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I lay a golden slice of Pommes Anna in the upper right third of the plate. Then seven sautéed yellow beans find their place parallel to the potato wedge while a scattering of bright green buttered peas are set across the beans like a bridge. I place two sautéed tournedos of beef in the bottom center and finish my canvas with a spoonful of truffle sauce. Welcome to my heaven on earth, where plate design transforms into an artistic movement and beauty is in the eye of the eater.

Vegetarians beware. “An omnivore’s DELIGHT” should be the sub-title to this culinary class series. Chef Jane Brock led our full 16-person class through the ins and outs of how to cook a proper steak during ICE’s wildly popular The Great New York Steakhouse class.

First and foremost, I promised an update as to how my Christmas culinary debut went. The good news? We didn’t end up at The Mandarin Palace. The bad news? Apparently altitude – as in 10,000-feet-plus altitude - affects cooking times and I’m lucky we had the meal I prepared for (a very late) dinner, instead of breakfast the next day.

From executive chefs at top-tier restaurants and specialty food start-ups, to nationally recognized bakeries and food media moguls, ICE Culinary alumni achieve success across any and all platforms. See the list below for ICE Culinary alumni who are making recent headlines while they launch and grow their businesses and careers nation-wide.

It was worth braving the winter wonderland that was Manhattan on Saturday evening to get to the wine room of ICE Culinary, where Richard Vayda, Director of Wine Studies at ICE Culinary, led a Champagne Gala.

My classmates and I joke that with each module we should be given a new uniform, one size larger than the previous. That way, by Module 5, we’ll be outfitted in just a white sheet with a piece of string; an ICE toga of sorts.

As an adamant traveler one of my favorite things to do is explore a new city via its food.

It seems like every week now marks a turning point in my transformation from self-taught home-cook to budding culinary professional.

“The most important thing is to document your food narrative,” Chef Marcus Samuelsson said last night during his demo for his latest cookbook, The New American Table.

On Monday, November 16, we arrived at the Condirama, Felchlin Chocolate's teaching facility, and began our four days in class with a taste of Felchlin’s Xocolatl hot chocolate drink.