Chef Mark Ainsworth is a professor of Culinary Arts at CIA, where he teaches courses in both the college’s degree programs and continuing education programs. Among the courses he teaches are Culinary Fundamentals and Café Savory Productions. For over 15 years, he was a member of CIA’s consulting division and has worked throughout the world for many large companies in training, product and recipe development, and consulting.
Prior to returning to his alma mater as a member of the faculty in 1993, Ainsworth, a 1986 CIA graduate, was executive chef at Pusser’s Landing in Tortola, British Virgin Islands and for Clipper Cruise Lines in St. Louis, MO. He was also chef de partie at the renowned Le Bernardin in New York City and held chef positions at The Grill Room at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, Germany; the Charleston Marriott Hotel in Charleston, WV; and the Presbyterian Center in Holmes, NY.
Ainsworth is the author of many articles featured in magazines and trade publications. He also is a contributing author for a textbook on childhood obesity and author of CIA’s Kitchen Pro Series book, Kitchen Pro Series: Guide to Fish and Seafood Identification, Fabrication and Utilization. He also has authored a children’s cookbook, The Young Chef Recipes and Techniques for Kids Who Like to Cook, winner of the 2017 International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Award in the “Children, Youth, and Family” category.
Other awards he has earned include a silver medal at the Sixth International Dietetic Cooking Competition in Bad Worishofen Germany,and an honorable mention in the Nestlé Chocolate Competition in White Plains, NY. He was also a member of the CIA faculty team that won the coveted Marc Sarrazin Cup gold medal from Societe Culinaire Philanthropique at both the 1996 and 1997 Salon of Culinary Art in New York City.
In addition to his associate degree in Culinary Arts from CIA, Ainsworth has a bachelor’s degree in Media-Communications from the University of South Carolina. He also holds dual certification from CIA and the American Culinary Federation as a ProChef Level III (PC III) and Certified Executive Chef (CEC).
Outside the classroom, Ainsworth is a beekeeper and volunteer at the farm at Holmes. He is an avid skier and scuba diver and loves traveling with his family.