CIA alumni are always cooking up something interesting, and with a network more than 50,000 strong, there’s never a shortage of highlights! Here are just a few examples of CIA alumni in the news this past month.
New and Noteworthy
Flour Craft Bakery in Mill Valley and San Anselmo, CA, was highlighted as one of the top 19 Bay area donut shops. Owner Heather Hardcastle ’08 uses the techniques she learned from her time at the CIA to create 100% gluten free breads, cookies, donuts, and treats.
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Josh Mutchnick ’08 brings supper club pop-ups to the Memphis, TN, area. The supper club is all about getting to meet new people over a shared meal. Guests gather at a large communal table that Mutchnick designed to encourage conversation.
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Rachel Wyman ’05 rebranded her Montclair Bread Company, in Montclair, NJ, and her New Platz, NY, store Gunkin’ Donuts, under the new name Rabble Rise. With the new name comes a new menu, Wyman is streamlining the menus at both locations, now only serving donuts.
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Steve Christianson’s ’76, pecan chicken was highlighted as one of the 12 signature dishes in North Jersey by the New Jersey Herald. Christianson is the chef and owner of St. Eve’s, in Ho-Ho-Kus, and his pecan chicken is the dish he is best known for, after producing the dish 40 years ago at the Lion’s Rock, in New York City.
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WBAL-TV highlighted Darker Than Blue Grille in Baltimore, MD, in its Sunday Brunch segment, interviewing owner and Executive Chef Casey Jenkins ’92. Jenkins wants patrons to feel at home with signature soul food dishes like fried chicken and shrimp and grits.
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Openings and Chefs on the Move
Katherine Gormaley ’19 joined the Catskill Chocolate Co. team in Catskill, NY, in 2021, as a pastry chef and chocolatier. Since joining the shop, Gormaley has developed new chocolates with the team and has expanded their pastry program. She is taking older recipes and putting her spin on them, creating cleaner and fresher products that use local ingredients.
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The Loren at Pink Beach in Bermuda hosted chef Joseph “JJ” Johnson ’07 as their first guest chef for their summer guest chef series. Johnson kicked off the summer with a cooking demonstration along with a four-course dinner.
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Seattle Mariners T-Mobile Park’s new Executive Chef Javier Rosa ’96 is making big plays at the baseball stadium. Rosa has been expanding the menus at the two hospitality areas he oversees at the stadium, Edgar’s Cantina and Holy Smoke BBQ.
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Blaze Pizza co-founder and Head chef Bradford Kent ’96 opened Bagel + Slice in Los Angeles, CA. This new joint serves organic bagels made from regeneratively grown wheat, along with pizza by the slice and a pizza bagel that combines its namesake.
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The Indigo Road Hospitality Group named Scott Kroener ’97 as the new executive chef of Oak Steakhouse Nashville in Tennessee. In his new role, Kroener will oversee the kitchen and lead the steakhouse’s culinary program with a focus on seasonal ingredients.
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On the Shelf and On the Menu
Kwame Onwuachi ’13 explores his roots with his first cookbook, My America: Recipes From A Young Black Chef. The cookbook features recipes inspired from where he was born in the Bronx to recipes from his time living with his grandfather in Nigeria.
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Throwin’ Down
When Jaleesa Mason’14 got the invitation to compete on the Food Network’s Spring Baking Championship, she was still on maternity leave and was unsure if she could drop everything and compete. She pushed through the anxiety with support from her family and competed, walking away with the title of Spring Baking Champion and $25,000. Mason is planning on putting her prize money into her Little Falls, NJ, bakery Mo & Jay Pastry.
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Prime Time
Duff Goldman ’98 welcomed viewers into his home kitchen on Food Network’s new daytime series Ace of Taste. Inspired by his family, Goldman shows off how he eats, dreams and lives food, even showing off his savory side.
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Nomad With Carlton McCoy premiered May 1, on CNN. The series debut followed Carlton McCoy ’06, as he returned to Paris, the place where he first experienced the sphere of French food and wine. He explored the outskirts of the city, the Banlieues Parisiennes, which is becoming the birthplace of some of the most exciting new art, music, food, and culture in France.
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Recipes for Success
Joshua Dineen ’01, chef specialist at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, IL, shared with The State Journal-Register his favorite ways to prepare asparagus at home, including asparagus broiled with parmesan, asparagus tempura, and asparagus and mushroom omelet. Dineen states that asparagus became one of his favorite vegetables during his time at the CIA, where he learned how to get creative and have fun with cooking.
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Giving Back
Top Chef winner Amar Santana ’02 is giving back to the place where his culinary journey began. Careers through Culinary Arts Program, or C-CAP, is an organization that trains underserved youth in high school for a career in the culinary arts, Santana earned a scholarship from C-CAP that led him to the CIA. Santana along with other chiefs, hosted a culinary fundraiser benefiting the organization at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA.
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