In celebration of #FCIFlashback month, ICC hosted a special Bastille Day Wine & Cheese pairing event with specialty French cheeses provided by Paris Gourmet. For this event, which was the first wine and cheese pairing event I’ve ever attended, I was seated in a room with a Master Sommelier and 50 knowledgeable wine professionals. As a recent college graduate, a 22-year old lover of white wine (the sweeter, the better), and someone who knows little about wine, I was nervous. I rarely am intimidated by anything, but I felt clueless about how to participate in a tasting with people who had been doing this for who-knows-how long.

ICC grads Fabian von Hauske and Jeremiah Stone win Food & Wine’s “People’s Best New Chef” for New York!

International Culinary Center has a long list of famous alumni, the most impressive of whom have photos and imprints of their hands mounted ceremoniously on the walls in the school’s hallways. This huge network of game changers, thought leaders, rule breakers and style makers have helped shape the culinary intelligence of America as we know it today. Two exceptional renegades come to mind: