A few weeks ago, Adán Ray Miranda, from Texas, had never heard of carambola. Now it is the ingredient he most wants to bring back to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York. The 20-year-old is spending these months in the kitchen of Francis Guzmán, executive chef of Vianda, a restaurant that has been a semifinalist for the James Beard Award four times (2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025).
CIA students can complete their internships at more than 2,000 restaurants approved by the Institute, but Miranda chose Vianda in Santurce, influenced by his girlfriend's family, who have roots on the Island.
"I've never worked at an establishment of this caliber before, and there is definitely a standard here that I think I can learn a lot from," he tells Platea.
Vianda is joining the program as a training center for the first time this year, an achievement made possible through its partnership with the Puerto Rican Academy of Gastronomy (APUGA, in Spanish). The Academy serves as the liaison responsible for facilitating and highlighting opportunities like this one, with the goal of ensuring that Puerto Rico is not only a destination where people can eat well, but also one where they can learn.
"For me it is extremely important to have students who show interest, and to be able to be that bridge, so to speak, to help them get to Puerto Rico or even other parts of the Caribbean so they can build their knowledge," explains CIA chef and professor Shamil Velazquez, who, together with the Academia Puertorriqueña de Gastronomía (APUGA), led by Madelaine Vázquez, connects restaurants like Vianda with students like Adán.
APUGA is the link responsible for facilitating and highlighting opportunities like this one, with the goal of making Puerto Rico not just a destination where people eat well, but also one where they learn.
Queremos visibilizar esto para que otros chefs y otros restaurantes que cumplan con los criterios y requerimientos puedan unirse a este esfuerzo
What do the students contribute? Lucia Merino, pastry chef and co-owner of Lucia Patisserie in Miramar, has also taken in students from the CIA and Johnson and Wales University for internships: "We've had several interns from the CIA; the most recent one (2025) was a guy named Yamil Rivera, and it was an excellent experience for me. I think he enjoyed it too."
Bringing in a student also strengthened her own team. "It also helps the people who work here learn to be leaders and to delegate," she says.
For Guzmán, these students bring freshness: "This young man in the kitchen brings hope that young people still have a lot of interest in this industry. He also brings a lot of enthusiasm and a young spirit that is always welcome in the kitchen."
An industry with momentum
"Right now, gastronomy in Puerto Rico is at its top," Guzmán tells Platea.
The pastry chef agrees: "I feel that more than ever there is a lot of unity in this industry, and there is a lot of consideration, and there is a lot of talent and a lot of people with a lot of drive," says Merino.
For her, the industry's support for local products has a lot to do with this moment. "There is a lot of awareness around using local products, which I feel helps a great deal, not only the industry but also farmers and beyond," she explains.
That connection to the land is, for Guzmán, part of what Adán is learning at Vianda: "We are fortunate to be well connected with farmers, and they provide us with the very best," he says.
Beyond the kitchen.
Guzmán knows well the shoes Adán is standing in, because he himself is a CIA graduate. He remembers going to Barcelona for his own internship. "The most I got out of my experience was walking all over the city and eating at many different restaurants," he recalls.
Adán has already done the same. He likes sorullitos, he is surprised by the use of fruit in Puerto Rican gastronomy and by the tropical flavor profile that characterizes the dishes. He has also been struck by the quality of the people:
"They are some of the most beautiful people I have met, and you can definitely tell they care about their island."
If Guzmán could leave Adán with one piece of advice before his stage ends, it would be this: "Please don't be in a hurry. This is a career, and careers are long. The more you prepare for your craft, the better equipped you'll be when you're ready, because it isn't easy. My suggestion and my advice is to keep your head down, work hard, and I know it will pay off after all that hard work."
And Puerto Rican students? APUGA also works in the other direction: building bridges so young Puerto Ricans can train off the Island and return with new knowledge.
Vazquez, of APUGA, highlights the value of initiatives like this: "This strengthens our industry, our identity and a more sustainable model of gastronomic tourism, where knowledge and talent are also part of what Puerto Rico offers the world."
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
