More than a cooking school - CIA Sizzle

New Podcast with the Author of The Making of a Chef

Michael Ruhlman Shares What He's Learned in a Decade of Writing about Food, Chefs, and Cooking

In the mid-1990s, Michael Ruhlman came to The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to research a book about students learning what it takes to become a chef. That book, The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at The Culinary Institute of America, sparked an interest in Ruhlman that led to a dozen more books about food, chefs, and cooking, and even a stint working in a restaurant kitchen.

Ruhlman talks about the unexpected direction his career took in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from the CIA. "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world. Ruhlman was awarded an honorary CIA degree in 2006.

The lasting lesson he learned is that the skills needed to be a successful chef translate to any endeavor. "You've got to be really organized. You've got to keep you station clean. You've got to be prepared. You've got to work long hours, fast and hard. You don't say 'no.' You get it done," he says. "Those qualities work well everywhere, because so few people really have them. So the 'muscles' you develop learning to be chef help you in any which way."

During the 17-minute podcast, the Cleveland, OH native says one unintended result of his research was an "amazing" culinary education. "The book is only 300 pages long, and I have 1,000 pages of notes from those days," he recalls. Ruhlman urges students to take advantage of what the CIA offers. "This place is like no place on earth. There is more culinary experience and more culinary knowledge than anywhere on earth. [The students'] job while they're here is to suck up as much of that as they can," Ruhlman says, adding that the advice holds true not just for CIA students, but for anyone wanting a career in food. "Take notes. Write everything down. Interview. Don't take a chef's word for it. Ask 'why?' Be inquisitive. Act as a journalist as much as a cook."

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Michael Ruhlman or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Podcast Reveals "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef"

Chat with Food Network Star Anne Burrell, Class of 1996, is Newest in Series

Anne Burrell, host of the Food Network's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, talks about her career in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with CIA graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 17-minute podcast, the 1996 CIA graduate provides her "secrets" about how to become a successful restaurant chef. She also shares highlights of her career, from serving as Lydia Bastianich's sous chef to having millions of viewers watching her cook each week on television. Last year, she was awarded Rising Star Chef of the Year by StarChefs.com.

Chef Burrell says there was never any doubt in her mind that she would attend the CIA after having an "epiphany" that she needed to change careers at age 23, and that the culinary world was for her.

"It was the first time I was a straight-A student. It was the first time I was a sponge for knowledge. I couldn't learn enough," Chef Burrell says about her experience as a CIA undergraduate. "I wanted to do so well. I was one of those people who was super-competitive. It was because I wanted to learn so much."

Burrell recorded the podcast while on campus to deliver the commencement speech to graduates in May 2009.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Burrell or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Podcast Features Leader in Fine Italian Cuisine

Chat with Scott Conant, Class of 1992, is Newest in Series

Scott Conant, a top name among chefs of Italian cuisine in New York City, talks about his career in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with CIA graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 11-minute podcast, the 1992 CIA graduate shares highlights of his professional life, from the mentors who guided his career to earning a James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant in America with L'Impero in 2003. Chef Conant is now the owner of Scarpetta in New York City and Miami Beach, FL and the author of two cookbooks, New Italian Cooking and Bold Italian.

What stands out in Conant's memory about his days at the CIA was the professional approach among his classmates and realizing he wasn't the only 18-year-old passionate about food. "There was such a passion that every student had. I always had it, but here it was par for the course," Chef Conant recalled. "Every discussion was about food. Everything was about how to get yourself better; focusing on technique; how to be a professional chef."

Conant recorded the podcast while on campus to judge student presentations from the Marketing and Promoting Food course in the CIA's bachelor's degree program.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Conant or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Podcast Features CIA Alumnus of the Year

Chat with Grant Achatz, Class of 1994, is Newest in Series

Grant Achatz, the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Chef of the Year for 2008 and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) Alumnus of the Year for 2009, talks about his meteoric rise in the restaurant world in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast. "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with CIA graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 13-minute podcast, the 1994 CIA graduate shares highlights of his career, starting as a pre-teen in his parents' Michigan diner, to his fear of Hollandaise sauce before enrolling at the CIA, to becoming chef and owner of Alinea, the Chicago restaurant named Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine.

Chef Achatz, 35, credits his CIA education with laying the groundwork for his later success. "You can't push boundaries without having a foundation," he said. "Unless you have an intimate knowledge of all the working parts, you can't pull them apart and put them back together a different way. The CIA was critical in building that foundation and that fundamental understanding of food."

