First Friday Trial at Ganzo: Art Event
By Special Event Management Class
In preparation for the TuttoToscana event week in NYC FUA students hosted a successful practice dinner at Ganzo for Florentine guests.
Amidst the rapid preparation for the TuttoToscana event week in New York City, multiple classes at FUA came together in order to host a practice dinner in Florence on Friday, October 6th for the October 25th art event in NYC. The evening was an opportunity especially for our chefs to try out some of the finger foods that will be served in NYC as the amuse bouche offerings for Ganzo clients. Guests were in for a pleasant surprise: the standard pre-meal tasting is a small bite offered by the kitchen, but for this dinner, the chefs provided two dishes laden with finger foods per diner.
TuttoToscana is a way for FUA students to put learning into practice. For chefs, it requires preparing dishes and presenting them to the public. For event planners, it is coordinating different components to flow together in a seamless way. Students in the Special Event Management use these test dinners in order to work through any potential problems with the front of the house operations as well as try to find any possible flaws or miscommunications.
For the first trial dinner, our class focused on understanding the role division and the strict hierarchy of event organization. It all begins with the manager, the person in charge of “everything,” from delegating to coordinating employees, reservations, and suppliers. Slightly below the manager, you will find the maître, or captain. He or she is in charge of assisting the manager in directing the front of the house staff, which also means taking orders and managing clients. Next come the stewards, the people that serve your food, pour your wine, and make sure you have everything that you need at your table. The two most important people in the event context are the people that are oftentimes overlooked. The first being the host or greeter. They are your first and generally last impression of the establishment, which will leave a lasting impression of the whole experience. Last, but certainly not least, are the bus boys, or commis. Without them, your table would be covered in dirty dishes, you would not have proper silverware, and most likely you wouldn’t get any water refills.
Through specific experiences gained at the Ganzo dinner, the class realized that these aspects are crucial to having a successful event.
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