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s t u d bl en di entservi ng c e s aperiparty wine event the order of malta hot in the kitchen rimanere o partire fresh o f he ft press n 23

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breaking news over until you ve celebrated with the semester not your fellow students and professors farewell farewell aperiparty fua special presentation videos food music drinks friday december 18th friday december 18th 6 pm 9 pm join us as we recognize the apicius graduates don t miss your final opportunity to create lasting memories please dress festive grand hotel mediterraneo lungarno del tempio 44 next to the san niccolò bridge farewell aperitivo eventspast wine event the order of the malta and its upcoming exclusive on december 15th the special events management class will be putting on an event at ganzo that will be filled with music wine and food here is what the program looks like for the evening beginning at 6:00pm there will be a workshop in which the wines of rocca bernarda villa giustiniani and castello di magione will be presented by the enologists of these wineries from 7:30-8:30pm we will offer aperitivo and wine tasting for only 4 at 8:30pm a sit-down dinner wine and dessert will be served by our very own apicius wine students the cost is 30 there are limited spots so if you would like to attend this exciting event please make a reservation by calling ganzo at 055 241076 or emailing info@ganzoflorence.it we look forward to seeing you there wines by alyssa frediani do good by shopping for christmas this year right here in the city of florence a very special holiday marketplace will take place during the weekend of 11-13 december at palazzo corsini on the lungarno with the holidays right around the corner this marketplace is the perfect place to purchase unique items ­ collectors objects clothing jewelery specialty food products and much more ­ and more importantly with your purchase you will also bring a smile to the life of those who are desperately in need for health reasons proceeds from all sales will be collected by the organizers of the event and will be utilized to help individuals with incurable illnesses file is an private nonprofit italian foundation whose mission is to help terminally ill individuals and their families it sustains palliative therapies developed to ease the physical and mental pain that inflicted patients with no hope of survival must face until their last moments of life this year you too can join in file s effort to promote the studies research and fundraising to assist and support the terminally ill and their families order to guarantee their quality of life and dignity file s efforts have been recognized by onlus organizzazione non lucrativa di utilità sociale ­ non profit organization for social work www.leniterapia.it/index.asp marketplace dates and hours friday dec 11th 12:00-8:00pm saturday dec 12th 10:00am-7:00pm sunday dec 13th 1:00pm-7:00pm located at palazzo corsini on lungarno corsini nu.8 christmas with file a present for you a present for everyone by nerina masini 2 newsletter 23

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valladolid spain the backdrop for the 1st international tapas competition organized by fundación de la lengua española is a quaint spanish town an hour train ride south of madrid with a population of 300,000 an exposition area was set up in the city center composed of the cooking areas for 12 contestants 6 at a time and stands featuring winemakers and food producers offering everything from culinary to microbiotic specialties an enclave of prestigious international culinary schools were the highlighted element consisting of a culinary battle to determine who whipped up the best tapas the represented apicius team included professors francesco mansani and andrea trapani supported by culinary student kimberly verkuilen other contestants hailed from the cia in the us and culinary institutions from mexico sweden denmark canada and italy the team of judges gathered important gastronomes and chefs including the chef de cuisine of the famed el bulli who based their decision on the criteria of technique presentation innovation and taste as for the unfolding of the competition itself the cooking and preparation rules were akin to the very concept of enjoying tapas an astounding variety of hors d oeuvres and finger foods consumed in spanish bars and restaurants rapid fire 15 minute time limits to prepare the dish once the presenting chef was done the next one successively prepared the new dish entry right away in the end the pronounced winner was the swedish team as prof mansani puts it the overall experience was fantastic a refreshing encounter between schools and gastronomic producers resulting in the exchange of mutual culinary interests the overall organization was incredible it allowed us to absorb an authentic profound side of spain made up of an incredible cuisine and culture the apicius team s tapas presentation paella encrusted milanese style veal served with potato foam pimiento air and asparagus sauce colored with parsley chlorophyll live broadcasting was produced during the event and can be visualized at this link www.fundacionlengua.com the italians in spain apicius at the int l tapas competition by francesco mansani on november 6th fua offered a day trip to the san leo farm in the tuscan countryside about 15 other students and i took an hour-long bus ride to the farm where we were able to learn about the olive oil and honey-making processes once we arrived one of the owners of san leo demonstrated how they make their oven wood fired baked homemade bread i tried to re-create this at home but had no success next we stepped out into the brisk outdoors and quietly listened as the owner explained how they pick their olives and make their exquisite olive oil we walked down the hill and were able to see the extremely large machines used to make the olive oil after the tour we got to taste their fresh oil homemade bread and homecooked potatoes what a treat following the tour we took the bus to the mall outlets in another part of tuscany an area that i hadn t seen before gucci prada burberry and salvatore ferragamo were only a few of the many high-class outlet stores we were able to shop at of course i wasn t able to buy anything because of the high prices and my ever-declining bank account overall a wonderful day in tuscany fuori porta fieldtripsmall san leo farm and the by alyssa frediani foodies this semester i have had the privilege of accompanying my friend katie on her personal mission to find the best pear ravioli in florence katie first discovered pear ravioli on a restaurant menu a few weeks after her arrival usually not disposed to experimental dining katie was pleased with her adventurous decision to try something new and was especially pleased with her choice but katie did not stop here prompted by her loyalty to the familiar and stirred by her newfound adventurous spirit she combed the internet and tuscan guidebooks to find the restaurant with the best pear ravioli this pear ravioli must be sweet and savory with a soft and slightly granular texture and the ambiance of the restaurant must also be taken into consideration up to date katie now has two contending favorite restaurants serving photo by lara camozzo pear ravioli that she would like to recommend as she is not miserly about the fruit of her labors for some of the best pear ravioli in florence please visit trattoria 4 leoni www.4leoni.com via de vellutini 1-red 50125 firenze italy +39 055 21 85 62 coquinarius bar-enoteca via delle oche 15-red 50122 firenze italy 055 230 2153 call for reservations buon appetito the pear pursuit by melissa mitchell it s hot in the kitchen by eddie meyers 23 newsletter 3

