The International Culinary Center Announces Culinary Arts Program in New York with Inaugural Farm-to-Table Concentration

NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Culinary Center (www.internationalculinarycenter.com), founded as The French Culinary Institute, today announced the development of its inaugural and innovative farm-to-table concentration at its New York campus. The program will provide an opportunity for aspiring chefs to learn beyond the four walls of a kitchen, extending their culinary education into the fields and farms that produce the ingredients chefs rely on daily. The program will offer a unique, hands-on introduction to ecological agriculture and cuisine led by Dan Barber, executive chef and co-owner of Blue Hill New York and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and one of the nation's most respected authorities on America's food supply and its future. To supplement the world's leading, cutting-edge Classic Culinary Arts curriculum taught at The International Culinary Center, students will participate in a number of field trips during the six-month program, including an urban rooftop farm, a vineyard and a dairy farm.  The program will culminate in a weeklong participative experience at Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York (45 minutes north of New York City).

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"I am very excited to announce our farm-to-table program at The International Culinary Center in New York, the most innovative of its kind in America," said Dorothy Cann Hamilton, CEO and founder of The International Culinary Center. "By being one of the first culinary organizations to offer a concentration in ecology and cooking and placing sustainability at the heart of one our programs, we are not only preparing our students to be the very best chefs, we are also helping them preserve our culinary and farming heritage for future generations, while focusing on the practical knowledge, skills and tools needed, as our collaborators Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center affirm, to create a farm-powered kitchen."

The curriculum at the New York campus of The International Culinary Center is a collaborative program with Blue Hill (http://www.bluehillfarm.com/) and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture (http://www.stonebarnscenter.org), one of the world's premier educational facilities on sustainable agriculture. Students will be introduced to the thoughts and practices that ally professional kitchens and ecological farms. The five-day portion of the curriculum, which will be taught at Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center at the end of the program, was developed by Chef Dan Barber with Stone Barns Center's farmers and educators and will demonstrate that through collaborations with farmers and educators, future chefs will begin to define their place behind the stove.

"The International Culinary Center is offering the most forward-thinking and best curriculum for culinary technique in the world and Stone Barns is offering the most up-to-date and best example of the future of great tasting food," said Dan Barber. "So together this curriculum offers the opportunity for a student to come and see the connection between farmer and chef to create a lifelong understanding of food, agriculture and delicious food for the future of cuisine."

Throughout the six-month program, students will embark on field trips to gain an understanding of urban agricultural connections, the terroir of the Long Island wine region, and the Hudson Valley agricultural community. The program will conclude with the intensive five-day program at Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center where students will learn, side-by-side with Dan, his kitchen team and Stone Barns Center farmers, how to create ecologically sound and farm-powered kitchens. They will be immersed in the innovative agricultural practices and farm experiments underway at Stone Barns, exploring how ingredients are shaped by breeding, diet, environment and soil, and come away with a better understanding of how good agriculture and ecological thinking are essential elements in the kitchen. Students will spend time in the classroom, fields, pastures and kitchens, gathering the practical knowledge, tools and skills needed to navigate today's food and farming labyrinth and recognize the potential of ingredients admirably grown and ably prepared – principles that will present the foundation for a lifelong cuisine.

By educating and preparing aspiring chefs to work in and out of the kitchen, The International Culinary Center is bringing the "Center" to life. With the introduction of the farm-to-table concentration in New York and its collaboration with Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center's Farm-Powered Kitchen™ program, along with a sustainability program in California, planned symposiums, advanced career placement services, and several new collaborations including the upcoming Spanish curriculum (developed with renowned Chef José Andrés) and the articulation agreement with The New School in New York City, students have the opportunity to do more than just learn culinary techniques – they will learn how to put their skills into a larger, more dynamic framework. 

The inaugural program in New York will start on December 18, 2012. For more information and to view an exclusive video with Dan Barber about the farm-to-table concentration, visit: http://www.internationalculinarycenter.com/courses/ny/farm_to_table.

Join the conversation on Twitter: #farmtotable.

