Q&A with Current CIA Food and Beverage Service Students
Author Annie B. Milostan ’25 is a Baking and Pastry Arts major.
A unique part of going to school here at the Culinary Institute of America is our student-run kitchens and restaurants. Second semester students cook for all students and guests that come to The Egg dining venue, fourth semester students make meals from different regions of the world, and last semester students cook in our on-campus restaurants that guests from all over the world come to enjoy. I had the pleasure of talking to two students who work in our restaurants here on campus, here’s what they had to say about this unique experience.
Mia Davis ’25
Danasia Parker ’24
What did you enjoy about working in CIA restaurants?
- Mia Davis ’25: I enjoyed the fast-paced environment I was in, I always tried to put myself at a station that I wanted to be high volume and something I couldn’t practice more while being here.
- Danasia Parker ’24: I enjoyed being able to see both sides of an important part of how a business is run. I love being in the kitchen; that’s what I do at home, but my front-of-house skills are just as good, and talking to the guests is interesting because everyone is different, looking for something different.
How do you feel this experience has/is shaping you for your life after graduation?
- Mia Davis: It’s not just about learning to cook; it’s about the whole operation—from customer service to managing high-pressure situations, teamwork, and adapting on the fly. The class is likely to give you invaluable insight into the demands and intricacies of the culinary world, preparing you for real-world challenges. It pushed me to develop resilience, efficiency, and a keen eye for detail. By engaging directly with every part of a restaurant environment, I was gaining skills and confidence that would serve me well in any kitchen or culinary management role after graduation.
- Danasia Parker: This experience has shaped me in a positive way because it shows me how to move a certain way in a kitchen with set rules and repetitions such as paying attention to every detail, double-checking everything, and just making sure I remember that slow is smooth, smooth is fast. I believe knowing these core principles that I learned through this experience will help me excel in any kitchen.
How do you feel this class helps set your college experience apart from others?
- Mia Davis: This class is the most realistic to the outside world, The chef will continue to give you a hard time if you are not ahead of all prep, service, how you keep your station clean, etc.
- Danasia Parker: This class is unique to any other at another college because it catered to my industry. I learned more extensively about wines, as that’s of equal importance just as the food itself, as well as getting an in-depth understanding of what happens in the front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) because I experienced it, and I don’t believe I would have gotten the knowledge of all these things at another school.
How did CIA expand your view of what is possible within the world of food and convince you to make food your life?
- Mia Davis: My time at CIA has shown me just how vast and versatile the food world is. You may have come in dreaming of becoming a chef, but CIA introduced me to a wide range of paths, from food science, sustainability, and entrepreneurship to food media and beyond. Through hands-on experience, networking, and exposure to diverse culinary experts, you’ve seen that a culinary career doesn’t have to fit a single mold—it can be dynamic, influential, and personally meaningful in unexpected ways. The constant immersion in food culture at CIA can spark a realization that food is about more than just cooking, it’s storytelling, culture, community, and science. Whether it’s experimenting with unique ingredients, understanding global cuisines, or seeing the potential to create change in food systems, CIA broadens your horizons. It made me realize that food can be a lifelong journey, with endless opportunities to innovate, inspire, and connect with people. Ultimately CIA convinced me that dedicating your life to food can be as fulfilling as it is exciting.
- Danasia Parker: Being at CIA had exposed me to so much information, I didn’t know was out there before, such as all the different types of wines, coming from all over different places. I usually have a hard time identifying the notes when it came to wines, but being at CIA I’m able to have a wine class, which will help me further, as well as I currently work in an Earn & Learn position for the wine professor on campus, just so I can push myself to learn more about wines. I didn’t come into CIA with many goals, but I’m leaving with many of them.
When you hear the statement “Food Is Your Life,” what does that mean to you?
- Mia Davis: “Food Is Your Life” resonates deeply because it acknowledges the way food intertwines with identity, purpose, and joy. For me, it means seeing food as a central thread in how I connect with people, understand cultures, and express creativity. It’s not just about sustenance or recipes; it’s about the stories, memories, and relationships built around a shared meal or a well-crafted dish. When food becomes your life, it’s as if each step from sourcing ingredients to plating a dish carries weight and meaning. It’s about appreciating the craft, respecting the ingredients, and recognizing the impact of food on health, sustainability, and social connections. In this way, food shapes not only a career but a worldview. It means dedicating myself to something that can nourish, transform, and bring people together a calling as much as a passion.
- Danasia Parker: The statement “Food Is Your Life” means to me that as a chef you will have an opportunity to showcase the importance of food in our world, as it means more than just fueling us but brings more people together by just being able to share another meal. A chef is an artist who creates a dish to be presented to the customers. Hoping to bring out positive memories and emotions, “Food Is Life” means using food to create beautiful experiences between people.
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