Recently, Jeff Lee, a Culinary Arts Instructors at Pittsburgh Job Corps Center, spent 100 hours in training at the Academy of Ice Carving and Design in Fresno, CA.  “All the art and clay sculptures are done upside down before putting them into a block of ice weighing 300 lbs.  It is a 17 step process.  You have to learn how to lift the blocks of ice, how to keep them frozen, how to level them, how to make a welded seam, how to make templates on tracing paper, how to take pieces of the ice block off with a chain saw, and how to use a knife blade for carving.  It helps to have an artistic eye and a little art talent,” said Chef Lee.”  This course trained and certified Chef Lee so he can instruct students here in Pittsburgh.

The course is considered advanced training and will run for three weeks this summer. This national program will be open to five students from culinary arts programs in the Job Corps around the country.  The curriculum will include art and clay design, the principals of ice, using tools and safety equipment, handling ice, fusing for construction and repair, engraving, coloring and inlaying, as well as delivery, set-up, and display. “You would be surprised at how much physical stamina is needed to do this work,” said Chef Lee.

Any student between the ages of 16-24 interested in the culinary arts program should contact Josh Comer at the Pittsburgh Job Corps Center at 412-441-8779.