Acclaimed chef, restaurateur, hotelier, and entrepreneur Charlie Palmer—a 1979 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America—received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater while watching his son receive a diploma from the same college on April 13.
In bestowing the Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree, CIA President Tim Ryan cited both Palmer’s “talent as the chef and founder of the award-winning Charlie Palmer Group, one of the world’s most successful restaurant and hospitality companies” and his “astute business acumen supporting top restaurants and boutique hotels across the country.”
Palmer’s culinary and hospitality empire consists of more than a dozen restaurants, including his flagship Michelin-starred New York City restaurant Aureole, along with the Hotel Healdsburg and Lime Stone home and lifestyle store in California.
After receiving the honorary doctorate, Palmer said, “The CIA was the genesis of where I came from, and I’ve done pretty darn well, I think—way beyond my imagination of where I’d be and what I’d be.” He then advised the graduates, including Reed Palmer, “This school has prepared you to be the very best…You can be the greatest thing that’s ever happened to food in this country and this world. And, Reed, you still call me dad, not doctor.”
With an associate degree from the CIA in hand, Reed Palmer will now be heading to Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration to continue his studies through a partnership program between the two colleges.
Posted 5/15/18 by Matthew
