Ristorante Caterina de' Medici at the Culinary Institute of America
By Donna Boss -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 2/1/2002
The intricacies of Italian cuisine have long been emphasized in the comprehensive curriculum at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. Last spring, this emphasis became a long-term, momentous commitment to the food, wine, service and culture of Italy. In May 2001, doors were opened - after 10 years of planning - at the $6.7 million Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine, home to the many-faceted Ristorante Caterina de' Medici.
The Culinary Institute of America's new 18,000-square-foot
Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine was
designed in collaboration with Florentine architect
Roberto Magris to ensure authenticity. An outdoor
garden provides heirloom vegetables, flowers
and herbs for dishes prepared by students in
the Ristorante Caterina de' Medici's exhibition-style,
open kitchen (right). A flat-top burner
is among many pieces of equipment featured in
European-style cooking suites.
|
Prominently positioned in this first-of-its-kind culinary facility is an open 1,800-square-foot exhibition kitchen/laboratory where students and chef instructors prepare an ambitious Italian menu in full view of one another and CIA's guests. In addition to meticulously selected ceramic tiles and other decor, most notable are two European-style cooking suites equipped with ovens, flat tops, ranges, fryers, undercounter refrigeration and trash containers. One includes a grill, as well. Adjacent to the suites are refrigerators. In addition, the front- and (minimal) back-of-the-house kitchens feature a full lineup of other equipment and supplies, including everything from wood-fired and pizza ovens to slicers, a combi oven, kettles and dishwashers.
Situated on the south end of CIA's New York campus, Colavita Center replicates traditional Tuscan architecture, complete with surrounding grounds landscaped with Lombard poplars, boxwood hedges and an herb and flower garden where the kitchen's seasonal ingredients are cultivated. Inside the 18,000-square-foot facility, a medley of imported terra-cotta tiling; black, red and gold ceramic tiles; sconces shaped like wheat sheaves and olive branches; Venetian glass chandeliers; Tuscan pottery; mahogany chests; carved pedestals; and fountains has produced an environment designed to inspire, as well as enhance, an educational experience for both students and guests.
To the right of this dining room is the Medici Dining Room, whose rustic splendor is accented by a marble fireplace, Italian break-front and imported tapestry-fabric chairs and silk curtains. A glass-walled, 3,200-bottle wine storage area separates Medici from Enoteca, a private dining room accommodating 12 who dine near a rose-colored, Italian-imported marble fountain.
To the left, facing the Terrace, is the 20-seat Al Forno Dining Room. This casual-dining destination offers a menu similar to the antipasti menu in the DeAllesandro Room. The area contains the Pollio Pizza Station, where a wood-fired oven is used to produce a variety of pizzas, casseroles and appetizer ingredients such as roasted almonds, as well as shrimp served with rosemary-flavored white beans. This station is also equipped with counters and refrigerators for food preparation, including plates for the cheese (formaggi) courses. In addition, a coffee maker and espresso machine are positioned here.
This station, like the others, is designed with colorful Italian-designed tiles and granite-top counters, and fit with undercounter refrigeration and trash drawers that aren't visible to guests. Situated nearby in Al Forno is a manual slicer that is used to cut paper-thin prosciutto and other meats.
To the right of this dining room is the Medici Dining Room, whose rustic splendor is accented by a marble fireplace, Italian break-front and imported tapestry-fabric chairs and silk curtains. A glass-walled, 3,200-bottle wine storage area separates Medici from Enoteca, a private dining room accommodating 12 who dine near a rose-colored, Italian-imported marble fountain.
To the left, facing the Terrace, is the 20-seat Al Forno Dining Room. This casual-dining destination offers a menu similar to the antipasti menu in the DeAllesandro Room. The area contains the Pollio Pizza Station, where a wood-fired oven is used to produce a variety of pizzas, casseroles and appetizer ingredients such as roasted almonds, as well as shrimp served with rosemary-flavored white beans. This station is also equipped with counters and refrigerators for food preparation, including plates for the cheese (formaggi) courses. In addition, a coffee maker and espresso machine are positioned here.
