Culinary Institute of America Career Fairs in 2025

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is renowned not only for its top-tier culinary education but also for hosting some of the food world’s best career fairs.

In 2025, CIA’s career fairs continue to connect students with leading employers across the culinary and hospitality industry. These recruiting events are held across CIA’s campuses – including Hyde Park, NY (the flagship campus), St. Helena, CA (Greystone) and San Antonio, TX – ensuring that all CIA students and alumni in the U.S. have access to networking and job opportunities.

Below is an overview of the 2025 career fair events (with dates, statuses, and details), the types of employers involved, registration information, and special features that make CIA’s career fairs a unique launchpad for culinary careers.

Hyde Park (New York) Campus – 2025 Career Fair Schedule

The Hyde Park campus in New York hosts the largest CIA career fairs, typically multiple times per year. In 2025, three major career fairs are scheduled at Hyde Park, corresponding to the spring, summer, and fall seasons (hosted on designated no-class days so every student can attend).

Each fair draws an impressive assembly of employers – usually 150+ food, beverage, and hospitality companies – offering internships and job opportunities to CIA students and soon-to-be graduate CIA students often receive multiple job offers by graduation, thanks in large part to these events.

Below are the 2025 dates for the Hyde Park campus career fairs:

Spring 2025 Career Fair (Hyde Park)

Monday, February 10, 2025, 11:00 AM–4:00 PM.

This was the first career fair of 2025, held on the Hyde Park campus in the Student Commons gymnasium. More than 150 company recruiters attended, representing restaurants, hotels, resorts, catering companies, cruise lines, and food corporations looking to hire CIA talent.

An optional interview day followed on Tuesday, February 11, allowing employers to conduct on-campus interviews with students they met at the fair. (For example, the Holland America-Princess hospitality group hosted an information booth and set up interviews for the next day.)

This spring fair is a one-of-a-kind opportunity early in the year for students to land externships and job offers.

Summer 2025 Career Fair (Hyde Park)

Scheduled for June 2025 (Upcoming).

The CIA’s second large career fair of the year is planned for mid-2025 (historically held in early June on a Monday) and will similarly feature a wide range of employers.

As of April 2025, this summer fair is upcoming – students are being advised to prepare resumes and plan their strategies.

While the exact date and employer list will be announced closer to the event, it is expected to mirror the scale of the spring fair, with on-campus recruiting by 140–150 companies and hundreds of industry recruiters​.

Notably, CIA hosts these fairs even during summer term breaks so that every student can participate. All students and CIA alumni are welcome to attend to explore full-time positions or internships, and like other Hyde Park fairs, an interview day or immediate interview opportunities are likely (employers often conduct on-the-spot interviews or schedule next-day meetings).

Fall 2025 Career Fair (Hyde Park)

Expected in Fall 2025, likely early October (Upcoming).

The fall CIA career fair is traditionally held in early October; for reference, the Fall 2024 fair took place on Monday, October 7, 2024, so a similar first-week-of-October timing is anticipated in 2025.

This will be the final and one of the largest CIA career fairs of the year. Dozens of high-profile employers typically line the Hyde Park campus to recruit for holiday season and post-graduation hires.

We can expect another 150 or more employer booths spanning fine dining restaurants, upscale hotels, food & beverage companies, event catering firms, retail food brands, and more.

As always, the fair will run roughly 11:00 AM–4:00 PM, with no classes scheduled that day so that even students in busy kitchen rotations can attend freely. An optional interview day is usually offered on the next day (Tuesday) for companies that wish to conduct formal interviews on campus.

California (Greystone) Campus – Career Networking Days 2025

CIA’s California campus in St. Helena (Greystone) holds its own career networking events to serve students on the West Coast.

While slightly smaller in scale than the New York mega-fairs, these Career Networking Days at Greystone are invaluable opportunities for students in Napa Valley to meet local and regional employers. In 2025, CIA Greystone is expected to host networking days each semester.

For example, a spring 2025 networking day (date likely in late March or April) would invite hospitality businesses from the Napa/Sonoma wine country, Bay Area restaurants, luxury resorts, wineries, and other food enterprises to the Greystone campus for a day of mingling and recruitment.

Likewise, a fall 2025 networking day (around September) may be on the calendar for students returning from summer externships, connecting them with employers seeking talent for the end-of-year season. These events are typically formatted as mini career fairs or mixers: companies set up tables on the Greystone campus, and students can drop by to introduce themselves, share resumes, and learn about job openings.

Importantly, Greystone students are not limited to local networking – they also have access to the main New York career fairs. CIA facilitates ways for California-campus students to virtually connect with the four big career fairs held at the New York campus​.

During the NY fairs, Greystone students can join virtual info sessions, live stream employer presentations, or even video chat with recruiters, ensuring they don’t miss out on nationwide opportunities. In 2025, the Greystone campus career services will likely set up dedicated rooms with video conferencing on the Hyde Park fair dates so that California students can speak with recruiters in real time.

This dual approach – local networking days plus virtual connection to the national fair – means Greystone students get the best of both worlds. They meet West Coast employers face-to-face (common attendees include upscale Napa Valley resorts, farm-to-fork restaurants in California, boutique hotel groups, and specialty food producers) and also interview with East Coast and international companies via the online link.

These California campus career events often feature the same support systems as in New York: career advisors on-site, possibly alumni guest speakers or demos, and plenty of coaching. By 2025, CIA Greystone’s Career Networking Days remain a vital “bridge to industry” for students in culinary, baking, and wine-focused programs out west, while seamlessly integrating with CIA’s global recruitment network.

