–submitted by Kay Schwichtenberg; photos by Kris Ashe
Buon Appetito! That is how Chef Andrew Wilson greeted 38 Rotarians and their guests on Tuesday evening, November 5 at the Madison Club. A tour of Italy through its cuisine was on tap for the evening.
Part of our tour allowed us some time in the kitchen with Chef Wilson. He demonstrated making pasta from scratch as well as some delicious fillings. The pasta was prepared with local eggs from a farm in McFarland, many with double yolks resulting in wonderfully rich tortellini.
From there we gathered in the dining room to begin the ‘official tour’ starting with a Sicilian first course of octopus, fennel and olives. The Emilia-Romagna region was next with a wonderful tortellini en brodo. The third course was a specialty from the Lombardy region, Osso bucco and polenta. And if we had not had quite enough with the wine flights and food, we finished the evening with a Piedmont specialty, Gianduja chocolate tart, sea salt caramel gelato and candied hazelnuts.
When we left for the evening everyone was saying– complimenti alla cuoca! Thank you to Culinary Arts Fellowship Group Chair Valerie Kazamias (pictured at left) for organizing this event for our group.
Rotary Club of Madison, Wisconsin 