Culinary Careers Without Borders: These Jobs Took ICE Grads Around the World
Hospitality varies depending on where you dine, but food is almost always at the heart of it.
From bustling restaurant kitchens in Athens to sailboats in the Caribbean, luxury hotels in the Dominican Republic and food tours through Italy, hospitality is one of the few industries that exist in nearly every country on earth.
Turning these global opportunities into career realities starts with the right foundation.
Do I Need Formal Culinary Training to Cook Abroad?
Formal training isn't required to cook abroad, but it can be an advantage. Here's how:
- Core culinary techniques are universal – while ingredients differ, skills like grilling, braising and knife work are the same across cuisines.
- Professional kitchens share a common language – understanding the pace, structure and language of professional kitchens is an asset, even when you don’t share the same language.
- Culinary networks can cross the globe – schools with large alumni networks and professional connections can help aspiring travelers find opportunities abroad.
- Formal training demonstrates passion and commitment – though American degrees may not officially transfer across borders, professional training signals dedication and discipline to potential employers.
International Culinary Careers & Job Opportunities
#1 Work in Global Restaurants & Hotels
Restaurants and hotels are among the most common paths to working abroad. Here, culinary professionals can immerse themselves in new markets, cultures and dining traditions.
Chefs interested in cooking overseas can pursue international job opportunities by:
- Applying to international stages — Unpaid stages can be a win for both mentor and mentee. The mentor receives unpaid business support; the mentee receives invaluable experience and specialized skills that likely can't be acquired at home.
- Identifying regions with burgeoning food scenes — Up-and-coming food destinations often need help staffing and scaling their restaurants and food businesses.
- Seeking employment locally at hospitality businesses that operate globally — Many restaurant groups and hotel chains that have international franchises hire out of the U.S.
International Stages
For chefs who aren't interested in a permanent move, a stage can be a smart alternative to long-term relocation. These unpaid internship typically range from several weeks to months, enabling short-term work that allows the stage to learn new culinary styles and meet new mentors.
This practice is common throughout the culinary world. John Reilly, a Culinary Arts alum and sous chef at NYC’s prestigious Le B., has hopes of traveling abroad using this approach. “I would love to go on a few international stages. I have my eyes on restaurants in Japan, Colombia and Singapore that I’d like to learn from,” he said.
Up-and Coming Food Scenes
Understanding which venues and which countries are "having a moment" can help you identify a) where the needs are, and b) where there are workplaces that align with your interests and experience.
Explore social media, restaurant guides and food publications to see which chefs and restaurants are shaping conversations. This can help aspiring chefs better understand local dining trends and find kitchens in which to build careers.
Chef Dan Segall, an accomplished alum of the Institute, built a career that reflects the global mobility of the hospitality industry. He knew early on that he wanted to work in Asia, so he moved to Singapore for an externship at The Regent Hotel. From there, his career took him throughout the region, with leading roles in restaurants across Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
“The access to interesting, exotic and fresh ingredients coupled with the vast differences in cuisine experienced just by traveling an hour or two in any direction makes cooking in Asia an endless learning experience,” Chef Dan says.
He now lives in Bali, Indonesia, where he is executive chef at Jade by Todd English, managing a team of 10 to produce globally inspired dinners.
Global Restaurant & Hotel Groups
Graduate and Chef Luisa Caicedo’s career took flight after meeting chef and restaurateur Cedric Vongerichten at a U.S. food event. He later offered her the opportunity to work at two of his venues in Jakarta, Indonesia: Vong Kitchen and Le Burger.
After several years working abroad — including stints in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — Chef Luisa returned to New York City, where she continues to cook for Vongerichten’s restaurant group as executive chef of Wayan and Ma.dé. Go behind the scenes with Chef Luisa for a day-in-the-life at Wayan, in the video below.
#2 Open a Restaurant Overseas
Chefs who want to open their own restaurants can take their expertise anywhere there’s a hospitality market — which is, quite literally, everywhere.
Be aware, however, that opening a restaurant abroad requires more than cooking ability. It demands business acumen, cultural fluency and an understanding of the local market.
Chef Georgianna Hiliadaki, who earned a dual diploma in Culinary Arts and Restaurant & Culinary Management, leaned on her culinary and operational expertise to open a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Athens, Greece, in partnership with fellow graduate Nikos Roussos. (Chef Georgianna’s career also includes a stage in Barcelona and work in London.)
