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.

The popularity of Korean BBQ is growing, fueled by the DIY aspect of making dinner with friends and family and eating as you cook. You don’t have to have a table with a built-in grill to enjoy your favorite flavor-packed grilled meats at home: grill pans on your stove or an outdoor grill are great stand-ins. Your menu starts with gyeran jjim (steamed egg custard); then moves to the grilling of sokalbi gui (beef short ribs) and samgyeopsal (pork belly) and assorted banchan (spicy vegetable side dishes) complete the meal.

Braising - searing at a high temperature, then finishing in a liquid at a lower temperature to infuse flavor - can add umami and more to pretty much any meal! And the best part is, it creates tender, juicy dishes with a minimum of effort. We'll master this technique as we make a braised banquet of: Guinness-braised short ribs with creamy polenta; braised chicken thighs with mushrooms and balsamic vinegar and braised fennel.

Put the fun into fine dining in this exploratory class with ICE's Vice President Barry Tonkinson. Learn about creative a fun and intriguing menu using modern techniques and seasonal ingredients. In this class we will make Barry's fun take "Fish and Chips 2.0" as an appetizer using pommes souffle and citrus cured fish and salmon caviar. "Tempura fried Zucchini flower, Zucchini Carpaccio, Caponata and Basil Oil" and "Spiced Duck, with Charred Leek, Hibiscus, Lemon and Chives"