8.31.06 Welcome to The International Culinary Center
New York's Premier Destination for Culinary Education Opens This Fall

New York, August 31, 2006 — This October, The International Culinary Center will open as New York’s newest destination for culinary education. Located at 462 Broadway in SoHo, The International Culinary Center will serve as the new home of the renowned French Culinary Institute (The FCI) and new Italian studies courses. The French Culinary Institute is not changing its name but rather living in an expanded home, The International Culinary Center, where future new programs will be introduced. This expansion gives The International Culinary Center the platform for introducing new programs, like Italian studies, while still maintaining the heritage of training at The French Culinary Institute.

“The International Culinary Center will provide an exciting, broad range of study. In keeping with our mission to give our students the best education and training possible, we have doubled our teaching space and expanded our curriculum,” said Dorothy Cann Hamilton, Founder and CEO of The International Culinary Center. “This expansion improves our ability to prepare students to work in all fields available in the culinary arena. We have dedicated ourselves to offering the best courses, covering a wide range of the world’s cuisines.”

The International Culinary Center will broaden the culinary education offered beyond the classic techniques of French cuisine. In addition to adding an entire program dedicated to Italian cooking, The International Culinary Center will add courses and seminars on upcoming food-related trends as well as new subjects taught by the leaders in the industry.

The Expanded Facility
Designed by Alexander Antonelli Architects, The International Culinary Center (a 72,000 square foot space) will add four complete kitchens including a one-of-a-kind kitchen for the new Italian Culinary Academy program with curriculums developed by Master Italian Chef and Dean of Italian Studies Cesare Casella. The Italian kitchen will feature a brick-lined, custom-made pizza oven, stainless steel work tables, Italian marble in the chef’s station and an adjacent private dining area that will be used for tastings, critiques, as well as entertaining.

The three additional new kitchens will include custom-designed Jade ovens, media inputs for remote lectures, additional refrigeration, dishwashers and a chef’s station designed specifically for cooking demonstrations.

The renovation is designed to make the student’s experience of the school more enjoyable. The International Culinary Center will include an expanded student lounge, spacious locker rooms and a world-class culinary library and a language lab. Each floor will offer computer workstations with Internet for students to use between classes.

The French Culinary Institute
Founded by Dorothy Cann Hamilton, The FCI’s unique approach to culinary training lies in the philosophy of Total ImmersionSM: the majority of students’ time is spent in hands-on classes with an average student-to-teacher ratio of 12:1. In just six months by day, or nine months by night, students gain and perfect skills

that would otherwise take years to develop. In addition to Total ImmersionSM, students gain genuine workplace experience in the critically acclaimed L’Ecole, the Restaurant of The FCI, where students rotate through all stations. The FCI’s faculty is led by a group of distinguished Deans including Alain Sailhac, Jacques Pépin, Jacques Torres, André Soltner, Nils Noren, Cesare Casella, Alan Richman and Andrea Robinson, all of whom regularly receive top honors in the culinary world.

In 2006, The FCI received the Award of Excellence for Vocational Cooking School from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), further proving that there is no other school like The FCI. The IACP award for outstanding Vocational Cooking School is bestowed upon the IACP-member cooking school that provides a superior educational experience for students pursuing a career in the culinary arts.

The Italian Culinary Academy
Renowned Chef Cesare Casella of Manhattan restaurant Maremma will oversee The Italian Culinary Academy in his new role as the Dean of Italian Studies. Chef Casella understands that no other country in the world combines its passion for food, family, friends and daily life better than Italy.

“Italian cuisine is driven by history, ingredients, geography, and the culture more than by techniques; each course has been designed to give the student a fuller understanding of the cuisine by embracing those elements — that’s not a standard approach to culinary education,” says Chef Casella.

As such, learning to become a top Italian chef requires intense training beyond the usual techniques and classic recipes of all regions of Italy: it demands Total Immersionsm in the Italian language and culture.

For this reason and in its ongoing commitment to offer the most well-rounded and authentic culinary training in the world, The Italian Culinary Academy flagship course will be the Italian Culinary Experience: a 29-week Total Immersionsm in Italian cuisine, culture and language launching in January 2007. In this unique program, students will divide their time between the New York City campus and ALMA, The International School of Italian Cuisine, in Parma, Italy. Other classes in the Italian Culinary Academy include Fundamentals of Italian Cooking as well as Essentials of Italian Cooking 1, 2 & 3.

Additional New Courses
Offered for the first time in fall 2006, The FCI’s “Cooking Clinics” will cover a wide range of topics such as pastry, confection, breadmaking and the latest trends in the culinary world. Those looking to add a new skill to their repertoire or dedicated home cooks wanting to master a few new tricks can now invest minimal time for a maximum return of culinary skill with these short intensives that range from two to five sessions.

The International Culinary Center will also continue to offer its popular continuing education courses in wine, restaurant management and food writing.

With its expanded international curriculum, kitchens, and facilities, The International Culinary Center will become the premier destination for culinary education in New York City when it opens in October 2006.

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For more information, please contact: Rena Katz, The French Culinary Institute 646-254-7535, rkatz@frenchculinary.com or visit www.frenchculinary.com

About The International Culinary Center
The International Culinary Center, located at 462 Broadway in SoHo, is the new home of the renowned French Culinary Institute (The FCI), The Italian Culinary Academy, and continuing education classes. The International Culinary Center offers an exciting, wide range of study to prepare students to work in all of the fields available in the culinary arena. The expanded 72,000 square foot space features four new complete kitchens, including a one-of-a-kind kitchen for the new Italian Studies program.

About The French Culinary Institute
Founded in 1984, The French Culinary Institute (The FCI) in New York City teaches the culinary protocol, language and techniques upon which all Western cuisine is based. The FCI offers a rigorous six-month program by day or a nine-month program by night for aspiring or working culinary professionals and serious amateurs. The FCI’s faculty is headed by an all-star line-up of distinguished Deans – all of whom have received top honors in the culinary world – including Alain Sailhac, Vice President, Dean Emeritus; Jacques Pépin, Master Chef, Dean of Special Programs; Jacques Torres, Master Chef, Dean of Pastry Arts; André Soltner, Master Chef, Dean of Classic Studies; Cesare Casella, Dean of Italian Studies; Alan Richman, Dean of Food Journalism; and Andrea Robinson, Dean of Wine Studies. In 2006, The FCI received “The Award of Excellence for Vocational Cooking School” by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

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