The journey began in New York on March 12th of this year and, much like you are as a child, I was wide-eyed and beyond excited:
I started this path with seven other students and together we embarked on an incredible journey. As we began learning the culinary ropes, we slowly starting building a solid foundation under the amazing teaching of chefs Jessica Botta and Guido Magnaguano, two of the most terrific teachers one could hope to learn from. I will never forget our first day of "cooking" when we made a simple bruschetta:
All of us couldn't believe that we'd made something so delicious out of simple, common ingredients that we'd eaten a million times prior. Somehow, this tasted remarkable to me, as though I'd never had tomato or basil before. I know now that that was the beginning of something very special inside me that was being cultivated over the years without me even realizing it.
As a bit of back history, I've had a passion for food and cooking since I was a child. One of my first real memories as a little girl was walking into the kitchen to find my mother checking the baked potatoes in the oven to see if they were ready. She reached in with her bare hand to squeeze a few and I thought she was superhuman, unafraid of the radiating heat from the oven. I can remember all these years later how much I wanted to "learn" how to do that. From that day on, I was always my mother's helper in the kitchen; cracking eggs into cookie batter, inevitably crushing the shells right in too, or helping to mix salad dressing or dumping pasta into boiling water. With each small kitchen task I was assigned, I tackled it with fury and pride. From such a young age, I began to learn what joy felt like through the eyes of a cook; my talented mother.
As the years went on, the love of cooking kept growing. I started to read more on my own and learned to ask questions while mom cooked. We spent a week each summer in St. Louis, MO with family and my aunt is one of the most amazing cooks I've ever known. I would be up at the crack of dawn with her on our infamous crepe day where we'd start homemade crepes for breakfast long before everyone had woken up. They'd all drift into the kitchen as they sizzled away in the pan and the smiles and anticipation of sitting down to eat were palpable. Not only did I love the process of cooking, I loved even more the process of coming together to eat and enjoy the fruits of our labor. It was the total package for happiness, in my opinion, and it was the real start of a dream for me.
Time went by, I got older and yet the desire to experience new and different ingredients in the kitchen continued to be stimulating and intriguing. At the young age of nineteen, I moved to New York where I lived with my brother. I couldn't wait for Saturday nights because that's when I would cook for us. It was never anything fancy, but it was my creation and that was what mattered to me. Returning to Georgia a year later, I moved in with my best friend and together we shared some of the most wonderful nights of cooking, wine drinking and sharing over a table of both old and new recipes. Those are memories that I will never forget.
Deciding to go to culinary school was a choice made with care and thoughtfulness. I decided to follow my heart, not something so common this day in age, and am I ever so glad I did. As we moved on through our culinary program in New York, we had equal moments of hilarity, stress and refinement. I baked misshapen cakes, filleted fish, and braised rabbit:
I learned the beauty of cleaning organ meats, making fresh pasta dough and breaking down a chicken:
Arriving at ALMA on our first day, we were greeted in true passionate, dramatic, Italian style: with, not one, but two earthquakes. Fortunately for all, they weren't serious but it was certainly quite a way to begin school. Seeing all of these future chefs congregated in one area was both awesome and invigorating:
The design of the program at ALMA is vastly different than what we experienced in New York. In the first few days, I realized that we had entered a new, more refined phase of school. I couldn't have been more excited. Through the extreme passion of Michele Crippa with history, we started to learn about the rich culture and history of Italy's impressive, fascinating twenty regions. Through the intricate expertise of chefs Bruno Ruffini and Mauro Elli, we began diving into amazing recipes with refined technique and skill. Through the soul of Matteo Passina, we were exposed to the depth of wine from areas within the twenty regions. All of this paired with remarkable chef demos from men and women of such great reputation and skill really brought this entire program together for me in a way I couldn't have anticipated. The days were hard and hours were long, but I was moved and impacted by each experience.
There at ALMA, we took our basic training and turned it into an elevated level of skill which was thrilling. With each dish I prepared, I felt pride and I left a piece of myself on every plate. There were good days and there were bad days, much like one should expect, but I felt true exhilaration each time I nailed something. I was getting better and it was showing. Nothing can take that sense of pride away.
