In February, ICE student Richard Chan competed in the tenth annual S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. Though he didn’t take home the top prize, we are still incredibly proud of the dish he created and how he cooked at the competition. We wanted to tell you some more about him and how he developed his passion for food. Now on his externship at Eleven Madison Park, he’s an incredible example of how following your passion can lead to a whole new career in the culinary arts.

Why did you enter the S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition?
I entered the competition because I want to test my culinary skills in a highly competitive setting with other chefs to continue to grow my culinary skills. You are only as good as your last dish so you have to continue moving. Ultimately it helps not only in your culinary skills but development in your character.

Why do you think you should be the next the S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef?
I want to be the next S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef because I have the love, the passion and the drive for food. I also always want to continue to learn and strive to be better because in the culinary world what is popular today is already in the past tomorrow. More…

ICE Senior Career Services Advisor Amy Quazza and Director of Career Services Maureen Drum Fagin with Outstanding Chef Award Winner José Andrés

As we welcome spring, food lovers and passionate diners everywhere look forward to the annual James Beard Awards. Celebrated close to the anniversary of James Beard’s birthday in May, the awards are given to the best chefs, restaurants and media in the country. ICE founder Peter Kump helped launch the James Beard Foundation and ICE is proud to maintain close ties to the organization and their hard work to promote and celebrate food in America. The Awards are regarded as the most prestigious awards in the culinary industry, often referred to as the “Oscars” of food.

This year, the awards ceremonies and festivities were spread over the entire weekend as the food world gathered in NYC for a celebration of all things culinary. On Friday night, the foundation held their Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards, hosted by Ted Allen of Food Network’s Chopped and ICE alum Gail Simmons of Bravo’s Top Chef. In fact, Top Chef, took home the award for best Television Show, In Studio or Fixed Location. ICE alums Dominique Andrews and Marie Ostrosky were also nominated for the second year in a row in the Television Special category. More…

Soft Poached Eggs with Egg Zabaione at Eleven Madison Park

I have had fresh white truffles from Italy about four times in my life. On December 13, I had more of them in one night than anyone deserves, served by the chefs at Eleven Madison Park, Marea and Locanda Verde.

It began with a charitable deed. At a recent American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) fundraiser, I successfully bid on a silent auction lot titled “Truffle Quest.” The evening was generously donated by John Magazino, president and founder of Primizie, a vibrant NYC specialty food distributor. John is one of America’s leading purveyors of white and black truffles from Europe. During the fall truffle season, he visits many of NYC’s top restaurants three or four days or nights a week, selling and delivering truffles. With portable small weight scales, and handwritten sales notes, these transactions look like movie screen drug deals. In this case, the “high” is legal.

Eleven Madison Park Sous Chef James Kent Selects White Truffles

White truffles are rare, valuable and sought after by food connoisseurs around the world. The most prized ones come from the Piedmont region of Italy. They are hunted for and harvested at night, by local foragers with trained pigs or dogs. The hunt happens at night to increase the odds that the harvester’s successful sites will stay a secret, and perhaps to hide the yield from the local taxation authorities. Once found, truffles go to consolidators who hustle to the airport. From the woods in Italy, to a plate in Manhattan, the commute often takes place in only 24 to 48 hours. More…

If what lies beneath is important in making cakes, it is appearance that counts in plating desserts. In the last few lessons of Module III, our class broke down into four groups and tackled plated desserts from legendary four-star restaurant chefs such as Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernandin and our very own Module I Chef Instructor Nicole Kaplan, formerly of Del Posto and Eleven Madison Park. Each team was assigned desserts and made up a production plan. We were expected to present 14 identical plated desserts to the class when all components were ready.

This type of class was different from all the other lessons we have had up to this point. Yes, we have presented in the past. We presented our soufflés and crème anglaise for our practical in Module I and our cookies just a few weeks ago, but with so many aspects going into the finished product, teamwork was essential. It was important to review the items that needed the most preparation time and get those done first in order to be as efficient as possible. Once all of the ingredients were ready, it was time to set up our desserts for presentation to the class.

As I saw the first batch of plates go down on the table and each component being added as if on an assembly line, I felt a surge of energy. Watching the pieces of a puzzle come together into an elegant dessert was really exciting. Our first assigned dessert was Michael Laiskonis’ Chocolate-Peanut Tart with Lemon Confit, Praline-Citrus Sorbet and Peanut Butter Powder, creating a perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors. On the second day of plating, we were assigned a Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with Grapefruit, Avocado and Basil Foam, also from Chef Laiskonis. The experience of assembling this dessert on the plate made me realize how much plating can determine the appeal of food. The flavors Chef Laiskonis put together were fresh and brilliant, but we were less sure about how to best present the various components. We tried several possibilities, but seeing the less-than-thrilled faces of those we were presenting to, it was evident that we hadn’t quite perfected the presentation and what’s on the surface does matter. More…

When ICE President Rick Smilow and Anne E. McBride wrote Culinary Careers: How to Get Your Dream Job in Food they discovered a plethora of food jobs they had never heard of before. Since the book’s release, they have been discovering even more interesting career paths in the food world. DICED shares some of them with you in a reoccurring feature, “Unique Culinary Careers.”

Claire Handleman describes herself as a “freelance cook.” She completed the Culinary Arts program at ICE in 2006. Now, she works as one of our Kitchen Assistants, helping cook for a variety of private events. She does similar work helping with banquets at Del Posto and catering with Olivier Cheng and Abigail Kirsch. But in addition, she has worked with Food Network and The Cooking Channel. You may have seen her on Cook Like An Iron Chef with Michael Symon. Never one to turn down an interesting opportunity, she also travels extensively and chronicles her journeys on her blog, Passport to Eat.

What has your career path been like?
I feel pretty lucky that I’ve had so many different opportunities within the food world, whether it’s writing about food, cooking in four-star restaurants, such as Jean Georges, Eleven Madison Park and Del Posto, or cooking on a TV set. When you’re totally passionate about your job, nothing feels like work. I rarely wake up and think “I don’t want to go to work today.” Work doesn’t feel like work to me. I’d do it for free (and have very often worked for free) because I love it. I seize every opportunity to learn. If someone needs help with a cocktail event, which I know very little about, I’ll do it. If my friend needs a hand with a backyard BBQ, I’ll do it. There’s always something to be learned from every situation. And in taking every opportunity, I also get to meet a lot of people. That’s how I can keep diversifying my skills. I also push myself to do things outside of my daily jobs. I want to constantly be working on something and working towards a goal. My next goal is to teach people about how to travel and what to eat around the world. More…