Mark Erickson
Professional Jury - United States of America
Mark Erickson is the Provost of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), a position from which he oversees all aspects of the school's curriculum, external relations, academic, administrative, and culinary activities. He graduated from the CIA in 1977 and served as director of the Hyde Park campus from 1988 to 1990. He previously served as chef at the Palace Hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland; executive sous chef at the Greenbrier Hotel in Virginia; sous chef at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida; and executive chef of the Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta. In 1997, he co-founded a digital company in Silicon Valley focused on food and cooking, which was later acquired by a subsidiary of Amazon.com. He also founded another company that produced and distributed smoked seafood. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic Culinary Team in 1980, 1984, and 1988, winning the gold medal, and part of the team that won the 1985 Culinary World Cup. He also coached the U.S. team for the 2011 Bocuse d'Or. Erickson holds a bachelor's degree in restaurant and hotel management from the University of New Haven and an MBA from Poughkeepsie, New York.