JBF Trial Dinner at Ganzo
By Lisa Wolff
Photo by TuttoToscana Team
The Tuttotoscana James Beard trial dinner was a great success, but like any event where planning and preparation on this scale is involved, tensions were high as the Tuttotoscana team worked side by side with the Advanced Culinary career students and Chef Andrea Trapani at Ganzo. This was the first time members of our team worked together and it was a time of bonding and hard work as they prepared the dinner and got to know each other. Like an awkward couple on a blind date, the team assessed each other wondering what it would be like to work on an even bigger event with each other. The hospitality management teams and the event management and planning teams at Apicius all crowded into Ganzo, the teaching restaurants to work together to build a beautiful dining experience for the guests. From the planning and executing the decoration of the dining room, selecting the wines all the way down to plating and serving the food our teams worked together to provide a seamless experience of class and elegance to be emulated at James Beard.
“10 years of Apicius at the James Beard Foundation” was the theme of the dinner. The dishes that were selected were of the crowd favorites that Apicius has served during the ten year partnership of Apicius and the JBF. As the last time time the dishes were served, the guests loved every bite; they were fan favorites for a reason! From the organized yet at times hair-pulling chaos that is a commercial kitchen, the Tuttotoscana students Alix Osborn, Vicky Poull, Lisa Wolff, Giselle Milles, and Jo Chaio Lin banded together to prepare a dinner to remember.
The star, however, was the desert, prepared by Giselle and Pastry Chef Simone De Castro. The Light Brown dessert was a huge hit in 2013 and was selected for the 2014 commemorative dinner. Last year it was served as a dome but this year the pastry team opted for rectangular slices, which created an immediate visual impact through the colors and textures of the dessert.
The entire brigade and service team made presentations and explained the menu at the end of the meal to close out the Ganzo Thursday Themed Dinner. When asked whether the menu was ready to bring to NYC or not, the audience responded with an enthusiastic yes. Though there were several points of improvement that the Chefs had to share with the team, we are looking forward to improving with the rest of the team members for October 25th.
This looks to be the beginning of a great relationship.