the audience to harness their passion and creativity when launching their own ideas into successful personal businesses. Forever a wine fanatic, Brewer has launched two wineries in addition to being the winemaker at Melville. With just $12,000, Brewer and his business partner created Brewer-Clifton, a winery that focuses on producing wines from the Sta. Rita Hills appellation. Fourteen years after the launch, Brewer-Clifton now produces 10,000 cases of wine each year. (more…)
ICE Student Advances to Chefs of Grey Poupon Final Competition
Current ICE Culinary Arts student Sonali Ruder has advanced to the 2010 Chefs of Grey Poupon Final Competition being held in Chicago on May 6. Sonali beat out two other ICE students in this week’s semifinal competition held at ICE, during which she prepared her winning Mustard and Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Pomegranate Dijon Reduction, Celery Root Puree and Dijon Glazed Baby Carrots.
Sonali will be competing against students from The Culinary Institute of America, Johnson & Wales and Kendall College for up to $20,000 in a Grey Poupon culinary scholarship. Check back in April for an update and best of luck to Sonali!
Pains Au Chocolat
Now in Module 4 of my Culinary Arts Career Program, we’ve ventured into the world of pastry and baking where butter, sugar and flour rule. The balance of butter and chocolate baked into the flaky crusts of these Pains Au Chocolat has been unbeatable, as I hold these pastries to be my favorite so far. Let the flour flinging begin with this recipe or get first-hand instruction in ICE’s Career Pastry & Baking Arts program or in any of ICE’s recreational baking classes.
Ingredients:
croissant dough, 1/2 batch (recipe follows)
1 egg, beaten
36 bittersweet chocolate batons (more…)
The Mother Sauces and Their Offspring
Two nights, 20 sauces. This was the task at hand as I stepped into the kitchen for my very first two-session recreational class at ICE, Mother Sauces and Their Offspring. While the “offspring” part is just a little word play, The Mother Sauces, also called The Grand Sauces, are truly the matriarchs of the condiment world.
These five sauces (Classic Tomato, Sauce Espagnole, Sauce Hollandaise, Sauce Veloute and Sauce Bechamel) while substantial in their own right, are the backbone of almost any other sauce you’ll find on the menus of New York’s finest dining establishments. The concept is that if you can make these well, then you can make huge batches and season them differently to create a wide variety of sauce options. (more…)
Lessons 71-80: Pastry and Patience
If I’ve learned one thing so far about pastry and baking, it’s patience.
I have to admit that I was anxiously awaiting the start to Module 4, which is the pastry and baking portion of ICE’s Culinary Career Program. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook, but my love affair with food actually began as a result of baking. I was the resident Funfetti Birthday Cake Baker at my high school, and while I have yet to come across such a recipe in Mod 4 (I’m guessing it’s somewhere between the pulled sugar and the Pâte à choux), I’m beside myself with all of our buttery and sugary confections. (more…)
Culinary Stars & ICE Prez Rock Out
The culinary and rock worlds collided this week as Top Chef host Tom Colicchio (on guitar) jammed with restaurateur Drew Nieporent (vocals) and ICE President Rick Smilow (on guitar) at the D’Artagnan 25th Anniversary party held at Guastavino’s on Monday night. Guests were treated to traditional French fare as they joined in singing with the night’s culinary rock stars, who played aside the Evil Prince Ludwig band. Chefs Daniel Boulud and Ming Tsai joined in as guests singers during Taking Care of Business.
The Rhone Ranger of Santa Cruz Visits ICE
- Pictured above: Randall Grahm, Founder & Owner of Bonny Doon Vineyard, with Richard Vayda, ICE’s Director of Wine Studies
One of the benefits of being President of ICE, is that I can go to any class I want. So on Monday Feb 22nd, I joined the Culinary Management students at ICE for a special morning talk and tasting from Randall Grahm, founder of Central California’s Bonny Doon Vineyard, and one of the original “Rhone Rangers” (a term granted to those who preserve and produce Rhone varietals in California). Grahm’s website biography describes him as a “vitizen of the world, champion of the strange, and the heterodox of the ugly duckling grape varietals whose very existence is threatened by the dominant Cabo- and Chardon-centric paradigms.” Grahm has been honored by The James Beard Foundation, Cooks Magazine and was the Bon Appetit 1999 Wine & Spirits Professional of the Year. (more…)
Scallops with Grapefruit Vinaigrette
I’ve had a lot of “firsts” as a student in ICE’s Culinary Arts Career Program, and cooking scallops was right up there with filleting a fish, making homemade pasta, rolling sushi and disjointing a lobster. Scallops have always been out of my culinary comfort zone, but as Lesson 52 proved, it’s pretty tough to beat perfectly browned bivalves. Forget the February chill and saute (or grill!) your way to the perfect sweet and savory mix of seared scallops served with fresh grapefruit juice reduction.
Ingredients:
8 sea scallops
8 fluid ounces fresh grapefruit juice
2 pink grapefruits
4 fluid ounces Extra Virgin olive oil
2 cups baby mizuna
Salt and white pepper, to taste
2 lemons, zested
2 oranges, zested
2 Tablespoons tobiko (more…)
ICE Alumnus Heats Up Winter Olympicus
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ICE Culinary alumnus and current Food Network Canada host Trish Magwood appeared on The TODAY Show this morning to show viewers how to entertain with Canadian cuisine that’s fit for Olympic gold. Chef Trish walked Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira through traditional Canadian recipes and simple snacks, many of which can be found in her James Beard Award-winning cookbook, Dish Entertains.
