David Kamen '88, P.C.III/C.E.C., C.C.E., C.H.E.
Title:
Professor in Culinary Arts
Education:
B.P.S., Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, NY; A.O.S., CIA
Professional Background:
Chef-Instructor, New York Restaurant School, NYC. Banquet Chef, Robins Wolfe Eventures, NYC. Chef/Owner, Patience Desserts, Rego Park, NY. Culinary Department Chairman, New York Food and Hotel Management School, NYC. Executive Chef, Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel, NYC. Sous Chef, Novotel Hotel, NYC. Day Chef, Poccino's, NYC. Pastry Cook, The Plaza Hotel, NYC.
Awards:
Gold medal, Société Culinaire Philanthropique Salon of Culinary Arts, 2000.
Member
New York Association of Cooking Teachers; Sommelier Society of America.
Member
New York Association of Cooking Teachers; Sommelier Society of America.
Biography:
In Their Own Words
Key Experience:
"As a teenager, I worked in a butcher shop taking deliveries and cleaning up. I gradually learned how to cut meat. After a few years, an uncle who was in the catering business suggested I attend the CIA. It was a perfect match."
Proudest Accomplishment:
"I am especially proud to be teaching at my alma mater. Not a day goes by that I walk up those steps and stare at Roth Hall in awe, as if in a dream. Getting here was only half the battle. Once here, I had to learn and grow an enormous amount just to keep up with my colleagues and students."
Advice to students:
"Never stop learning. Never stop asking questions. Never stop tasting and thinking about food. You're only as good as your next dish or menu or restaurant, so treat your career with a bit of humility but take it seriously, just the same."
What attracted you to the CIA:
"I was teaching NYC for several years and this was the next logical step in my career as a culinary educator."
What do you enjoy most about the CIA:
"I mostly enjoy the 'ah ha' moments. Those times when I explain something just so and I see the light bulbs go off over the student's heads. It's like they have been trying to grasp this concept for a long time and I put it in a way that finally makes sense. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and gaining more in return from my students. For me it is a two way street. I learn from them, they learn from me, an together, we run the class."
Key Experience:
"As a teenager, I worked in a butcher shop taking deliveries and cleaning up. I gradually learned how to cut meat. After a few years, an uncle who was in the catering business suggested I attend the CIA. It was a perfect match."
Proudest Accomplishment:
"I am especially proud to be teaching at my alma mater. Not a day goes by that I walk up those steps and stare at Roth Hall in awe, as if in a dream. Getting here was only half the battle. Once here, I had to learn and grow an enormous amount just to keep up with my colleagues and students."
Advice to students:
"Never stop learning. Never stop asking questions. Never stop tasting and thinking about food. You're only as good as your next dish or menu or restaurant, so treat your career with a bit of humility but take it seriously, just the same."
What attracted you to the CIA:
"I was teaching NYC for several years and this was the next logical step in my career as a culinary educator."
What do you enjoy most about the CIA:
"I mostly enjoy the 'ah ha' moments. Those times when I explain something just so and I see the light bulbs go off over the student's heads. It's like they have been trying to grasp this concept for a long time and I put it in a way that finally makes sense. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and gaining more in return from my students. For me it is a two way street. I learn from them, they learn from me, an together, we run the class."
Favorite classroom story:
"I think it is my own humility. I try not to be like some of the chefs who I had as a student. That is, I'm not a screamer. I don't teach using intimidation. Rather, I use a questioning approach. I ask carefully thought out questions that lead students to discover the answers on their own."
Favorite class:
"Charcuterie. It's a lost art. Creating such wonderful foods with trimmings and scraps and creating something grand out of virtually nothing, always brings me back to my culinary roots. On Saturdays, working at the butcher shop, my job in the mornings was to make several different kinds of sausage. I was always amazed how many different products I could make with essentially the same ingredients."
"I think it is my own humility. I try not to be like some of the chefs who I had as a student. That is, I'm not a screamer. I don't teach using intimidation. Rather, I use a questioning approach. I ask carefully thought out questions that lead students to discover the answers on their own."
Favorite class:
"Charcuterie. It's a lost art. Creating such wonderful foods with trimmings and scraps and creating something grand out of virtually nothing, always brings me back to my culinary roots. On Saturdays, working at the butcher shop, my job in the mornings was to make several different kinds of sausage. I was always amazed how many different products I could make with essentially the same ingredients."
E-mail Address:
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