As the time wound down at school and we approached our final days, I began to feel a series of emotions about moving into the third and final phase: stage. I felt a range of feelings and did my best to prepare as well as one can for entering the unknown. What an amazing experience it is to face a challenge completely alone and to go into it not knowing at all what to expect. It's exhilarating and terrifying, all at the same time. On our last day of school, we were certainly put the to test of executing a tasting menu for thirty-five people with only seven of us students to complete it. I was so excited for the challenge and I was absolutely ready that morning to work hard and put my heart into every dish we created. It was by far the best experience of my entire time at ALMA and I continue to be so proud of our team and the dishes we made:
To begin, I was thrilled to be working in Tuscany, a place I have dreamt of going my whole life. Tuscany is a beautiful place that consists mainly of mountains, hills and plains, namely the Appennines and Preappennines Mountains. The primary plains run in lower Arno and Versilia along with the coastal plains of Maremma. There are ten provinces that make up the region of Tuscany, all of which are unique and rare in their own right. Lucca sits in the middle in terms of population with its 374,144 inhabitants out of 3,510,114 throughout Tusancy as a whole. Out of all the twenty regions in Italy, Tuscan cuisine is most known globally and also often most widely misrepresented. In 1891, Pellegrino Artusi published The Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well which was a work meant to illustrate the adaptation of cuisine of Romagna in Florence. Instead, it has been referred to as a "treaty" on Italian national cooking which was not its intended purpose. Aside from that, true Tuscan cuisine consists of rich, rustic dishes that come from the mountains and fresh, vibrant dishes that come from the sea. The cuisine is a unique blend of Italian comfort food and summery, light seafood which, for me, is truly the best of both worlds.
The beef in Tuscany is some of the best you can find in Italy. This is certainly subject to opinion but, being the lover of comfort food that I am, it doesn't get better than a hearty braise of beef or pork. Chianina cattle, the largest breed of cattle in the world, are mainly used in Tuscany due to their incredibly tender, delicious meat which requires next to nothing in terms of flavor enhancers aside from a light sprinkling of quality salt. Bistecca alla Fiorentina is the most popular steak in Tuscany due to its low fat content and spectacular flavor. It is a t-bone steak, weighing 600g - 700g, and it is cooked over an intensely hot charcoal fire followed with the slightest bit of salt. Both grilling and spit-roasting are the most popular methods of cooking meat in Tuscany outside of braising.
Meat as a whole is popular in Tuscany. While beef is the most preferred meat, chicken is quite popular, as well. Most preparations of chicken are very simple in method but, with the use of incredibly fresh ingredients, the flavor is outstanding. Fresh herbs also have a strong presence in the preparation of chicken, mainly thyme and sage. From province to province, the recipes and dishes change drastically such as in pollo ripieno della Lunigiana, a Lunigiana style chicken stuffed with ricotta and herbs, to pollo grillettato all'Aretina, an Aretine style chicken that is first grilled then cooked in a pan with peas, rice and broth.
Pig farming is widespread over Tuscany, with nearly 700,000 pigs being produced each year, yet fresh, uncured pork dishes are not very common. Most of the pig is used to make cured meats so cooking pork as a main course is not that easy to find. The most traditional pork dish you'll see in Tuscany is arista or roasted pork that has been cooked in the oven with seasonings and olive oil, then dressed with its own juices. Simple, yet delicious. The most well known pig in Tuscany is the Cinta Senese, whose meat is completely evenly marbled with fat, unlike most other breeds where the fat and meat are very clearly separated. The flavor of Cinta Senese pork is distinct and fantastic, the lardo especially. Lardo di Colonnata is a lard from the Apuane Alps town of Colonnata that is very rare and particular. Layers of lard are preserved in basins called conche and they are alternately seasoned with salt, black pepper, rosemary, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, sage, star anise and oregano. The lard is cured for at least six months and the conche allow for just the right temperature and humidity during that time. In addition to pork meat being used in curing, pork liver is also sought after and not just for curing. In Arezzo, for example, liver kebabs are popular or in Florence, the liver is breaded and cooked in the oven. Frying is also a very common method of cooking in Tuscany, due to the significant production of olive oil, so you can often find fried pork liver and many other vegetables or croquettes, as well.
The cured products in Tuscany are amongst my favorite, mortadella being at the top. Near the town of Grosseto, pork rinds are even used as a popular means of seasoning. The rinds are seared with vinegar and then preserved in pork fat where they are ready to be added to dishes like beans or liver as a way of adding flavor. The most commonly known cured meats as a whole in Tuscany are finocchiona, prosciutto toscano and salame toscano. Finocchiona is a salami made with lean shoulder meat and side fat, then seasoned with wild fennel seeds. Prosciutto toscano is made with thigh meat that has been deboned and cured under salt, seasoned with salt and pepper and aged for one year. Salame toscano is made from both meat and fat that has been finely ground, chopped and seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper. It is then filled into a pig's intestine and dried. There is nothing quite like a platter of various Tuscan cured meats. Add a little bread and wine and you have a diet I could very quickly become accustomed to daily, that's for sure.
