| |
Instructor
Dave Ramirez comes to ICE® after five years
as sous-chef at Chanterelle, David and Karen
Waltuck’s top-rated contemporary French
restaurant. The New York native originally
began working in restaurant kitchens when out
of college, a self-described struggling rock
musician who studied English and Communications
at SUNY-Fredonia (he was music director of
the school radio station for two years). His
first job was at the Village stalwart Cajun
restaurant Great Jones Café. He was
the restaurant’s evening line cook, an
experience he remembers as “a really
great first job. We got slammed every night.”
In
1995 he decided to pursue the restaurant business
in earnest and enrolled in the career
culinary program at ICE®. His externship at Chanterelle
began what would be his most important culinary
influence. He worked with chef/owner David Waltuck,
went briefly to Anne Rozensweig’s Arcadia,
and then returned to Chanterelle in 1997 to become
the restaurant’s sous-chef. Chef Ramirez
has the highest praise for Waltuck and his use
of simple, intense flavors that animate his modern
take on nouvelle French cuisine.
In addition
to teaching at the Institute, Chef Ramirez is
active in C-CAP (Careers Through Culinary
Arts Program), a group that teaches culinary
skills to inner-city high school students. And
this fall he traveled to São Paulo, Brazil,
to represent ICE® at the Boa Mesa food show, Brazil’s
largest gourmet show. Chef Ramirez gave a demonstration
of contemporary American hors d’oeuvres---his
demo followed that of legendary South American
Chef Claude Troisgrois.
Chef Ramirez lives in
New Jersey with his wife and two daughters, and
in addition to being a
dedicated amateur musician, pursues a number
of culinary hobbies. He’s an avid home
gardener with a keen interest in organic farming.
He’s partial to chiles, a passion that
he shares in the school’s recreational
program with a class titled “Hot and Spicy
Foods from Around the World.”.
January, 2004 |
