Andrea Tutunjian graduated from the Institute and began teaching here in 1995 after working in the pastry kitchen at Le Cirque, but her interest in dessert stretches back much farther than that. "I remember being fascinated with my mother's baking books when I was four," she says. "I would stare at the pictures and pretend I could read them. By the time I was nine I was trying to make chocolate mousse for my family."

Tutunjian continues to teach in the professional program as she fulfills her administrative duties as Assistant Director of Pastry & Baking Programs. That job entails supervising a staff of nine baking instructors, coordinating lesson plans and scheduling three shifts per day over a seven-day week. Tutunjian was instrumental in the recent revision of the program's curriculum, and she works closely with Nick Malgieri, Director of Pastry & Baking Programs both in school and out. "I've worked with Nick on his last three books," she reports.

Tutunjian holds a B.S. in Mathematics Management from LeMoyne College and worked as a financial analyst for eight years before coming to the food industry, but she has found that teaching comes naturally to her. "It is extremely rewarding to see my students excel and achieve. I believe in having high expectations of my students, which generates excellent results," she says

Tutunjian has three children-ages 11, 4 and 2. Her favorite activity with the kids? It's a bit of a busman's holiday: "I love teaching my children anything and everything," says Tutunjian. "I think teaching and maternal instinct are very closely linked."