Media Contact:
Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu
St. Helena, CA – Steve Carlin, the founder of Napa’s Oxbow Public Market, provided
advice for career success to graduates of The Culinary
Institute of America at Greystone on December 19. A strong supporter of the
“Buy Fresh, Buy Local” movement, Carlin challenged 49 recipients of degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry
arts to make a difference.
“Dream, aspire, take risks, question, solve problems,”
Carlin advised during commencement at the CIA’s campus in St. Helena. “You can
change the fact that food travels 1,500 miles to get to our tables by
supporting farmers’ markets and local merchants. All of you have to promise to
be influence makers, difference makers.”
Carlin moved from New York to the Bay Area at age 22,
dreaming of a career as a musician. His plans changed after he learned about wine
from James Beard while on a Mediterranean cruise. He returned home and took a
job as wine manager of the Oakville Grocery Company. During his 20 years there,
he rose to the position of managing partner, expanded the company to five
retail locations, and grew sales from $1.5 million to more than $18 million a
year.
Carlin opened the 40,000-square-foot Oxbow Public Market in
2007, and serves as its CEO. His consulting company also helped launch several
other successful projects, including the Ferry Building Marketplace in San
Francisco and artisan markets at San Francisco International Airport and Logan
International Airport in Boston.
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image
Steve Carlin, founder of Oxbow Public Market in Napa, CA,
speaks to graduates of The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone on
December 19, 2014. (Photo credit: Charlie
Gesell/CIA)
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent,
not-for-profit college offering associate and bachelor's degrees with majors in
culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, culinary science, and applied food
studies, as well as certificate programs in culinary arts and wine and beverage
studies. As the world's premier culinary college, the CIA provides thought
leadership in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, and world
cuisines & cultures through research and conferences. The CIA has a network
of 47,000 alumni that includes industry leaders such as Grant Achatz, Anthony Bourdain, Roy
Choi, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Charlie Palmer, and Roy Yamaguchi. The CIA also
offers courses for professionals and enthusiasts, as well as consulting
services in support of innovation for the foodservice and hospitality industry.
The college has campuses in Hyde Park, NY; St. Helena, CA; San Antonio, TX; and
Singapore.
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