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13 summerbytes.2 new student art show the crazy butcher of panzano sizzling sicily who is andrea trapani and much more photo by mike grippi aft

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breaking news student photo summer exhibit by luca bucciarelli summer is at its peak and the end of summer session ii is fastly approaching but before the doors close signifying the end of summer school there is one final event that calls for a school-wide student collaboration following the success of the last art exhibition florence university of the arts photography students once again display their verve and creativity in a new exhibition which opened on july 31st the florentine community is invited to join the students and faculty at ganzo for the opening of the show this is a wonderful opportunity to view appreciate the selection of photographs that capture the summer on camera before we all depart for the real summer holidays ganzo as well will go on holiday to re-open on august 25th for a new season of cultural exchange and many many new ideas to bring together the italian student and international communities in florence opens july 31 ganzo via dei macci 85r upcoming current events impressionismo dipingere la luce by nicola lucchi an unusual perspective for an exhibition that tries to unveil the secrets of impressionist painters the exhibition impressionismo dipingere la luce held in palazzo strozzi since july 11th is really one of a kind it is definitely worth a visit on a rainy weekend or when you feel overwhelmed by the ubiquitous presence of the florentine renaissance monet renoir and friends would have hardly imagined that 120 years after they painted their masterpieces crowds would flock around microscopes x-rays and infrared machines to detect and unveil the secrets that lie beneath their canvases this is as a matter of fact the central point of the exhibition which groups some 60 paintings from the wallraf-richartz-museum fondation corboud in cologne germany and aims to uncover fundamental aspect of the impressionist techniques were the impressionists really working outdoors in the open air how quickly did they finish their paintings were they painting spontaneously or did they have meticulous plans throughout the exhibition the curators show us how some of these questions can be answered with the most advanced technologies available today the visitors are encouraged to interact with microscopes and other devices in order to get a direct understanding of the issues posed by the exhibition competing with the first photographic images at the turn of last century was a dirty job and it required lots of tricks and mestiere impressionismo dipingere la luce shows us the dark side of bright landscapes and vivid portraits when july 11th september 28th open daily 9am to 8pm thursday 9am to 11pm where palazzo strozzi piazza strozzi firenze how much ticket is 10 euros small discounts may apply with student card photo by carolyn gist

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the mad butcher of panzano or a tale of one butcher shop and one bright blue pig by lisa adams once upon a time in the sun-soaked town of panzano in chianti there lived a famous butcher this butcher was named dario cecchini he was famous for his whimsical approach to life he never cut meat on sundays when he served customers he always wore a silk scarf a pristinely clean apron and makd sure to be impeccably groomed he was a very dashing fellow who could make the ladies swoon even in middle age when you approached his butcher shop the antica macelleria cecchini you heard opera blaring from the bowels of a diva presumably hiding in the freezer the shop had a charming porcelain border along the upper walls depicting images of frolicking pigs his employees always offered homemade lardo salami or crostini to visiting customers with big smiles on their faces adjacent to the meat case there was a little room often filled with baskets of rosemary where meat cutting tools are prominently displayed glistening like fine china the antica macelleria cecchini was like disneyland for the carnivore in one swift instant my eyes fixed on a huge blue pig covered with flowers and i awake from my dream i realize i am surrounded by tourists of every size and variety they swarm the interior of the mythical but very very real butcher shop of dario cecchini like flies on a twinkie sushi of chianti a raw beef creation was flying out the door i jumped on its tails and was whisked away to live happily ever after foodies photo by cosimo bargellini photo by shin-ling chen lampredotto the other other white meat by nathan scott one does not have to live in florence for very long to realize that italians eat much less meat and poultry than the average american take for example a panino con prosciutto if a person were to order such a panino he or she would get a slice of prosciutto between two halves of a wonderfully fresh roll a great sandwich but when compared to a foot-long italian b.m.t from subway the panino seems lacking in the meat department next look at breakfast though the cornetti are fabulous there are still some mornings i could really go for some bacon and eggs and don t even get me started on the size of their meatballs luckily i have found a delicious and affordable solution for all you protein-starved students it s called lampredotto and if you haven t already heard about this food you should really try it in fact i would recommend that you run out and get some right now before you read the rest of this article because let s face it after i tell you what lampredotto is about half of you are going to immediately lose your appetite i first tried lampredotto a few days ago it was served on a warm crusty roll with a smear of green parsley sauce and a drizzle of a piquant red pepper sauce it was flavorful hearty and best of all loaded with meat in fact i ran out of roll and ended up eating just meat lampredotto has a good meat to roll ratio if you will another great advantage of eating lampredotto is that it is not only cheap but easy to come by it is frequently sold at stands in such places as san lorenzo or piazza del procellino to find a lampredotto stand simply look for the portable stands that the locals seem to flock to but the tourists seem to scuttle from or not even notice and you are pretty much guaranteed to find this florentine treat alright so i told you i would explain what lampredotto really is brace yourselves because here i go lampredotto is made from abomasum the fourth stomach compartment of a calf this traditional florentine dish is made by braising the abomasums in a mixture of tomato onion parsley and celery it is then sliced and used to make panini still hungry?