This station, like the others, is designed with colorful Italian-designed tiles and granite-top counters, and fit with undercounter refrigeration and trash drawers that aren't visible to guests. Situated nearby in Al Forno is a manual slicer that is used to cut paper-thin prosciutto and other meats.
Visible from the Al Forno Dining Room through an expansive archway adjacent to the oven is the largest portion of the kitchen, described by Ronald De Santis, associate dean for facilities, equipment and sanitation, as a "hybrid" laboratory classroom and commercial space. "Unlike kitchens at CIA's other restaurants, which are visible to guests only through windows, we wanted customers here to be a part of food preparation," he said. "The interaction between the students and chefs adds a new element to the dining experience."
The well-equipped kitchen includes two European-style cooking suites, which are just steps from prep stations. One, used primarily for first courses, is equipped with a flat top for cooking and warming soup, vegetables, rice and some sauces for pasta dishes. Included also is a range for sautéing sea scallops and broccoli rabe with garlic and hot crushed pepper, and escarole with pistachios and golden raisins. Conventional ovens are used for roasting Tuscan-style potatoes. Most of the pastas served on the menu, such as potato gnocchi and half-moon ravioli, are cooked in the pasta cooker. The fryer is used to prepare crispy mixed seafood and other ingredients.
"Flat tops are common throughout Europe," explained De Santis. "At least 10 pots and pans can be placed on a space large enough for six burners. Temperature can be controlled by moving the pots and pans from the center of the flat top to the periphery."
European cooking suites enhance communication
among chefs and offer ergonomic benefits, according
to the kitchen's designers. Remote compressors
are positioned on the roof, which consultants
Pizzuto and Romano said enables units to run
more efficiently, minimizes kitchen noise and
heat and increases space for other functions. |
At the other suite, meat and fish dishes are prepared on opposite sides. Porterhouse steak and lamb chops are among dishes prepared on the grill, while wild striped bass with polenta, tomato, olives and caperberries, and veal scaloppine are sautéed on open burners. Baby chicken, on the other hand, is cooked in a conventional oven with a brick on top. "A brick is placed directly over the pan covering the chicken so heat is transferred from the top and bottom and juices are pushed to the center of the food," explained De Santis.
Another highly visible station - and one that attracts considerable attention from guests - is the dessert station. Equipped with a double-deck convection oven, specialties such as bittersweet chocolate tort, assorted Italian cookies and olive oil cake are prepared here. Sorbets and ice creams are made in batch ice cream freezers.
As students learn food preparation techniques in these open spaces, added De Santis, "the level of the profession is raised. The chefs and cooks must be cognizant that people are watching them. They must be more professional in their demeanor and how they interact with one another and guests. In addition, their food safety skills must be higher."
Interaction among students, instructors and customers was a chief consideration in the selection of cooking suites and an open kitchen. "We introduced this integrated cooking platform configuration because the kitchen space could be opened up and would provide functional and ergonomic benefits by allowing everyone to move around and communicate," recalled Russ Pizzuto, principal at foodservice consultant firm Romano Gatland, Lindenhurst, N.Y., who, along with Mark Romano, principal, produced blueprints and worked with CIA designers and chefs in the early planning stages.
"Because suites aren't up against walls," added De Santis, "they provide more work space. Also, because the surfaces are one smooth piece, food doesn't get caught in crevices. Equipment like this that is easy to clean will get cleaned better and more often."
The only preparation that takes place behind the front of the house is bulk cooking of stocks, sauces and banquet-quantities of food in equipment such as a 40-gallon kettle and a double-deck combi oven steamer. Storage, including reach-in refrigerators and a freezer, as well as dry holding, is also available in this back area, along with the dishwasher and potwashing space.
