The healthy and flavourful dishes of Italian regional cuisine were in the spotlight during a visit of the Italian Trade Agency to Conestoga.
Chef Giovanna Alonzi (right) demonstrates how to make cavatelli pasta during a recent masterclass held at the Waterloo campus.
The Mediterranean Diet and Recipes from our Roots: Health and Tradition was the theme of this year’s Italian Cuisine Week in the World with activities planned across Ontario. The Waterloo campus visit on November 19 started with olive oil tastings and a cooking demonstration.
“We want to share the quality of our rich culinary tradition, which is also an example of the healthy and scientifically proven Mediterranean diet,” said Luca Zelioli, Consul General at the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto.
First-year culinary students and industry partners joined the masterclass featuring a pasta, tomato and cheese dish from the southern Italian region of Puglia prepared by chefs from Gruppo Terroni, which has restaurant and retail locations in Toronto and Los Angeles. This was a unique opportunity for Conestoga students as this was the first visit of the Italian Trade Agency to the college, and chefs Giovanna Alonzi and Ruben Rapetti were eager to share their love of cooking with the up-and-coming talent.
Alonzi explained how olive oil is produced in Italy while the audience sampled an Italian brand and a grocery store variety, served alongside freshly baked bread. Then came time to make cavatelli pasta with a lesson first on flour types before volunteers put on aprons to practice forming the eggless dough into shell-like shapes using a knife or finger.
Alonzi encouraged the audience to knead dough by hand to get a feel for the right texture, and to keep practising. “Don’t get discouraged. It takes a lot of times to get the dough just right, to get everything just right. Keep tasting and keep trying.”
A tomato-based sauced simmered on the stovetop, joined by the cooked cavatelli and two types of ricotta cheese which was then served to the audience. The key to Italian cuisine is the regional approach, with all ingredients coming from one area and complementing each other to bring out the flavours in their purest form.
Keith Müller, executive dean of both the School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts and the Institute of Food Processing Technology, said the masterclass in pasta-making illustrated the tremendous variety in Italian dishes depending on the region where they’re prepared.
“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,” Müller said.
Italian Trade Commissioner Marco Saladini hoped the gathering would inspire professionals and students to incorporate more Italian products in their cooking. “Our hope is that they will expand their horizons, that they will consider buying more products, different products from Italy,” Saladini said.
The diversity of Italian cuisine is the focus of a new post-graduate program launching at Conestoga in September 2025.
The Italian Culinary Arts graduate certificate program combines practical and theory-based learning to expand and develop knowledge of traditional and contemporary Italian foodways. Students will get to examine the techniques, ingredients, quality attributes, vocabulary and procedures that are central to time-honoured Italian recipes. In level two, students have the opportunity to travel to Italy to complete practical classes and experience Italian culture firsthand.
Conestoga offers specialties that build on the college’s two-year Culinary Management degree, which gives students the solid foundational skills of classic and emerging culinary trends and techniques through live-action demonstrations, lectures and immersive hands-on practice. The post-graduate programs, such as Charcuterie and Artisanal Foods, give students a competitive edge in the dynamic culinary and hospitality industry.
“We’re always evolving. We’re introducing specialty programs for students that can extend their study,” Müller said.
Conestoga’s School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts is a leader in culinary and hospitality programming that prepares students for successful careers in Canada’s dynamic tourism industry. Choose from programs that reflect today’s needs across a wide range of credentials, from apprenticeships and certificate programs to diplomas and graduate certificates. Students learn from faculty members with extensive industry experience as they develop the practical knowledge and theoretical skills required to launch their future career.