What’s Cookin’ Elite Event @ International Culinary Center

Although my profile shows 2 elite badges this was my first Elite Event and I can easily say it delivered!
I showed up just as the demo was starting so I missed out on the awesome looking hors d’oeuvres, but that’s not what I was there for. I was there to see a cooking demo from a pro and a pro I got. Chef Cesare was hilarious and really fun to watch and the food he made was yums!
THEN…yes there’s more. Bonus wine tasting crash course! I learned about some of the basics of wine tasting and some quick tips on identifying certain wine types. Fancy pants skills Level Up!
Overall it was a fun and educational event with very friendly people. The ICC even made everyone little party favors that contained delicious shortbread cookies. I left the event with knowledge AND sweets! Awesomesauce.
Thanks Abby for arranging this awesome and informative event!

Abby, it’s taken me too long to say this: this may have been the best elite event I’ve ever been to!
The hors d’oeuvres (and champagne!!!) were so tasty, Chef Cesare was so entertaining. Every elite I met was so excited to be there and so friendly! And the take-​home pastry bags (I’m so sorry, Kathy Y.) were a phenomenal treat that eased the pain of tearing ourselves away from this incredible event!
It’s so fun to have nights like these that are educational without being boring, social while having some structure.
More, please!

Fabulous event! It was like if i was watching a show on the Food Network but up close and personal! This facility was very clean and in great shape. The staff provided great hospitality and some of the small snacks they provided were superb delicious.
I had a glass of Prosecco and that was very good. Along with some salmon, prosciutto, brae cheese, salami, bread and it was a good choices!
We started with some videos about the Culinary school and then a little background of chef Cesare Casella. He did a dish called Caponata! It varies from town to town because of the type of ingredients available.
I learned some new techniques in the kitchen with Cher Cesare. He kept us entertaining and laughing with some jokes.
We tested his Caponata and it was excellent.
In the end a lot of Elites wanted to take a picture with him and he was kind enough to get to everyone who wanted one!
After the spetacular show and taste, we went to a second segment into a 101 of tasting white and red wines. Very informative and learned a lot from this class. They even had a sheet to help us review and narrow down the wines we were tasting.
Overall fun and spectacular, i had a chance to meet with other Elites as well. The culinary bakery also whip up some nice cookies with jam in a goodie bag.
Thanks International Culinary Center and Abby for hosting this event
LQQking foward to future events!

Absolutely fantastic. Props to Abby for really one of the best events I’ve been to. I loved meeting Chef Cesare and it was a treat to see him in action. The ICC itself was wonderful and I really enjoyed looking in on their kitchens and although we didn’t get to stop in to the wine room, it looked amazing.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the tasting. Laurie Lindrup, our mentor and somelier was, as expected, very knowledgeable and I felt like I took away a lot of valuable information from the experience.
Definitely will remember this one.

Great job putting together this intimate Unilocal Elite event Abby!
This event was definitely a different experience from the ones I’ve attended in the past. I really enjoyed the smaller group and was able to meet some new Unilocalers. During the cooking demo and the wine tasting session, I felt like I was back in school.
At the end of the cooking demo, Chef Cesare was kind enough to take photos with Unilocalers. I stood in line to take a photo with him, but the photo came out blurry. Since I wanted a clearer photo, I stood back in line to take one with him. Before I took the photo with him, we had a short conversation. I told him that I’ve never been to NYC and that I plan to go there sometime this year either in September or October. In addition, I told him that I will make sure to stop by his restaurant (Salumeria Rosi). He told me to e-​mail him before I go and to let him know that I was Thao from the Unilocal event. I told him that I’m hoping he’ll remember me since I took photos with him twice haha.
Overall, I had a great time watching Chef Cesare prepare the eggplant caponata dish. I was able to learn a couple of new things that I will apply when cooking this dish and other dishes.