Soon to be completed in the Colavita Center are continuing education classrooms, a restaurant classroom, student dining and a continuing education kitchen. The kitchen will be equipped amply with ovens, flat tops, ranges and mixers but, more specifically, it will be designed for baking and pastry preparation.
The CIA's decision to elevate Italian food, cooking, culture and tradition to a new level of prominence will inevitably influence culinary development throughout America. As students venture into commercial and noncommercial kitchens, they will apply skills learned in the well-equipped kitchen. They'll also build kitchens of the future, so their experience with E&S in the Ristorante Caterina de' Medici in the Colavita Center will be an influence for many years to come.
| Key Equipment List | ||
| 1. Pizza preparation counter 2. Printers 3. Millwork top and die 4. Counter with sink and hand sink 5. Trash receptacle (hidden from view) 6. Undercounter refrigerator 7. Ventilator with fire protection and power interruption 8. Pizza oven 9. 2-door low boy 10. Espresso machine 11. Coffee maker 12. Mobile ice bin 13. Counter with sink 14. Bread drawers 15. Pass-through heated plate, storage under 16. Heat lamps 17. Desk and computer 18. Overshelf 19. Ice cream cabinet 20. Dipper wells 21. Wall cabinet 22. Wall-mounted cheese melter 23. Dessert counter with sink 24. Double-deck convection oven |
25. Reach-in refrigerator 26. Millwork cabinet 27. Worktable with sink 28. Pasta machine 29. Hand sink 30. Butcher-block table with sink and drawers 31. Ice machine with bin 32. Floor trough 33. Walk-in refrigerator, blower coil (including condenser rack item) 34. Mobile pan racks 35. Mobile walk-in shelving 36. Mobile storage shelving 37. Knife kit locker 38. Prep sink table with sinks 39. Worktables with overshelves and 1 with sink 40. 20-quart mixer 41. Mobile mixer stand 42. Slicer 43. Cold food counter 44. Refrigerated drawers 45. Refrigerated rail 46. Garde manger counter 47. Double overshelf 48. Hot food counter with sink and hand sink 49. Cooking suite with salamander |
50. Refrigerated cold pan 51. Cook's counter 52. Rack shelf 53. Soiled dish table with sink and trough 54. Waste pulper 55. Vent ducts 56. Dishwasher 57. Detergent dispenser 58. Rinse agent injector 59. Sink heater 60. Pot rack 61. Pot racks 62. Pot sink table 63. Hose reel 64. 40-gallon kettle 65. Floor trough with grate 66. Double-deck combi oven steamer 67. Reach-in freezer 68. Mop rack 69. Can wash/mop sink 70. Wall shelf |
Design Capsule
Caterina de' Medici is situated in the Colavita Center for Italian Food and Wine on the Hyde Park, N.Y., campus of the Culinary Institute of America. The center is an 18,000-square-foot facility that replicates traditional Tuscan architecture. Seasonal herbs and flowers grown in the Durkee Herb Garden Plaza are used in the foodservices. The 2,400-square-foot Caterina de' Medici includes six distinct dining areas, seating a total of 164 guests: Joseph P. DeAlessandro Dining Room; Enoteca; Medici Dining Room; Al Forno Dining Room, John J. Profaci Dining Room; and The Terrace. The Dakota Growers Marketplace is another featured area. The dining area is named after Caterina de' Medici, the Italian-born Queen of France, who brought the fork and many other culinary refinements to Europe in the 1500s. Hours of operation: Monday through Friday, lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and dinner from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Architect: Roberto Magris, a renowned Florentine
architect, collaborated with a team from the CIA
Facility Design Team: Included several CIA administrators and faculty
Spokesperson for Article: Ronald De Santis, associate dean for facilities,
equipment and sanitation
Foodservice Consultants: Russ Pizzuto and Mark Romano, principals,
Romano Gatland, Lindenhurst, N.Y.
Equipment: Donated or purchased directly from manufacturer
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