Special Programs
Apicius and James Beard Foundation Short Course
Study Abroad Italy is pleased to offer this once in a lifetime opportunity, to experience firsthand working with Apicius International School of Hospitality in the creation of a food, wine and visual experience at the James Beard Institute, in New York City.
Program Proposal
For five consecutive years Apicius International School of Hospitality and Florence University of the Arts have organized and hosted Tuscan-themed dinners at the James Beard Foundation in New York City. This prestigious collaboration provides an exciting, genuine window to Italian culture with a focus on Tuscany to the American public who have the chance to experience the cuisine, wine, and visual and graphic arts prepared by the contemporary faces of Italy today: the Italian faculty of Apicius and Florence University of the Arts, based in Florence, Italy, and an event team composed of our Florentine staff, current and former students, and US institutional collaborators. For the 2010 edition the annual 2 day formal dinner and hands-on workshop held at the Beard House has been transformed into a four day extravaganza to celebrate today’s authentic Italian culture, cuisine, and wines. made up of the traditions and evolutions that take place at the table. Given this special opportunity, Apicius and FUA have designed a series of special event courses offered for academic credit, which students can attend and directly participate in the organization of the event in Florence and complete by managing the event on-site in New York City. All related information and specific program details can be found below.
What is the James Beard Foundation?
The James Beard Foundation is America’s most well known and respected culinary foundation. It is a national, non-profit organization created “to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence.” Most people might recognize the name for the prestigious James Beard Awards coveted by food professionals all over the United States. Founded in 1985, JBF is a testament to the culinary legacy left by the eponymous culinarian, professional chef, instructor and cookbook author referred to as the “father of American cuisine.” Mr. Beard’s beautiful West Village brownstone home was transformed into not only the Foundation’s headquarters but the communal space in which members of the foundation and the public can enjoy a myriad of gastronomic events every single day of the year.
About Apicius and Florence University of the Arts
Located in 4 campus sites, housed in Renaissance palaces in the historic center of Florence, Apicius and FUA are affiliated with over 50 academic institutions for higher learning of which many are US colleges and universities. Apicius and FUA are members of Palazzi Florence Association for International Education, a non profit consortium of academic institutions and services created to promote intercultural learning in Florence.
Program Mission
The Special Event Management Program at the James Beard Foundation seeks to
offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to collaborate hands-on in a series of events that will be held on the premises of America’s most renown reference in the world of gastronomy and the professional restaurant industry. The nature of the program is transcontinental between Europe and the United States, in order to promote cross-cultural knowledge in the creation and realization of special events related to specific food concepts. Program participants will acquire theoretic and practical experience through course attendance, event planning, and onsite event management/production for a full immersion experience in real-life situations. The areas of gastronomy, management, and visual arts will be the main focus of this unique program.
Past Events
A brief review of previous Apicius/FUA events at the Beard Foundation is provided in order to understand the evolution of the event concepts :
Featured chefs: For the past 5 years the two institutions have selected distinguished members of the Apicius culinary faculty to create the menu theme for each event. European champion chocolatier Andrea Bianchini, Apicius Culinary Chair and Executive Chef of the Fiorentina AC soccer team Andrea Trapani, international master chefs Desire Boualy and Pierluigi Campi are among such examples. External collaborators such as restaurant owner Giordano Monni of Florence’s top Tuscan restaurant La Buca dell’Orafo is another example of culinary inspiration for James Beard Events.
Volunteers
Former and current Apicius/FUA students have always participated in the kitchen brigade/ event management/media PR and Management / Photography at the James Beard events.
In recent years, we’ve witnessed an evolution in the institutional collaboration of event production, culminating in 2009 with Johnson & Wales and Washington State University, who both sent faculty led groups of team members to work on location with our staff in New York City.
2005 – Do You Cook Apicius?
Contemporary Tuscan cuisine emblematic of Apicius’ approach to the subject in its professional courses.
2006 – The Tuscan Menu, Reinterpreted
A group of non Tuscan Italian chefs inspired by the region offer their interpretation of Tuscany’s culinary specialties and traditions.
2007 – Flavors of Florence
Famed restaurant owner Giordano Monni of Buca dell’Orafo, located at the feet of the Ponte Vecchio, offers a rigorously Tuscan menu that faithfully recreates the flavors served daily at his establishment in Florence.
2008 – Ganzo in New York
Ganzo, the cultural association and restaurant where Apicus students intern, presents its interpretation of Florentine and Italian flavors that are created with the culinary faculty and students of Apicius.
2009 – Reflections of Maremma
Inspired by the travel guide/narrative published by Florence University of the Arts, this menu presents to the American public the true flavors of a little known area in the southernmost part of Tuscany called Maremma.
