Institute of Culinary Education Launches Los Angeles Courses
Classes will be available to study wine, mixology and plant-based culinary arts.
The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) has announced new programming at its Los Angeles campus. For the first time, the Pasadena-based location will offer classes available to the public. This series of classes is modeled after the school’s New York campus’ recreational cooking program, which is one of the largest and most robust recreational cooking, baking and beverage programs in the world.
“I am thrilled that ICE will now offer classes to Angelenos looking to learn more about wine, mixology and plant-based cooking,” said Lachlan Sands, ICE Los Angeles campus president. “Los Angeles is one of the most robust food cities in the world, and our population will certainly benefit from the expert knowledge of our instructors. They’re the same educators who teach our career students, using the same facilities and ingredients used in our diploma and degree programs.”
Starting on April 19, the school will host a series of wine and mixology courses across a range of topics. As the program launches, the first series of classes will offer topics such as:
- “Shaken & Refreshing” Spring Cocktail Series
- Daytime Delights Brunch Cocktails
- The Ultimate Botanical Gin and Tonic Experience
- Tiki Classic Summer Sippers
- Farmer’s Market Summer Series
- Mixology Essentials
- Wine Essentials Series
- Wines of Bordeaux Series
- Wines of Burgundy Series
Programming will be ongoing, offering training in all areas of wine and mixology as both one-time classes, as well as series. Subjects will cover explorations of wine regions around the world, deep dives into wine varietals, classic and contemporary cocktail skills, seasonal spirits and recipes, and close looks into various liquor styles.
Additionally, on April 9, ICE will launch the first-ever “personal enrichment” version of its popular Plant-Based Culinary Arts program. This multi-course series is designed for health-conscious individuals looking for in-depth knowledge of plant-based culinary skills and techniques. The curriculum offers a holistic approach to nutrition-minded, plant-based cooking with a focus on whole foods, wellness and sustainability. With a vegetable-forward curriculum, the program appeals to students living a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
Split into two sessions - Introduction to Plant-Based Cooking and Advanced Plant-Based Cooking - the classes focus on the health-supportive qualities of ingredients and cooking techniques. Students are taught foundational skills and knowledge about the art and practice of plant-based cooking through hands-on training. The program focuses on standard culinary arts techniques like knife skills, mise en place and the basics of all cooking techniques in addition to how to prepare vegetables, sea vegetables, plant-based protein sources and how to prepare them from scratch, as well as fundamentals of baking and meeting special dietary standards.
The program also explores evidence-based dietary patterns for long-term health as well as special diets (paleo, keto, Ayurveda, macrobiotics and more). Expert instructors discuss the links between diet, lifestyle and well-being through the lens of body systems (cardiovascular, digestive, microbial, endocrine, etc.) and the ethos that “food is medicine.”