CIC FISHMASTER STRIKES AGAIN!

In case you don't recognize him without his whites on, that's CIC Chef Ben Black holding up a magnificent 23-pound red grouper. He reeled it in 45 miles off of Charleston on Sunday, September 23rd.

No need for fish tales when you have the proof in hand!

TOP CHEFS STAR IN CIC'S FALL 2007 GUEST CHEFS SERIES

The CIC Fall 2007 Guest Chefs Series kicks off on Friday, September 14th with a demonstration by Culinary Institute of Charleston Chefs Council member Chef Brett McKee of OAK Steakhouse.

Next up on the calendar is another CIC Chefs Council Member, Chef Bob Waggoner of Charleston Grill at Charleston Place, who will be teaching on Wednesday, October 17th.

On Friday, October 19th, Chef John Marshall of Al di La will share his culinary skills with CIC students.

For the final appearance of the Fall Series, on Wednesday, November 14th, Chef Scott Crawford will come up from The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia. Crawford, who is Chef de Cuisine for the Cloister's fine dining restaurant, The Georgian Room, previously was at the Black Cat in San Francisco and The Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island, Florida, and was Executive Chef at The Woodlands Resort and Inn Relais & Chateaux property in Summerville.

Established to offer experienced leaders in the culinary industry the opportunity to share their knowledge with CIC students, the Guest Chef Series brings these culinary luminaries to the CIC amphitheater broadcast kitchen for live demonstrations of their signature techniques and cooking methods.

A COLD DAY IN GARDE MANGER

Wednesday, September 5th -

It was Polar cold in Chef Ward Morgan's class today when Garde Manger students cut ice under the artistic guidance of Chef Morgan and Brian Connors of Ice Age Sculptures. A former instructor in the culinary department at TTC and a leader in his field, Connors' work can be seen in the video at the top of the blog.

'' 'Physically and aesthetically, ice brings out the food, while holding it at the optimal temperature,''' ice artist Shintaro Okamoto said in an August 27th New York Times article on the fashionable status of ice carvings. "'The restaurateur David Bouley, an early adopter of Okamoto's creations, has shipped fresh ice vessels packed in dry ice to Barcelona for an event with Ferran Adrià, the chef at El Bulli. Recently, Bouley had the studio carve 200 serving bowls for a seven-part riff on cherry tomatoes. Okamoto also cuts ice into sleek trays for Olivier Cheng, the caterer, who uses them for passing delicate canapés. But probably Okamoto's most recognizable work was the ice Buddha that was featured in the dining room at Megu in Manhattan.'

"With his ice sculptures, Okamoto has turned a mundane necessity -- keeping food cold -- into an art. And he has given top chefs, who can do only so much with their Bernardaud china, a new medium for impressing diners. For an event at the New York Public Library, the studio sculptured replicas of the lions that flank the library's entrance and set a caviar service between their shoulder blades."

Aspiring ice artists, take these words to heart. You just took the first steps to becoming an official "Chill Seeker."