It’s always great to see a master in action. Especially if that guy is Chef Cesare Casella. He’s an all-​around Italian badass in the chef world. You’ve seen him on Iron Chef America and Bourdain’s No Reservations. So when the chance to see him do a demo and taste his creation came up, I did not hesitate to press the RSVP button.
The prosecco was flowing in the demo room. People were gathering their small plates of cured meats and cheeses. Chef Casella was charming, funny, and cooked up a mean caponata that touched every taste sensation. I guess he was getting our taste receptors ready for the wine tasting, which curiously I did not even know was on the agenda for the day. Guess I hit that RSVP button too quickly and overlooked any other details besides the appearance of Chef Casella.
Laurie Lindrup and that train of letters after her name signifying her as one of the premier sommeliers in the country, if not the world. She was very informative and a pleasure to learn from. From terroir to taste, she covered a bountiful amount of topics on wine in a short amount of time.
It’s too bad I lingered too long and didn’t get a goodie bag (Come on 1 per person only, Unilocalers!), but it was worth it to come to this awesome event, my first one in a very long time.
Great job Abby! Keep it going with events like these!

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this Unilocal event, other than that it would be held at a culinary school so I expected there to be some bites to eat. Actually, that’s a given for almost every Unilocal Event I’ve ever attended. This one was particularly small and intimate given the limited number of seats in the teaching kitchen/​studio.
We walked up two flights of stairs to the third floor where Abby checked us in and we got our name tags. Inside the room, we were greeted with an awesome spread of cheeses and Italian antipasto. There was also a server pouring refreshing glasses of proseco. I wasn’t expecting such a nice greeting, so after the long drive, it was very welcome!
We got to watch Chef Cesare, an Iron Chef contestant and personal friend of Anthony Bourdain, demonstrate how to cook caponata. I’m still not exactly sure what it is other than a bunch of vegetables cooked until indistinguishable from one another. It looked a bit odd, but it tasted really good, if a bit oily. That’s probably because there was a large portion of eggplant and eggplant needs a lot of oil to cook thoroughly. Chef Cesare was very funny and willing to answer questions from the audience.
The second half of the event was spent learning the basic elements of wine tasting. Some other Unilocal Elite complained that it was «too basic,» but I don’t think this a fair assessment. First of all, nothing indicated that we would be doing any wine tasting, so this portion of the event was a welcome surprise. Also, we got to taste some delicious wines and learn a little bit more about how to discern the various complexities. Excuse me if you’re already an advanced sommelier and this is too pedestrian a task for you!
And at the end of the event, we each got to take home a gift bag with a sweet treat baked especially for the Unilocal Elite by the ICC’s pastry chefs! I enjoyed the shortbread and strawberry jam cookies. And I know some of the other bags had chocolate truffles in them. All in all, a very welcoming and well put together event by ICC. I would definitely recommend them for corporate team building or cooking lessons.
Overall, I had a fabulous time and enjoyed meeting some new Unilocal Elites!
A big thank you to Abby and her team for putting this together!

I liked how different this Elite event was compared to others. I got there a few minutes late, but luckily Rita V saved me a seat! Ran into a few other elites that I was not expecting to meet, but what a pleasant surprise!
I loved Chef Cesare’s charm and humor. He kept talking throughout the whole demo trying to explain what he was doing (though sometimes his English was hard to understand), was always willing to answer questions, and never had a bad attitude. The caponata he cooked was delicious! There was always a different flavor in every bite, whether it was an olive, a caper, raisins… amazing!
Then to our next class on wine tasting… Laurie did a fantastic job providing us with loads of information about wine. A very dynamic speaker, I learned a lot more than expected, and I hope to retain some of that information!
Overall, a fun, informative, well-​organized Elite Event! Thank you, Abby and Unilocal

I liked this event, would give 4.5 stars. I was definitely impressed with the International Culinary Center. I have a personal friend that graduated from there recently and it was exciting to actually see the place. The demo was interesting, kinda wish it was something more substantial than just the caponata. Thought the caponata was good but a little oily. Chef Cesare was a funny and warm welcoming chef. He definitely kept us entertained.
As my first Unilocal elite event, I was impressed by walking in the door, being greeted with some appetizers, a charcuterie plate, cheeses and also crostini as well as a glass of prosecco.
Otherwise, really enjoyed the sommelier demonstration and wine tasting which has given me a better appreciation for the art of wine tasting. And really loved the goodie bags as well as the Unilocal elite watch we got. Will definitely be back for more Unilocal elite events! Great start!

