Keeping Busy

The past few days have been so busy I haven’t even had time to go on the computer!

Saturday was the wedding here so I worked from 9 am until 3am (with breaks for lunch and dinner.  We served just over 250 people and I was exhausted.  Saturday was also Tawni’s birthday so I talked with her a few times through out the day.  I wish I could have sent flowers, but couldn’t because I don’t have a credit card anymore…  After only a few days of having my phone all the chefs know my ringtone so when the hear it they all look at me and say “la moglie” – most of them are single.  Last night I went to the pub with them and received a phone call from Tawni who put my cousin John on the phone and was blessed with wonderful news.  After several family and friends heard about what happened to me in Rome they started a fund where many of them made generous contributions.  Tawni and I are so touched to have such thoughtful friends and family in our lives.  We truly appreciate that during this tough time everyone came to together to help out and I really appreciate all of the words of encouragement-

“Tony, we are praying for you, and know that this is just a mere bump in the road. Keep your head up, and enjoy the beauty around you, and all that you will learn. Looking forward to following your blog. Love, Marisa & Jason”

Thank you to everyone who made contributions- Zio Vito and Zia Rosa, Zio Ottavio, Marisa and Jason, Giovanni, Mark and Agnes, John and Dana, Paul (Dana’s brother), Francis and Enza, Roberto and Caira, Zio Frank and Zia Angela, Nick and Mariella, Allesandro Bellini, Zio Tony and Zia Dina, and Cousin Anthony.  Your generous donations are greatly appreciated!!!

Today I am running around doing errands at Ipercoop, the Italian version of like a Target, where one of my single Italian friends wanted to purchase a Ukelele, perhaps to seranade a woman, haha I don’t really know why, he just wanted to.

I am looking forward to tomorrow…something having to do with cheese and balsamic…check back for more.  Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the blog, for a chance to win products!!!!

Ravioli by the 1000

I’m finally getting my feet back on the ground and establishing my routine.  I’m working at Al Vedal, a Michelin star restaurant in a small town just outside of Parma.  I live in an apartment over the culattelo cellar (where all the cured pork butt hangs from the ceiling).  Culattelo is similar if not better than prosciutto.  Anyway, I am just steps away from the restaurant so I wake up every morning and walk over for a cappuccino and then start working around 9 am.  I have been working on the pasta station for a few days and make ravioli all day long!  The past few days I have spent making a ton of ravioli.  I make about 1000 a day all by hand, some for the restaurant and some for a nearby store that sells fresh pasta.  The #1 selling dish on the menu is a tortelli, similar to the ravioli, where they are stuffed with ricotta and spinach.  Then we put fresh parmigiano reggiano  on the bottom of the dish, then the pasta, top it with more cheese and then butter.   Another popular dish is Pollo Borrato, an egg battered chicken breast fried in butter.  Overall the menu is a nice mix of traditional Parma food and modernized food including a lot of game such as duck, chingalle (wild boar), goose, and today I tried frog!

 

Much like the menu, the staff here is quite diverse.  Although there are obviously Italians in the kitchen there are also people from Brazil, Argentina, China, Phillipines, and Vermont.  Many of them, like me, are also here interning and broadening their horizon on Italian cooking.

 

We work 9 am until around 5 and then everyone goes home for dinner, but I stay and hang out with Chef Enrico.  Everyone returns to work around 7:30pm and we work until around 12.  Tonight we had a 20 person wedding so we were there a bit later than usual.  We also have another wedding coming up on Saturday that is supposed to be 100 people. (I’m going to have to make a lot of ravioli! Haha)

 

Based on what I know so far I don’t think there is anyway I could live here, but the chefs here say that I am just saying that because my wife and daughter aren’t here, which could be true.  Everybody here knows about Tawni and Francesca because I talk about them all the time, and the guys all applaud me for marrying a younger woman haha.  Although all the guys invited me out for una birra (Believe it or not I am getting compliments on my Italian 🙂 ) at the pub tonight but I was too tired…maybe tomorrow.

