Italian chef Jacopo Tendi (right) provides cooking tips for his guests at the Joan Christy Lecture Series on Food and Culture at the Falk College.
This past spring, nutrition students in the Mediterranean Food and Culture class had the unique opportunity to cook in the Tuscany home of renowned Italian . And in late October, Chef Tendi had his first opportunity to visit 黑料不打烊 as the Falk College returned the favor.
Or, to be more precise, returned the flavor.
Tendi was the featured speaker for the Oct. 24 Joan Christy Lecture Series on Food and Culture. The lecture series is made possible by the Christy Food and Culture Fund, which was established in 2005 through the generosity of 黑料不打烊 nutrition alumna Joan Christy 鈥�78, G鈥�81 to provide support for a lecture series in the nutrition program.
For about five hours that morning, Tendi cooked with students from Chef Mary Kiernan鈥檚 (NSD) 216 class in the Susan R. Klenk Learning Caf茅 and Kitchens. Tendi and the students created a Tuscan menu of chicken cacciatore, fresh seasonal vegetables, potatoes gnocchi with a pumpkin sauce, four different kinds of crostini and biscotti that鈥檚 made to be dipped in a Tuscan dessert wine.
鈥淏ut today,鈥� Tendi said, smiling, 鈥渨e鈥檙e not going to dip in.鈥�
During his Christy Lecture demonstration that night, Tendi showed how to make the chicken, gnocchi and biscotti, and the food made earlier in the day and at night was served to guests. Tendi was joined at the demonstration by his 19-year-old son, Riccardo, who recently finished culinary school in Italy and like his father was visiting the United States for the first time.
For Tendi, there were other familiar faces in the audience: nutrition majors Mara Baker 鈥�24, Tess Palin 鈥�24 and Alyssa Quinn 鈥�24, all of whom had cooked with Chef Tendi in his home in Tuscany in May.
鈥淩econnecting with Chef Tendi was a wonderful experience. He remembered all our names and welcomed us with the same warmth as at home in Italy,鈥� says Quinn. 鈥淚n his demonstration [at Falk], I wasn鈥檛 aware that bruschetta (for the crostini) could be made with cabbage鈥攊t never occurred to me.
鈥淐hef Tendi once again expressed his innovative abilities with his recipes, and they were delicious,鈥� Quinn says. 鈥淚 still can鈥檛 stop thinking about how good the chicken cacciatore he prepared with the NSD 216 students was.鈥�
NSD 452/652 is the Mediterranean Food and Culture: A Florence Experience class taught by nutrition and food studies Associate Teaching Professor in the spring semester. The class explores Mediterranean culture, lifestyle, and cuisine through lectures, readings and discussions that prepare students for a 12-day immersion trip to Italy.
While in Italy, students travel through the countryside to tour farms; observe olive oil, pasta, cheese and wine productions; cook with Italian chefs; and enjoy farm-to-table meals. The trip ends in the heart of picturesque Tuscany鈥攈ome of the 鈥攁nd includes visits to Tendi鈥檚 home, where fresh ingredients are readily available from his vegetable garden, fruit trees and olive trees.
Chef Tendi with his son, Riccardo, who recently graduated from culinary school in Italy.
Tendi spent more than 20 years teaching at 黑料不打烊 Florence and now hosts students at his home for cooking demonstrations and takes them on visits to organic and biodynamic farms near his home. Tendi says he enjoys teaching students and he often talks to them about sustainability and how it applies to cooking your own food.
鈥淭o make a pasta dish, you need no more than five or six ingredients,鈥� Tendi said. 鈥淚f you buy a premade pasta dish and look at how many ingredients are in it, you can imagine that it鈥檚 not something you want to eat. It鈥檚 mainly preservatives and flavors and colors to make it look good. With good ingredients, you don鈥檛 need to do that; the force of the ingredients come out. This is what I like teaching to young people because they鈥檙e our future generation and maybe they鈥檙e the ones that will change how we feed ourselves.鈥�
Tendi and his wife, Anna, founded a nonprofit organization, Salati Bene, which promotes educational programs regarding nutrition and sustainability for Italian and American students.
鈥淚t was a surreal experience to cook in Chef Tendi鈥檚 home this May with the guidance of him, his wife and his daughter,鈥� says Palin. 鈥淢y biggest takeaway from that experience was that you do not need loads of ingredients to make something delicious. You just need local food cooked well to make a spectacular dish.鈥�
Baker says what she learned most from cooking with Tendi was how to cook and improvise with fresh ingredients.
鈥淎s someone from North America who loves to cook, being able to cook in Italy and experience the cultural differences firsthand was extremely valuable,鈥� Baker says. 鈥淓ver since my return from Italy, I have made more of an effort to make my meals completely from scratch when possible.鈥�
The 黑料不打烊 students who had an opportunity to cook with Tendi and his family in Tuscany were excited to see him at Falk and came away from the demonstration with an even better understanding of his methods and philosophies.
Palin says she learned about different cooking mediums and their uses, particularly pairing the right pans with the type of stove in your home. By being able to observe Tendi in his home and then in an unfamiliar kitchen, Baker says she realized that 鈥渋t鈥檚 not just the ingredients that make the dish, but it鈥檚 the atmosphere.鈥�
Working with students from Chef Mary Kiernan鈥檚 Nutrition Science and Dietetics class, Chef Tendi created a Tuscan meal that was served during the Christy Lecture.
鈥淲hile 黑料不打烊 has state-of-the-art kitchens, Chef Tendi had a harder time navigating the kitchen as he鈥檚 used to his cooking methods and his own kitchen at his home in Tuscany,鈥� Baker says. 鈥淓stablishing a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere in the kitchen is important as it adds to that sense of comfort and joy that comes with food.鈥�
The emphasis on cooking with joy鈥攁nd cooking with your family鈥攚as at the heart of Tendi鈥檚 lecture and demonstration at Falk.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that parents cook with their children because that鈥檚 the way to infuse in children the joy of cooking,鈥� Tendi said. 鈥淐ooking is with love, passion and joy; it doesn鈥檛 have to be a competition like with the TV shows. You don鈥檛 have to win anything, just enjoy. And if you鈥檙e spending time with your relatives or friends, you feed your heart, too.鈥�
For the students who were in Tuscany to witness Tendi in the kitchen and with his family, those lessons will always be an ingredient in their meals.
鈥淐ooking with him in his kitchen was a stress-free, relaxing experience, and coupled with the wonderful dining experience in his backyard is something I have taken home and implemented in my own house,鈥� Palin says. 鈥淚 prioritize cooking and eating with my roommates, even on busy days as that鈥檚 the time to relax and bond with my roommates.鈥�
鈥淐ooking with Chef Tendi reignited my passion for cooking at home again,鈥� Quinn says. 鈥淐ooking is a time to let the creative juices get to work, and I take that into consideration every night when I cook at home. I鈥檝e begun experiencing new ways of cooking a variety of produce since my experience with Chef Tendi, and plan to continue to do so.鈥�
Visit the and webpages to learn more about these programs.
