International Association of Culinary Professionals names ICC's Dorothy Cann Hamilton Entrepreneur/Business Person of the Year

NEW YORK, April 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) named Dorothy Cann Hamilton, CEO and founder of The International Culinary Center (www.internationalculinarycenter.com), "Entrepreneur/Business Person of the Year" during its annual award ceremony on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. The Award of Excellence for "Entrepreneur/Business Person of the Year" is given to "the founder, CEO, or any individual who has played a key role in the development and marketing of an IACP cooking school or small business. The nominee must demonstrate the highest standards of business ethics and have established a reputation for integrity within the industry." The International Culinary Center, the world's leading culinary center for education, is an IACP cooking school and has been honored with the "Vocational Cooking School of the Year" Award of Excellence in both 2010 and 2012.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130412/NY93517 )

"I am very excited and moved to receive this very prestigious honor from the IACP," said Ms. Hamilton. "I started the school with practically nothing but a passion and a dream in 1984. Over the years, I have continued to expand our offers into new fields such as culinary technology, farm-to-table, Sommelier Training and more, to keep up with the ever-evolving industry. But what makes me the happiest is the smiling students upon graduation – knowing that they are embarking on a journey to do what they love most. Our graduates go on to become chefs, sommeliers, journalists, restaurant/business owners, TV producers in the food and wine industry, and I'm so proud of every one of them as they continue to grow and learn beyond the classroom."

Ms. Hamilton has been intimately involved with every business aspect of the school and has helped launch more than 15,000 careers, including many of America's most prominent chefs such as Bobby Flay, Dan Barber and David Chang. Over the past year alone, she has expanded the schools' offerings with industry-leading, exciting, new curriculums, including Spanish Culinary Arts, which was developed with world-renowned Spanish innovator, Chef Jose Andres; and a new Farm-to-Table intensive in New York with Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center for Agriculture, and in California. She continues to build out the curriculums and extracurricular offerings that teach students how to become culinary entrepreneurs and how to open up their own culinary businesses, to help them understand the industry outside the four walls of the kitchen and to help put their education into a larger context.

World-renowned Chef and ICC Dean Jacques Pepin said this about Hamilton, "It has been my pleasure and privilege to have worked with Dorothy Cann Hamilton for the past twenty-five years. Against all odds, with great determination, enthusiasm and business sense, Dorothy made the International Culinary Center the flourishing, professional and successful school that it is today. In my opinion, no one deserves the 'Entrepreneur/Business Person of the Year' award at IACP 2013 more." 

Drinks with Dorothy

To provide aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts with more intimate insight into the culinary industry, Ms. Hamilton is starting "Drinks with Dorothy," a quarterly educational conference series. Ms. Hamilton will host top industry professionals to discuss topics such as what it takes to start up a business, how to define success, women in the food industry and more. The series will take place at The International Culinary Center in New York City beginning in June 2013. For more information, please contact Amanda Klein at [email protected].

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About The International Culinary Center

The International Culinary Center, founded as The French Culinary Institute by Dorothy Cann Hamilton in 1984, is the world's leading culinary center for education. With campuses in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, The International Culinary Center is a culinary incubator with cutting-edge curriculums, from serious amateur and recreational classes to unmatched six-month career programs, including farm-to-table and culinary technology curriculums as well as study abroad programs to France, Italy and Spain, which produce world-class graduates that advance the industry. Its multimillion-dollar kitchens and classrooms provide the very best environment for aspiring chefs and culinary enthusiasts to develop successful careers. The International Culinary Center boasts some of the most world-renowned chefs, master sommeliers and industry figures as its deans including: Jose Andres, Scott Carney, Cesare Casella, David Kinch, Emily Luchetti, Jacques Pepin, Alan Richman, Alain Sailhac, Andre Soltner, Larry Stone and Jacques Torres. 

SOURCE The International Culinary Center