Tapas Party

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.

A tender, flaky and light crust is what often separates a good pie from a great one. In this class, experienced ICE pastry chefs teach you how to make that elusive perfect pie crust --- great for sweet or savory pies. Under their expert instruction, you’ll learn the same techniques and tips used by ICE career pastry grads at New York's top restaurants. You'll make and work with pâte brisée --- which you'll then use to make your very own double crust apple pie from scratch.

Knowing how to use knives skillfully is the foundation of all cooking, and doesn't have to be scary or frustrating. Many home and even professional cooks don't always wield a knife correctly, however, which increases food preparation time and makes the process harder --- and less safe --- than it should be. Simply put, good knives are the foundation of a well-equipped kitchen. This class remedies all these basic issues: You will learn how to slice, dice, chop, and much more in the safest and most efficient manner. This class will even guide you through the practice of keeping your knives sharp and handling them correctly.

Italy produces wine from hundreds of different grape varieties, making its wine varied and engaging, yet perhaps a bit hard to grasp. This tasting concentrates on the wines from Toscana, Italy's third-largest quality wine-producing region. Although many of the wines are Sangiovese-based, the distinctive terroirs and other cultivated varieties offer a diverse tasting opportunity, ranging from some tasty whites to Old World and even international-style reds, topping off with traditional sweet. ICE's resident sommelier, Richard Vayda, will also discuss Tuscan wine history and Italian wine labeling. Regional cheeses will accompany the eight or more wines featured in the tasting.