Yay for getting in from the waitlist! Thanks Abby!
What a great event to learn about food and wine. Everything was super fun, enjoyable, well organized, and very educational! I learned lots about cooking and wine as well as a cool spot to look into for cooking classes and what not.
I loved the red wine we tried so much I ran out to get some right after. Yum!
It was a great great event! =D

I was once told that I am not domestic enough, that’s why I can’t keep a man. Well, that, and among other reasons. Such as the fact that I am psychotic most of the time.
So just imagine how excited I was when I saw an event at the International Culinary Center, where we could personally witness one of the world-​renowned chefs, Chef Cesare Casella, demonstrate a fantastic Italian dish for us! This could possibly be my door to the mystifying world of culinary arts… I could become a master chef!
We were promptly provided with Unilocal notebooks and pens so we could take detailed notes (which I did — the pen did not leave the paper except for when I used my hands to eat!). We were also supplied with the recipe, as well as a short bio on Chef Casella. After finding a seat in the small kitchen auditorium, there was a small buffet waiting for us, piled with baguette, smoked salmon with dill, various charcuteries, crackers and cheese, and my dear, prosecco!
The setting was very intimate — since there is no plus-​one this time, everyone seemed to start to try to get to know one another. We snacked on the light bites while chef and his staff prepped the ingredients.
The demonstration tonight was caponata, a traditional eggplant based relish which can be eaten with bread, rice, noodles, or even alone (though I’d prefer eating it as a dip — just imagine how wonderful it would be to soak my baguette in this!). This was a perfect dish for tonight, since I am semi-​vegetarian, AND I just had a root canal procedure earlier in the day, so the sweet and sour, tender relish was right up my alley!
Throughout the demonstration, Chef was humorous and knowledgeable. He shared some of his secrets and his cooking preferences with us, and he continued to educate us on various other ways you may personalize this dish. He was very easy to talk to, and audience were free to ask any questions and Chef would answer them patiently.
The caponata was amazing! It was sweet, it was sour, and it was just absolutely delicious! No wonder Chef’s been on Iron Chef and has kicked it with Anthony Bourdain!
After the demo, we were led to another room for wine tasting lessons. I’m a wine drinker, and I can tell good wine from nasty wine (even though I’d drink them all nonetheless). But the intricacy in the art of wine tasting is beyond believe. The tasting lesson was led by Laurie Lindrup, who went into details about various contributing factors in wine making, different regions, styles, process, grapes, and so much more. We learned about the tasting notes, the color, the smell, flavor, and methods of elimination which leads to being able to (hopefully one day) tell one wine from the other. We then tasted two different wines, a white and a red. Turns out, Abby S. is amazing at identifying wine!
When the tasting was over, Dorene and I wandered around the facilities, fantasized about maybe one day taking some classes here and there, maybe one day knowing how to use these different, shiny kitchen equipments. Who knows, that «one day» could be very soon!
I enjoyed this eye-​opening experience so, so much, especially when I bit into one of the shortbread cookies with jam in our goodie bag at the end of the night — these people are amazing at what they do! Maybe one day I can be just like them!

Well hello Unilocalers, it’s nice to see you! Mother Effin FANTASTIC event. Great Job Abby! Clearly, this is the event that brought me out of what I call Unilocal Hibernation. The International Culinary Center brought their A-​GAME last night. An elite crew of Unilocalers (25 or so) were treated to a cooking demo by famed chef Cesare Casella and a wine tasting with director of special events, Lauire Lindrup.
The 1 hour with chef Casella was basic, but good. Flavorful dish paired with humor and a thick accent, what a killer combination. Did I mention we were greeted with snacks and prosecco?
Surprisingly, it felt like a high brow event, but it was not. The demo and wine tasting were very interactive. I even learned a couple of new things, one of which was to taste 3 fruits in every glass of wine. Laurie impressed me with her knowledge, many tittles, and love of wine. She clearly new her stuff.
If you are looking to take classes, change careers, or perfect your skills, visit the website:
Again, much props to Abby for keeping it classy, sassy, and FUN. This was definitely one of my favorite events OF ALL TIME, and that says a lot. I mean I came out of «yelptirement» for Pete’s sake. ******For those that didn’t get a gift bag and complained, c’mon people, we got to see a Iron Chef for free?!? Let’s keep perspective of what Unilocal Events are aimed to do and not do.
5 stars+ 1 for awesomeness.
OG out.

