International Culinary Center OR Institute for Culinary Education ?

If you can venture a bit out of NYC (Hyde Park) The Culinary Institute of America is wonderful!

As a 20+ year member of the New York Culinary community who did not attend either of these schools, I'm going to say that each of the schools you're considering have their strengths. It's a pity you cannot visit them both before enrolling to see which one fits you best. Both schools have outstanding faculty and fine reputations among the community.
If I were considering attending these schools today, I would probably prefer International Culinary Center, especially for the on-site restaurant experience. And btw, it's a very good place to dine!

Hi Cory!

My name is Carly and I'm a current culinary student at ICE. I absolutely love my program. It covers everything from knife skills and butchery to the classic dishes of international cuisines, to pastry/baking and modern plating. Every year, there are dozens of free lectures and cooking demonstrations with the best chefs and entrepreneurs in the business. And the career services team not only helps you find an internship at a culinary business specifically suited to your interests, but they also provide you with lifelong support in your job search.

But the best part of studying at ICE is undoubtedly the community—most notably, the instructors. They are so knowledgable and their passion for cooking is inspiring. Even if you can't visit ICE, you can actually "meet" many of the instructors on the ICE blog, so you can get a sense of who you'll be studying with in the kitchen (http://blog.ice.edu/?s=%22meet+chef%22).

I hope that helps!

Hi Cory:

I graduated from International Culinary Center's Professional Culinary Arts evening program in 2012. I can easily say it was one of the best experiences I have ever had, and a choice that I am incredibly proud of. Every student gets very personal, individualized attention from the chef-instructors with ICC's low student to teacher ratio. You never have a moment to get lost in a class or fall behind because your chef will fight to see you succeed. Also, you are constantly exposed to some of the biggest names in food, particularly with their deans: Jacques Pepin, Alain Sailhac, Andre Soltner, Jose Andres, Jacques Torres, Ron Ben-Israel. You never know who you'll see walking down the hall each day! Career students have the option to live in nearby student housing, just a short walk from Chinatown and Little Italy. I personally didn’t live in the dorms because I am from New York City, but I have been in them and they are nice and really safe. A major plus to ICC is that during the last few months of your program, they put everything you’ve learned previously to the test in a real-life kitchen environment. You work on the line at the in-house Michelin and Zagat-recommended restaurant, L’Ecole (lecolenyc.com). The food you make at L’Ecole is served to paying NYC customers. It is a really unbelievable experience when a customer raves about the dish you made! This is a unique opportunity, working and learning alongside your chef-instructors. It allows you a certain level of preparedness you couldn’t get with just an internship at a restaurant – where you might end up doing odd jobs while the chefs do all the cooking. When and if you enter your first restaurant job, you are comfortable in a professional setting and understand how to behave. Overall, it was a fantastic experience that has set me up for success in the culinary field. I worked as a personal chef for 6 months before landing a dream job in food media, and I have never looked back. The evening program was great because it allowed me to continue to grow and learn in my previous day job - which proved incredibly helpful as I merged my production experience with my culinary degree. Needless to say, I highly recommend this school. Good luck!