Students in Waterloo get a taste of Italian culture

Italian culture was front and centre Tuesday at Conestoga College.

The special event was organized with help from Toronto’s Terroni Restaurant Group for Italian Food and Heritage Week.

Attendees got a chance to talk to local suppliers, chefs and restaurant owners.

“There are so many cuisine ingredients from different regions in Italy that make different kinds of pasta which make the cuisine so interesting – very unlike what we have in North America,” explained Keith Muller, executive dean for the School of Hospitality.

Dozens of first-year students also sat in on a masterclass week to learn from seasoned chefs.

“It’s nice to meet the students and exchange our passion for Italian food,” said Terroni Group Executive Chef Ruben Rapetti, who also co-hosted the masterclass.

Joining Rapetti was Giovanna Alonzi, the executive chef at Sud Forno.

“Goosebumps! [I’m] excited to meet so many potential new colleagues, and lovers of Italian food,” she told CTV News.

A cooking demonstration is held at Conestoga College on Nov. 19, 2024. (Ashley Bacon/CTV News)

Marco Saladini, a representative for the Italian Trade Agency, was also involved in the event.

“For us, what matters is that a lot of professionals, would-be professionals, knowledgeable students and consummate professionals [are] coming from stores, coming from restaurants and similar businesses [are] gathered to taste flavours and also look at how to make use of ingredients in a different way. Our hope is that they will expand their horizons, and that they will consider buying more products, different products, from Italy,” Saladini said.

Extra virgin olive oil and bread sits on a table at Conestoga College on Nov. 19, 2024. (Ashley Bacon/CTV News)

Getting a taste of the future

The demonstration highlighted Italian cuisine and offered a sneak peak at a new program for 2025.

Conestoga College will be launching an Italian post-graduate cuisine program next September.

“We’ve been working with the Italian Trade Commission, the Italian council, while we were developing the program,” Muller explained.

For aspiring chefs, the day also served up some important advice.

“Don’t get discouraged. It takes a lot of tries to get the dough just right, to get everything just right. Keep tasting and keep trying,” Alonzi advised.

“The most important thing is make a good sauce, make sure that the pasta is cooked right,” Rapetti added.