Institute of Culinary Education – Recreational Cooking, Baking & Wine Classes
Institute of Culinary Education, Brookfield Place, 225 Liberty St, New York, NY 10281
About
Institute of Culinary Education – Recreational Cooking, Baking & Wine Classes offers hands-on cooking, baking and wine classes, including options such as plant-based classes, vegan baking workshops, and wine & beverages classes. The program includes specific classes like Summer Fruit Pies, Make-and-Take Thai Dinner, Knife Skills, Sushi Matsuri Festival, Classic French Macaroons, Pasta 101, and a Wine Essentials course, with all classes taught in a hands-on format where participants cook in teams. ICE provides everything needed for class, including aprons, knives, and recipe and instruction packs that participants may keep, and most classes end with a large meal served family-style, often with wine or beer, and students may take home leftovers.
• Schedule: Courses are offered day and night almost every day of the year, typically in 1–5 sessions, with most classes running 3–6 hours and generally beginning at 9:00 AM or 6:00 PM.
• Price: The Summer Fruit Pies class and the Make-and-Take Thai Dinner class are each priced at $150.
Since 1975, the mission of ICE’s Recreational Program has been to provide a rich, fun and broad array of courses focusing on fundamental techniques, authentic and global cuisines, topical culinary concepts and classic cooking methods. The program offers over 1,500 hands-on cooking, baking and wine classes a year, including specialized areas based on topic or age such as classes for couples and kids, and trains an additional 26,000 recreational students each year beyond its professional programs. Class size is generally one Chef-Instructor and up to 16 students, and ICE hosts over 200 culinary events each year, including evening cooking classes for corporate entertaining, team building, closing dinners, and personal celebrations such as birthdays or special reunions, as well as cooking parties and group events and gift cards for hands-on courses.
ICE’s Chef-Instructors come from wide and varied backgrounds, with many having significant high-end restaurant experience and having run top kitchens around the globe. The leadership team for these programs includes Stephen Mandracchia, Director of Culinary Operations; Catherine Boyle, Vice President of Marketing and Communications; Stephanie Fraiman, Public Relations & Communications Director; and Diana Allan, Director of Events. ICE’s recreational programs are not accredited by the ACCSC and are not licensed by the State of New York’s Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision, and they are intended for personal enrichment, not vocational training, and the Institute of Culinary Education was ranked as America’s Best Culinary School by USAToday in 2019.
Testimonials from past participants include comments that the recreational classes were “really hands on,” that there were “a number of different types of classes for everyone's tastes,” and that these experiences led at least one student to later enroll in a diploma program when ready for a career change.
Last updated July 29, 2026.
• Schedule: Courses are offered day and night almost every day of the year, typically in 1–5 sessions, with most classes running 3–6 hours and generally beginning at 9:00 AM or 6:00 PM.
• Price: The Summer Fruit Pies class and the Make-and-Take Thai Dinner class are each priced at $150.
Since 1975, the mission of ICE’s Recreational Program has been to provide a rich, fun and broad array of courses focusing on fundamental techniques, authentic and global cuisines, topical culinary concepts and classic cooking methods. The program offers over 1,500 hands-on cooking, baking and wine classes a year, including specialized areas based on topic or age such as classes for couples and kids, and trains an additional 26,000 recreational students each year beyond its professional programs. Class size is generally one Chef-Instructor and up to 16 students, and ICE hosts over 200 culinary events each year, including evening cooking classes for corporate entertaining, team building, closing dinners, and personal celebrations such as birthdays or special reunions, as well as cooking parties and group events and gift cards for hands-on courses.
ICE’s Chef-Instructors come from wide and varied backgrounds, with many having significant high-end restaurant experience and having run top kitchens around the globe. The leadership team for these programs includes Stephen Mandracchia, Director of Culinary Operations; Catherine Boyle, Vice President of Marketing and Communications; Stephanie Fraiman, Public Relations & Communications Director; and Diana Allan, Director of Events. ICE’s recreational programs are not accredited by the ACCSC and are not licensed by the State of New York’s Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision, and they are intended for personal enrichment, not vocational training, and the Institute of Culinary Education was ranked as America’s Best Culinary School by USAToday in 2019.
Testimonials from past participants include comments that the recreational classes were “really hands on,” that there were “a number of different types of classes for everyone's tastes,” and that these experiences led at least one student to later enroll in a diploma program when ready for a career change.
Last updated July 29, 2026.
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