3D printed food is likely to start showing up on your plate as chefs gain more practice time with printers. A new partnership between The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and 3D Systems aims to do just that, adding 3D printing into the CIA curriculum and continuing education. The partnership will commence in 2015, and will focus on confections to start with. To kickoff the announcement, Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the CIA, and Avi Reichental, president and CEO of 3DS, will be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
CIA’s New Partnership To Advance Food 3D Printing
3D Systems (3DS) has partnered with The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to provide faculty and students the opportunity to explore the intersection of 3D printed food and artisan culinary methods. Together, 3DS and the CIA plan to develop a series of educational collaborations and commence a beta program for the ChefJet Pro, a culinary 3D printer.
“Our collaboration with the CIA provides the culinary community with a unique opportunity to explore and experience the open-ended possibilities of fusing 3D food printing with traditional culinary arts,” said Avi Reichental, president and CEO of 3DS. “Together we plan to advance culinary arts through education, exploration and experimentation by introducing 3D printing into the professional kitchen.”
This joint collaboration includes the development of a series of conferences and seminars for the CIA community supported by new state-of-the-art food 3D printing technologies located at CIA campuses. Additionally, 3DS plans to provide CIA students with fellowship and internship programs at The Sugar Lab, its Los Angeles-based 3D printing culinary innovation center.
3DS has broken ground on its hybrid digital kitchen and event space, located in the heart of one of Los Angeles’ up-and-coming cuisine corridors, and plans to open it to the public this spring. The company plans to outfit its culinary innovation center with its latest food printers and invite pastry chefs, mixologists and molecular gastronomists to collaborate in creating new food experiences. 3DS also will host frequent events for leaders in the hospitality, event and culinary communities, as well as symposiums and master-classes that explore and shape the wide-open landscape of 3D printed food. 3DS plans to expand the availability of 3D printed confections and edibles via itscubify.com online platform with the opening of the culinary innovation center.
“Through our partnership with 3D Systems, The Culinary Institute of America will elevate 3D printing technology by integrating it into our curriculum so that current CIA students, alumni and culinary professionals can have access to this new platform in the future,” said Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the CIA. “I am excited to see how this technology will open opportunities to chefs as they explore its creative, design and functional capabilities using new techniques that will integrate 3D printing into the professional kitchen.”
The CIA plans to commence an intensive beta testing program with 3DS’ ChefJet Pro, the world’s first professional-grade food 3D printer, which is designed to improve the design and printing experience for professional kitchens. The full-color ChefJet Pro will be food certified and produce edible 3D printed confections—from custom candies to ornate cake toppers. Built from 3DS’ ColorJet Printing (CJP) technology, the ChefJet Pro is equipped with intuitive, chef-friendly Digital Cookbook software and creates intricate candies and sweets with a variety of flavor options. The ChefJet Pro is expected to be available in the second half of 2015.
3DS and the CIA plan to host a press event at International CES 2015 on Wednesday, from 3–4 p.m. PST, in 3DS’ booth at the Sands Expo, Booth 72225. Join Avi Reichental, president and CEO of 3DS, and Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the CIA, for a discussion on the future of food and the intersection of 3D technology and the culinary arts. There also will be a demonstration of traditional confection artistry fused with 3D printing.