2010 Edition: TUTTO TOSCANA!
In Fall 2010 Apicius and Study Abroad Italy will offer a structured program that will take place in both Florence and New York and will cover all areas of special event production – event management, communications & public relations, food & wine management and art direction. Students may choose from 5 different areas of event organization and production. Three areas follow a 6 week structure that takes place in both cities while the other two areas are strictly food and wine production and service, and will take place only in New York. The event concept focuses on Italian Culture and how food and wine have been part of it over the centuries. The event will be planned and organized by students after a deep immersion in Italian culture, and all event aspects will be organized in detail:
Visual Communication and Writing, Public Relations, Media and Photography, Menu Planning , Food and Wine Pairing , Event Direction and Advertising.
FALL 2010 SPECIAL PROJECT IN EVENT ORGANIZATION AND PRODUCTION
DATES: 6 weeks in the Fall 2010 Term
CALENDAR:
Students arrive – Thur September 23
Orientation/Final Registration – Fri September 24
Classes start – Mon September 27
Classes end in Florence – Thu Oct 14
Students arrive in NY – Sat Oct 16- Sun Oct 17
Orientation in NYC – Mon Oct 18
Events in NYC @ JBF – Fri Oct 22 through Mon Oct 25
Post event Course Critique – Presentation of ideas for Final Papers/Portfolios
Tue-Wed Oct 27, 28 & Thur Oct 28 in New York City
Individual Video conferences/ Final exams
Tue Oct 31st – Wed Nov 1 – Thur Nov 2 Online
The TUTTO TOSCANA! events that will take place at the James Beard Foundation in New York are the following:
Pasta Tasting Lunch, Evening Aperitivo, Gala Dinner, Italian Brunch, and Italian Fashion Evening Event at the Astor Center. Please note that this is the tentative event lineup and events may change according to availability.
PROGRAM OPTIONS AND CONTACT HOURS
Enrolled participants will choose one main area and attend related courses.
Students may combine two areas for a total of 9 or 12 credits, depending on the credits offered in each area. Please see details below.
Official Transcripts for academic credit will be provided for each student.
Area 1 in Event Planning & Communications (Florence & NY 6 credits)
HP HT SE 420 Special Event Management : The James Beard Foundation
(30 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
CP MC PR 340 Public Relations Writing
(30 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
Area 2 in Art Direction (Florence & NY 6 credits)
FT FC CP 200 Art Media: Introduction to Creative Process
(30 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
DI PH PJ 240 Introduction to Photojournalism
(30 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
Area 3 in Food & Wine Management (Florence & NY 6 credits)
FW WE WS 335 Wine Service and Beverage Management
(30 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
HP FB CM 593 Successful Culinary Management
(30 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
Area 4 in Food Production (New York City only 3 credits)
FW CA CT 689 The Italian Chef’s Table
(15 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
Area 5 in Wine Service (New York City only 3 credits)
FW WE FW 461 Food and Wine Paring and Wine Service
(15 lecture hours + 60 lab hours)
Students can apply to a combination of areas, for a total of 9 or 12 credits
9 Credits (6 credits in Florence & NY + 3 extra credits in NY)
12 Credits (12 credits in Florence & NY)
COURSE CONTENT AND TEACHING METHODS
6-week courses will begin in Florence until a week prior to the first day of the event series at the Beard Foundation and will conclude with the event itself in New York. The Florence component of the 6-credit areas will consist of weekly lectures and practical experience that will involve students during all phases of event creation. The two food and wine production areas that only take place in New York will be offered for 3 credits each and will integrate onsite lecture components and event production at the Beard House.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participating students will walk away from the experience having created, planned, organized and successfully realized a high-profile international event from a transcontinental, intercultural point of view.
Event Planning & Communications
Planning event logistics, managing communications between Apicius/FUA and the various entities involved in the event including JBF and the media.
Coordinating and managing internal project production and communications between team members.
Specialize in international and cross-cultural communications for events involving more than one country.
Art Direction
Creating and producing all materials related to the event concept and image.
Manage production projects involving specific skills in videography, photography.
Preparing, revising and editing graphic layouts for print and online publication.
Deepen knowledge and visual approaches to specifically targeted events and event concepts.
Food & Wine Management
Successfully coordinate Italian menu and wine list development.
Manage food & wine logistics from abroad for the New York events.
Directly communicate with wine producers .
Create meaningful wine profiles and presentations for the American public
Develop strategies for presenting Italian wines in international settings and impart the approach to the Wine Service Team.
Food Production
Collaborate in a professional Italian kitchen brigade for large scale events.
