Florence Team
By Vicky Poull
Photo by TuttoToscana Team
Here’s our first roundup of TuttoToscana Florence team members who have been preparing for the upcoming NYC week. Jo, Giselle, Alix, Vicky, Lisa, and Jay come from international backgrounds and have in common a strong bond with the culinary arts, which they are excited to share with the rest of the TuttoToscana members that will join us on October 19th.
Lin Jo Chiao, Taiwan
Lin Jo Ciao, also known as Jo, grew up in the beautiful country Taiwan and developed a passion for cuisine and pastry after graduating junior high. She attended a Culinary University in Taiwan and has gained working experience over the past three years. Jo has spent time learning culinary and pastry experience at fine dining restaurants in Taiwan, Spain, and Chile. Though she has experience in both sides of the food industry, Jo wanted to focus on culinary and improve her chef skills so she applied to Apicius to earn her Master in Italian Cuisine. Jo had heard about the James Beard Foundation while living in Taiwan, but there wasn’t any opportunity to participate in any events until she came to Apicius and Chef Andrea and Chef Massimo suggested she participate. She knew that this was once in a lifetime opportunity and was excited to travel to the United States, so she enthusiastically signed up. Jo wants to not only gain culinary experience, but also communication and organization skills, and working under a different Chef with a different team. Jo would like upcoming students to enjoy the whole event because it’s a great honor and to learn as much as you can.
Giselle Mills, Trinidad and Tobago
Giselle Mills is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, a two-island nation in the West Indies. She attended Johnson and Wales University in North Miami for two years and then went on to study at Providence for one year. Giselle had come on a study abroad with her school for 4 weeks, which is where she originally found out about TuttoToscana. She began studying pastry when she was 19 years old and has worked jobs and internships at several different restaurants, bakeries and hotels in Trinidad and New York. Giselle expects to have a great experience, as she is fully involved 3 weeks before the main event interning at Fedora. Her best advice for future applicants is to understand that you never have enough experience and to enjoy what you’re doing as much as possible.
Alix Osborn, USA
Growing up in Altoona, Kansas, the spark that ignited Alix’s passion was picking a ripe tomato out of his mother’s garden and biting into the juicy flesh. He chose to attend Johnson County Community College’s Chef Apprentice program because he had heard great things about it and was eager to start gaining experience in the culinary field. Since he started school, he became interested in the James Beard Foundation so after studying in Florence in the summer and hearing about TuttoToscana, he was thrilled to start his journey of following in the footsteps of the culinarians he looks up to. Alix is most excited to show the skills he has obtained through years of working in restaurants and his professional training at JCCC, and is eager to add more to his repertoire through working the events. His advice to future students is to always be prepared, and going the extra mile past being prepared. Learning the menus, taking notes and marking your calendars will help keep you on top of things and will save you a lot of stress. Learn what the chefs are teaching you, because they have a lot of experience under their belt and can impart a lot of techniques and experience.
Victoria Poull, USA
Victoria is from Chicago, Illinois where she has recently graduated from Robert Morris University with a Bachelor in Hospitality Management focused on Culinary Arts. She remembers baking brownies and smelling all the scents in the kitchen with her Nonny at an early age, and she has been a food lover ever since. Last year she studied through FUA and her internship through Ganzo under Chef Karly Siciliano was an unforgettable one. When Chef Brad Hindsley of Spire asked her to join in on the TuttoToscana event, she knew she couldn’t refuse. She had attended the pre-event at Ganzo last year and loved it, so she is very excited to actually be a part of the back of the house this year. Victoria expects the event to be on a different level than she is used to, but is eager to take on new challenges and opportunities to feed her hunger for knowledge and experience. Her advice for students preparing to do the event would be to stay passionate and enjoy the experience. Soak up the experiences you have and share it with others; you could know something that someone else previously didn’t and you can also learn from them.
Lisa Wolff, Canada
Lisa comes from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada where she studied at Camosun College and Vancouver Island University. Most of her culinary training was under a Red Seal Certified Chef in Victoria, and she has been in the field for over three years. Her passion for food, specifically Tuscan food, is what brought her to Florence; the city and food drew her in. Lisa expects to have enriched experiences and to learn a lot about food, and her advice to next years students is to do the Florence part of the program as well and to fully immerse yourself in the culture. It’s okay to “get homesick and chow down a cheeseburger while singing your national anthem, but there really is nothing quite so beautiful as the Tuscan culture.”
Jay You, South Korea
Jay came to Florence from Seoul, Korea, where she worked in the culinary field. She has been in the culinary industry for two years, and she was part of the TuttoToscana program last year as well, so she was excited to jump back on board this year! She chose Florence because it was one of the more interesting cities she’s visited while traveling through Italy, and she now lives and works here. Jay’s advice for others is that it’s a new experience and that you should enjoy your time here, she’s sure you’ll want to come back for more.
For background information on our faculty chef members check out the James Beard Foundation event page for October 25th.