Contributors

Carly DeFilippo Managing Editor
Carly hails from a line of professional bakers and accomplished home cooks, but it wasn’t until she moved to Paris that she realized food was her calling. There, she pursued a master’s degree in French Cultural Studies (Columbia University), while researching food culture and culinary criticism at the Sorbonne. Her greatest education took place in the city’s many markets and in her own kitchen, where she experimented with ingredients from chanterelles to sting rays. Since returning to New York, Carly has contributed to a range of food and lifestyle publications, including Honest Cooking. In 2012, she joined the ICE team as Social Media & Content Manager.

Cindi Avila, Contributor, Special Events
Cindi started working in restaurants when she was just 15 years old and her love of food has only grown from there! It was only appropriate that, years later, she would go on to graduate from the Chef’s Training Program at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City with a specialty in vegetarian and vegan food. After spending a couple years working in the news media and appearing on televisions shows including “Chopped” and “Dinner Takes All”, Cindi launched her own public relations firm “Green Goddess Public Relations” with a specialization in, you guessed it, food, and oversees PR for the Marketing Department at ICE.

Virginia Monaco Contributor, Special Events
Virginia Monaco is an ICE alum and classically trained chef based out of Brooklyn, New York. She has worked in some of New York City’s finest restaurants, including Blue Hill, Al di La and the Vanderbilt where she trained in everything from hand crafting pasta to artisanal sausage making. She has appeared on Chopped and New York’s CBS2 morning show. Currently, Virginia serves as the Culinary Relations Manager for the Student Affairs department.

Sabrina SextonContributor, Culinary Arts
Sabrina Sexton loves training the next generation of chefs as an Instructor here at ICE. She believes that good cooking always starts with good ingredients and sustainably grown and harvested products are good for the consumer, community and environment. Prior to teaching and consulting, Sabrina honed her skills cooking in New York City’s finest restaurant kitchens. Cooking under Tom Colicchio at Gramercy Tavern in the pastry and culinary departments, she was ultimately promoted to Tavern Chef, running the casual front room of the restaurant.

James BriscioneContributor, Culinary Arts
James grew up with the foods of the South. Working with James Beard Award winner Frank Stitt in Birmingham, AL, he learned to create refined Southern cuisine by selecting only the freshest local ingredients. After three years as Chef de Cuisine at Stitt’s famed Highlands Bar and Grill, he moved to New York City to work at Daniel. Working in the private dining room, James prepared four-star meals for some the restaurant’s biggest clients. He went on to compete on the first season of Food Network’s Chopped and became the show’s first ever two-time champion. He has also been featured in cooking segments for ABC News Now, delish.com, Condé Nast and Martha Stewart Radio on Sirius. His first cookbook with his wife, Brooke Parkhurst, Just Married & Cooking was released in May 2011.

Rick Smilow Contributor
Rick Smilow is the president of ICE. He acquired the school from Peter Kump in 1995, and has since expanded the school’s program offerings, gained accreditation, changed its name and physically relocated within New York City. Prior to ICE, Mr. Smilow was an entrepreneur in the food business and held marketing positions at Nabisco Brands. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Emory University and an M.B.A. in marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Smilow is a director of C-CAP (Careers Through Culinary Arts Programs), City Harvest and is on the advisory board of Action Against Hunger. In 2010, he authored his first book, Culinary Careers.

Stephen Zagor Contributor, Culinary Management
Zagor began teaching at the Institute of Culinary Education in 2001 and is now the Dean of Culinary Business and Industry Studies, overseeing the school’s highly regarded Culinary Management, Hospitality Management, and Entrepreneurial courses. Over the course of his career, Zagor has developed and owned a multi-concept restaurant group, served as the general manager of a $10 million New York City restaurant, and owned and operated an award-winning limited service restaurant. Zagor has appeared as an expert on The Food Network’s “Recipes For Success”, and he has been quoted in major publications such as Forbes, The New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, and The New York Post.

Hillery Wheeler Contributor, Recreational Cooking
Hillery spent her formative years traveling the world, and now she’s traveling the kitchens at ICE! As a child of a military family with its fair share of culinary curiosity, Hillery describes herself as an “accidental foodie” who grew up loving and appreciating good food and drink and is now set on learning how to make it herself. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in Mass and Political Communication, Hillery returned to her family roots in New York with a well-stocked kitchen and absolutely no furniture – priorities were in order! Hillery currently works in the admissions department at The Institute of Culinary Education and looks forward to providing an inside look as the Recreational Class Contributor on DICED.

Tim Bruderek Contributor, Recreational Cooking
Tim graduated from Marist College with a degree in Commuications, where he also worked for the college newspaper and radio station. After college, Tim moved to Colorado, where he launched a career in sales, marketing and web design. He relocated to New York in 2010 and followed his passion for food to ICE, joining the our marketing team in 2012. When Tim isn’t in or around the kitchen, he’s an avid collector of vinyl records and can be found poking through dusty record bins. (Huge Beatles fan!)

Danamarie McKiernan Contributor, “Life as a Culinary Student”
Danamarie graduated from the ICE Culinary Management program in September 2012, and 5 days later jumped into the Culinary Arts program. She looks forward to recounting her experience as a student on the ICE blog, and we look forward to following her bright future when she graduates in August 2013.

Jackie Ourman Contributor, “Life as a Culinary Student”
Jackie is a mom of 3 with celiac disease and multiple food allergies. A 2012 graduate of the Culinary Management program, she received the Nespresso Top Student Award for being the student who has demonstrated overall excellence in their studies and industry-preparedness. She is currently enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at ICE.

©2013 Institute of Culinary Education, Inc.