Famed New York Culinary School Will Close Its Doors

Financial pres­sure and a cash short­age caused by the Covid-19 pan­demic has forced the famed culi­nary school founded by Dorothy Cann Hamilton in 1984 to begin shut­ting down its oper­a­tions on July 20.

The International Culinary Center (ICC) will be absorbed by its for­mer crosstown rival, the Institute for Culinary Arts (ICE).

“Through ICE, ICC’s mis­sion will con­tinue, and we can­not imag­ine a bet­ter insti­tu­tion to entrust with our legacy,” Bruce McCann, ICC’s CEO, said. ​“Since our incep­tion, we’ve endured the fall­out from eco­nomic crises, nat­ural dis­as­ters, 9/11 and more, but noth­ing could have pre­pared us for Covid-19.”

“ICE is a pow­er­house in culi­nary edu­ca­tion, and we are hon­ored that the foun­da­tion built by Dorothy Cann Hamilton more than three decades ago will have a new home at the school,” he added.

Rick Smilow, the chief exec­u­tive of ICE, said, ​“ICC is widely rec­og­nized as a pio­neer and leader in culi­nary edu­ca­tion, and we are proud and excited to bring aspects of the school’s exper­tise, unique offer­ings and her­itage to ICE.”

At the moment, the New York City cam­puses of both schools are closed. ICC plans to resume the aca­d­e­mic year once New York City enters phase four of its reopen­ing plan to allow stu­dents to fin­ish their course work before clos­ing per­ma­nently in December.

Hamilton founded the ICC in 1984 as the French Culinary Institute, after vis­it­ing the top culi­nary school in Paris, École Grégoire-Ferrandi. She later expanded the school to include other styles of cook­ing, includ­ing Italian and Spanish, renam­ing it to the International Culinary Center.

Among other things, the ICC has left a last­ing impact on the olive oil world. The Soho cam­pus hosted the first edi­tion of the New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) in 2013 and the Olive Oil Times Education Lab Sommelier Certification pro­gram three years later, both of which have since expanded beyond the ICC.

“Dorothy and her team under­stood the impor­tance of olive oil in cul­ture and gas­tron­omy while many culi­nary lead­ers still seem ambiva­lent to this topic,” Curtis Cord, the NYIOOC pres­i­dent and pub­lisher of Olive Oil Times said in 2016.

“The ICC has been an instru­men­tal part­ner in our ongo­ing efforts to fos­ter a greater under­stand­ing of olive oil,” said Cord, who directed the ICC’s olive oil pro­gram.

When the French Culinary Institute opened in 1984, the school was an instant hit. During its open­ing week­end, the award-win­ning chef Julia Child came to visit. She was so impressed by what she saw that she arranged for the school to be pro­filed on the pop­u­lar tele­vi­sion pro­gram, Good Morning America.

“She heard we had this French school in New York and she walked in, big­ger than life,” Hamilton told The Mercury News in 2014. ​“That’s really how the school got its jump start.”

Since that moment, ICC has gone on to grad­u­ate some notable alumni, includ­ing Dan Barber, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, Bobby Flay, Chris Morocco, Carla Lalli Music, Christina Tosi, Kate Williams and Lee Anne Wong.

ICC also boasted many high-pro­file chefs and culi­nary fig­ures among its fac­ulty and founders.

“I am proud of the work my dear friends Dorothy Cann Hamilton, André Soltner, Alain Sailhac, Jacques Torres and myself have accom­plished over the years to cre­ate a time­less hands-on cur­ricu­lum for gen­er­a­tions of FCI/ICC stu­dents,” Jacques Pépin, ICC’s dean of spe­cial pro­grams, said.

“I’m pleased that the school’s her­itage and legacy will live on for future culi­nary pro­fes­sion­als at ICE.”

• International Culinary Center
• Institute of Culinary Education
• The Mercury News