Additional VIP guests included Sirio and Marco Maccioni, Tim and Nina Zagat, Cedric Vongerichten, Gavin Kaysen, restaurant designer to the stars Adam Tihany and more. Guests enjoyed a dinner prepared and served entirely by CIA students (just like all the public restaurants at the CIA) along with surprises such as an over-sized version of Bocuse's signature V.G.E. Truffle Soup where Paul and Jerome Bocuse joined CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, for a ceremonial “cracking of the crust” to officially open the restaurant. Ryan also presented Bocuse with a special “B” key to the restaurant before the meal began.

A seven-course menu was created by selecting a range of items from the restaurant’s full offerings for the grand-opening soirée. Dishes included A Peach of Foie Gras with string beans, shallots, tomato and walnut oil; Bocuse’s own Black Truffle V.G.E. Soup; filet mignon with marrow custard, wild mushrooms and red wine; and grapefruit sorbet with vodka and frozen Campari pearls. All dishes at the restaurant are prepared with a focus on the future of French cuisine, offering the chance for students to flex their creative muscles while exploring global influences, diverse i

ngredients and modern techniques.

To cap off the evening, the chefs and attendees enjoyed a toast with Bocuse of 1926 Armagnac (the year Bocuse was born).

Earlier in the day more than 1,000 CIA students gathered to watch Paul and Jerome Bocuse, Keller, Vongerichten and Boulud discuss the past, present and future of French cuisine. The panel of celebrity chefs left the CIA students with words of encouragement and advice. Bocuse told students to “make cuisine you like with good products and share it,” noting that “the only thing that matters is the customer.”

A surprise 7-foot-tall birthday cake, made entirely by CIA students, was presented to Bocuse at the end of the panel. The audience sang “Happy Birthday” to the chef in French and English, led by Ryan.

The new Bocuse Restaurant replaced the physical space of what was previously the Escoffier Restaurant. The restaurant first opened in 1973, and became known as The Escoffier Room in 1974. The space occupied by the Escoffier Restaurant underwent a dramatic renovation led by the CIA’s creative director, Adam Tihany.

“Every century, thought leaders and innovators appear and have a profound impact on the advancement of their professions,” said Ryan. “Escoffier led that advance for the 20th Century and Chef Paul Bocuse for the 21st Century.”

Photo: Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, president of The Culinary Institute of America, presents Chef Paul Bocuse with a key to The Bocuse Restaurant. Prior to that, they cracked open a giant pastry shell on an oversize version of Bocuse’s own Black Truffle V.G.E. Soup to dedicate the new restaurant. Courtesy of CIA/Phil Mansfield