Before working at ICE, I had attended wine classes, but never had Lambrusco been on the menu. But after taking a class called “How to Love Lambrusco” with Joe Campanale, I feel cheated for never being given the opportunity to taste this unusual wine!

Oh, here we go again. Our beloved Mayor Mike is trying to make us all better, and the world a nicer place. We’ve snuffed smoking in restaurants and most public places; melted trans fats; listed calories: letter graded food businesses; drained giant sweet drinks; and now, the food police are back. It’s time to start voluntary (to become mandatory) composting programs.

25-year-old Jonathan Horn isn’t afraid of working hard—or taking risks. After dedicating 6 years to the pursuit of a medical career, he’s now logging long hours at ICE, as a dual Culinary Arts and Culinary Management major. Inspired by the joy his grandparents—both Holocaust survivors—brought to the table, Jon exudes an incredible passion and appreciation for the kitchen. We sat down with him to learn more about his path to ICE:

The Damask rose is known for its fine fragrance and is commercially harvested for rose oil, used in perfumery and to make rose water. The flower petals are also edible, but it blooms only once a season, so you must make plenty of these amazing preserves when you can. My neighbor has at least 100 of these shrubs, so I went over and picked pounds of roses.

When I first discovered Piquant, a blog which Ana Nicole co-runs with three other writers, I was instantly taken with the fun, colorful content. Learning that she works for one of my favorite parks (just a few avenues over from ICE!) was the cherry on top. Here's her story:

At the beginning of culinary school, you're learning from the bottom up. Start to finish. The basics. And while home cooks may take this critical step for granted, that means diving head first into “stocks”. Eight hours of class, six different stocks and eight very eager students = a recipe for a great day at ICE.

The first time I ever ate at Le Pain Quotidien was near the old town market in Nice, France. The cafe was charming, with excellent bread, spreads and other pickings. If you had suggested to me that it was a chain, I would have scoffed in disbelief. And yet, Le Pain Quotidien—whose name literally means "the daily bread"—has become a ubiquitous presence in the food industry, with upwards of 170 locations in 17 countries around the world. In fact, it was in Paris that I first realized LPQ was a chain, and even in that renown bread city with hundreds of independent bakeries, the shop's cozy tables were always crowded with happy customers.

Hilton Hotels certainly ruffled a few feathers this month, when it was announced that their largest New York City property would discontinue room service to all 2,000 of its rooms.

What do you get when you cross a group of high-achieving specialists in molecular biology, physics, and fine arts with a burning curiosity for the science of cooking? Three best-selling authors and culinary pioneers who are forging our current understanding of the science of food.