This Spring Semester, FUA has been lucky to welcome the return of talented graduates from Apicius career programs.

Culinary Competition in Tuscany

At the end of February, three teams representing Apicius participated in the Internazionali d’Italia in Carrara, Italy, a competition for culinary professionals. The teams comprised of former and current culinary and baking career students in addition to alumni from the TuttoToscana Apicius-James Beard Foundation program. Prior to the event, the teams prepared intensively in Florence through the Culinary Competitions: Training and Practice course for recipe and presentation testing. The hard work paid off as the teams earned a bronze and a silver medal.

Team members of the 2016 culinary competition group included Marta Consales, Charles Ewald, Jose Guevara, Audbjorg Jorundsdottir, Emily Klingemann, Sergio Lozano, Jennifer Lucas, Shea Mathews, Cedric Monteiro, Paola Munoz, JR Rellama, Laura Schneider, and Naama Sharabi.

Alum and Chef from Israel in the Ganzo Kitchen

Shaul Paloge, an FUA Culinary Arts alum from Israel, also returned to Italy for a special occasion. During his recent stay in Florence in March, he collaborated with Ganzo for a successful themed-night dinner which consisted of a versatile vegetarian menu. He explains, “I combined Eastern methodologies with new ideas and tried to use ingredients, like olive oil, fresh vegetables, and grains, that are close to us (in Israel).” He was impressed by the professionalism in the kitchen and felt happy to be back.

Now, Paloge owns his own restaurant with his family in Israel aptly called Palogi Restaurant. The menu consists of Mediterranean cuisine with an Italian influence. Many of his restaurant’s dishes - pizzas, pastas, and risottos - have been inspired by the knowledge he acquired at FUA.

He attributes much of his success to learning culinary arts at FUA because it deepened his understanding of the basics of Italian food, a cuisine that is loved all over the world. Some of the most valuable skills he gained include learning to make fresh pasta and working with dough. He appreciates the fresh ingredients and simple nature of the cuisine while also noting, “There is a lot of passion inside the Italian kitchen and you can feel it. The world likes Italian food because it’s good.” He adds, “It’s based on fresh ingredients, you always know what you’re eating.”

In the Apicius Career program, students develop a greater appreciation for the cuisine through courses that focus on Italian food identity while beginning to increase their understanding as levels progress. The opportunity to work alongside established chefs in a professional setting provides students with a strong foundation for a fulfilling culinary career.

About Apicius Culinary Career Programs

The Apicius school offers different level programs depending on the experience and desired outcome of the student. The Italian Baking and Pastry program offers a one-year, two-level career program, which offers a complete overview of typical Italian products and their use in the pastry field as well as the cultural background surrounding Italian pastry and baking. The next level, Master in International Baking and Pastry, is a one-semester program offered in the fall. Students also directly operate the Fedora FUA pastry shop through their courses. Through Ganzo and Fedora, students gain knowledge in not only Italian cuisine, but also in daily production and management of sophisticated local food establishments.

The Culinary Arts department provides two-level and four-level courses. The two-level career program provides students with the basic skills for entering the professional food services industry. Following this program, if students are looking for a more in-depth perspective of the culinary arts, they can apply for the four-level program.

The highest level career program for the Culinary Arts department is Master in Italian Cuisine, a one-year course designed for professional chefs or hospitality graduates who wish to further develop the highest skill levels to operate in quality and international culinary environments.

Apicius also offers Career Programs in the areas of hospitality and wine studies. More information about all Career Programs offered by the Apicius can be found in the Career Programs brochure.