The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) was founded in 1983 and has a local reputation for delivering quality graduates to the most prestigious restaurants and hotels in Chicago.

CHIC awards Associate of Applied Science degrees as well as Le Cordon Bleu diplomas in Culinary Arts and Patisserie and Baking. As the only Le Cordon Bleu program in the Great Lakes region, the CHIC has experienced rapid growth and continues to experience enthusiasm from the hospitality industry about the quality of its graduates, who are trained in a combination of classical Frenchcooking techniques and modern American technology.

The CHIC campus occupies 80,000 square feet in two buildings located in Chicago's River North neighborhood, known for its restaurants, bakeries, galleries and night life. There are 14 classrooms within the institute as well as a library, computer lab, tutoring center and the CHIC Cafe. The CHIC Cafe is student-run and is open to the public daily, featuring a formal dining room with seating for up to 80 guests.

The students who developed these vegetarian dishes are all at different stages of the Le Cordon Bleu Program. Chef Ginepra coached the students through the development of recipes, which range from appetizers to desserts, producing results that are imaginative and comforting. One student said, "Developing a vegetarian dish provided me with an exciting challenge. It was so much fun to experiment with flavor, textures and quality products to make a dish that was appealing, savory and nourishing."

For more information, visit the Le Cordon Bleu Programs at The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago on the Web at www.chic.edu, or call 1-866-853-CHEF.

The Chefs

Hilary Ginepra

J. Karen Clark

Heahter Conklin

Jesse Costello

Matthew Dean

Jim DeWan

Jennifer Elmer

Greg Horn

Marco Morales

Bonnie Paisley

Steven Peterson

Hayes Sanborn

Clayton Scherer