And our week begins in NYC – 2015
Texts and photos by Nelly Mckay
I don’t believe life can get any better than this:
Spending a week in the city that never sleeps (like me!) surrounded by culinary and pastry students eager to apply their best skills at the James Beard Foundation!
The James Beard Foundation was establish to honor the life and accomplishments of James Beard, one of the first “foodies” that the New York Times considered worthy of being called the “Dean of American cookery” and his friend Julia Child once claimed “in the beginning, was Beard.”
Although his first passion was acting, he soon discovered that his future was more secure in the culinary world; ironically, this led to him hosting cooking programs on television, of all things! His first love had finally found him.
Not only did James Beard teach and write cookbooks, he also made the time to share his culinary discoveries with family and friends.
When James Beard passed away, it was this close circle of family and friends who decided to form a foundation that would bear his name and continue to promote American cuisine to the masses.
Following in James Beard’s teaching legacy, TUTTOTOSCANA was created in 2005. Apicius is the only culinary school that manages an event at James Beard, that privilege is reserved for established and up-and-coming chefs, not aspiring culinary students. Watching the students prepare for their first event makes me realize they are quite aware of the honor and responsibility of this opportunity. I would gladly work side-by-side with any of them.
Who are these students? They are past and present culinary and pastry students of Apicius Culinary School in Florence, Italy and they come, literally, from all over the world: Brazil, Italy, Peru, Colombia, Iceland, Mexico, and the United States.
In “everything Tuscan,” the meaning of TUTTOTOSCANA, each one of the dishes is sure to bring back memories of a moment and time spent in Tuscany or bring alive a dish that someone had heard of but never tasted until now.