Cooking is in Craig Rutman's blood. His paternal grandfather was a bread baker, and growing up he was drawn to his grandmother's kitchen as she prepared meals for the family. His passion for baking was cultivated at Larry Forgione's River Café in Brooklyn. He began as a line cook, but took every chance to watch the work of pastry chef Bob D'Orazio. When the pastry assistant left, Rutman was asked to step into the position, where he excelled. This led to his promotion to pastry chef at Forgione's new restaurant, An American Place. Rutman's interest in American desserts was also nourished at a stint with New York City bakery-cum-restaurant Sarabeth's.

Rutman opened his own restaurant, a Mediterranean eatery, Bissaleh, in 1997. While he enjoyed the challenge of owning a restaurant, it didn't leave him enough time for his family. So he sold the café and returned to working as a pastry chef, this time at Brooklyn's Cucina Restaurant.

In 2000, long-time acquaintance Nick Malgieri, an acclaimed baker and the head of ICE's Pastry and Baking program, convinced Rutman to share his expertise by teaching at the school. Having taught baking for several years at the New York City Technical College in Brooklyn, Rutman was delighted to return to the classroom. Watching his students soak up knowledge gives him great joy. "I take pleasure in hearing about my students' professional accomplishments," Rutman says. "It's great to be a part of that."

Today, he splits his time between teaching professional pastry and baking classes at ICE and creating desserts at Cucina Restaurant and its sister establishment, Mike & Tony's. He lives in Douglaston, Queens, with his wife and daughter.