Slow Food Blog Post

Arriving at Alma!

Hi my name is Kevin Wong. I'm an Italian post graduate student. I first went to Ryerson University and studied Hospitality & Tourism Management and graduated in 2013. When I was in high school my first choice career wise was to become an Intelligence Officer for CSIS. I love my country, I'm 5th generation in my family here in Toronto and I wanted to protect it. I would first go to the Toronto police college, graduate then work for the Toronto police for a number of years then I would move on to the RCMP and work for them and then eventually move my way to CSIS however my mom's main concern was my safety and being shot... so I came to the conclusion that I like food. My career goals changed because I knew then that I would eventually want to own my own restaurant which led me to want to open 7. 7 Italian restaurants. Everyone always asks me "Why 7?" and the reason is because it seemed like a good number. Growing up in North York a majority of my neighbours were Italian or Greek immigrants. My mom learned from our neighbours on basically living like an Italian. How to make sauce, how to grow an amazing array of tomatoes, basil, different produce in our backyard. We even had grapes growing in our backyard that our neighbours would turn into wine!

Chef Ruffini helping Trinh finish plating the desserts for our final class cooking food for half of the class in the dining room

    So I went to Ryerson because my parents believed having a university degree opens a lot of doors which is true. After my time at Ryerson I would see whether or not I wanted to go to culinary schoool. While my time at Ryerson which I really loved, my main focus and passion was always food and cooking. There's something so pleasureable and magical about going to a market or even a grocery store and picking out certain vegetables or herbs or exotic seasonings and creating something that you had an idea for and executing it and seeing the reaction from your friends and family and witnessing them enjoying it. In my opinion there's no better feeling than that. I worked for a year as a manager for a large corporation that managed food within a business building and I really did not like it at all. My boss wasn't someone who I would want to become.  There came a point when I had to decide my next move and September was coming up soon so I decided to enroll at George Brown for Culinary Management. 

     I knew how to cook, I own a lot of cookbooks and whenever I had an assignment or test or exam while I was at Ryerson I would always be watching cooking videos on youtube. They weren't just any cooking videos these were very traditional old fashioned Marco Pierre White on BBC when he would cook dishes for Albert Roux, Pierre Koffman, and Nico Ladenis. It was incredible to see how the old British Kitchens were run and seeing a much younger Gordon Ramsay in the background. Which in the long run did help me.

Throughout the culinary management program and the hospitality program at Ryerson I knew at some point I would need to go to Italy. To try and look for the authentic flavours of Italy myself if I were to open a true Italian restaurant. After the culinary management program finished I emailed 40 different restaurants and wineries in Italy asking for a stage. I knew this would be an easier route for the Italy route rather than going through the Italian program. I was hesitant because I knew the Italian program would be expensive never the less I wanted to try it on my own. I received 3 emails from 3 different wineries all over Italy but decided to go for the Italian program instead. Maybe I was being naive in thinking I would be "ok" on my own in a country I've never been to with no one I knew. The Italian program trained you and enhanced the learning experience of Italy by teaching us dishes from each region, a hint of what it's like to speak Italian, and to know what it is to be Italian. Also whatever restaurant we would end up in would technically be safe since it is with our partner school Alma in Colorno, Italy. They wouldn't just send us to some unknown dead restaurant.

I was lucky. I was assigned a restaurant called Guido Ristorante which is run by two brothers: Paolo Raschi and Luca Raschi. Paolo is in charge of the kitchen while his brother is in charge of the front of house. Guido is located in Miramare, Rimini which is one hour away from Bologna. Rimini is known for it's beaches. It can reach an average of 8 million tourists each summer. It has an average population of 200,000 people which is incredibly small compared to the population of Toronto.

Outside the restaurant. Going to work was basically heading to the beach!

Pane - Sometimes it would come out beautifully like this and sometimes we'd need to improve

For my stage I thought I'd be probably doing prep work but when I arrived there I was told I would be in charge of the pastry section. This included the 5 different types of breads, all the pastries for the desserts, gelatos and sorbettos, and also helping with the amuse bouche. It was a huge responsibility also considering it is a 1 Michelin star restaurant. It was an incredible experience I really learned a lot and I loved it. I didn't know how close I would become with the team there but it wasn't until my last service that I would learn. It's difficult to say goodbye for me especially but when you work with people for 4 months 16-17 hours a day 6 days a week they become your family here in Toronto and anywhere else. 

Some Chocolate Truffles for the guests last sweet before their meal is finished

This is the Amuse Bouche. It would sometimes change. This is tomato skin with smoked mussels and a spicy aioli topped with tomato powder. The fish were Zancetti. Deep fried and then topped with an aioli with crispy quinoa (dehydrated in the oven forever)

This is Spianata. It is basically focaccia but in my region we call it spianata and always topped with only large crystalized salt and freshly chopped rosemary e basta!

