Institute of Culinary Education history

The plant-based diploma program is based on the former Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI), founded by Doctor Annemarie Colbin in 1977.

Three residence halls are built, and an extensive culinary library, career planning center, and learning resources center are established. “The Harvard of Haute Cuisine.” Life magazine headline for an article about the CIA, May 1979

In 1983, Kump inaugurated a professional program to train aspiring chefs.

1984: The CIA’s continuing education center (later named the J. Willard Marriott Education Center) opens, greatly expanding and enhancing the college’s offerings for food enthusiasts.

Among his other activities, Kump, along with Julia Child, went on to establish the James Beard Foundation in 1985.

The New York Cooking School continued to expand with the addition of the pastry program in 1986.

1988: Continuing to blaze trails in research and education, the CIA builds the General Foods Nutrition Center to promote nutritional cooking.

1990: Responding to a growing industry need for highly qualified, professionally trained baking and pastry chefs, the college opens its new baking and pastry facility.

1993: The CIA completes its transformation into a complete college of higher education when the New York State Board of Regents approves the Institute to offer two Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) degrees, in either culinary arts management or baking and pastry arts management.

1995: For the first time ever, the CIA introduces an additional location, launching The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in the heart of California’s Napa Valley.

By 1997, the school's recreational cooking program had grown to be the largest in the nation.

1998: The Hyde Park campus feels even more like, well, a campus when the Student Recreation Center is unveiled to benefit student wellness.

In 1999, Chef Malgieri was as one of America's Ten Best Pastry Chefs named by Pastry Art & Design magazine.

The program offers a carefully designed mix of in-depth food- and beverage-focused management, business, and liberal arts courses that prepare students to take their place as leaders in the food world. It’s the best culinary school in the world.” Paul Bocuse, world-renowned French chef 2000: At the Hyde Park campus, the Apple Pie Bakery Café opens to enhance the baking and pastry curriculum.

2001: As the curriculum expands its focus on world flavors, the CIA opens the Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine in Hyde Park.

In 2003, Smilow was chosen as the annual honoree of The New York Association of Culinary Professionals, joining a list of culinary leaders that includes Beard, Child, Kump and Pépin, as well as Craig Claiborne and Lidia Bastianich.

2004: To accommodate the growing numbers of students and their preference for campus life, Adirondack-style lodges are added on the north end of the Hyde Park campus.

2005: A new Hyde Park focal point is created when Anton Plaza is completed adjacent to Roth Hall, providing a breathtaking view of the Hudson River for special events and student activities, as well as convenient parking for visitors.

2006: The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and the CIA announce a collaborative degree program for students seeking a preeminent education in hospitality management and the culinary arts.

Jun 1, 2007 Historic Toy Center Transitions into Office Building at 200 Fifth Avenue

May 1, 2008 The Flatiron Building

2009: The Culinary Institute of America launches its AOS degree program in baking and pastry arts at the CIA at Greystone, in the heart of California’s Napa Valley.

The program offers baking and pastry students the same hands-on learning, in-depth knowledge, and proven curriculum found at the college’s flagship campus in Hyde Park, NY. 2010: The college introduces its first international campus when The Culinary Institute of America, Singapore opens.

In addition, the CIA launches a groundbreaking bachelor’s degree program in culinary science in 2012.

2013: The Culinary Institute of America opens The Bocuse Restaurant, which gives students the chance to create and serve new interpretations of classic French cuisine in a stunning open kitchen and sleek modern dining room.

2014: The Marriott Pavilion opens its doors on the New York campus.

2015: The CIA cracks open The Egg, its one-of-a-kind new student dining venue housed in the expanded Student Commons on the college’s New York campus.

2016: An exciting evolution of the CIA bachelor’s degree program comes to fruition, as the college confers its first Bachelor of Business Administration degrees to students majoring in food business management.

Jun 20, 2017 The Fortune of Fourth Avenue

2018: The college introduces its first graduate degree program—and its first primarily online degree offering—with the Master of Professional Studies in Food Business.

May 6, 2019 NYC’s First Y.M.C.A Building

May 8, 2020 Lillian Wald, Founder, Visiting Nurse Service of New York

May 19, 2021 David Glasgow Farragut, United States Navy’s First Admiral