Apply food production skills as practiced in the culinary lab in a food production facility and demonstrate improvement in basic food production skills such as knife cuts, station organization, sanitation, and order execution.
Practice advanced food production skills, such as sauces, soups, daily specials, and desserts.
Describe the commercial food production process and experience in a detailed written report.
Wine Service
Collaborate in a professional Italian wine service team for large scale events.
Curate wine lists, wine presentation and tastings for special events.
Investigate wine as a major flavoring ingredient.
Differentiate wines and their basic flavor profile.
Identify how to pair food with wine and successfully communicate not only the technical characteristics of the wine but also its cultural value to special event attendees.
For further information
Syllabi are available for all courses offered in this program. If you are interested in consulting a specific syllabus or have further questions regarding this program please contact marilyn@saiprograms.com
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
HP HT SE 420
Special Event Management: The James Beard Foundation Experience
This course will expose students to the planning, staffing, marketing, communicating and management of a real life international event hosted by Apicius. “Flavors of Florence” is held yearly at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York City and consists in a series of gastronomic events, gala dinner and hands on workshop, conducted by the culinary staff of Apicius and made available to the public. Students will be involved in all phases of event creation and management, from defining the concept to marketing and PR, event logistics, and communication and publicity strategies.
CP MC PR 340
Public Relations Writing
This is a writing-intensive course in which are covered all forms of writing for communicating public relations messages, including press releases, media alerts, public service announcements, video news releases, pitch letters, speechwriting, brochures, newsletters, and other public relations presentations. Students develop a personal writing portfolio.
FT FC CP 200
Art Media: Introduction to the Creative Process
For description see Fashion Communication and Publishing (School of Fashion, Accessory Studies and Technology)
This course is also offered as a seminar for 1 semester credit, 15 lecture hours. The regular semester class will introduce the student to the subject and then focus on the area of study, while the Seminar will focus on the specialized area of study.
DI PH PJ 240
Introduction to Photojournalism
3 semester credits (90 hours: 45 lecture hours – 45 studio hours)
This course introduces students to the world of photography with specific focus on the photojournalistic aspects of this art medium. The course will be divided between field study and learning introductory digital techniques, working with both black and white and color digital printing and finishing. The lab practice will give students the capability of elaborating and correctly printing his/her own pictures. The course concentrates on the journalistic area of photography using digital equipment. Students learn about the history, compositional issues and techniques of photojournalism by studying the work of influential photographers like Cartier-Bresson, Smith, Capa, Salgado, Nachtwey, and others. The class will also be conceiving, shooting, printing and laying out a series of documentary projects. This course is recommended for communications, journalism and social science students. Basic photography experience and knowledge will be helpful. A digital camera of 5.0 mega pixels minimum with an optical zoom lens of at least 3X is required.
FW WE WS 335
Wine Service and Beverage Management
This course will examine the figure of “the sommelier” and provide essential information about the following: stocking a cellar, storing wine, reading and composing a wine list, selecting the proper wine glasses, serving wine, decanting wine and an introduction to beverages other than wine.
HP FB CM 593
Successful Culinary Management
6 semester credits (30 lecture hours- 300 hours field apprenticeship)
This course consists of the cost and control management practices applied in the food service sector. Included topics of the theory and principles of the course cover accounting, cost control, food and beverage operations and purchasing, inventory and assets, budgets, the break-even point calculation for sales projection, and labor and wages. The practical section of this course provides the opportunity for students to put into practice the learned concepts and develop them into competent skills in a real-life restaurant situation. Students will work with industry software programs and computer applications as well as manual forms in order to oversee the management practices at GANZO the non-profit cultural association and restaurant-club operated by Apicius students.
FW CA CT 689
The Italian Chef’s Table
Cross-listed to School of Professional Studies.
This partially self-directed course is designed to provide the culinary student with the opportunity to design, organize, implement, serve and evaluate a special dinner event, which will take place at the end of the 10-week apprenticeship. Emphasis will be placed on the training of the student towards effective production management, market-related menu planning, mise en place, a la carte cooking and service techniques in the context of a special event. Customer needs, case studies and weekly events will allow students to experience the balancing that existing between dreams, ideas and customer satisfaction
FW WE FW 461
Food and Wine Pairing and Wine Service
Students will perform and operate firsthand Wine and Food Pairing along with Wine Service at the Apicius restaurant-club Ganzo. Tasks will range from tasting, serving, interpreting labels, wine terminology, and storage. Wine lists will be prepared under the supervision of a faculty member. In addition, the student will cover the principles of correct restaurant style food and wine pairing along with professional wine service and wine service management.