TuttoToscana Alumni Dinner 2018
By Delaney Goff, Jessica Vercota and Eva Björg Eyjólfsdóttir
Photo by David Andre Weiss
The TuttoToscana 2018 Alumni dinner served as a great way to bring together, once again, our FUA family. Our goal for this event was to transform the formal setting of the James Beard House into a friendly family gathering, bringing back wonderful memories of our guests’ study abroad experiences. With a focus on past and present FUA students, this evening also served as a fundraiser honoring a former FUA student, Cody Durbin. Cody studied abroad at FUA in the Summer and Fall of 2013, participating in the TuttoToscana program. The Cody Durbin Scholarship will be given in his name to a deserving student, allowing them to experience all that TuttoToscana has to offer.
To get our FUA family involved during our event, we held a raffle and awarded prizes to various individuals highly involved in the FUA community. Following a short photo opportunity, the guests were seated at their tables, which were all themed after famous locations throughout Florence. The menu of the evening was focused on revisiting the seasonal Tuscan cuisine from the 1960’s with a fresh and modern approach. To bring our guests closer together, the menu was designed to create a family style atmosphere, keeping the evening light and enjoyable.
Our guests were given the option to choose from a variety of Tuscan wines featuring two differing wineries. From Bruni winery, we highlighted the Vermentino and the Morellino di Scansano. We also served Vinsanto from Fattoria del Teso winery in the Montecarlo region of Italy. Following the completion of dinner, our guests were introduced to the front and back of the house staff members, giving them an opportunity for questions and to bringing together past and present FUA students.
This alumni event helped to spark a light on the FUA community, where the mission is not only to learn in a classroom environment, but to bridge different cultures together, gaining lifelong connections and experiences!