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it s hot in the kitchen robert morris university by eddie meyers student services was proud to hold the second reigning chefs competition on friday november 27th at apicius five teams went head to head in a cooking competition in which they had no opportunity to plan what they would be cooking four of the five teams that competed were comprised of apicius students and the fifth team was the students from the day started out with the teams tasters and judges watching a short clip of a blind taste test on hell s kitchen this provided the perfect transition to the first activity the day a blind taste test where the team leader for rmu and the advisors for the apicius teams could earn bonus points for their teams teams master student chef karl st ange identified the most items including ginger root orange brazilian nuts tuna earning eight extra points afterwards teams were given their mystery basket of ingredients and 15 minutes to plan their two dishes the chefs were given one hour and ten minuets to cook and plate their dishes kandace phyall student life manager and i had the difficult job of monitoring the chefs in the kitchen and keeping them on schedule the judges chef desire boualy luca bucciarelli luciana avallone and rebecca valpy had the fun task of rating the final fare in three categories presentation creativity and taste each team went before the panel of judges to presents their dishes and have them scored in the end the robert morris university team went above and beyond what was required by creating three dishes instead of two see their winning menu 1 fresh tagliatelle with squid and tomato sauce 2 rolled pork with rosemary sage walnuts and cocoa powder dusted with chestnut flour and seared with a leek and dill cream sauce 3 chocolate crepes stuffed with ricotta and sugar with a grape compote 1 2 3 team 1 captain kim vierkuilen master advisor craig sebenik aaron keller christiana levecchia team 2 captain robee jocson masters sergio brown derek frankart wendy hsiao hui claudia caceres team 3 captain nedret erbiligic master advisor thomas capretz eukyoung kim paul salmeri ken reitermayer team 4 captain mariana correa master advisor karl saint ange kelly brouse michael barber nas tuzun team 5 robert morris university captain jill rock paul savich rachel block adam betzinger tania rascia photo credit carrie schoenborn 4 newsletter 23