 

*Pictures Coming soon*

Including one with me in the tall chef hats we wear!

Update on Tony

After being borderline very angry with my husband for not calling or emailing me since the incident he finally called me!   Once again the conversation was quite brief because he had to borrow someone’s phone to make the call.  Apparently the Italians are still on “Holiday” so all of the stores are closed so he can not get a calling card or internet minutes quite yet.  He does plan on trying to find one in these next few days.  In addition, he said that the town he is in is soooo small and there are stacks of hay and he wakes up to the sounds of the chickens and roosters.  The most important thing is that he is ok, and that he sounds very happy.  He also wanted to let everyone know that he appreciated the warm wishes and prayers during his turbulence!  As everyone has mentioned, hopefully that was the only hiccup of the trip and it is going to be smooth sailing from here on out!

-Tawni

Day 1-Robbed

Hey all, It’s Tawni, Tony’s wife…  just to keep you all posted on Tony’s travels…

Yesterday we received a phone call saying that his flight has been cancelled, luckily they had his flight protected and rerouted him through Detroit Michigan and then on to Rome.  This morning he arrived in Rome and what happened there is truly unbelievable… I received a phone call verifying that I was Tawni and from that point every bad thought rushed through my head, the next statement out of the lady’s mouth was we have your husband at the police station…  I instantly panicked but continued to listen as the lady from the US Embassy of Rome filled me in on Tony’s adventures.  Apparently he picked up his car and was loading his stuff in when he got robbed.  I have had very minimal communication with Tony (less than two minutes) and it has been via other peoples phones.  I do know that all of his important documents were taken…passport, credit card, atm card, money, cell phone etc…  The call continued as this lady informed me that “your husband requests that you to transfer him money, cancel the credit cards, and see if you can gps track his phone.  He will be calling you collect later this evening”  I spent the majority of my day running around to the currency exchange and being on hold explaining the story to every credit card supervisor and t-mobile management.  “We can not cancel the card with out Tony’s verbal approval”  “Miss…” and from that point I lost it  I handed the phone to my mom as she tried to explain that we could not verbally communicate with him because his cellphone was stolen… customer service at its finest.  Everything seems to be ok for the moment as I have booked Tony a hotel in Rome for the evening deviating from his very structured itinerary.  He has also received the money transfer, hopefully enough to get him back on his feet in foreign country.  For my day being as stressful as it was, I can only imagine what my husband went through, and the over 12 hours he spent at the airport trying to sort everything out.

-Tawni

Am I ready?

I am feeling better healthwise, but its still crazy at the Barbanente household, as I search for last minute USB cords, my European cell phone charger and finalize my life insurance haha.  I’m mentally and physically prepared for my departure tomorrow, but emotionally saddened as I say goodbye to all of my family,  friends and my home away from home where I have spent the most time the past ten years of my life (Amore Mio Restaurant).  On that note, I would like to thank everyone for supporting and encouraging me to follow through with my dreams.  The endless words of encouragement and prayers that I have receieved over the past few weeks has really confirmed that I deserve this opportunity.  I would also like to thank all of my wonderful customers who have allowed me to utilize my passion and cook for them for the past ten years, and to let them know they are in good hands as my father/mentor will cooking in my place.

I still have to work tonight so its time to finish making the bolognese sauce…Ciao!

 

T minus 6 days

Let the countdown begin… I’m leaving in 6 days! 

My bags are almost completely packed- thanks to my wife, and after turning my house completely upside down I finally found my passport.  I still have to weigh my luggage, but I’m hoping to only bring one so I can avoid any extra charges.  A ton of clothes, chef knives, chef jackets and of course my tablet to keep you updated, will be my only belongings for the next two months.  The only thing that is holding me back as of right now is the fact that I woke up Sunday with a cold.  I am usually not one to get sick, but after busy weekend of an out of town wedding, and the stress of making sure everything is in order for me to go I think I forgot to take care of myself.  I’m hoping that this cold goes away and that means I won’t get sick when I’m in Italy!  I’ll keep you posted…