I wasn't a fan of making pastries before I left but I did start to have interest in baking my own sourdough bread at home using my starter so when I learned about all the different breads we made at Guido I was very excited. The mother we used was 8 years old and everyday I would shave the skin off. The starter was a thick dough and every night we'd roll it into a log and wrap it tightly in a table cloth and then tie it tightly with a rope and place it in the fridge overnight and the next day the rope would be so difficult to untie because the mother typically expanded a lot. 

One of the fish we always used. Sometimes we would find a baby one inside of it. The face of the little fish looked really similar to the adult sized one.

One of the things I did not like was their idea of organization....which didn't exist. I would keep my station clean and organized but someone would come and wouldn't put it back where they found it or they wouldn't wipe down my station after they use it which is common courtesy but I saw around the kitchen it happening all the time. My chef didn't really put an emphasis on organization or cleanliness. Someone who I was training to replace me consistently used my plating spoons to taste my food and just place the spoon back in the same container without washing it or anything. Sometimes if a server came to my station to take bread for a customer and one piece fell off onto the floor the server would just pick it up and brush it off a bit and place it back on the plate. In Toronto ideally this would never happen. The sanitation standards for restaurants are quite strict. 

The beautiful Shrimp I got to work with. Look at how gorgeous it's tail is!

Me with a Cannochie which in English means Squill Fish.

About 3-4 times a week our fishmonger Claudio would come in the mornings to the restaurant and talk to Gian Luca (one of the line cooks in charge of ordering fish) and they would go through the order and talk a bit and have an espresso together then Claudio would head off. The fish were incredible. Sometimes when I would ride my bike to work I would pass by a cafe and see Claudio having an espresso with other old Italian men and play cards this would be around 6pm. It was incredible to see that... such a relaxed life... an incredible life.

We would clean about a hundred of these every other night. Sometimes you would get one that looked like this or even larger with a larger fish. I have never seen anything so incredible. This squid was caught while it was having a meal! In Toronto I don't think you could find squid as fresh as this with a fish sticking out of it!

One of the Crudo dishes. Chef loved having natural flavours of the ocean and the fish!

One time I asked Chef Paolo to take me with him to the farmer's market so I can experience it and see it. On the way there he told me that he can go to the grocery store and pick up some fish but Claudio's is so much better in terms of taste and quality because Claudio is incredibly passionate about his fish and that's why my Chef prefers Claudio's to anyone else's.

    Working in Italy for me was incredible. I made friends I know I can ask for help when need be. Though at times it was difficult to understand one another in the end we were able to communicate. I learned a new language, new skills, and lived on my own. I would definitely like to return to Italy one day. 

Me with my sous chef Matteo (Far Left) and Paolo (Centered)

The crew at Guido and I

Luca, one of the owner's of Guido took me with his family to have a traditional emilia romagnian meal up in the mountains in Rimini during my last week of my stage

Until next time,

K.M.W.

Arriving in Italy!!!

Friday August 26th

Today we landed in Colorno, Italy. Our flight was at 5 pm so we had to be at the airport for 2pm. Knowing I was going to be in Italy for 4 months while working and studying was fine but I didn't realize how hard and difficult it'd be for my family. I realized it would be difficult but not as hard as it came out to be when I had to go through security and say our final goodbyes before I see them in 4 months. There were times leading up to my departure that my sister and mom cried and I was strong and didn't tear up because I knew I was going to be safe and not do anything stupid. Although I feel I'm pretty street smart I knew I'd be fine even if it meant my mom was going to be regularly reminding me about all the stories she's read about on the Internet with tourists getting pick pocketed. So to help me she bought me an anti theft bag from online. The bag is small and can carry a small a mount of things, the bag is cut resistant as well as prevents people from scanning my credit cards.

I was super excited when my dad and I were packing the van of my things. My luggage could weigh a max of 50 pounds but to be safe I made sure it was around 48 pounds. As we were packing I noticed my sister wasn't smiling nor crying yet. I realized she was holding back her tears and when she saw that i was looking at her, her eyes started to swell and tears just rolled down her cheeks. I wrapped my arms around her to comfort her. Being away from my sister for 4 months is difficult. She and I are 16 months apart. Although during the school year I live downtown And only come home on the weekends I'd still consider her my best friend. We tell each other everything.

When we got to the airport I kept worrying about whether I have too much luggage and what if I get pick pocketed or one of my luggages gets stolen.i only had my backpack, my large 48 lbs luggage and my carry on. It's hard to pack some clothes but not overpack as to not have space for gifts and other things I want to buy while in Italy.

We got to the airport and I saw one of my friends from class! Thank goodness I wasn't the only person there and that we both were heading in the same direction.
When we got to the check in desk the KLM airline employee asked me to lift my luggage on the scale. The entire time I had my Fingers crossed hoping my luggage was not over 50 lbs and have to pay $120 because you are a few pounds over. Luckily I was under and didn't need to pay! PTL! One hurdle down! As friends started to trickle in and as I was saying hi to them all I could feel my mom was tensing up and she was ready to start tearing knowing we only had a few hours left before we'd have to say goodbye for now.

