By Tim Bruderek

Dave Crofton, head baker at One Girl Cookies, is a warm guy with a big personality. He has a unique passion for baking that’s inspiring to watch. But Dave’s story does not follow the traditional path to success.

Dave graduated from ICE’s Pastry & Baking Arts program in 2003, working during the day and taking his classes in the evening. Upon completing the program, like most graduations, Dave began his search for a job in the field, and his Career Services advisor gave him a lead that sounded interesting. Little did he know this new job would change his life for good.

Dawn Casale, founder and namesake of the Brooklyn-based bakery One Girl Cookies, was becoming well-known for her delectable sweet treats, but was seeking some help with the growing demand and notoriety of her business. Dave contributed his baking talents, and soon enough, the pair was working diligently to make One Girl a success. But they got more than they planned – they ended up falling in love and getting married.

Not too long ago, Susan Stockton, Senior Vice President, Culinary Production at Food Network, was a culinary arts student at ICE. I first met Ms. Stockton when she spoke about Food Network and Cooking Channel at the school in August 2012. As a recent graduate, I immediately began to imagine how inspiring it would be for current ICE students, prospective students, and other alumni to hear a bit more about her incredible journey, experiences, and accomplishments in the food industry.

When I contacted her to request an interview on behalf of ICE, Ms. Stockton graciously accepted. We met at the Food Network offices at Chelsea Market. Here’s what she had to say:

I’ve heard that you’ve had previous careers in film, as a florist, a caterer, and a graphic designer. What made you decided to make another career change and attend culinary school?

I had a 12-year-old graphic design firm based in Boston in the late 80’s. At that time, Boston was in a recession, much like we are now. Clients were cutting budgets left and right. I’d also just met my husband. It felt like a good time to jump start a new life with this new person—who had a new job offer in New York City!

The last thing you want to do is open up a New York design studio in a recession. That forced me to stop and ask myself what I wanted to do next. What made me happy? I’d had other careers, been schooled in fine arts and writing and had landed a job as an art director for a small film company. After a few years, I opened a tropical plant store in Boston with movie posters collected from that job and called it "Hollywood & Vine". I always tell career-changing students, everything you learn from past careers can help you leverage your next career. Just be sure to follow your passion. So, that’s what I did.

I’d always loved cooking and entertaining. I got that from my family. Every get-together revolved around huge spreads of food. And I’d been casually catering dinner parties for friends in Boston and really enjoyed it. So when it came time to move to New York, I felt the desire to begin again.

What were you doing before you enrolled at ICE, and what inspired you to change careers?

I was working in Singapore at the time, running event logistics for MTV music events in Asia. It was great fun but I was ready to learn something new and see more of the world. I always had a love for baking and wanted to take it to the next level. I also wanted to learn how to manage a food business. So I picked the ICE program because I was able to do both concurrently. It was quite intense but really fun, I learned a lot and made such good friends from around the world.

Actress, model, mom and former ICE student Catherine McCord is the founder of Weelicious.com, the online destination for family-friendly recipes. In an age when sneaking nutrition into “kids’ meals” has become the norm, Weelicious shares how to get little ones involved in the kitchen, develop children’s …

Food Start Up Help is a consulting group started by colleagues at ICE, which assists entrepreneurs in bakery-related start up concept definition and business planning, financing, menu profitability, production and operational efficiency. Today, we celebrate the success story of one of our clients, ICE Professional Pastry Program Alum and …

By Virginia Monaco

Yesterday evening, students and alumni welcomed back ICE Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Chef Ivy Stark for a demonstration of Oaxaxan Chichilo mole and Agua Fresca. Stark attended ICE when it was Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School and got her start at the renowned Border Grill. …

By Carly DeFilippo

ICE alum and Chef’s Advisory Council member Jason Apfelbaum is far from your average culinary entrepreneur. When he first enrolled, his dream was to own a boutique hotel in a remote location (and, eventually, to become the mayor of that small town). The choice to attend culinary …

ICE alum Anna Monaco is now the General Manager of the recently opened Shake Shack New Haven. ICE President, Rick Smilow stopped by the restaurant on opening night to enjoy a burger and is pictured above with Anna and Shake Shack founder, Danny Meyer. Below is an interview with …

ICE alumni are finding success through out the food world. From winning awards for food video production to receiving attention for opening new restaurants, our graduates often have many incredible achievements. Check out just some of the alumni finding success and making recent headlines throughout the industry.

* The James …

Every year, Chef Instructor Kathryn Gordon travels with a group of ICE alumni to the Loire Valley in France for the Alumni Cuisine Course in France. The students explore the cuisine and culture of the region, all the way from visiting farms to see food production to fine dining …