By Carly DeFilippo

Chef Chris Gesualdi is no slouch. Last night, he whipped 16 novice chefs into shape, prepping a 10-course New Year’s Eve hors d’oeuvres menu in just under three hours. Not only was it one of the most organized cooking classes I’ve taken, it was also one of the most intriguing.

Gesualdi is not only a veritable fountain of culinary wisdom (he’s logged serious kitchen time with Thomas Keller, and worked at some of New York’s most renown restaurants), but a genuinely curious cook. Called “The Scavenger” by his colleagues, he enjoys working with odd bits leftover from other classes. Parsley stems? Throw them in “sachet d’épices” to season your broth. Organ meats? Turn them into such delicacies such as a foie gras terrine. And when it comes to troubleshooting a broken mayonnaise or keeping your mousse from deflating, Chef Chris is your guy.

When learning from a great teacher, it’s the tips that aren’t in the recipe packet that stick with you. Sure, we made a killer tarragon emulsion last night, but – more importantly – we learned how to properly care for the chinois through which it is strained. I couldn’t be more excited to whip up another batch of brandade, but if my guests aren’t big salt cod fans, I can also substitute a combination of sole, lobster and scallops. And that immersion blender I was so keen on purchasing? I’d actually get a smoother puree in a high-quality blender like a Vita-Prep.

Students shred pork for one of Chef Chris’ cocktail snacks.

In short, with Chef Chris, we didn’t learn how to follow a recipe – we learned how to cook. So tonight, when I’m assembling these hors d’oeuvres to share with my New Year’s guests, I won’t have my eyes glued to a piece of paper. I’ll taste, season and combine ingredients instinctually, because – as Chef Chris humbly insisted – it’s all up to the preference of the chef.

Foie Gras Mousse – Garnished with Minced Black Truffles

Recipe by Chef Chris Gesualdi

Ingredients

• 2 pounds foie gras terrine
• 2 sheets gelatin
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Minced black truffles, as needed
• Pre-baked pastry shells (or toasted, sliced baguette)

Instructions

1. Place gelatin sheets in water to “bloom”.
2. Puree foie gras in food processor.
3. Remove gelatin from water, squeeze out extra water. Place in a small sauce pan with 1/4 cream to gently heat and dissolve.
4. When gelatin is dissolved, gradually add cream mixture to (running) food processor.
5. Gradually add 1/2 cup heavy cream to food processor.
6. When evenly mixed, remove foie mousse from processor, and refrigerate until chilled.
7. Pipe mousse into pre-baked pastry shells or onto toasted baguette slices.
8. Garnish with minced black truffles.

Notes
To lighten recipe, you can use veal or duck stock instead of cream.

This week, ICE Chef Instructor Chris Gesualdi led a hands-on demonstration on the nature of hydrocolloids and how these common ingredients can transform the texture of everyday foods. This class was the first of its kind for our recreational cooking classes, continuing on ICE’s modernist cooking curriculum for our career training students.The class taught everyday cooks how to use innovative techniques and modern technology to create a unique spin on well-known dishes in their own kitchens at home.

Chef Chris helped students unlock the mysteries of hydrocolloids and demonstrated how these ingredients can be used in the home and applied in a variety of cooking techniques. More…

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) hosted their annual conference in New York this past weekend. Each year, the conference brings together culinary professionals from across the globe to meet, network and learn the latest trends and developments happening in the culinary community and industry. Starting last Thursday and running through Monday, the conference was an incredible series of classes, seminars and lectures. Held in a different city each year, this year brought thousands of professionals to New York City to share their passion for food in the culinary capital of America. This year, ICE was a sponsor of the conference. From volunteering to teaching classes, our students, alumni and staff participated in all aspects.

The theme of this year’s conference was The Fashion of Food — Where Food, Fashion and Media Connect. Speakers such as Grant Achatz, Dan Barber, Melissa Clark, Amanda Hesser, Adam Rapoport, Ruth Reichl, Marcus Samuelsson and Kim Severson met to discuss topics such as The Fashion of Food, Is Farm-to-Table Just the Latest Fashion, and Why Isn’t Cooking Enough?.

In addition to these featured sessions, the weekend was filled with smaller, more focused and intimate sessions with an astonishing range of professionals discussing incredibly diverse topics. The classes included How to Write for Online Magazines, Food Festivals as Dynamic Marketing Tools, and The Evolving Pleasures of Chocolates. There was truly something for everyone and endless opportunities to learn more about all aspects of the food industry. More…

ICE Chef Instructor Mike Schwartz Leads a Session on Fermentation

The past four days have been a very exciting weekend for the culinary community. The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) hosted their annual conference in New York. Starting on Thursday, the conference has been packed full of events, seminars and lectures with amazing culinary professionals from all aspects of the food world.

One of the highlights of the conference was a full day of classes here at ICE. This morning the classes with ICE Chef Instructors included Vegetable Proteins: Seitan and Tofu with Peter Berley, Perfecting Your Macaron Skills with Kathryn Gordon, and Fermentation for the 21st Century with Mike Schwartz. Classes with guest chefs included How to Make an Awesome Cup of Coffee with Jonathan Rubenstein of Joe The Art of Coffee, and Whole Animal Butchery with Matt Jennings of Farmstead and Adam Tiberio of Tiberio Custom Meats. More…

More and more ICE students are interested in learning the modernist techniques that are becoming so popular in restaurant kitchens across the world. Last night, one of ICE’s resident experts, Chef Instructor Chris Gesualdi, taught a class on how to use hydrocolloids, or gums, in the kitchen.

