Combining two of his passions — Italian cuisine and education — Chef Frank Garofolo will launch ICE's Certificate in Italian Cuisine program this fall. A joint venture between ICE and the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners (ICIF) located in Piedmont, Italy, the program offers concentrated study in both New York and Italy, and then an externship in a restaurant in Italy.

Chef Garofolo's love of Italian food and ingredients came early. Both his Neapolitan grandmother and his father were restaurateurs, and the family insisted on an abundance of good food. Garofolo initially pursued a career in teaching, earning a Master's in education from St. Joseph's College in Hartford, Connecticut, and teaching elementary education and special education in the Hartford public school system.

He later attended The New School culinary and baking programs and was the chef-owner of the Rocking Horse Café on Columbus Avenue for many years. With his background in education, it's not surprising that teaching cooking came naturally to Garofolo, and he was soon instructing students at ICE, The New School, and The Restaurant School in Philadelphia. His association with ICIF began in 1991 when San Domenico restaurateur and ICIF board president Tony May invited Garofolo to become an instructor and the school's director for American students, a position he held for five years before coming to work at ICE full-time in 1996. He became Director of Purchasing and Work-Study, and later created and held the position of Director of Student Affairs at ICE during 2002, during which time he was instrumental in designing the school's new Certificate in Italian Cuisine program.

Garofolo has worked and studied in Italy himself, and sees that opportunity as eye-opening. "Educated in America, my first impression of kitchens in Italy was that they were disorganized. But you're privy to a tremendous amount of creativity — Italian cooking is based on an expression of individuality that's not necessarily found in other European traditions."

May, 2003