Chocolate forms the backbone of many of our most beloved desserts and confections, yet the complex techniques required for success often elude many cooks. Building upon our introductory bean-to-bar experience, students will further utilize our exclusive house-made chocolate in finished preparations with a range of origins and flavor profiles. In this demonstration and hands-on class, students will learn the fundamentals of chocolate product identification, basic tempering, molding, and decoration techniques, as well as finished confections and desserts that best showcase chocolate’s alluring properties. Recipes covered in class will include Single-Origin Bonbons; Chocolate Caramels; Chocolate Crémeux, and Chocolate Ice Cream. Students will leave the class with samples of the items produced, and exclusive bars available only at ICE. Michael Laiskonis joined ICE in 2012 fresh off of an eight-year tenure as Executive Pastry Chef at Le Bernardin. Laiskonis has long been one of the industry's most creative and talented chefs. He helped Le Bernardin earn four stars from "The New York Times" and three Michelin stars. He was named to America's Top Ten Pastry Chefs by "Pastry Art & Design" in both 2002 and 2003 and was "Bon Appétit's" Pastry Chef of the Year in 2004. Best known for his use of modern techniques to reinvent classic desserts, he was also awarded the coveted James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2007. Most recently, Chef Laiskonis received the IACP's 2014 Culinary Professional of the Year Award, one of the most distinguished honors in the culinary field. Laiskonis has been an active writer, in print and on-line, including "Gourmet", "Saveur", and "The Atlantic" and has appeared on television shows such as "Top Chef: Just Desserts". While Laiskonis is best known as a pastry chef, he spent most of the first half of his career on the savory side of the kitchen.
You will work in teams to execute the class menu. At the end of class, participants gather to enjoy the food they have prepared. Wine is served with meals in most classes. All class menus are subject to change. While a snack platter is offered in both morning and evening classes, you may want to consider a light snack before joining us for class. Students are encouraged to bring a light lunch or dinner to all pastry classes.
You will work in teams to execute the class menu. At the end of class, participants gather to enjoy the food they have prepared. Wine is served with meals in most classes. All class menus are subject to change. While a snack platter is offered in both morning and evening classes, you may want to consider a light snack before joining us for class. Students are encouraged to bring a light lunch or dinner to all pastry classes.
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.
There's nothing like handmade pasta's flavor and texture, and in this class, we'll have a blast leaning how to make fresh handmade pasta, stuffed pasta, perfect sauces and all the accompaniments! There's nothing like handmade pasta's flavor and texture. Together, we'll learn to make dough the Old World way, then how to shape, cut and stuff it. You and your partner will create a complete fresh Italian dinner of: pappardelle with Bolognese; burro e salvia (butternut squash ravioli with sage butter).
Master some of Thai cuisine's greatest hits. You and a loved one will learn all about this country's exciting dishes and fresh ingredients, with their distinctly complex spicy, sweet, sour and salty components. You and your loved one will make and enjoy: green papaya salad; pad thai; yellow chicken curry; and green shrimp curry.
Austria and Germany are not often the first places people think of when it comes to wine. Too bad, because Austria is much more than just Grüner Veltliner. Although Germany’s Rieslings are considered some of the world’s best, there is much more to explore. During this wine tour, Richard Vayda, ICE’s resident sommelier, will help demystify the grapes, regulations and labeling that often keep wine lovers away from these great selections. The tasting will include some light matching snacks to accompany these food-friendly wines.
Ranked as America’s Best Culinary School (USAToday 2019), our roster of Chef-Instructors have run top kitchens around the globe.