About The International Culinary Center

The International Culinary Center, founded as The French Culinary Institute by Dorothy Cann Hamilton in 1984, is the world's leading culinary center for education. With campuses in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area and Parma, Italy, The International Culinary Center is a culinary incubator with cutting-edge curriculums, from serious amateur and recreational classes to unmatched six-month career programs, which produce world-class graduates that advance the industry. Its state-of-the-art multimillion-dollar kitchens and classrooms provide the very best environment for aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts to develop successful careers. The International Culinary Center boasts some of the most world-renowned chefs and industry figures as its deans including: Jacques Pepin, Jacques Torres, Andre Soltner, Alain Sailhac, David Kinch, Emily Luchetti, Alan Richman, and Cesare Casella, with Jose Andres joining most recently.

In addition to offering its premier culinary education, The International Culinary Center is the leading destination for culinary events, catered and produced exclusively by FCI Catering & Events. The International Culinary Center is home to the Michelin-recommended restaurant L'Ecole in New York City and the Monte Bello Dining Room in California, and has published three cookbooks, most recently The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking and the James Beard award-winning books, The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine and The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts. For more information, visit www.internationalculinarycenter.com.

About Chef Dan Barber

In May of 2000, Chef Dan Barber opened Blue Hill restaurant with family members David and Laureen Barber.

Since then, his writings on food and agricultural policy have appeared in The New York Times, along with articles in Gourmet, The Nation, Saveur and Food & Wine. Dan's efforts to create a consciousness around our everyday food choices have led him to the World Economic Forum's 2010 annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland as well as to TED2010, where he looked toward a new ecological approach to cuisine.

Appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President's Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, Dan continues the work that he began as a member of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture's board of directors: to blur the line between the dining experience and the educational, bringing the principles of good farming directly to the table.

As chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Dan has received the James Beard awards for Best Chef: New York City (2006) and for Outstanding Chef (2009). In 2009 he was named one of the world's most influential people in Time's annual "Time 100."

About Blue Hill

Blue Hill is a collaboration between family members Dan, David and Laureen Barber. The original Blue Hill restaurant, located a landmark "speakeasy" in Greenwich Village, opened in May of 2000 with seasonal menu highlighting the abundant resources of New York farmland. 

In spring of 2004, Blue Hill at Stone Barns opened within the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. The Barbers helped create the philosophical and practical framework for Stone Barns Center, a working four-season farm and educational center just 30 miles north of New York City, and continue to help guide it in its mission to create a consciousness about the effect of everyday food choices.

Occupying 138 acres in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Blue Hill Farm has been in the Barber family for three generations and served as the inspiration behind both Blue Hill restaurants. Originally a dairy, the farm was converted into a cattle-grazing operation by Dan and David's grandmother in the 1960s. In 2004, Dan and David decided to reestablish Blue Hill Farm in its original form, recruiting local farmer Sean Stanton to manage the land. Today, the farm is once again home to a vibrant population of chickens, pigs, dairy cows, and laying hens. Blue Hill Farm supplies the restaurants with vegetables, grass-fed meats, and fresh milk.

Visit bluehillfarm.com to learn more.

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is non-profit farm and education center that is working to create a healthy and sustainable food system. Located just 25 miles north of New York City, Stone Barns teaches children, farmers, chefs and over 100,000 annual visitors about a better way of growing food. Through its onsite agricultural experiments, beginning farmer training initiative, children's education programs and diverse public awareness efforts, Stone Barns aims to improve the way America eats and farms. 

Farmers at Stone Barns also serve as scientists and researchers, educators and storytellers. Experts in their discipline, they continually explore the best breeds of livestock for our region and cultivate promising new seeds and heirloom varieties of vegetables.  They have designed an innovative farming system that has largely closed its nutrient cycles, so that waste is returned to the soil and energy consumption and environmental impact are reduced. Every aspect of Stone Barns' farm is designed to work in balance with nature, emphasizing the importance of healthy soil and humane animal husbandry to produce food that is flavorful, nutritious and ecological.

Visit stonebarnscenter.org to learn more.

SOURCE The International Culinary Center