She Took a Chance on Pastry — and Never Looked Back
Maried Arroyo always knew she loved baking.
As a child in Puerto Rico, she looked forward to afternoons making desserts with her grandmother more than playing with toys. But it wasn't until years later — after earning a business degree and becoming a mother — that she decided to turn that lifelong passion into a career.
Today, the Institute of Culinary Education graduate leads pastry production at Eataly, proving that sometimes the biggest career move is trusting yourself.
A Recipe for Change
Despite her lifelong passion for baking, Arroyo’s first career was in business and marketing. It was only after the birth of her son, in 2021, that she decided it was time to turn her hobby into a career profession.
Despite her lifelong passion for baking, Arroyo built an early career in business and marketing. But after the birth of her son in 2021, she began rethinking what she wanted her career — and her family life — to look like. Baking had always been the work that energized her, so she decided it was time to turn a lifelong passion into a profession.
She enrolled in the Pastry & Baking Arts program at the Institute of Culinary Education, determined to what would follow. It didn’t take long to find out.
A Sweet Start With Big Opportunities
Early in the program, Arroyo landed a position at Eataly. Before her interview, her first chef at Eataly, Chef Alon, sat down with her to explain what to expect during both the interview and the trail, giving her the confidence she needed to step into a professional kitchen for the first time.
She also remembers one defining moment from the pastry program: the ice cream module. Working alongside her classmates during the intensive production exercises, she says, was when the cohort truly began to gel.
That was when we truly came together as colleagues,” she says. “From then on, we would always find a way to work together and help each other.”
That collaborative mindset has stayed with Arroyo throughout her career. Today, she applies the same team-first approach while leading pastry production at Eataly.
“Inside the kitchen, regardless of your position, it’s never ‘you’ — it’s always ‘we,’” Arroyo says. “I apply this every day with myself, my team and my colleagues at Eataly.”
Growing Into a Leader
Today, Arroyo oversees pastry production at Eataly World Trade Center, just steps from the Institute of Culinary Education's New York City campus. It's a fitting setting for an alum who launched her culinary career in one of the world's premier food cities. She says no two days on the job are the same.
She typically wakes up before sunrise to plan production, respond to emails and get her preschooler ready for the day. Once at work, she’s checking product quality, coordinating with multiple departments, assisting her team and, as she puts it, “always troubleshooting.”
“I think that’s my favorite part,” she says. “Coming up with quick solutions to fix a problem.”
Her role has grown significantly since joining the team at Eataly. What began as managing production for one location has expanded into overseeing production for seven Eataly locations across New York and Pennsylvania.
She considers one achievement especially meaningful: building her team.
Starting with employees who had little professional kitchen experience, Arroyo helped develop them into confident culinarians. One team member even advanced from part-time cake decorator to sous chef under her mentorship.
Inspired by Family, Driven by Passion
While Arroyo has found success in professional kitchens, she credits her grandmother as the person who inspired her culinary journey.
Her grandmother attended culinary school at age 60 — a decision Arroyo still admires today.
“To this day she is my biggest inspiration and someone I can proudly call a colleague,” she says. “We have weekly meetings where we exchange pastry advice.”
Her grandmother’s emphasis on continuous learning has shaped Arroyo’s own approach to growth. Her advice to prospective culinary students is simple:
“Don’t close yourself off to what you think you won’t like,” she says. “That might be the one thing you end up falling in love with.”
* Experience varies by student, with outcomes contingent on factors including graduate aptitude, job market, place of residence and work history, among others.
