Antichi Sapori

Logan and I were given another great opportunity to stage at a well-known restaurant about 20 minutes from the winery: Antichi Sapori. This experience was very different from Taverna Garibaldi, from the way the kitchen was run to the people in it.

 Frist off, we pulled up to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere with 12 continuous years of being recommended by the Michelin Guide. For those of you reading, this is something that means a lot in the industry. The Michelin Guide has critics who come and critic everything at your restaurant from service to food and everything in between. They allocate one, two, or three stars to a restaurant, three being the best. Most of the best restaurants in the world have three stars. Being recommended means that the Michelin Guide went there, and feel they would recommend people to go there, they just are not high enough up for stars. 

Anyways, we walked into the restaurant to a very surprised, and slightly unfriendly staff. I guess this can be understood as Logan and I speak very little Italian and are students coming to get in the way for a couple days. We were asked to do various, simple tasks from peeling fava beans to cutting onions. The first day we were there, a family rented out the restaurant for a baptism. This meant it was more of a banquet, but it was still interesting to see. The family actually spoke English and a few own a grocery store business in New York. They offered both Logan and I a job for after graduation, something I will look into. Kind of ironic that we were in Italy and offered a job in New York! 

This restaurant is known for its farm-to-table cuisine, with a huge garden and a few animals only a few steps from the restaurant. All of the produce they use comes from the garden from swiss chard to chicory and fava beans. Here are a few pictures of the garden: 

On the second day, I was given the opportunity to plate a few dishes and here they are: 

Fava Beans 

Pasta dish with fava beans and greens

Orecchiette

Greens with beet root puree

This was a very interesting experience. From the male-dominated kitchen (I was the only female), the produce some very unique dishes. They are traditional Pugliese cuisine with a twist. I had a difficult time the first day, but the second day I assured myself and made my presence known. I watched from a distance and when the dish was called out again, I plated it without asking. This was a risk, but they looked at me and allowed me to continue. In this industry that is still male-dominated, women must make their voices heard and this was a great experience to show me this is real. 

Overall, thank you to Anitchi Sapori for allowing us to stage in their kitchen for a couple days! 

With love, 

Baylee