The Culinary Institute of America Presents 2010 Augie™ Awards

Eric Ripert, Cat Cora '95, and Chris Muller '88 to be Honored at NYC Gala to Benefit Student Scholarships

Hyde Park, NY, March 4, 2010 – The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) will confer its fourth annual CIA Leadership Awards in New York City, at a gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Thursday, March 18. The CIA created the Augie™ Awards, named for Auguste Escoffier, in 2007 to celebrate success and achievement of the foodservice industry's best and brightest. Augie recipients exemplify a tradition of innovation and leadership. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds benefit the education of future culinary leaders through the college's scholarship endowment.

The Chef of the Year Award is being bestowed upon Eric Ripert, partner and chef of Le Bernardin in New York City. Born in Antibes, France and raised in Andorra, Ripert moved to Paris at age 17 to cook at the legendary La Tour D'Argent. He came to the United States in 1989 to work for Jean-Louis Palladin at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. Two years later, Ripert moved to New York and soon after became chef at Le Bernardin. He has earned three Michelin stars since Michelin Guide began reviewing New York restaurants in 2005. Le Bernardin and Ripert have been honored with numerous James Beard Foundation Awards over the years, including Outstanding Restaurant of the Year, Outstanding Service, Top Chef in New York City, and Outstanding Chef in the United States.

The Alumna of the Year Award will be presented to Cat Cora '95, the only female Iron Chef in the history of the Food Network's Iron Chef America. Cora enrolled at the CIA on the advice of Julia Child, whom she met at a book signing in her native Mississippi. When not on television, Cora is executive chef of Bon Appétit magazine. In the past two years, she opened CCQ barbeque restaurant in Costa Mesa, CA and Kouzzina at Walt Disney World. Chef Cora is president and founder of Chefs for Humanity, a charitable organization she started in response to the 2004 Asian tsunami. Bringing culinarians together to raise funds for emergency, educational, and hunger-related causes around the world, Chefs for Humanity was mobilized in the U.S. just a few months later, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Most recently, it has been a leader in raising funds for Haitian relief. Cat is also nutritional spokesperson for UNICEF.

The Alumnus of the Year Award will be presented to Chris Muller '88. Muller is chef de cuisine at Le Bernardin. The Wisconsin native began cooking in his family's restaurant at age 10. After graduating from the CIA, he apprenticed with the National Culinary Olympic Team while working at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WV. In 1990, he moved to Washington, DC to cook for fellow CIA graduate Jeffrey Buben '78. He has been with Le Bernardin since 1993. Under Ripert and Muller, Le Bernardin was named best restaurant in America by GQ and best restaurant in New York by New York magazine, and received a pair of four-star reviews from The New York Times.

Tickets to the gala are $1,000 per person (of which $750 is tax deductible). For information and reservations, contact Ellen Henneberry at 845-905-4279 or visit www.ciagiving.org.

Photo caption: The Auguste Escoffier "Augie" Award. Recipients for 2010 are chefs Eric Ripert, Cat Cora '95, and Chris Muller '88.

Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris

Contact:
Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu

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