I Had Lunch at the CIA

Ever since reading Michael Ruhlman’s The Making of a Chef in 2007, I’ve wanted to have a meal at the CIA. No, not that CIA, although I hear they do have a half-decent cafeteria. This CIA is the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world’s finest cooking schools, located in Hyde Park, NY. Long term readers of this blog may recall that it was Ruhlman’s tales of life at the CIA that led me to my first food blog – Butter Pig – whose author Tom Dowdy had written a diary of his own 3 months at the school. Blown away by what I had discovered, I bought the CIA textbook The Professional Chef, got myself some good knives, read some Harold McGee and began to cook more. Tom’s writing led me to other food blogs, including the Julie/Julia Project, and suffice it to say, life hasn’t been the same since. This week, my foodie little brother and his wife invited me to join them on their vacation in the Hudson Valley. I knew immediately where we had to go. Hyde Park and the CIA. The only thing available when we made our last minute call for reservations was an early seating for lunch mid week. We took it! The CIA is one stunning campus. Timeless, ivy-covered brick buildings (one sporting a figurehead of Paul Bocuse, the hero of French nouvelle cuisine), orderly gardens and stunning views of the Hudson River hills, which were still lusciously verdant on the gorgeous late summer day we visited. Chefs and wanna-be chefs dotted the ...
Source: The Blog That Ate Manhattan - Category: Primary Care Authors: Tags: Restaurant Reviews Bocuse Restaurant CIA Culinary school Hudson valley Hyde Park Restaurants Source Type: blogs