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Aside from offering a slate of expertly-crafted in-person classes, a robust online campus (which now includes associate degree programs) and an ever-growing selection of continuing education classes, ICE is also commemorating its 50th anniversary this year.

The celebrations for this historic milestone have already begun: at the beginning of the year, we recognized 50 distinguished alumni for their outstanding contributions to the culinary and hospitality industries. Additionally, ICE is offering five student scholarships — one per decade of the school's 50 year history — worth up to $25,000 each.

The revelry continues at ICE LA's annual commencement on May 12 at the California Institute of Technology's Beckman Auditorium. The ceremony honors this year's graduates with diplomas and sage words of wisdom from two venerable speakers.

Meet ICE LA's Commencement Speakers

This year, ICE LA is honored to host two renowned chefs as alumni speaker and keynote speaker. Both have close ties to the Los Angeles culinary community. Our alumni speaker is Chef Steve Samson, chef and owner of acclaimed LA restaurant Rossoblu. Our keynote speaker is Chef Curtis Stone, who is known for his TV appearances and as the chef and owner of the Michelin-starred Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant.

Chef Steve Samson

Chef Steve is an ICE Culinary Arts graduate and one of our 50 distinguished alumni. Since its opening in 2017, his restaurant has been a staple in LA's Fashion District and has acquired numerous awards and accolades. Most notably, it was a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand pick from 2019 to 2023 and was named #10 in the most recent edition of the 101 Best Restaurants in LA by legendary former LA Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold.

Outside of Rossoblu, Chef Steve's southern California restaurant roots run deep: his first restaurant was Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, which netted him multiple awards, including "Rising Star Southern California" from StarChefs in 2010. 

After years serving high-end pizza in Orange County, Chef Steve brought his talents to Los Angeles with the opening of Italian restaurant Sotto in 2011. Sotto garnered immediate praise — it was named one of LA's best restaurants year after year, including five mentions in Jonathan Gold's annual list — before closing in 2019. The year prior, Chef Steve opened Superfine Pizza, which serves inventive slices that have garnered inclusion in several "Best Pizza in LA" lists.

Chef Steve has been a guest judge on numerous TV cooking competitions, among them "Hell's Kitchen" and "Top Chef All Stars."

Chef Curtis Stone

ICE LA's keynote speaker, Curtis Stone, is no stranger to the screen.

Oft-called a "celebrity chef," Chef Curtis is widely known as the host of "Top Chef Masters" and "Take Home Chef"; as a contestant on "Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend"; and as a judge on "MasterChef Australia," "Top Chef Junior" and, most recently, "Crime Scene Kitchen" on FOX.

Though his TV career is illustrious, Chef Curtis' first love is hospitality. He began his kitchen career at 18 in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Soon after, he moved to Europe to study under eminent chef Marco Pierre White, and he remained there for eight years. 

In 2014, he opened Maude, his first restaurant, in Beverly Hills, and immediately joined the ranks of the tastemakers defining the Los Angeles' restaurant scene. Eater LA named Maude restaurant of the year; it was a semifinalist for the 2015 James Beard Foundation's "Best New Restaurant" award; and TIME magazine proclaimed it one of the best new restaurants in the world. 

The intimate 24-seat restaurant served a nine-course tasting menu curated by Chef Curtis and Chef de Cuisine Osiel Gastelum, . Maude's inviting aura and spectacular food earned it a Michelin star in 2019, which the restaurant maintained until its closure in September 2024. It has since been reimagined as The Pie Room by Curtis Stone, a bakery in the same space.

Chef Curtis is also the chef and owner of Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant in Hollywood, which he opened in 2016 in partnership with his brother Luke Stone. The chandelier-trimmed restaurant features a menu centered on fire-based cooking, as well as a butcher shop where customers can purchase premium cuts of meat. Gwen won a Michelin star in 2022, which it has retained since.

Both chefs bring decades of expertise to this year's commencement ceremony — an apt fit for the 50th anniversary of the . We are excited to welcome them to the commencement stage and hear the reflective advice they offer the next generation of culinary professionals.