The Culinary Institute of America

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

Contact:

Jeff Levine
Media Relations
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu

Hyde Park, NY, October 28, 2008 – 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.

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Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent, not-for-profit college offering bachelor's and associate degrees, as well as certificate programs, in either culinary arts or baking and pastry arts. As the world's premier culinary college, the CIA has a network of more than 37,000 alumni that includes industry leaders such as Grant Achatz, Anthony Bourdain, Cat Cora, Harold Dieterle, Steve Ells, Todd English, Duff Goldman, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, and Roy Yamaguchi. The college has campuses in New York (Hyde Park), California (The CIA at Greystone, St. Helena), and Texas (San Antonio), as well as an additional location in New York City (Astor Center, Manhattan). In addition to its degree programs, the CIA also offers courses for professionals and food enthusiasts, as well as wine education. For more information, and a complete listing of program offerings at each site, visit the CIA online at www.ciachef.edu.

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