Tuscany is not just all about meat or fish. There are some outstanding cheeses that come from this region that are quite unique and special. The one that leads the pack, in my opinion, is pecorino senese. Pecorino as a whole is my favorite cheese and my time in Italy has shown me just how many different kinds there are. Pecorino sense is a type of pecorino made from one single-controlled flock that has eaten only grass grown in Siennese soil. It is unpasturized and made by hand with a crust that has been treated with tomato and olive oil. It is to die for. Another type of pecorino, pecorino toscano, is very different from what I'm used to in that, when fresh, it is soft and mild with a texture closely related to brie. In the Maremma area, pecorino serba is made using a mixture of sheep and cow milk which creates a more pungent flavor as the cheese matures. There are varieties of pecorino made all over Tuscany but these are really my favorite.
An interesting and shocking thing to get used to in Tuscany is that the bread is unsalted. Let me just say that Americans are not used to this. It does, however, work in my favor as I enjoy sopping up sauces of all kinds with bread so the lack of salt doesn't bother me. Sliced bread is a staple in Tuscany as it is used for everything from soups to being toasted with garlic and olive oil to serve alongside dishes.
I cannot say that I'm the biggest fan of the desserts in Tuscany. Desserts really don't do it for me as a whole but Tuscan desserts in particular are not my cup of tea. However, one dessert I absolutely do love are cantucci, a type of biscotti served traditionally alongside vin santo wine. They are crunchy (my weakness), only slightly sweet and usually contains nuts that I love such as almonds or pistachios. These are absolutely addictive for me and something I loved from the moment I tried them. Traditional desserts outside of cantucci range from zuccotto, a sponge caked soaked in liquer, and filled with whipped cream and nuts to ricciarelli, a very sweet, oval-shaped cookie made from almond paste and topped with powdered sugar. In Lucca particularly, buccellato is a cake that dates all the way back to 1485. It is a ring-shaped sweet bread that is flavored with anise seeds and raisins, then sliced and fried. There are definitely interesting desserts that come from Tuscany, that's for sure.
Last, but certainly not least, comes the wine. Wine in Tuscany is some of the most popular in Italy, if not the world. Tuscany is know for the "Super Tuscans" when it comes to wine. In Italy, there are classifications that both food and wine fall under which is a way of explaining, if you will, what kind of product it is you're consuming. IGT status, or Indicazione Geografica Tipica, is a less detailed classification meaning that a wine is from a specific region in Italy. An IGT wine, while falling under less rigid rules than a DOC or DOCG labeled wine, is considered to be of higher quality than a simple table wine. The point behind any of these classifications is to encourage producers to make a higher quality product. Super Tuscans are ineligible for a higher status because wine makers use other varietals outside of sangiovese as the dominant varietal. A few examples of Super Tuscans include tignanello, sassicaia, picconero, solaia and magari. Sassicaia is said to be the first true Super Tuscan from the 1940's. From this, tignanello, named after the vineyard where the grapes were grown, originated. By 1975, tignanello was made with a blend of 85% sangiovese, 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc. From this point, wine makers all around started to come up with different blends and ways of creating new wines without the use of sangiovese, making the Super Tuscan grouping gain new popularity. Due to the wines not conforming to the strict DOC and DOCG regulations, they were considered table wine until the IGT category was born, bringing on an entirely new outlook of Tuscan wines. Outside of the notoriety of Super Tuscans, sangiovese is the star of Tuscany. It is earthy, while maintaining a bright burst of fruit, and it is used in countless blends from chianti classico to brunello. As mentioned, it is also the foundation of many Super Tuscans which has made Italian, Tuscan specific, wines more appealing to international buyers on a variety of levels. The use of sangiovese allows for a style, much like California cabernets, with oakey yet ripe, jammy fruit profiles, creating a familiarity outside of the Italian market.
Though white wine is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Tuscany, one of the popular white varietals of the region is vermentino. Vermentino is dry, crisp and most notably known for the hint of basil and pine nut in its flavor. It pairs well with fish and light dishes making it the perfect Mediterranean wine. I really enjoy vermentino, especially on a hot summer day. It's refreshing and easy to drink so it comes as no surprise that it's so popular to its native land of Sardinia.