You know how hunters stalk their prey and wait, wait, wait for the right opportunity to pounce. After a long hibernation, I finally found the right event, and I’m glad I was able to go.
The wine tasting did make me feel a bit inferior, because I do love drinking wine but never knew what to look for. Now I know what grapefruit pith smells like. I know what ruby red looks like. I know what oak tastes like without taking a bite out of a piece of freshly fallen bark.
I walked away informed and it felt good. Thanks Abby and the Culinary team.

If there’s one thing I’m passionate about, it’s cooking. Having the opportunity to be in the same room as such a renown chef was an absolute delight. Chef Cesare was quite a funny guy too!
Like Anna mentioned, there was quite a spread of meats, cheese & nuts to eat and prosecco and water to drink. The International Culinary Center staff was SO friendly and helpful, and not without a sense of humor.
I loved being able to experience the cooking demonstration, though I will agree with Andrew on the über basic comment. Hell, even Chef didn’t seem excited when he relayed his reaction to when he was told what he would be making that day. Regardless, there’s something about watching someone who oozes passion work a knife like that and utilize ingredients. I only wish I was able to enjoy it like everyone else. Damn allergy! What are the odds? Seriously.
Next up was the wine lesson from Laurie Lindrup. She had such a wonderful personality and so many designations! I enjoy my wine and have an appreciation, but her demonstration & tasting lesson was super informative and I learned quite a bit that I didn’t know. Facts like wine storage: 55 degrees with 70% humidity with no vibration and in the dark. Or even tilting the glass over something white to determine it’s color and decide what my kind of wine it might be based on the variation.
Overall, I had a wonderful time! Thank you so much Abby, Unilocal and ICC!
This event definitely served as a reminder event to take another fun class here. I’ve had a gift certificate from when it was the Professional Culinary Institute that needs to be used!
Note: The classes are more expensive now than when it was PCI. They used to be $ 150 and now are $ 195 for 4 hours. I’ve attended one before, when it was PCI, and it’s well worth it.

Thanks Abby and Unilocal SB Team for allowing me for this once in a lifetime experience! What a GREAT EVENT!!! It was such a treat for us Unilocalers!
The ICC staff were all super friendly! We certainly felt the FIRST CLASS treatment! Thank you for the generosity.
The hors d’oevre was PLENTIFUL and delicious. They greeted us with yummy variety of cheese, crackers, smoked salmon, cured meats. WOW! And there was a butler pouring delicious prosecco (not just one glass, he actually went around and kept pouring more!!!)
We watched the Italian chef demonstrated how to cook Caponata, which is a stir-​fry mixed-​veggie dish (eggplants, bell peppers, tomatoes, basil, raisins, capers, olives, onions, yummm!!), the best part was «sampling» the freshly cooked dish! yummmm!
We then were escorted to go to the «wine tasting» room. learned about sniffing, devouring and spitting wine like a pro LOL! It was a very informative session, loveeeeddd it!
They do company events and I certainly cannot wait to spread the words around… yup, I’m taking my colleagues here in the near future!!!
Thanks again ICC!!!
BTW, didn’t get the goody-​bag though. o well!!!

There’s something I have to admit: I watch an hour of YouTube cooking tutorials every day. This event was orgasmic for me!
Watching what goes on in the kitchen was amazing. Chef Cesare was hard to understand at first, but once you catch on, he’s a class act. Everything went by so fast– he made such a gourmet italian dish in 15 minutes! The best part was we got to taste it. yummmm
Then we strolled over to the wine class. I learned SO MUCH about wine fermentation, different types of grapes, styles (old vs. new). I really want my pallet to mature!
The building itself was beautiful, straight out of a top chef show. I thought it was funny that its right next to the gym ;).
Thank you for our goody bags with pastries from the pastry chefs! I cant believe how lucky I am to have experienced this. Thanks to Unilocal and Abby for putting this event together.
I’m already looking at taking another class :)