#3 Become a Private Chef Abroad
For chefs who prefer the variety, mobility and flexibility of private cheffing, this career path can open numerous travel doors — cooking in vacation homes, on international holidays or even aboard yachts.
At a discussion with private chefs last year, private chef panelists explained that travel opportunities arise quickly — making it essential to have your passport ready. The panel’s moderator, Culinistas founder Tiana Tenet, recalled a client who wanted a private chef to meet her immediately in Hawaii.
Additionally, while cooking overseas can be an opportunity to experiment with new flavor profiles and ingredients, it can pose challenges when clients choose remote destinations.
Private chef Ayla Ochoa, recalled an experience wherein she accompanied a client to a private island in the Bahamas. The island had no grocery store, so she traveled by boat to another island to source ingredients. Of course, this only added to the adventure.
#4 Cook Aboard a Cruise Ship, Yacht or Sailboat
Cruise ships and yachts sail between ports — providing opportunities to explore new cuisines and cultures — while single-day sailings allow chefs to become experts in a specific region.
ICE alum Chef Leslie Lipton knows what it’s like to cook at sea. As Executive Chef and Catering Administrator of Manhattan by Sail, Chef Leslie oversees the menus and foodservice for boat charters in New York City.
She even came up with a sailboat-friendly menu: "No sauces, no things like sesame seeds, berries, the kind of stuff that falls on the deck and makes a mess," she says.
As culinary jobs at sea are often linked to the tourism industry, this type of career can include working seven days a week and producing high volumes in small kitchens — meaning skills like speed, precision and adaptability are in demand.
#5 Host / Lead Culinary Tours
Chefs and food entrepreneurs who love storytelling as much as cooking are well-suited to this type of work.
ICE alum Meryl Feinstein, founder of Pasta Social Club and author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook “Pasta Every Day,” hosts immersive food experiences in Italy that connect travelers to regional traditions and hands-on pasta-making.
Last March, Feinstein hosted a culinary tour to Puglia, Italy, where guests ate, explored and cooked pasta. In just a few weeks, she’ll be back in Italy — this time in Sicily — hosting another immersive experience.
Feinstein’s externship and subsequent work at Brooklyn-based Italian restaurants, Lilia and Misi, were her first foray into professional pasta making. “I went to Lilia because [chef-owner and alum] Missy Robbins is the queen of pasta in New York. On days off from Lilia, I refined my pasta skills, learned new shapes and did research.”
(Chef Missy honed her skills at three restaurants in Italy before launching her pasta empire in New York City — listen to her journey in the video below.)
#6 Teach Culinary Arts at an International School
Not all international culinary opportunities are rooted in restaurants. Chefs can teach culinary education abroad, offering formal training in schools or recreational cooking classes for travelers.
In Bacolod City, Philippines, alum Richard Ynayan founded and directs The Institute for Culinary Arts Bacolod de La Salle. Here, he helps train the next generation of hospitality professionals.
Teaching cooking abroad affords culinary professionals the opportunity to interact with international students and travelers who share their passion for food — making it an attractive career for chefs looking to leave the restaurant grind.
#7 Judge, Organize and/or Consult at Global Culinary Events
Traveling for a culinary career does not always translate to permanent relocation. There are opportunities for chefs to attend competitions, collaborations and events internationally.
Two examples include:
- Bocuse d’Or — This is one of the most prominent culinary competitions in the world. Each country hosts a national selection to choose a representative, who then competes in continental qualifiers before battling it out in the Grand Final in Lyon, France.
- The Parabere Forum — This non-profit connects female chefs and women in hospitality with an annual two-day event. This year's forum took place in Spain; last year it was hosted in the United States — at our New York City campus. (Three acclaimed guests, Chefs Apollonia Poilâne, Hélène Darroze, and Jess Murphy shared advice for students, and Chef Jess demonstrated her Irish Soda Bread recipe, seen in the video below.)
Chefs who participate in global conferences, pop-ups and culinary festivals can build relationships that span continents — expanding both their perspective and their opportunities.
Food connects people across language, geography and culture. Whether opening a restaurant in Athens, sailing between islands, teaching in the Philippines or leading food tours through Italy, culinary careers span continents — and a culinary education can be the foundation that makes that travel possible.
*Experience varies by student, with outcomes contingent on factors including graduate aptitude, job market, place of residence and work history, among others.