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field trips twicely sicily by grace joh sometimes once just isn t enough especially if we re talking about sicily the island where cultural stratifications and miles of coastline are constantly shifting constantly pulling us towards different visions and moments to be lived july 08 s field trip is the second time i participated as a staff member of the sicily academic field trip last year s trip with prof sommariva taught me about the secrets lodged within the bursting ricotta fillings of cannoli bits of candied fruit chanced upon by the tongue like sparse wildflowers in an enormous field of grass this summer i survived through a five course meal literally swimming with fish in all shapes sizes and textures raw smoked creamed into a risotto peeking out of ravioli stuffings as well as giant grilled slabs and entire bodies when i ran into a second epic dessert encounter at the end of the meal a voluptuous cassata cake served without the usually thick casing of frosting the almond paste cream was sewn into the velvety cake and dolled up with a few green pistachio sparkles i m not saying this was a sexier food encounter compared to last year s cannolo just different or better yet from a different angle i won t go into detail about the examples of greek roman spanish and baroque monuments across their respective centuries because their historic secrets speak for themselves as well as sommariva s constant authoritative voice the itinerary doesn t change but our attitudes and approach to each stop of the trip is open to many interpretations i d like to leave you with a simple image of the sea see cover photo vast and older than sicily itself carrier of her cultural residues her wars her bounty her beauty the first time around i only got to dipping a few toes into the glassy waters whose limpidity is like stealing a glance into the island s soul the second time around we opted for a boat ride near the grottoes of syracuse where the shallower depths rock photo by francesca tassinari islands and reefs made for a bathing paradise students dove head first from the boat and climbed on top of the rock formations rising free-form from the water to dive yet again this time from a few meters closer to the sky we were on a piece of sicily detached from sicily gazing at land a short distance from siracuse s shores i don t know what was going through the student s minds but i was closer to sicily than ever before who knows what the third time around will be like for more information about the academic field trips check out www.academicfieldtrips.com student voice the coast by mike grippi the thirteen hour trip from florence to maori a small of the students groggily scanned under the bus for from southern states their accents had been lulled us to our small seaside hotel but were now broad nauseous and jelly-legged i stumbled off of the bus after town on the amalfi coast i waited patiently as the rest their luggage most of them girls almost every one hailing to sleep by the sharp turns and steep cliffs that brought casting our arrival shrill and american we woke the next morning and were quickly corralled onto a series of ferries to the island of capri hundred of students leaned over the rail of the boat to capture images of the lush coast speckled with relics and brightly colored homes of people they d never meet the island is beautiful the water is as clearer than murky atlantic in used to and warmer the town is tucked into a coastal valley the mountains rising all around to protect this little oasis gigantic rock formations jut out from the sea just off shore remainders of gods that are now fables nothing more when we d returned to the hotel i sought solitude i d had my fill of the trivialities and complaints from my drawling squawking companions and the relentless coastal sun so i retreated to a dark dining room in the hotel my only light being the glow from the buzz upstairs here i wrote ranted about my companions how ashamed i was to be associated with them i scribble frantically about how i had spent the last two weeks in florence and now my weekend here as a tourist a watcher i felt like we were intruders us americans pests begging for scraps of culture taking whatever we could like we were entitled to it and claiming it as our own i felt like a thief.

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as i steamed over my words the lights popped on a man who i recognized as a member of the hotel s staff walked in and began to make the tables upon seeing me he apologized he didn t mean to disturb me i could keep writing i told him no it was fine i was done anyway i walked across the room and shook his hand francesco mike where are you from his english was slow but strong the shame crept into my cheeks like a rising tide connecticut the u.s even at home i hate to admit this ah america you are very lucky my back straightened my neck tensed i was not expecting this why do you say that he continued working as he spoke turning cups over and laying out silverware people in america have bigger mind i m sorry i knew exactly what he meant but i needed to hear him say it in america people think bigger have better mind bigger money he fought through his accent in italy people only have what they need only want what they need no one wants any more my ears were red for a year i have had an overwhelming longing to destroy myself to shake myself from the bells and whistles and skin and muscles down to nothing but bones i want nothing more than to want only what i need the only way to really understand who you are at your most honest deepest core is to strip yourself of the mask of materials we in the states cling to so dearly i want to be free from the confines of consumerism and superficiality i want not to want i wanted to cry instead i chuckled and in my own broken english i pointed to myself and said i have what you want it smothers me i turned my finger to him and you have what i want i wanted to hate him he smiled back at me and said then you have very good mind we shook hands and turned to the wretched comfort of our homelands him to set tables in a small hotel in a small town in a country full of small minds and i to join my comrades a miniature traveling america with our bigger minds in tow blocking the beautiful view special profile andrea trapani by kandace phyall after eight years andrea trapani still leaves much to the imagination many find it difficult to get to know the man sporting the fashionable pony-tail under the mile-high pleated chef hat at first glance trapani may appear to be distant and remote new students seem to fearfully approach him and constantly refer to him in hushed tones watching him through the glass windows that surround the professional kitchens it s obvious he runs his classes with the same precision strictness and efficiency of a captain at the helm of a ship but spend enough time around the apicius international school of hospitality facilities and slowly one is treated to a glimpse of the dry comedian that lies dormant trapani s humor is as sharp as his knife skills his one-liners and smirky smile assures you there is an interesting man behind the intense chef we ll go behind the intense eyes and to get to know this world traveling executive chef just a little bit more what classes do you teach at apicius this fall semester i will teach creative cuisine molecolar gastronomy and the masters course what direction do you see the culinary world heading in the near future cuisine is growing in the near future we will cook using modern machines and techniques but respecting ingredients and traditions if you can t stand the heat get out the kitchen an interview with apicius head chef andrea trapani