YAY! My first official elite event!
After checking in, we were spoiled with tons of appetizers. From cheese to crackers to various types of meat hors d’oevres. If I could advise anyone anything from that lecture seating area, DO NOT PUT YOUR FOOD ON YOUR TABLE! I guess it’s only meant for taking notes. I was so sad when all my appetizers fell to the floor =(not to mention the embarassment! Luckily, tons of hors d’oevre so I helped myself to another plate. This time eating off my lap!
Chef Cesare Casella was so funny! He kept talking and would catch himself from burning the food. I was really glad he stayed around to take pictures and talk with others. It must be an amazing life being a famous chef and traveling from NY to Italy to all over the world doing what you love and showing others how to follow your dreams.
I also have new steps on how to taste wine, thanks to Laurie. I need more of her lessons to really know my wines! She was intelligent and had a great and detailed powerpoint which didn’t put me to sleep like your typical powerpoint lectures!
I was sad I loitered around upstairs because when a group of us went downstairs to grab our pastry bags, there were no more to be enjoyed! =(I’m hoping it was only because too many Unilocalers came out and not enough bags were made. I’d be pretty bummed if someone grabbed the rest of the bags thinking they were leftovers =\ Though I’m sure everyone that got the treat enjoyed it to its very last bite. YUM!
I would have enjoyed this event even more if it was longer. A little less than 2 hours seemed to rush both presentations. You really can’t rush deliciousness.
Thanks Abby for coordinating such a memorable event! :)

Thanks Abby, Unilocal,Chef Cesare, Laurie, and International Culinary Center for this WONDERFUL Unilocal elite event!
When I was put on the waitlist at first, I knew a lot of Elites were interested in this event. However, I was lucky enough to see an email from Abby a few hours before the event started! I was so excited to be able to get in. Thanks again Abby!
The event was well organized. I liked how we were given a Unilocal book, Unilocal pen, the recipe, and a mini bio on Chef Cesare when we checked into the event. There was a nice spread of food for us elites to snack on (bread, cheeses, salami, nuts, etc).
It was nice watching Chef Cesare cook his dish. He made a few funny jokes, too. It was great that we got to taste it, and it was delicious! I liked how it was very informal, so we were allowed to shout out questions while he cooked.
The wine tasting class was really fun. I learned a lot about how wines are made. We got to sample a white wine and a red wine.
It was a great surprise when we were given a small goody bag filled with a pastry. My bag had chocolate truffles, and it was really good! I wish I can have more.lol.
Overall, another Amazing Unilocal elite event!

This was one of the most unique and amazing YEE’s ever! Big thanks to Abby and the Culinary team (s) for putting on a great time.
There was food, there was bubbly, there was wine and surprisingly quite a bit of education. Food Network featured chef Cesare Casella treated all of us to some delicious eggplant, which happens to be my favorite vegetable and showed what some chopping and a little bit of patience could produce as a fine appetizer, side dish or main dish!
The sommelier Laurie also helped things along by sharing some fantastic tips on wine tasting between delicious sips of «mystery» white and red wines which turned out to be reasonably priced bottles that both you and I could actually afford!
I loved chef Casella’s personality, very fun and vibrant teacher I imagine him to be! Again a fantastic event and a great YEE. Cheers to all who were able to attend and hope you’re enjoying your bagged pastries!

Another phenomenal YEE thanks to Abby and the team at the International Culinary Center.
Upon arrival there was meats and cheeses to snack on and we were served some prosecco which was topped off automatically a few times.
We were spoiled with a cooking demonstration by Master Chef Cesare Casella, who made a delicious caponata dish for us to try all the while taking questions from Unilocalers. He came close to burning our dish a few times as «he was talking too much» (his words) :-)
After the cooking demonstration we were led into another room for a wine tasting 101 lesson with Laurie Lindrup, who did a fantastic job explaining how we can easily improve our wine knowledge and identify different varietals. We tasted a lovely Dourthe La Grande Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc and a McManis Cabernet Sauvignon.
As a special treat, all Elites received a little goodie bag on their way out filled with sweet treats — I received some dark chocolate balls and my friend and fellow Elite Unilocaler Vanessa R. got some cookie sandwiches.
This was a great event that was not only fun but also very educational! Vanessa R. and I are thinking about taking a wine seminar here since Laurie did a fabulous job.