MCCC Culinary Arts Institute previews new study abroad program

Harri Leigh

• Published on January 16, 2019 • Comments

PBS39 News ReportsINTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

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Montgomery County Community College's Culinary Arts Institute is launching a foreign studies program.

LANSDALE, Pa. (WLVT) - Culinary arts students often learn about ingredients and dishes from other cultures. Now as part of their college experience, students at Montgomery County Community College’s Culinary Arts Institute will have the option to experience some international food first hand—specifically, Italian food.

The institute held a preview event for its proposed International Study Program Jan. 14 at their campus in Lansdale. Partnering with the Marco Polo Institute of Mediterranean Food and Culture, students will learn traditional Italian cooking methods.

We basically specialize in culinary art, so all about food, wine,” said Giacomo Berselli, president of the Marco Polo Institute. “Because we put our knowledge and serving the students with our knowledge about Italy, we decided to create a kind of program that can involve all Italy.”

In order to prepare Italian food, culinary students must first realize there is no such thing as “Italian food,” Berselli said. Rather, each region has its own traditional flavors and dishes. Therefore the program is spread out over four Italian cities—Anzio, Ferrara, Parma and Asti. Spending about a week in each city, students will learn not only how to prepare regional cuisines with local ingredients, but also how the region’s food products are made.

“To understand the regional cuisine, the best thing is to be there,” Berselli said. “You’re going to Anzio, which is on the coast, and when the fish are coming over, you [can] see the fish coming over. When we are in Parma, we are going to visit the producer of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, prosciutto di Parma ham.”

Studying abroad and learning about the origin of certain ingredients helps culinary students distinguish different flavors in their own cooking, college officials said.

“We want to be innovative,” said Gaetan Giannini, Dean of Business and Entrepreneurial Initiatives at MCCC. “We want to do things that are giving the students a little bit more than just learning the classroom or even learning in the kitchens and the labs at the Culinary Institute. We want to give them real life experience.”

To help preview the program and inspire students to study abroad, the preview included a talk with special guest speaker Jack Maxwell, host of the Travel Channel’s “Booze Traveler.” On the show, Maxwell travels the world, trying different beverages and immersing himself in the local culture. He spoke on his experiences in foreign countries and the important role food plays in each place. But, he said, food is just a conduit to meeting new people and making new memories.

“The food and the drink, we do it out of habit. We have to do it; food for one reason, drink for another,” Maxwell said. “But to be with someone is the most important thing to me, is to be with others and share experiences with them.”

Maxwell said he hoped the culinary arts students take the opportunity to see another country, but he also thinks everyone should travel abroad at some point.

“Study abroad if you can!” he said. “And if you can’t, then study here and travel later.”

The students don’t need much convincing, college officials said. Everyone in the program is already excited to study culinary arts abroad, including the teachers.

“Our chefs are passionate about what they do. They love food, they love culinary arts, and they love travel and culture,” Giannini said. “It’s infectious coming through the faculty to the students, and the students are really looking forward to the opportunity to being able to go out and do that.”

The incoming class in the fall of 2019 will be able to travel abroad in the summer of 2020. The college is organizing ways students can get financial aid if they can’t afford the program, which will not be mandatory.

Maxwell has already filmed an episode of “Booze Travler” in Italy, so he’s familiar with some of the food the students will encounter. As for his favorite Italian drink, Maxwell mentioned the Negroni, but reiterated that it was never about the drink anyway.

“If we had a drink right now, I wouldn’t even remember the drink,” he said. “I’d remember [you]. We had that experience. The drink was secondary.”