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press room
ABOUT US | MEET THE FOUNDER | MEET THE DEAN
If you're a journalist, we hope you’ll visit us at The International Culinary Center—also home to The French Culinary Institute and The Italian Culinary Academy —in the heart of New York City’s Soho. You can pose your questions to our distinguished Dean, Cesare Casella, as well as our quoteworthy Chef-Instructors. Sit in on the most authentic Italian cooking classes available anywhere. Ogle our new no-holds-barred Italian kitchen. Witness one of the riveting demos held weekly in the renowned International Culinary Theatre. To make an appointment, just contact Wendy Knight or call 212.219.8890. We look forward to seeing you.
about us
THE ITALIAN CULINARY ACADEMY
The Italian Studies program at The International Culinary Center in New York City offers aspiring Italian cooks at all levels the most well-rounded and authentic Italian culinary training available anywhere. Designed and overseen by acclaimed author, restaurant owner, and Master Chef Cesare Casella, our programs offer several exhilarating Total ImmersionSM schedules—including an exciting option to train in Italy.
Our unique culinary history and Soho location (we also house the legendary French Culinary Institute) offer the ideal setting to immerse yourself in everything Italian and food-related both in and out of class. Working with accomplished Chef-Instructors in our new custom-designed Italian kitchen (replete with brick-lined, custom-made pizza oven, stainless steel work tables, Italian-marbled chef’s station, and the industry’s finest equipment), you can master the skills, techniques and classic recipes necessary to hone your repertoire of cuisine from every region of Italy.
Our Italian Culinary Experience program offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to train on both sides of the Atlantic, learning in our kitchens in New York City and at ALMA in Parma, Italy. This 29-week course also includes Italian language training and a chance to put your new skills to the test during an internship in the kitchen of one of Italy’s top restaurants—making it ideal for anyone who wants to eat, drink, live and breathe Italian cuisine, language, and culture. Students can get a smaller—but just as delicious—taste in an 8-session Essentials of Italian Cooking class.
Whatever course you choose, you’ll discover why Italians are so passionate about food and how to awaken that passion within yourself while following in the footsteps of culinary legends of the past, present, and future.
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meet the founder
DOROTHY CANN HAMILTON,
Founder + CEO
 A lifelong Francophile and epicure, Dorothy Cann Hamilton founded The French Culinary Institute, one of the nation’s most outstanding professional cooking schools, in 1984. Having educated over 5,000 students in the fundamentals of cuisine, the school is proud to count many of America’s most prominent chefs among its graduates.
Hamilton has had a distinguished career in vocational education. Her outstanding reputation for creating innovative programs in gastronomy has resulted in a number of accolades and tributes. Included among the awards for her work in culinary education are the 2006 IACP Award of Excellence for Vocational Cooking School; Chevalier du Mérite Agricole (Agricultural Merit Knighthood) from the French government; a knighting by the Association Internationale de Maîtres Conseil dans la Gastronomie Française; the Outstanding American Educator award from Madrid Fusion, the Diplôme d’Honneur of the Vatel Club des Etats-Unis, and Dame de l’Anée of the Académie Culinaire de France in 2006. In 2001, Hamilton received the prestigious Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit Award) from the French government, a designation second only to the legendary Legion of Honor.
Hamilton was elected Chairwoman of the James Beard Foundation Board of Trustees in 2005 and charged with hiring a new director and setting the course for the Foundation’s future. Elected chairwoman of The American Institute of Wine and Food, Hamilton was soon appointed chairwoman emeritus for life. She has served on the advisory boards of many national and international organizations, including the National Association of Training & Technical Schools, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and the U.S. Department of Education.
Currently, Hamilton is on the board of Abraham House, an organization that trains ex-offenders from New York City’s Rikers Island prison for reintegration into society; a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Les Dames d’ Escoffier; and is a Sopexa Chevalier. She served in the Peace Corps in Thailand from 1972 to 1974, where she lectured at Mahidol University, Bangkok, and taught at teacher training colleges around the country.
In 2006, Hamilton conceived and hosted a new 26-part television series called, “Chef’s Story.” Following a format inspired by Inside the Actor’s Studio, each half-hour program focuses on a master chef whose life, work, and evolution as a food legend is thoroughly explored. Shot on location in New York at The FCI before a student audience, the series will debut in spring 2007.
In the Fall of 2006, Hamilton’s opened The International Culinary Center as the new home of The FCI, The Italian Culinary Academy and newly added continuing education classes. The school’s expansion of curriculum, customized kitchen classrooms and demonstration areas further demonstrates Hamilton’s vision for the future of The FCI as a destination for chefs, students and all people interested in the culinary arts.
Most recently, she was inducted into the 2009 Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America by the James Beard Foundation.
Hamilton holds a B.A. with honors from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, and an M.B.A. from New York University.
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meet the dean
CHEF CESARE CASELLA,
Dean of Italian Studies
 Chef Casella enrolled in the Culinary Institute Ferdinando Martiniat the age of fourteen, and after graduating, he began transforming his family's restaurant, Vipore, from a local hangout into a well-known regional destination. By 1993, he had earned Vipore a Michelin star and a reputation that attracted patrons from Henry Kissinger to Tom Cruise. Chef Casella was then named Executive Chef of New York's Coco Pazzo and soon launched its sister restaurant, Il Toscanaccio. In March 2001, he opened his first solo New York restaurant, the critically acclaimed Beppe, followed in 2005 by Maremma, a Tuscan trattoria, named for the region in southwest Tuscany. Currently, he is the executive chef/partner at Manhattan's Salumeria Rosi, where he creates a special menu of trattoria-style Italian dishes for the restaurant and masterfully prepared foods-to-go for the salumi counter.
Chef Casella travels frequently between New York and Italy, staying on top of both cultures and culinary scenes. He has also written three books—Diary of a Tuscan Chef, Italian Cooking for Dummies, and True Tuscan—and has appeared on Food Network's Tyler's Ultimate, Molto Mario, and Martha Stewart Living. In 2005, Chef Casella brought his vision and dedication to students of The FCI as our first Dean of Italian Studies. He designed the curricula for our new Italian Culinary courses, including The Italian Culinary Experience, one of the most comprehensive training programs in Italian cuisine, culture, and language found anywhere in the world.
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