Working in Lucca has been an incredible introduction to the particularities of Tuscan cuisine. Chef Maurizio Marsili, born and raised in Tuscany, is a man full of passion for the region he comes from and the ingredients it offers, most notably the fish. At Caffe delle Mura, he brings his love of freshness in cooking right to the table and it has been a wonderful experience to learn from him. I also got to work alongside Emanuele Borelli, Chef Maurizio's righthand man and a terrific chef, as well.
The town of Lucca is enchanting with its tiny streets that twist and turn and its open piazzas and marketplaces. The city is enclosed by ancient sea walls and they circle the entire city, about three miles around in total. The area is just beautiful, tranquil and peaceful:
There are two herb gardens that I often would snip fresh herbs from for service each evening which was a true highlight for me in the kitchen:
As a chef, Maurizio prefers to work with ingredients that are less commonly found throughout the area. As mentioned, fish is a central focus for him and he gravitates toward the fish that people are most often unfamiliar with, especially since Lucca is such a popular area for tourists from around the globe. I've learned about spada, razza, sciabola, sugarello…so many different fish that I have never seen or heard of before. He has a real drive toward educating people about the vast world we live in full of different, amazing ingredients. At Caffe delle Mura, you will find a large variety of cephalopods, mostly seppia, calamari and polpo, but they are popular and prepared just about as 'clean' as anyone could want. Simply sautéed, without oil, Chef Maurizio serves them as close to their natural form as possible with a simple sprinkling of salt, thyme and olive oil to finish. He treats vegetables in the same manner and roasts some of the most to die for sage and rosemary potatoes you can find. He freshly cuts and roasts meats, such as the Cinta Senese pork, and dresses them with their own juices. He also makes a typical croquette out of baccala and potatoes which are then lightly fried and served with marinated onions. Another completely simple yet delicious dish that showcases Tuscan technique and ingredients.
In the kitchen, Chef Maurizio is kind, patient and fun. He brings a sense of adventure and excitement into the kitchen that energizes and motivates you. He is not at all quick to anger and is mild-mannered in all of his approaches. He is very firm and serious when the time calls for it but he believes in creating an atmosphere of camaraderie and respect. Even on a day where we all came in to find that two of the refrigerators had broken, he did not lose his mind and go crazy. Instead, he just modified the menu for the evening and moved on. Learning from a man like Chef Maurizio has not only been educational, it has been a pleasure. It has also shown me so much more of the type of chef I would like to be in my own kitchen one day. Chef Maurizio also keeps a childlike sense of fun with the food. On the days where Emaunele has to make a new batch of semifreddo, Chef Maurizio would count down until we could use whatever was left to dump in our afternoon espresso:
Nadia is Caffe delle Mura's secret weapon when it comes to desserts. I was able to spend a morning with her looking on as she whipped up tarts and pastries quickly and beautifully, the result being desserts nothing short of perfect:
She reminds me a lot of my own mother and I was so happy to get the chance to see her in action.
Over the weeks I spent in Lucca, I gained new friendships and learned even more about what it means to truly appreciate and love food. We had some hilarious moments...:
…some stressful moments when pulling off a whole wedding reception…:
…some fascinating moments when stuffing and trussing and suckling pig…:
...and some genuinely fun moments of getting to know one another:
Despite the language barrier, we all came together as one in the kitchen and it has been my favorite part of working in this beautiful place.
My time in Italy has been such a rare, life-changing, unique, personal experience in which I will take with me always. I arrived in this magical country with wide eyes and an open heart and I am leaving a stronger, better, more patient and passionate individual. I have been deeply moved by the people I have met, the food I have tasted (and prepared!) and the places I have seen. From the beautiful flowers outside of homes to the glistening Mediterranean Sea to the rolling Tuscan hills, I have seen and been a part of things that most in the world will never be blessed to experience. As I say farewell to Italy and move forward into this new season of life as a hopeful chef, I carry memories and training with me that will not only make me a better cook, they will make me a better person. As the fabulous, remarkable Chef Antonia Klugmann told us, "You cannot discuss creativity as being right or wrong in cooking. There is no scale of failure. This is what makes you free when you cook". These wise words are a priceless gift in which I will hold dear always as I begin the next chapter of my life.
Arrivederci Italia, you will forever be imprinted on my heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment