Chef's Notes Plus

Affordable Wines for your Holiday Table

Paying less doesn’t mean having to do without anymore. When planning a dinner party, we spend ample time designing the menu, only then to find ourselves having to make a critical decision – go over budget buying six bottles of wine just to impress everyone or settling for an unknown […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Guide to Radishes (and What To Do With Them)

When I first moved to the United States from Germany, where I grew up and began my career, I was surprised at how little radishes are used in American cuisine. They are, to me, delicious! Not to mention inexpensive, long-lasting, and full of nutrients. Radishes are root vegetables of which […]

Chef's Blog

Healthy Cooking with Picky Eaters, from a CIA Chef

Food preference may feel instinctual, but like everything our kids learn, it all begins with education, and participation is an integral part of the learning process. I started a tradition with my children to help spur their curiosity around healthy foods. Every Wednesday after school, we make a trip to […]

Chef's Notes Plus

Navigating the Farmers’ Market Like a Chef

Spring has sprung! And while there is so much to look forward to when the weather warms—wildflowers, patio happy hour, and long walks in the sun—here at the CIA, we most look forward to mornings at the farmers’ market, like the one right here at The Pearl near our campus […]

Chef's Blog

Seasonal Sips to Indulge Your Senses

Spring is a feast for the senses, and after a challenging year, this spring brings the hope of reuniting with friends and family for some long-awaited outdoor get-togethers…and cocktails! Since we’re all easing our way back into entertaining, embrace convenience! For drinks, that means batch cocktails. Batch cocktails are built […]

Chef's Blog

The Buzz on the CIA’s Bees

To an observer it must have looked like some bizarre heist movie. Here’s the scene: It was a warm night in late April. Ruined pillars from some forgotten structure loomed above the Hudson River. Flowers covered the apple trees nearby. A car approached, the headlights flashing, only to turn off […]

Chef's Blog

The Chinese Pantry

It’s a fact that Americans love eating Chinese food. There are over 40,000 Chinese restaurants in the U.S.; there are more Chinese restaurants than McDonald’s. You can probably name a favorite Chinese restaurant and a dish or two you love. It is also a fact that many cooks feel intimidated […]

Chef's Blog

When Chefs Write

Grading student journals and project assignments isn’t a favorite pastime, but if you are the adjunct instructor of College Writing at The Culinary Institute of America, ya gotta. More correctly stated, I gotta. The semester usually starts with the same complaints: You want me to read HOW MANY PAGES? I […]