Tour de Stage Stops in Mexico

CIA students graduate and immediately become part of a network of 49,000+ alumni willing to help them on their journey in the food business. Travel with alums Sayat and Laura as they are welcomed into the kitchens of some of the finest restaurants in Mexico to experience the excitement and creativity of that country’s cuisine.

Click on the map pins to join them on their journey.

Laura Millan ’14 is from Acapulco, Mexico. She completed a BA in culinary arts at Centro Culinario Ambrosio (Mexico), earned a molecular gastronomy diploma at the Basque Culinary Center (Spain), and an AOS in culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America. She has cooked in Mexico; at Mugaritz in San Sebastián, Spain; and at Café Boulud, Eleven Madison Park, and Del Posto, all in New York City.

Sayat Ozyilmaz ’14 is from Istanbul, Turkey. He completed a BA in economics and German studies at Dartmouth College and an AOS in culinary arts at the CIA. He was an analytics manager when he changed careers. Since then, he has cooked in Mumbai, India and Istanbul, Turkey; at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Le Bernardin, both in New York. Sayat has a featured food blog on tumblr with more than 100k followers and he writes for roundtable.io, an industry insider restaurant review website.

For more food photos, adventures and stories from the travels, visit Sayat and Laura’s instagram at @LauraAndSayat.