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when you travel what do you miss most about florence i travel a lot for apicius and for fiorentina the florence soccer team i ve been their executive chef since 2006 honestly i m not usually homesick i truly enjoy traveling your favorite italian dish to cook for others why i like any type of seafood but john dory a deep-sea fish is probably my favorite because i remember my father coming back with the boat and bringing home this fresh fish in particular besides the obvious italian cuisine what is your favorite alternative cuisine i really enjoy molecular gastronomy using these techniques with traditional italian dishes gelato with liquid nitrogen is a great example of combining the old with the new you have spicy peppers garlic spinach flour and 1 hour what do you make i would make some spinach gnocchi tirolesi served as an amuse bouche on a spoon and drizzle it with a garlic-chili oil amuse bouche is a french term meaning mouth amuser it s generally a small portion served before the first course tell me about the special events your involved in i m in charge of all apicius special events i will be in new york in october for the james beard foundation gala dinner as i said before as the fiorentina soccer team chef i travel with them wherever they play this november i will be cooking at festival della scienza festival of science with professor peter barham from the university of bristol when you re not working in the kitchen the classroom or following the soccer ball around the world what do you do for fun i go to the beach a lot i swim and waterski believe it or not i play table tennis and to relax i take care of my garden final words to upcoming chefs a chef should definitely study and learn as much as possible from other chefs and teachers but most importantly he must then create his own culinary identity what are the limits of cuisine new course on molecular gastronomy by grace joh an exciting course is on its way to the apicius kitchens apicius executive chef andrea trapani is cooking up a molecular gastronomy course to be held in the new food lab in via guelfa with daring topics and wondrous hard to believe concoctions that defy conventional presentations and tastes of dishes topics focus on the application of science to cuisine and the research of culinary perfection liquid nitrogen hot/cold foams food spherification solidification of oils/fats extracting natural essences simultaneously hot/cold drinks airs and much more any one can sign up for the course it lasts for a semester and will be taught in collaboration with a professional chemist as well as noted chocolatier andrea bianchini for further information please contact executivechef@apicius.it

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festival della scienza an international encounter between food and science by grace joh oct 23 nov 6 in fall 2008 the ligurian city of genova will host an international scientific festival offering hundreds of events covering a myriad of science topics on nov 2 our own andrea trapani executive chef of apicius will conduct a culinary workshop with the renown british physics and molecular gastronomy professor peter barham of the university of bristol who has also written the authoritative volume the science of cooking and collaborated with the chef/owner heston blumenthal of the fat duck restaurant here s just a small taste of what the two culinary wizards will concoct together a small soft sugary ball you put in your mouth which starts to get hot and hard once you start to suck it then once the sugary ball has fully hardened it quickly starts to dissolve in the mouth changing temperature and becoming very cold for more information on visiting the festival please visit http festivalscienza.it/en/home.php andrea trapani will also hold several events on molecular gastronomy throughout the year at ganzo cultural association-restaurant please visit www.ganzoflorence.it or contact executivechef@apicius.it dos donts dos when eating at a restaurant in italy by lisa adams do order a glass of wine to accompany your meal italian wines are legendary and shouldn t be missed other than the ubiquitous chianti check out bolgheri and morellino di scansano both reds do order foods that you ve never heard of before tripe for example may not sound like the tastiest thing on the planet but there s a reason why florentines have been eating it for centuries remember that italian table service is not motivated by tipping like in some countries service is more discreet and the majority of restaurants don t try to maximize table covers on a given night so don t be surprised if the waiter doesn t rush the check over as you re done with the meal instead cont from above do linger over your meal with good friends and great conversation italian-style try capping off your meal with a limoncello or fiery grappa donts don t ask for bread when you first sit down at your table the italians don t fill up on bread before the meal neither should you or you won t be able to eat every bite of the exquisite meal that s awaiting you don t ask for olive oil balsamic vinegar or butter if you are given bread italians don t waste these precious products which are of much higher quality than their foreign counterparts usually the bread is outstanding on its own keep in mind that most typical bread in florence is unsalted it s not that they forgot to add it don t ask for a doggie bag or box to take home leftovers italian portions are much smaller than in america so you shouldn t have any trouble finishing them don t show up at a restaurant at six o clock for dinner the italians have dinner later sometimes as late as nine or ten o clock have that afternoon snack why do you think there are so many gelaterie and places for a quick aperitivo and finger foods?

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u fa created and published by the student editorial staff of the student services department

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