Contact: Anne E. McBride
212-847-0700 x209
amcbride@iceculinary.com

Four I.C.E. Alumni on FOX TV's "Hell's Kitchen"
With English Star Chef Gordon Ramsay

New York, NY (August 2005)—Television acting is not on the academic menu at The Institute of Culinary Education. Nonetheless, four of the fifteen cast members on the recent FOX TV hit “Hell’s Kitchen” were I.C.E. alumni. All four were selected by the show’s casting agents without knowledge of their mutual I.C.E. background.

The “reality” TV show, an offshoot of the same show aired in the United Kingdom, featured the Michelin-starred, London-based, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his two sous chefs, as they put twelve cooks, with varying experience levels, to the test in his culinary boot camp. The contestants faced near impossible situations in the made-for-TV Los Angeles restaurant, Hell’s Kitchen, and each week one was eliminated based on his or her performance in the kitchen.

I.C.E. Vice-President Stephen Tave (left) with Hell's Kitchen
contestants at a viewing party held at I.C.E. in July 2005
Of the twelve contestants, three are I.C.E. alumni:

•James “Jimmy” Casey is a 2005 graduate and is currently a manager in I.C.E.’s Purchasing Department.

•Chris North is a 1994 graduate and is currently executive chef of The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood in Rowayton, Connecticut.

•Wendy Liu is a 2000 graduate.

On the show, Chef Ramsay had two non-contestant sous chefs assisting him. One of them, Mary Ann Salcedo, is a 1999 I.C.E. alumna. Salcedo is currently executive chef at Merchants restaurant in New York City.

During "Hell's Kitchen," Chef Ramsay came across as a particularly tough and unforgiving task master. Based on his fifteen-plus year reputation in England, this personality was not all an act for TV. Still, the I.C.E. contestants felt it was a valuable, educational and fun experience. I.C.E. alumnus James Casey said “Chef Ramsay was really tough on me, but I learned an incredible amount about cooking and restaurant operations in that month. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“ Hell’s Kitchen” aired on FOX from May 30 to August 1. The ultimate winner was 27-year-old Michael Wray from Ft. Collins, Colorado. At the end of the show, Michael was offered his own restaurant or the chance to move to London and work with (and learn from) Chef Ramsay. He chose the London option.
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