Simple Cake-Decorating Techniques

ICE’s Fine Cooking series are the classes on which our recreational program’s reputation was built. This intensive course expands on our Fine Cooking 1 series and takes a deeper dive into essential culinary techniques. These full-participation classes teach fundamental skills, not recipes. This course covers everything from fileting a fish, to properly sautéing, to cover poaching techniques and fundamental sauce making. As you advance through the series, you’ll gradually come to understand each cooking concept. You’ll have a firm grasp of ingredients and equipment; you’ll know why things happen; you'll learn how to avoid and correct mistakes. Most importantly, you’ll gain the experience you need to cook with confidence and pleasure - without relying strictly on recipes. Each class culminates with a student-prepared meal. Prerequisite: Fine Cooking 1.

Sushi-making doesn't have to be limited to the view from a seat at your local Japanese restaurant. Bring the sushi bar home by practicing your skills at preparing nigiri (sashimi fish on top of thumb-size, compact sushi rice), perfecting the texture of rice, and learning the proper techniques to create a stellar hand roll. Once you've gotten the basics down, you will try your hand at: sushi rice; maki and futomaki rolls (both thin and thick), inside-out rolls; nigiri and temaki (hand roll).. You will soon learn that sushi is something you too can master.

The elusive French Macaron demystified! Learn how to make delicious macarons from our experienced pastry chefs while working in some of the finest teaching kitchens in NYC. In this hands-on class you will make your own batch of macarons from shell to fillings! Choose any color you like and fill them with your choice of milk chocolate caramel ganache, dark chocolate ganache, hazelnut ganache or passionfruit curd.

Today's best French cooking combines time-tested techniques with classic French ingredients in modern flavor combinations. We’ll put all of these principles into practice as we assemble a banquet par excellence, consisting of: escargot (snails); magret de canard aux cerise (duck breast with cherries); rack of lamb Persillade; and sautéed carrots with quatre épices.