STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 24
FROM CULINARY ARTS TO CRYSTAL CREATIONS:
THE STORY OF STILLWATER’ S ICE MAN
Working against time and temperature, specialized tools in hand, Drue Brandenburg transforms a rigid, shapeless block of ice into a glass-like masterpiece.
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n the small corner of the world known as Stillwater, Oklahoma, an artist practices an ancient but rare art form. Working against time and temperature, specialized tools in hand, Drue Brandenburg transforms a rigid, shapeless block of ice into a glasslike masterpiece.
Through his ice sculpting business, Brandenburg has brought a unique beauty to a variety of local special occasions, from business anniversary celebrations to holidays. Brandenburg, who grew up in Stillwater and graduated from both Stillwater High School and Oklahoma State University, started ice sculpting in 1984.
“ My life was food, and I loved teaching the culinary arts,” Brandenburg said.“ I went to the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York. They had ice sculpting there, and I thought it was really cool, but I didn’ t get to do it until I started my career at the Central Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. They had one of the world’ s premier ice sculptors there, and I got to watch him create stuff, and I thought,‘ man, I want to do that.’”
While working as the executive chef for Shangri-La International Hotels, Brandenburg said the food and membership director found out he had previously done some ice carving.
“ He came walking into my office with a beginner’ s set of ice carving tools, and he said,‘ well, what are you going to do?’” Brandenburg said of the director.“ I said,‘ well, I guess I’ ll learn to carve some ice.’ So, I started doing it at Shangri-La, and as I moved through my career in the hotel industry, I developed a passion for it. It was something I fell in love with.”
In 1997, while working as a culinary arts teacher at a university in Miami, he started his own business called Miami Ice Man, creating ice sculptures for various events and businesses. Once he retired from teaching in 2016, he devoted himself to the business full-time until Covid shut down his business in 2020. Needing a more affordable place to live in retirement, Brandenburg moved back to his roots in Stillwater where he started his business called Ice of Stillwater.
Today, Brandenburg just does a few commissions here and there throughout the year, but he consistently donates an ice sculptor for each special holi-
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 24