Astor Center Dinner, Aperitivo Style: A Social Approach to the Flavors of the Italian Riviera
Kati covers the social and gastronomic mingling that made our Astor Center Aperitivo a success.
Apicius students and faculty staged the Astor Center event on October 25th. Four different buffet stations ranging from appetizers to primi pasta dishes, meat-based secondi and elegant desserts, were featured with wines from the Santa Cristina estate. Our team enjoyed this venue because of the wide variety of foods guest could choose from, instead of a set menu with a specific order of courses. The theme was diversely represented by the buffet stations, which reflected all aspects, colors and tastes of the Italian Riveria. Pastry student Kelsey Richards explains the diversity in detail, “My favorite part was setting up the baci di alassio (a chocolate sandwich cookie filled with cream) pyramid tower of cookies. I am particular to the decoration and presentation of pastries, this event allowed me to display an abundance of different desserts.” Not only did the buffet style give guests more options but it also made for a more social setting as practiced regularly by the Italians at aperitivo.
Aperitivo, in fact, is a traditional Italian social gathering before a meal, enjoyed usually with sparkling wine and a couple of bite-size appetizers. Offering a more substantial aperitivo as a social dinner allowed for more interaction with people, more questions to be asked and answered about food and wine. It was great direct feedback for the students who manned the buffet stations as well as a lively, entertaining atmosphere for the guests. Culinary student Samantha Sklar indicates the Astor location as the most expressive of the TuttoToscana Riviera theme, “We were able to explain every dish and wine, why it is important and representative of our theme, and most importantly the interaction allowed for providing facts that the public couldn’t get from the menu alone.”
The guests ranged from family and friends, former students, wine distributors, academic partners as well as the general public. Scott Ehrlich, the US representative of Santa Cristina from Ste. Michelle Estates was one of our VIP guests; I had the opportunity to talk to him about the wines and our overall concept. He seemed very impressed by our knowledge and the outcome of the event. Former students from the 2010 TuttoToscana program loved how this year was presented in the casual aperitivo format as opposed to last year’s formal, fashion-themed event at the Astor Center. The aperitivo style created a social environment in which not only the food presentation was diverse but also allowed for different groups of people to be unified by the high quality food and wines, interact amongst each other, and truly discover in depth how our event concept portrayed the Italian Riviera.
About the blogger: Kathryn Peters is a certified culinary student completing her undergraduate studies in Hospitality at the University of South Carolina.
Photo credit: Meaghan Kacsmar