Chef Michelle Tampakis has been an Instructor at ICE since 1986, and is the school's resident expert on chocolate. She's been instrumental in working with Director of Pastry Arts Nick Malgieri to increase the chocolate curriculum in ICE's professional pastry and baking program. Students now spend two entire weeks learning the intricacies of chocolate, including three sessions devoted to the design and creation of an original chocolate showpiece.

Michelle took a degree from Bergen Community College in 1979 in hotel and restaurant management, and then went on to attend the Culinary Institute of America. She landed a job at Windows on the World in the pastry kitchen in 1983 (where she first met Nick Malgieri), and in just two years she was the restaurant's lead pastry chef — quite an accomplishment, especially considering that it was at the time the nation's highest grossing restaurant.

Michelle left Windows in 1986 after the birth of her first daughter and began teaching at ICE. She also continued to compete in international pastry competitions, winning awards and honing her skills in showpiece creation. She's used her expertise to head up ICE's participation in the Annual Chocolate Show, the country's largest consumer chocolate show, and produced showpieces for that and numerous other chocolate events.

Michelle was recently Gale Gand's guest for an episode of the Food Network's Sweet Dreams scheduled to air this July, and she was also featured in a 60-second dessert-making spot sponsored by 3 Musketeers.

In addition to her work with chocolate, Michelle has used her artistic talents behind-the-scenes doing food styling for Lidia Bastianich's TV show Lidia's Italian Table and recipe styling for Nick Malgieri's award-winning book Chocolate.

Michelle lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three daughters.

January, 2004