NOVEMBER 15 2009
AMERICANWAY 39
In the five seasons of Bravo TV’s smash-
hit reality show
TopChef
, three of thewin-
ners have hailed from “the Culinary” in
Hyde Park, NewYork. TheCIA countsAn-
thony Bourdain, Grant Achatz, and Todd
English among its more recent alumni.
Occupying a grand neoclassical former
Jesuit seminary with landscaped grounds
overlooking theHudsonRiver, it has tour-
ists milling about in the lobby, giving it a
resortlike feel. Gold-vaulted Farquharson
Hall, the former seminary chapel, is re-
splendent with ecclesiastical stained glass
andcouldhavecome straightoutof aHarry
Potter movie. It has garnered the CIA the
nicknameHogwarts-on-Hudson.
Skills IIwill last anotherfivehours— it’s
quickly becoming clear that I should have
wornbetter shoes. For their first two years,
students at theCIAareon their feet for six-
plus hours a day. I ask a lanky kid stirring
the stockpotswhat he does for fun.He tells
me that he butchers meat. “My roommate
likes tocutupfish inhisspare time,”hecon-
tinues. Obviously, these kids are into food.
“We all are here becausewe knowwhat we
want todo. There’sno switchingofmajors,”
saysErin, aseniorwhohasnowfinishedher
degree in baking and pastry-arts manage-
ment. “We speak the same language.” Even
the sports teams — basketball, soccer, and
tennis among them— are nicknamed the
CIA Steels, as in knife-sharpening steel. At
the soccer games, eachgoal is celebratedby
parading a six-foot-tall knife up and down
thefield.
At the CIA, tIme Is In short supply.
There are classes in session 24 hours a day
— breakfast class begins at 2:30 a.m. for
one lucky group each week. Raw ingredi-
entsmove from class to class, from prep to
plate.A sideofporkbutchered in themorn-
ing’sMeatFabricationclasswill endupona
plate fordinner.At theCIA, you literallyeat
yourhomework.
For my first lunch, I report to K16 for
Quantity Food Production. The classroom
is cafeteria-style by necessity — students
in K16 produce 1,100meals every day. My
first lunch as a student at theCIA is aplate
heapedwithtenderbraisedporkribs,herbed
potato salad, and crunchy jicama slaw. This
meal bears no resemblance to thepizza and
ramenofmyownundergraduate years.
The last of
thegreat
independents.
The owner/
operatorswho
give not only
fine beef but
their hearts as
well.
The Independent Retail
Cattleman’s Association
557Mt. Pleasant Road
Kingston Springs, TN 37082
Visit:
Grill 225
CHARLESTON, SC.................843.266.4222
Proprietor:
NickPalassis
ExecutiveChef:
DemetreCastanas
McKendrick’s SteakHouse
ATLANTA, GA.........................770.512.8888
Proprietors:
Claudia&DougMcKendrick,
RickCrowe
Malone’s
LEXINGTON, KY....................859.335.6500
Proprietors:
BrianMcCarty &BruceDrake
MetropolitanGrill
SEATTLE, WA.........................206.624.3287
Proprietor:
RonCohn
Gene&Georgetti
CHICAGO, IL.........................312.527.3718
Proprietors:
Tony &MarionDurpetti
St. ElmoSteakHouse
INDIANAPOLIS, IN.................317.635.0636
Proprietors:
SteveHuse&CraigHuse
III Forks
DALLAS, TX............................972.267.1776
Proprietor:
Chris Vogeli
BOCARATON, FL....................561.416.2185
Proprietor:
DanaBorders
Manny’s
MINNEAPOLIS,MN.................612.339.9900
Proprietors:
Phil Roberts, PeterMihajlov
&KevinKuester
Rainwater’s onKettner
SANDIEGO, CA.....................619.233.5757
Proprietors:
Laurel &PaddyRainwater
