Meet the Team
Cindy Stephan - Founder
Cindy Stephan is the founder and owner of International Culinary Tours. Inspired by studying languages overseas and traveling around the world post-undergrad, Cindy went on to obtain a master’s in international management as well as a master’s in business administration. In 1990, Cindy founded Advantage Tennis Tours, Inc. where she personally designed private tours and escorted guests to all major Grand Slam tennis tournaments and ATP master’s tournaments worldwide.
During these tours, Cindy organized stays at unique properties – many of which included their own cooking schools – allowing guests to further immerse themselves in these international destinations. Cindy saw an opportunity for a new type of tour centered around food, wine, and culinary arts, and International Culinary Tours was born.
33 years and over 200 tours later, Cindy has taken thousands of guests to explore 16 countries across 5 continents, and the journey is far from over. Cindy hopes to continue sharing unique experiences across the globe with her guests, and she hopes you’ll join her on her next adventure!
Heather Testerman - Pilates Instructor
Heather, studio owner and dazzling Jack-of- All-Trades, grew up here in South Orange County. She spent the better part of her twenties traveling the world and working as a pastry chef. A work injury; lead Heather to discovering the practice of Pilates. Upon seeing its benefits she felt compelled to share it with others. It was perfect timing for a career change as Heather was a new mom. Becoming a Pilates Instructor allowed her to plant roots and raise her family in the community she loved. Today, she enjoys sharing the benefits of Pilates in one of the four pure Pilates studio locations, and she is a brand ambassador for lululemon, when not in the studio though you will still find her whipping something up in the kitchen @purepilatesoc @midnitebakeroc
Heather led her first tour with us to Southwest France, staying at Chateau Ladausse while doing Pilates every day.
Juli Rinefort - Yoga Instructor
Juli has been involved working in the “fitness world” for well over 20 years. She started in group fitness as an instructor and moved to specializing in prenatal exercise for many years. She owned a small business in Los Angeles called Club Mom Workout. A specialized fitness program for pregnant women and new moms in various locations including an in-hospital facility. She then took some time off teaching to have her own family. Eventually Juli went back to teaching but had found her own yoga practice and decided to get certified. She is a certified E-RYT 500-hr Teacher and Lifepower Yoga Teacher Trainer.
Juli has co-led about 7 200-hr trainings for Lifepower Yoga where she is a faculty member.
She has also lead travel yoga retreats with International Culinary Tours including the Spain Camino, Morocco and Tuscany, Italy. According to Juli, practicing yoga in exotic lands is the perfect way to help students deepen their yoga journey. Juli currently teaches about 15 classes a week including studio, corporate, and private clients, @julirinefort
Sharon Mahoney - Sommelier/Wine Educator
Sharon left a successful career as a retail Vice President Store Manager and over 25 years of corporate and store experiences to launch into a new career in wine.
After attending a wine class, she was hooked on the opportunity to share the stories and magic of wine with friends and strangers.
Today, Sharon runs a successful wine education school in St. Petersburg, Florida where she shares her passion for wine and winemaking with consumers and students. She also works part time with Wine Scholar Guild developing and implementing their online specialty programming.
Some of her certifications include:
Diploma (level 4) from Wine Spirits Education Trust
Certified Educator from Wine Spirits Education Trust
Certified Sommelier from Court of Master Sommeliers