Texas (San Antonio) Campus – Career Networking Days 2025

At CIA’s San Antonio, Texas campus, students enjoy a similar set of career development events tailored to the Southwest culinary scene. The CIA Texas campus hosts Career Networking Days on-site, which serve as its version of a career fair.

In 2025, we anticipate at least one networking day each semester in San Antonio. A spring 2025 networking day might take place in March at the CIA San Antonio (located at the Pearl culinary complex), bringing in employers from the region – think San Antonio and Austin restaurants, Texas Hill Country resorts, hotel groups, catering companies, barbecue restaurant chains, and perhaps major foodservice employers in the state.

Later in the year, a second networking day could occur (e.g. late summer or early fall 2025) to connect new students or upcoming graduates with hiring managers for winter season positions.

During these CIA Texas networking events, the format is casual yet focused: local chefs, restaurant owners, hotel HR representatives, and food & beverage managers set up booths or simply network in a reception-style setting with students. Because the campus and student body are smaller, the recruiter-to-student conversations tend to be more personalized.

It’s not unusual for San Antonio’s culinary community – which includes renowned Tex-Mex and Southwest cuisine restaurants, boutique hotels, large hospitality groups, and even theme park resorts – to send CIA alumni or chefs to these events to scout talent. Students use these networking days to line up externship sites, part-time work while in school, or job leads for after graduation.

As with California, the Texas campus students also have virtual access to the Hyde Park career fairs. In practice, CIA San Antonio will facilitate live video connections during the four New York campus fairs so that Texas students can remotely engage with the 140+ companies present in Hyde Park.

For example, a student interested in a company that isn’t local to Texas can still interview via Zoom or submit their resume through CIA’s online job portal during the big fair. CIA’s career services encourage Texas students to take advantage of this—giving them a shot at opportunities nationwide, not just in Texas.

The Culinary Connect online platform (discussed below) further supports this by listing jobs across the country. In 2025, CIA San Antonio’s approach continues to be a hybrid of local networking and institute-wide recruiting: on-campus events to foster relationships with Texas employers, and digital links to CIA’s national career events so no student is left out due to geography.

Registration and Participation Information

Below is essential information about registering and participating in the CIA career fairs as a student, alumni or employer.

For CIA Students and Alumni

All CIA career fairs and networking days are open to current students of all class years and to CIA alumni. There is no additional cost for students/alumni to attend – it’s considered a vital part of the CIA educational experience.

Students do not need to pre-register to attend the fairs; they simply need to show up with their student ID, dressed professionally and armed with resumes.

In fact, CIA encourages even first-semester students to attend career fairs to start building connections and to practice professional networking early. The Career and Academic Advising office actively prepares students in advance (through announcements, prep sessions, and the Culinary Connect portal where students can preview attending companies).

On the day of the event, students check in at the venue and then freely explore the employer booths. If a student is based at the California or Texas campus and wishes to participate in the main Hyde Park fair, they usually must sign up with their local career services office for virtual access or travel to NY if possible.

For the on-campus networking days (in CA or TX), students likewise are notified of the date and can attend without formal registration.

In summary, for CIA students: attending career fairs is as straightforward as attending class – except that day, the “classroom” is filled with industry leaders eager to meet them.

For Employers

Employers interested in recruiting at a CIA career fair must register in advance through official channels. The CIA Career Services department handles employer registrations via the CIA Alumni Network Employer Portal.

Typically, companies fill out an online registration form indicating which fair(s) they wish to attend, the positions they are recruiting for, and any needs (e.g., electrical outlets for demo equipment at their booth).

A registration fee is usually required to secure a booth at the Hyde Park career fair – for example, the Fall 2024 fair had an employer registration cost of about USD $350 per company (this fee often covers the booth space, a table and chairs setup, and hospitality like coffee and lunch for recruiters during the fair).

Similar fees and sign-up processes apply for the other fairs. Once registered, employers receive logistics information from CIA (timing, campus directions, shipping info for any materials, etc.). In 2025, CIA is continuing to accommodate both in-person and virtual recruiting: employers who cannot travel to campus can arrange to participate through virtual booths or video calls, especially to engage with students from the branch campuses.

CIA’s employer portal also allows companies to post job listings to “Culinary Connect” and review resumes beforehand. Many companies leverage this by posting their openings ahead of the fair and even scheduling some interviews in advance.

For 2025, CIA’s career fair organizers have prioritized inviting a broad mix of employers to match the diverse interests of students – from artisanal restaurants to global food companies – and making the registration process smooth for all employers, whether local eateries or multinational corporations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, CIA’s 2025 career fairs and networking events exemplify the institute’s commitment to student success. They are high-energy, opportunity-rich gatherings that occur across all campuses: the flagship mega-fairs in Hyde Park, the tailored networking days in California and Texas.

With event dates spaced throughout the year (February, June, October, and additional campus-specific days), CIA ensures that as students progress in their studies, they repeatedly interface with industry leaders ready to hire.

From chatting with executive chefs about job openings, to attending an info session by a major hotel group, to possibly landing an offer on the spot – a CIA student in 2025 will find the career fairs to be a cornerstone of their professional development.

And for employers, these events are a chance to tap into “the best of the best” in new culinary talent. Whether in New York, California, Texas, or Singapore, the CIA community comes together during career fair season to celebrate and facilitate the next generation of food and hospitality careers.

It’s an exciting time to be part of the CIA network, and 2025’s career fairs promise to continue that tradition of connecting passion with profession.