On the evening of Monday, November 5, over 60 people including Bon Appetit staff, Bon Appetit local farm partners and Slow Food Cleveland and CWRU members met to celebrate our common passion: real food that is good, clean and fair for all. Bon Appetit team members and Slow Food Cleveland leaders Mary Holmes and CWRU Italian professor Denise Caterinacci collaborated to feature an all local spread at Michelson and Morley, as an addition to student presentations featuring their Terra Madre trip to Turin, Italy. Six students made the trip and shared the knowledge and joy they gained from meeting Italian farmers, artisans and so many others that shared a profound passion for food. The presentations ended with one student’s takeaway from the closing ceremony speech by Carlo Petrini, “Food, consider it the most important and precious thing you have.”
Chef Tony Smoody mouthwatering menu featured all local ingredients:
- Autumn salad with roasted apples, white cheddar, candied walnuts and beet vinaigrette
- Roasted vegetable medley with Brussels sprouts, tri-colored cauliflower, carrots, bacon lardons and honey
- Butternut squash and potato “risotto” with goat cheese
- Meatballs with sautéed kale and caramelized onion demi-glace
- Mushroom cavatelli with caramelized onion, oven-dried tomato and basil pesto
- Pork medallions with sweet potato puree, fried sage and maple glaze
One of the most rewarding parts of the evening was being able to honor the local farm partners who provide food to CWRU – Miller Livestock, Rainbow Farms, Vegetable Basket and Red Basket Farm – their ingredients were featured in the menus, their stories were on display and Bon Appetit’s Regional Vice President Randy De Mers and Campus Executive Chef Vinnie Gaikens were even able to share stories with the audience about their most memorable shared moments.