My friends and I took a few pics pre flight and pre security so we could have some photos of before our trip and after but mostly so we have some other things to post on Instagram Haha!

After those photos my friends and I decided to start slowly going through security so we had to say bye to our families.....up until this point I haven't cried because of my departure but when I hugged my sister and she started tearing up I couldn't hold back. I'm going to be without my sister by my side for 4 months!! I don't have many worries about this trip....chef Tommaselli gave us a school schedule for the 3 weeks we are at Parma and what subjects we'd be studying. The only part that worries me is when we go our separate ways at the train station. That's when it will hit me, when I'll hate the country and just want to go home and get the culture shock. I will be working in a small city called Rimini which is located in the north eastern part of Italy known as Emilia Romagna. The restaurant is located on the beach and has one Michelin star. In the beginning of the program we were asked what region you'd like to work at, why, what do you want to learn, do you want to work In a large brigade or small. Before this
program I had my heart set on working in Amalfi Coast which is in the South close to Napoli, the city of pizza! I've seen beautiful photos of la Cosatiera D'Amalfitana! And one of the things more known about this region is the Amalfi lemons. They are huge lemons! Bigger than the size of a tight fist! You can also eat the whole lemon!

One of my favourite ingredients to work with is lemons. It has such versatility, the zest could be used to freshen up salads, or sauces, the juice adds such a refreshing effect and cleansing effect which is why it goes so well with seafood.

However I ended up farthest from Amalfi. I was a bit disappointed when I found out but I believe things happen for a reason so I'm sure that this experience will be an amazing one. I also told my chef I wanted to learn all about fresh pasta and seafood. One day when I make the leap to open my own restaurants I'd like the dishes to try to be as authentic as possible. Part of this trip is to do research to see how the Italians really live.

Back to the flight! We flew from Toronto to Amsterdam than from Amsterdam to Milan. Our first flight was a 7 hour flight. I thought... Well that shouldn't be too difficult as I've flown often to San Francisco from Toronto and that's only a 5 hour flight! We also got some pretty decent airplane food minus my protein from my main course. Flying KLM or royal Dutch airlines, you get a couple free alcoholic beverages! So I had a small bottle of wine.... Sorry make that two small bottles of wine and a Heineken.



We had two options for dinner either beef and rice or pasta so obviously I had to choose the beef. The beef came with some gravy and some cooked vegetables, ride and gravy. It was already sliced beef chunks. Think chunky beef stew size pieces. The sauce was too tangy for me.... But it also came with a chocolate brownie on the side, and a small potato salad, cheddar cheese piece and some melba toast! It was overall not bad. Then a couple hours later we received a dessert
/refresher. It was a small yogurt, muffin, orange juice, and I feel like that was it but I don't remember. The flight felt long but the plane had some recent movies that k haven't seen. I had some shows on my iPad to watch so I was occupied with that. I was worried about my batteries dying on my phone and iPad but luckily we all had USB ports to charge anything we needed.

If you've never been to Amsterdam airport it's quite amazing. It's incredibly large and full of high end shops like Hermes and Hugo Boss and some small restaurants to grab something to eat. We had a layover in Amsterdam for 2 hours.

Thankfully the flight from Amsterdam to Milan is about 2 hours. Another flight over three hours would have killed me. I'm not a person that likes to just sit down and do nothing.. It drives me crazy. Although I slept through this entire flight because I was super tired. I have difficulty sleeping if either my blankets aren't cold or I'm not cold.

When we arrived in Milan everything seemed 10 x more complicated since everything was in Italian. Even after 4 months of Italian language lessons 6 hours a week there is only so much you can absorb. One thing I think we lacked in our Italian language was conversational Italian because right now I can't do something as simple as ordering a coffee because it's knowing the language and we only learned some verbs and mostly grammatical Italian.

Coming into Alma la Scuola Cucina was incredible. The building is more beautiful in life than photos. Photos don't do it justice. It has so much history. The culinary school has a reputation for being very militaristic which produces very disciplined cooks.

We had a meeting with some of the people from alma talking about rules and such for being an alma student and we were told about our rooms, etc. The housing is quite nice and depending on how many people are in your group would depend on the size of your apartment. My group had 5 people so we had a bit of a larger too than some people.

While walking around the town my friends and I had to of course get authentic Italian pizza. I feel like it was the best pizza I've ever had! Prosciutto and fungi with a beer. Pizza was 6 euros and beer was 1.60 euros! Molto cheap!! It was also delicious because of the atmosphere. All of us were eating our pizzas with our beers sitting on a bridge overlooking Colorno! It was beautiful!!

That's all for now!
Kmw