After graduating from the CIA, Achatz continued to learn from the best. He trained under Charlie Trotter in Chicago and Thomas Keller at French Laundry in Yountville, CA. Before setting out on his own, he also spent a week with Chef Ferran Adrià at Spain's elBulli, generally considered to be the best restaurant in the world.

Achatz has won James Beard Foundation awards for Rising Star Chef (2003), Best Chef: Great Lakes (2007), and Outstanding Chef (2008). Food & Wine named him one of the Best New Chefs in America in 2002. Alinea has been selected as one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants by England's Restaurant magazine for the last two years.

In March, Grant Achatz received the CIA's Augie™ Award as Alumnus of the Year.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates John Besh, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Achatz or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Podcast Features Chef Whose Empire Stretches from New York to California

Chat with Charlie Palmer, CIA Class of 1979, is Newest in Series.

Chef and restaurateur Charlie Palmer talks about his 12-restaurant culinary empire and "Progressive American" cuisine in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 21-minute chat, the 1979 CIA graduate shares details of his successful career as a chef, entrepreneur, and cookbook author. He also has advice for culinarians just starting out: "Look at the options out there. Really try to figure out what avenue [you] want to go down. Think about a career path from the get-go. It may change, but there's some real value in thinking about where you want to be a year or two years from now."

To launch his career, Chef Palmer says there was only one choice. "When I started looking at schools, it became apparent very quickly that the CIA was for me, because it was so highly focused on a high level of food and food preparation," he recalls, adding that the college provided him and others the foundation that led to success. "We've seen great accomplishments from so many people who have come from the CIA and used that basis to advance and become icons in the industry."

Chef Palmer's first restaurant, Aureole, opened in New York in 1988. His restaurants, boutique hotels, and wine shops can now be found in New York City; Washington, DC; Dallas, TX; Las Vegas and Reno, NV; and Costa Mesa and Healdsburg, CA. He has about 70 fellow CIA graduates working for him at his properties around the country.

Charlie Palmer won the 1997 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in New York City and his Aureole restaurants in New York and Las Vegas have earned prestigious Michelin stars.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates John Besh, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Palmer or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

The Best of Besh: Podcast Features Louisiana Chef-Restaurateur

Chat with John Besh, CIA Class of 1992, is Newest in Series.

John Besh, chef and owner of four New Orleans-area restaurants, talks about his career in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 20-minute chat, Besh talks about the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina and his efforts in the city's physical and emotional recovery, his experience on the Food Network's Next Iron Chef competition, and taking time off from his CIA studies to serve in the U.S. Marines during the first Gulf War.3

The 1992 graduate credits his time at the CIA for providing the groundwork for his success. "There are great people everywhere, but some of the best instructors in the world are right here," said Besh, recalling chefs and professors who taught basic culinary skills, butchery, charcuterie, and wines, among other courses. "Our horizons were broadened by the staff here...Things I learned in those early days stayed with me throughout my career. That was the foundation that really made it possible for me to thrive."

Chef Besh's ongoing commitment to his home state's relief and rebuilding earned him the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Neighbor Award in 2007. His Restaurant August has been inducted into the Nation's Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame. He also owns Besh Steak, Lüke, and La Provence in and around New Orleans. Besh earned the 2006 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef in the Southeast and New Orleans magazine's Chef of the Year for 2007. He was runner-up on Next Iron Chef, some of which was taped at the CIA.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Besh or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

New York's "Sexiest Chef" Shares Career Experiences in Podcast

Chat with Johnny Iuzzini, CIA Class of 1994, is the Newest in the Series

Johnny Iuzzini, executive pastry chef at Restaurant Jean Georges in New York City, talks about his career in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

Chef Iuzzini began working with renowned pastry chef François Payard while still a CIA student. After graduating, he continued to learn under mentors Payard and Daniel Boulud. By age 28, he was the executive pastry chef for famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

In the podcast, Iuzzini shares advice for budding chefs and pastry chefs: "I can teach anybody a recipe. I can teach anybody a technique. But, I can't teach passion. That has to come from you. If you don't have that, you don't have...the longevity to do this." When hiring, he also looks for those who have the same foundation on which he built his career. "If you want to be a well-rounded chef someday--if you want to be an executive chef or pastry chef--and be able to handle all those different things, then you're going to want to go to a school that provides you with all the necessary information, all the tricks of the trade. And for me no one does it like the CIA does it...I look towards the CIA more and more for my young cooks."