In this hands-on class, Chef Chris taught alumni and current ICE students about how to use xanthan gum and carrageenan, as well as perform spherification and reverse spherification. For example, to start the class he blended water with precise weights of xantham gum measured by percentage to demonstrate the different textures the gums could create. More…

This week, the National Student Leadership Conference held their first ever Culinary Arts & Careers conference at ICE. For over 20 years, the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) has invited a select group of outstanding high school students to participate in its fast-paced, high-level and interactive summer sessions. NSLC provides students with the opportunity to experience life on a college campus; develop essential leadership skills; and explore a future career through exciting simulations, exclusive site visits and interactive meetings with renowned leaders in their chosen field.

Students came from all over the country to work with ICE’s Chef Instructors and learn the ins and outs of the culinary industry in America’s culinary capital — NYC. The students worked closely with ICE Chef Instructor Chris Gesualdi to develop their skills in the kitchen. Learning how to roast chickens, prepare vegetables and a plethora of other techniques. The students had just one week to learn the fundamentals of life in the kitchen. More…

Yesterday, we were inspired by the students in Chef Instructor Chris Gesualdi’s class who were making sausages and frankfurters and brought you recipes from ICE Director of Culinary Arts Program Mike Handal on how to make your own ketchup and mustard for your hot dogs on July 4. The students in the class were learning the ins and outs of making sausages and Chef Chris taught the class the art of sausage making and all the necessary steps of the complex process. For example, it is important to pay close attention to the temperature of the meat and to keep all of your grinding equipment in the freezer, where it’s covered, clean and cold. While the process isn’t simple, the results are definitely delicious. Maybe next year we’ll try to make our own sausages for grilling on July 4. For now, we have Chef Mike’s recipes for the perfect sauerkraut and onions for hot dogs to complete the set of condiment and topping recipes.

Sauerkraut
Ingredients
2 pounds sauerkraut
1 bay leaf
5 juniper berries
5 whole black peppercorns
1 spring of thyme
2 sprigs of parsley
1 fluid ounce canola oil
1 small (3 ounces) Spanish onion, minced
4 fluid ounces white wine
16 fluid ounces chicken stock
Salt to taste More…

This week, Chef Instructor Chris Gesualdi has been teaching his Culinary Arts class the ins and outs of making sausages. On the menu were chicken sausages, Italian sausages, bologna and more — but we only had eyes for the frankfurters. As July 4 approaches, we have hot dogs on the mind and it was fascinating to watch the students prepare their own hot dogs from start to finish. They had to carefully monitor the temperature of the meat when grinding, mix the meat, stuff it into casing, poach the sausages and then smoke them to create perfect hot dogs. Plus, after all that, they still had to decide how to top them. The students kept it simple and stuck to sautéed onions and mayo, but we grabbed a couple recipes from Director of Culinary Arts Program Mike Handal for his special DIY hot dog condiments. Here are the recipes for basic ketchup and mustard. Stay tuned for onions and sauerkraut tomorrow.

Mustard
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Coleman’s mustard powder
6 fluid ounces cold water
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon gin (optional) More…

Ever have one of those weeks at work where you felt like you constantly under pressure and you couldn’t get away from it — like you were working in a vacuum?

I just had one of the weeks; but no one around here seems to feel very sorry for me. Chef Chris Geualdi and I recently got an assignment from our boss and we knew the pressure was on us, heck it was all around us. We were shipped off to Venice, Italy for a week of training in sous vide technology.

We visited Orved, an amazing company in Musile, a small town on the Piave River just 30 km north of Venice. It was a phenomenal time to eat and learn. I’ll tell you more about the food later; first, lets get down to the really fun stuff — sous vide. Since sous vide is likely to become a regular subject on this blog, let’s start with the basics.

What is sous vide?
The term sous vide literally translated means ‘under vacuum’ in French. It refers to food that is sealed in a vacuum packed in food safe bags. The method of vacuum sealing meats was originally developed to help extend their shelf life, but is now commonly used for to cook meats also. The term sous vide is often incorrectly used to refer to all types of low temperature cooking. More…

Last week, Chef Instructor Chris Gesualdi spent all week cooking a variety of different cuts of meats all using one technique — sous-vide. Food is sealed in airtight plastic bags and then immersed in a water bath held at a specific temperature using an immersion circulator. The method is used in some of the world’s top restaurants as an example of modern cooking turning to the world of science for new techniques to take dining to the next level.

Chef Chris has been studying the technique, even keeping his own immersion circulator at ICE. Last week he and a group of students turned their attention to veal breast, short ribs and brisket — all tough cuts of meat that are traditionally braised for extended periods to become tender. Chef Chris set out to try three different sets of meat, all set at variable times and temperatures, to see which would result in tender meat, but being careful to make sure it was not mushy. He cooked all the cuts at 66ºC for 48 hours, 62ºC for 72 hours, 72ºC for 36 hours. Just to give you an idea of how low that temperature is, the boiling point of water is 100ºC. More…