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wine news querciabella bella vigna tuscany by serana the first thought of chianti region is the high quality of wine in agricola querciabella is a good example of this it is located in greve in chianti a well known name in the italian wine world the rare opportunity of visiting this famous winery makes me realize just why and how they produce such fine wines they stick to the biodynamic principles and focus on the quality instead of quantity the two bottles of wine which we tasted were querciabella 2007 and camartina 2006 the grapes of the first one are 95 sangiovese and 5 cabernet sauvignon the color is ruby red with the notes of dark berry chocolate and vallina the grapes of second one are 70 cabernet and 30 sangiovese which make the wine less aggressive and more rounded as well these two bottles both have their own characteristics with long aftertaste just like how this short visit leaves an impressive memory in my mind too photo by serana italian culture d evo r im a ne re o dev o p a rti re by ro b ert enquist i mi e i t re m e si pa ssa t i a fi re nzesonov ol atiin un l am po i l mot i v o c e ne s ono m ol t i mail pi ù ev i de nte sono i v ia ggic he ho f a t to neifinese tti mana p e r tut toil mes e e m ez zo che ho p res o t reni e aerei i n di ve rs i pae si i n eu rop a ho vist oalcunecoseso rp re nd e n ti immagin o d i no n es sere s ta to l uni co e che m ol t i di voi av ranno si cu ra me nt efatto la s t e ss acosa p e rò m o l ti al t ri di v oi sa ranno i nv ece ri m ast i q ui a t ras co rre re i l l oro tem po l ibero in que s t a be lli s s im a c i tt à e p e rc h é n o u na p ar te dimes arebbe vo l ut a r i manere a fi renze per molti di qu esti p a s sa tifi ne s e tt im a n a m i trovo moltobe ne inques ta c i ttà ma s o c he c é molt o p i ù da sco pri re ed i m parare q uat t ro mes i non basta no m a la s c e lt aallafine è s ol onost ra r i m ane re o par ti re ero u n tu r is t a e ro unostude nt eede ro u n fi oren t ino by au st i n sm yt he da quando sono arrivato qui a firenze nel mese di settembre mi sono sentito interprete di ciascuno di questi ruoli infatti ho potuto apprezzare la città da tre diverse prospettive quella del turista quella di uno studente e d inf in e q ue ll a di unfio re n ti no sonounturistaquandogi ro pergliangolidellacitt à e d a ff ascinatoscattofotoovunquemit ro v i sonoun tu ri sta q ua nd o f a tic oado rd i n a re l a f ru tta a l me rca to ed an che q uando s m ar ri ta last rada cerco di speratame n te dicap ire i s e gn alist ra d a li so no p e rò un fi ore n t in oquando ma ngio ta n ta p as ta o gni gi or no so no un fi o rent i no quando a scol t o i monac icanta re asanminiato sonounfio re ntinoquandoleggo sedutosulparapettodipontesanta tr inita e qu an do m i a rr a bbi oconlefolledei tu ri stiche mi s ono d int r al c i o quando gi ro pe r l a ci t tà p e r ò allafine sonosoprattuttounostudentepe rc h é nonsoltantovedolabellezzastoricaelaculturadi fi ren ze m a im pa ro daque st e s tu diogliedifi ci egli archi tet ti che l i ha nno p rog ett at i scri v o sug l i ar tis ti del ri n a sc im entoedan al izzole lo ro op e re di seg no le s c ul t ure e d i be i p ae saggichedan no vi t a all a cit t à l eg g o e d a pp re zzolib ri diau to ri it a li a n i einult im aanal isi pensochequestipe rs o n a ggi i tu ris ti i f i orenti ni e gl i st udenti non sem pre v ada no d acc o rdo t r a di lo ro t u t ta viaciascunocos ti tu isce un el ement o i m port ante del l a ci tt à e i ns i em e fa nn o s copr ire u na f ire nz e v e ra m e n te speciale 23 newsletter 5

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student voice rogate kindred la mia famiglia italiana by melissa mitchell for three months i have been living with a florentine family of five a father a mother two sons and a dog for 14 years they have hosted international students meaning they have considered over 40 young men and women to be their surthough my italian speaking abilities are developing frustratingly slow i am still learning so much from my host family interestingly enough the older the family member the less he or she speaks english excluding the dog with the father knowing the least and the youngest son the most this has proved ideal for me as i am either obliged to practice my italian or i can communicate my thoughts freely in english and am then taught to translate them into italian while my host family s vernacular diversity has helped me learn italian their personal differences have also helped me learn more about the italian culture for example from my mother i have learned various culinary techniques and about shopping in the markets from my father italian politics and flattery from my oldest brother italian literature and film and from my younger brother contemporary italian music and the pastimes of italian youths i can honestly say that all i have learned from the dog is that this particular cane italiano is spoiled rotten sadly for me the semester will soon be over and my family will welcome new students into their home i once asked the youngest of my host brothers how he felt about all of these strangers moving in and out of his home he told me he has never been bothered by it he considers each student to be the little brother or sister he never had do s and don ts by jorge espino by now you surely have developed a special relationship with florence she s beautiful but not pretentious you must pry things out of her if you truly want to get to know her she plays hard to get but she s worth the effort a day alone with florence is a great way to discover something about her that she may have been keeping from you feeling brave florence loves bikes you can rent one for the day in piazza santa croce for about 8 once you re on your way get as far from the city center as possible perhaps you d like to discover florence s artsy side cross the arno and check out santo spirito hungry there are plenty of paninotecas that are worth a visit antico vinaio fratellini and antico noè are a few noteworthy ones rule of thumb if there are locals spilling out into the street hold wine glasses at lunch our it s probably a good choice to avoid any place around the town center that is advertising special menu prices and have stale pizzas rotting away near the door go for a walk anywhere get lost but find something new take an empty wine bottle to il bacco nudo and have it filled with a fantastic wine for as little as 2 euro enjoy the bottle with a friend at piazza micheleangelo or giardino boboli pay a visit to mercato san ambrogio browse through the interesting antiques or buy some groceries for a fantastic home cooked meal do not leave firenze without visiting every museum on the back of your uffizi card when ordering food try not to speak english use what italian you ve learned it will be appreciated and you may just get better service don t leave firenze every weekend give her at least one more weekend of your time here and really get to know her 6 newsletter 23

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take home a piece of your special tuscan experience gorda in photo courtesy of florence campus ask for it at the frontdesk publishing@florencecampus.it 23 newsletter 7

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www.palazzifirenze.com created and published by the student editorial staff of the student services department questions comments or want to collaborate with us contact publishing@florencecampus.it

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