The 2006 winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, Chef Iuzzini is perhaps best known for winning the New York Daily News readers' poll as Sexiest Chef in New York City in 2007. He was also named one of Forbes magazine's 10 Most Influential Chefs and was twice listed among Pastry Art & Design's Top 10 Pastry Chefs. His first book, Dessert Fourplay (Clarkson Potter), is scheduled for a December release.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Sara Moulton, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Iuzzini or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Chipotle Founder Shares Experiences in Podcast

Chat with Alumnus Steve Ells, CIA Class of 1990, is the Newest in the Series

Steve Ells turned his taste for authentic burritos into one of the most successful restaurant chains in America. He talks about his career as the founder and chief executive officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

After graduating from the CIA, Chef Ells went into the fine dining segment, cooking at Stars in San Francisco. When not in the kitchen, he would visit taquerias in the city's Mission District and order a burrito. In 1993, he opened the first Chipotle near the University of Denver. The chain now has almost 800 stores throughout the country and is known for its "Food With Integrity" initiative. Chipotle's natural and organic foods are a rarity in quick service restaurants.

"I didn't know that I wanted to have a career in the restaurant business. I came to the CIA because cooking has always been a passion of mine," Chef Ells said. "I was just having a great time around like-minded people." During the 18-minute podcast, he also says the concept of mise en place--"everything in its place"--was the most important skill he learned at the CIA. "That idea of always being prepared is one that has served me very well...Opportunities happen to all of us. It's what we make of them that's the key."

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Duff Goldman, Sara Moulton, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Ells or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Early Food Network Star Shares Experiences in Podcast

Chat with Alumna Sara Moulton, CIA Class of 1977, is the Newest in the Series

Sara Moulton, one of the first stars of the Food Network, talks about her career in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting careers.

Sara came to the CIA with a degree from the University of Michigan. After graduating and gaining more experience working in France, her TV career began behind the scenes of a Julia Child show. She hosted Cooking Live and Sara's Secrets on the Food Network for 10 years. Her new show on PBS is Sara's Weeknight Meals. Moulton is also food editor for ABC's Good Morning America and executive chef of Gourmet magazine.

"It certainly gives you the reading, writing, and arithmetic to go out and do everything else," Chef Moulton said about her CIA education. During the 20-minute podcast, she shares a story about a chef who ignored her because she was a woman. Instead of telling him about her 30 years of experience, she said, "You don't understand, I went to the CIA."

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Duff Goldman, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Moulton or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

World's Most Influential Chef Shares Experiences in Podcast

Chat with Alumnus Dan Coudreaut, CIA Class of 1995, is the Newest in the Series

The "Insight from the Inside" podcast series from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) presents informative conversations with graduates who have exciting careers in the foodservice industry. The newest podcast in the series features Dan Coudreaut, a 1995 CIA graduate and director of culinary innovation for McDonald's USA.

Since 2004, Chef Coudreaut has been responsible for leading a team that develops menu items for the nearly 14,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States, feeding more than 26 million customers daily. His innovations have introduced McDonald's customers to bolder, more contemporary ingredients such as edamame, mandarin oranges, poblano peppers, savory black beans, fire-roasted corn and almonds; zesty flavors including chipotle and cilantro-lime; and a host of wholesome menu options.

A profile of the chef in Canada's Ottawa Citizen last year said, "There's not much doubt Dan Coudreaut has more influence on what people consume than any other chef in the world."

After graduating from the CIA in 1995, Chef Coudreaut went into the fine dining segment, cooking at the Four Seasons Hotel and Café Pacific in Dallas. He moved to menu research and development with Metromedia Restaurants, parent company of Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouses.

"The CIA gives you the foundation of true culinary flavor development (and) proper cooking techniques. All of that doesn't change whether you're at the Four Seasons Hotel, McDonald's, or a grocery store," said Chef Coudreaut, explaining how his education helped him succeed. "The CIA has the infrastructure, the credibility, and the knowledge to actually communicate those techniques to the students, and I pull upon that pretty much every day in my career."

Previous "Insight from the Inside" podcasts have featured celebrity CIA graduates such as Cat Cora, Duff Goldman, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To download the interview with Chef Coudreaut or to subscribe to receive future podcasts, visit: www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.