The International Culinary Center Announces One-Week Culinary Tours to France and Italy as Part of its World-Renowned Training Programs

NEW YORK, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Culinary Center (www.internationalculinarycenter.com),  the world's leading culinary center for education founded as The French Culinary Institute, today announced its collaboration with Learning Journeys Powered by Perillo Tours (www.learningjourneys.com). Together they will offer  a unique collection of customized food education and travel experiences. Following hands-on culinary classes in New York or California, participants will embark on one-week, culturally immersive culinary excursions to Italy's renowned food regions of Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany or, in France, to Lyon, its gastronomic capital.

"Our mission at The International Culinary Center is to train our students beyond the four walls of the kitchen. They need to understand authentic cuisine in its cultural context," said Dorothy Cann Hamilton, CEO and Founder of The International Culinary Center. "Together with Learning Journeys Powered by Perillo Tours, we have created custom trips especially for aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts so that they are able to taste, touch, smell the local products – and this is the best way to learn how to cook authentic French and Italian cuisine. This is a testament of our continued dedication to our students – to always provide them with the very best resources for learning and succeeding." 

"Learning Journeys welcomes a new era in travel," said Steve Perillo, CEO of Perillo's Learning Journeys. "Learning Journeys is interactive, offering hands-on learning experiences that move beyond the realm of the travel experience. The experience provides the opportunity to learn new skills which can be applied immediately to the learners' lives," he continued.  Professor Carol Dimopoulos, President of Learning Journeys, stated, "We are thrilled to partner with The International Culinary Center to create experiences combining the most prestigious name in culinary education  with one of the oldest brands in food travel."

The week-long trips are a way to give students firsthand experience with authentic Italian and French products and artisans. Learning Journeys and The International Culinary Center designed the itineraries to create an invaluable, once-in-a-lifetime experience for culinary and pastry students, who will be visiting local markets, vineyards, cheese artisans, farms, bakeries, pastry shops, chocolate producers and more.

The Italian Culinary Experience, which is typically a seven-month program at The International Culinary Center, will now offer the option of traveling to Italy for a week-long culinary tour after the nine weeks spent in the kitchens at either campus – Manhattan, New York or Campbell, California. Students who take the class will travel to several cities in Italy, including Parma and Florence.

The new French intensives for Classic Culinary Arts and Classic Pastry Arts are six- and nine-month career programs that will culminate in seven days in Lyon, France and the surrounding regions Additionally, The International Culinary Center is offering its second class of Spanish Culinary Arts, a 10-week program that culminates in a week in Spain, and will start on August 1.  The portion of the program in Spain was designed with The International Culinary Center's Dean of Spanish Studies, the world-renowned Spanish Chef Jose Andres.

For more information on the courses and trips to Italy, France and Spain, please visit: www.internationalculinarycenter.com. The following is a schedule of upcoming class start dates:

• Classic Culinary Arts, French Intensive: June 14, 2013 in New York City
• Italian Culinary Experience: July 22, 2013 in New York City
• Spanish Culinary Arts: August 1, 2013 in New York City
• Classic Culinary Arts, French Intensive: August 28, 2013 in Campbell, California
• Italian Culinary Experience: October 7, 2013 in Campbell, California 
• Classic Pastry Arts, French Intensive: November 1, 2013 in Campbell, California
• Classic Pastry Arts, French Intensive: December 3, 2013 in New York City

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 and the San Francisco Bay Area, The International Culinary Center is a culinary incubator with cutting-edge curriculums, from serious amateur and recreational classes to unmatched six-month career programs, including farm-to-table and culinary technology curriculums as well as study abroad programs to France, Italy and Spain, which produce world-class graduates that advance the industry. Its 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, master sommeliers and industry figures as its deans including: Jose Andres, Scott Carney, Cesare Casella, David Kinch, Emily Luchetti, Jacques Pepin, Alan Richman, Alain Sailhac, Andre Soltner, Larry Stone and Jacques Torres. 

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 four cookbooks, most recently The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Italian Cuisine, nominated for a 2013 James Beard Award, 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.

Follow The International Culinary Center on social media:
Twitter: @IntlCulCenter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalCulinaryCenter

About Learning Journeys:  Powered by Perillo Tours, which has a 68-year history of excellence in travel, comes Learning Journeys, a unique collection of customized travel experiences designed to combine cultural immersions with hands on education. The purpose is to ignite learners' passions ranging from art and music to cooking and photography in destinations all over the world: Europe, Asia, Israel, Latin America and South Pacific. Each Learning Journey is designed by experienced and qualified educators in that specific field of study, providing life changing encounters for students of all ages: schools and colleges, special interest groups, families, multigenerational, and other small group experiences.

For tour quotes, customized pricing and general information, contact Learning Journeys at (888)-884-8259 or online at www.learningjourneys.com.

Media Contacts:
Paul Brady
Consort Partners for The International Culinary Center
[email protected]
(646) 491-2777

Julia Levi
DQMPR for Learning Journeys
[email protected]
(212) 598-1160

SOURCE The International Culinary Center