|
 
3.6.06 The French Culinary Institute Offers New Total ImmersionSM Italian Culinary Experience
Chef Cesare Casella named first Dean of Italian Studies
NEW YORK, March 6, 2006 — No country in the world combines its passion for food, family, friends and daily life better than Italy. So learning to become a top Italian chef requires intense training beyond the usual techniques and classic recipes of all regions of Italy. It demands Total Immersionsm in the Italian language and culture. For this reason and in its ongoing commitment to offer the most well-rounded and authentic culinary training in the world, The French Culinary Institute (The FCI) is proud to introduce its newest program: Italian Culinary Experience.
“Our new Italian studies program further expands The FCI’s role in creating the next generation of culinary arts professionals,” says Dorothy Cann Hamilton, founder and CEO of The FCI. “Whether they study here in New York or in Italy, students in the Italian program will train using The FCI’s Total Immersionsm curriculum, learning and being guided by four-star chefs.”
The Italian Culinary Experience is a 29-week Total Immersionsm in Italian cuisine, culture and language launching in January 2007. With this unique program, students divide their time between The FCI’s New York campus and ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine, in Parma, Italy. The curriculum was designed by The FCI’s first Dean of Italian Studies, renowned Chef Cesare Casella of Manhattan restaurant Maremma. In this new role, Chef Cesare will oversee The FCI’s new Italian Studies program.
“This is an exciting, new phase in my career, one that focuses on education and giving back to the culinary community,” says Chef Cesare. “Being able to share my skills with others — whether aspiring professionals or serious amateur chefs — adds another meaningful dimension to my work.”
The program begins in New York City with ten weeks of intensive training in Italian cuisine, culture and language. In this time, students will master the skills and techniques required for everything from antipasti, soups, stocks, sauces, pastas, pizza, fish, shellfish, poultry, game to classic Italian desserts and pastries. Students will also learn the rich history of the Italian culture, including the development of regional cuisine in order to understand the basis of the local products and recipes and the relationship between the different food lore.
After completing the first 10 weeks of the program in New York City, students are off to Italy for 18 weeks. Students reside at ALMA, The International School of Italian Cuisine, led by Gualtiero Marchesi, the leading representative of Italian cuisine in the world and first Italian to receive three Michelin stars. For the first nine weeks, students will learn from expert Italian chefs at fully-equipped, avante-garde teaching and cooking facilities in the Palazzo Ducale in Colorno. For the final nine weeks, program participants will gain hands-on experience while working with top chefs in some of Italy’s finest restaurants. At the program’s conclusion, students will return to The FCI in New York City for one week of management training, reviewing, cooking and final exams.
“I want to ensure that every student who enters these new Italian programs leaves with the same world-class education for which The FCI has always been known,” explains Chef Cesare.
Newly named Dean of Italian Studies, Chef Cesare is a seasoned expert in Italian culinary history and practices. He is the author of numerous cookbooks on Italian food, including True Tuscan, consultant to two organic farms that grow heirloom Italian produce and joint-owner of a herd of Chianina, a specialized breed of Italian cattle. To assume his role at The FCI, Chef Cesare sold his interest in his other restaurant Beppe to his former partners. About Chef Cesare Casella
At age 14, Cesare Casella enrolled in the Culinary Institute Ferdinando Martini, in Montecatini. His first assignment after graduation was transforming his family’s restaurant, Vipore, from a local hangout into a well-known regional destination. By 1993, he had earned Vipore a Michelin star and a reputation for attracting such distinguished diners as Henry Kissinger and Tom Cruise.
The Tuscan chef relocated to New York in 1993,where he was named Executive Chef of Coco Pazzo. Shortly thereafter, he launched its sister restaurant, II Toscanaccio. In 2001, Chef Cesare opened his own first solo restaurant, the critically-acclaimed Beppe, followed in 2005 by Maremma — a Tuscan trattoria, named for the region in Southwest Tuscany.
About The French Culinary Institute
Founded in 1984, The French Culinary Institute teaches the culinary protocol, language and techniques upon which all Western cuisine is based. The FCI offers a rigorous six-month program by day or a nine-month program by night for aspiring or working culinary professionals and serious amateurs. The FCI will offer three new Italian classes, Fundamentals of Italian Cooking in October 2006 and the Italian Culinary Experience and Essentials of Italian Cooking 1, 2 and 3 in January 2007. For more information, visit www.frenchculinary.com
Contact
Kimberly Yorio kim@ycmedia.com
Kendra Borowski kendra@ycmedia.com
YC Media, 212-609-5009
|
