|
|
| |
|
|
 |
| |
 |
| |
When you have made as many mistakes as I have, then you will know everything that I know. |
 |
| |
Jacques Torres
Dean of Pastry Arts |
 |
| |
|
| |
Through The FCI's incredible connections, I was able to intern at Daniel and with François Payard. This was an invaluable experience that inspired me and which I still draw upon today. |
|
| |
Richard Muszynski
Classic Pastry Arts, Class of 1999 and Chef-Ownar, Ricard Chocolat |
|
|
|
The story of South Carolina’s American Grocery Restaurant starts in, of all places, Hollywood. In between film and television production jobs, Joe Clarke usually found himself returning to work in one of Los Angeles’ finer restaurants. During a stint at LA’s popular Table 8, he met Darlene, a sommelier moonlighting as a stage actress. Coincidentally both from small towns in South Carolina, the two struck up a relationship around their shared show business experiences. Before long, the pair realized that their Tinseltown careers were overshadowed by an even bigger dream: to one day open a restaurant of their own.
When Paley’s Place opened in 1995, Vitaly and Kimberly Paley rocketed to the top of Portland’s culinary scene. Backed by years of experience in some of New York’s finest restaurants (Vitaly cooked at Union Square Café, Remi, and Chanterelle; Kimberly worked the front-of-house at Bouley and Gotham Bar & Grill), the husband-and-wife team could have chosen anywhere in the world to put up shop. But they ultimately chose Portland for the wealth of high quality ingredients from local, organic, and sustainable suppliers in the Pacific Northwest. In its very first year, Paley’s Place won Restaurant of the Year from the Williamette Weekly. Word spread rapidly across Oregon and the U.S., and in short order Paley’s Place was at the top of “best of” lists in publications like the New York Times, USA Today, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Zagat’s, and The Wine Advocate. The pinnacle of recognition came in 2005 when Vitaly received the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef, Pacific Northwest. In that same year, Paley’s Place was chosen by Gourmet magazine as one of the top 50 restaurants in the country.
Chika Tillman knew exactly what kind of restaurant she wanted to open. After working under famous chef-restaurateurs like Tom Colicchio (at NYC’s Gramercy Tavern) and Guenter Seeger (at Atlanta’s legendary Seeger’s), Chika wanted something small, and she wanted something sweet. Strictly sweet.
Andrea Carbine is a true locavore. Dedicated to eating locally grown, seasonal foods, Carbine has built her cozy ten-table bistro, A Toute Heure, around this commitment to freshness and sustainability.
Rachel Insler can tell you exactly how chocolate positively affects the human brain. Before pursuing her dreams as a chocolatier, Insler conducted academic research as a neuroscientist. One day she decided to trade in her lab coat for chef whites, and enrolled in the Classic Pastry Arts program at The French Culinary Institute. After earning her Grand Diplôme Pastry, she held positions in Danny Meyer’s Union Square Café and Hudson Yards Catering, followed by an apprenticeship under Master Chocolatier Keith Hurdman at London’s world-famous Melt Chocolates. While working in Britain, Insler took every opportunity to visit chocolateries across Europe, observing and sampling from the finest in France, Italy, and Belgium.
After years of working in New York, Matthew Guidry was drawn back to his roots in Louisiana. He and business partner Jim Conte, with whom he opened Sag Harbor’s beloved Paradise Restaurant in 1995, landed in the Big Easy and opened Meauxbar in 2004. Named after Guidry’s great-grandparents, Adam and Ozite Meaux, who raised his father in rural Cajun country, Meauxbar specializes in French, Creole, and Asian-inspired Southern fare, and is the undisputed favorite of New Orleans locals. Snuggled in the heart of the French Quarter overlooking Louis Armstrong Park, Guidry’s forty-seat café is lauded for its fresh, creative take on classic bistro dishes.
