The Food and Wine of Carnevale

This week Let's Travel! savors the food and wine of Carnevale, the annual pagan celebration that is followed by the Christian season of Lent, and nobody does it better than the Italians. You'll hear from those who know it best: Tony May, president of the Italian Restaurant Association in the US and the proprietor of San Domenico, a top-end restaurant in NYC that will soon re-open, to Phil DiBelardino, Director of Fine Wines at BANFI Imports, to Charles Scicolone, noted food and wine writer, to Margaret Cicogna, consultant, to the specialty products division of the atalanta Food Corp, and to New York University's Director of Casa Italiana Zerillo-Marimo, who will introduce our listeners to the origins of the very popular Carnevale festival in Venice.







What we'll be exploring

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Carnevale

Carnevale, also known as carnival or mardi gras, is celebrated in Italy and many places around the world 40 days before Easter, a final party before Ash Wednesday and the restrictions of Lent.

Carnevale in Italy is a huge winter festival celebrated with parades, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties. Children throw confetti at each other. Mischief and pranks are also common during Carnevale, hence the saying A Carnevale Ogni Scherzo Vale, anything goes at carnival.

Carnevale has roots in pagan festivals and traditions and as is often the case with traditional festivals was adapted to fit into the Catholic rituals. Although carnival is actually one date, in Venice and some other places in Italy the carnival celebrations and parties may begin a couple weeks before.

Masks, maschere, are an important part of the carnevale festival and Venice is the best city for traditional carnival masks. Carnival masks are sold year round and can be found in many shops in Venice, ranging from cheap masks to elaborate and expensive masks. Walking through the streets of Venice, it's a pleasure to view the variety of masks on display in shop windows. People also wear elaborate costumes for the festival and there are costume or masquerade balls, both private and public.






Guests

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Tony May, Restauranteur
San Domenico Events


As one of the nation's most respected restaurateurs, Tony May has worked diligently for four decades to elevate the image of Italian cuisine in America. He serves on the boards of Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani (GRI), Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DIRONA) and the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), where he was active in establishing the Caterina de Medici Restaurant and a course of study on authentic Italian cooking for American students. He is currently the President of the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners (ICIF) in Costigliole D'Asti, Italy, a school for culinary professionals located in a historic medieval castle.

For years, first as General Manager and then owner, Tony May operated New York's Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center (1968-1986). In 1981, he received his first IVY award. In 1986, he opened the restaurant PALIO, which attracted critical acclaim throughout the world. Two years later, he followed with SAN DOMENICO NY, the flagship restaurant of the Tony May Group that has garnered international praise.

In 1989, Mr. May was chosen by a distinguished panel of his peers to be included in the prestigious "Who's Who of Cooking in America" and in 1990, was selected as the Silver Plate recipient in the Independent Restaurant Operator category by the International Food Service Manufacturers Association (IFMA). In 1992, he received his second IVY award in recognition of his restaurant San Domenico NY. In May of 1992, Mr. May was awarded the Silver Spoon by Food Arts magazine for his achievements over the past 25 years as a restaurateur and a leader in the food service industry. In 1993, he was inducted into Nation's Restaurant News "Fine Dining Hall of Fame."

Ready for expansion and a more casual approach to dining, Mr. May opened Gemelli at New York's busy World Trade Center in 1997. With its back-to-basics Italian cuisine and a relaxed countryside-style atmosphere, Gemelli quickly became one of the area's favorites.

In March 1998, Tony May introduced PastaBreak, a fast-food establishment on the concourse of the World Trade Center. His first venture into the fast food arena, PastaBreak offers quick, inexpensive, restaurant-quality Italian food.

On September 11, 2001, both Gemelli and PastaBreak were destroyed in the attack on World Trade Center. Fortunately, all the employees were evacuated and unharmed. Mr. May worked tirelessly to help feed the rescue workers, as well as to help his displaced employees. A new PastaBreak opened a year later in the E-Walk complex in Times Square on October 7, 2002.

Mr. May is also the author of "ITALIAN CUISINE: Basic Cooking Techniques," a textbook financed by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, distributed to culinary schools throughout the U.S. The book, now in its second edition, is for the first time available to the general public as well.

In 1996, his restaurant San Domenico NY was one of only 24 restaurants throughout the world to receive the first Insegna del Ristorante Italiano from the President of the Republic of Italy, an award denoting the finest Italian restaurants outside of Italy. As a result of his life-long endeavors, he was invested as a Cavaliere and subsequently as Commendatore dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana for his efforts on behalf of his native country's gastronomy.

Venerable restaurateur and culinary ambassador of Italy, Tony May is one of the most distinguished professionals in the hospitality industry whose career spans over fifty years. He opened Palio in 1986 & San Domenico New York in 1988 to critical acclaim after nearly two decades as owner and operator at New York's famed Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center. Tony May is also the author of "Italian Cuisine: Basic Cooking Techniques", now in its second edition. In 2008, Tony May launched San Domenico Events, a full service catering company and will soon re-launch San Domenico New York as SD26 in a new location on Madison Square Park in Fall 2009.








Charles Scicolone, Wine and Food Consultant


Charles Scicolone is a wine consultant, writer, and educator. For 10 years, he was the wine director for I Trulli Restaurant and Enoteca, a restaurant and wine bar; Vino, a wine and spirits shop, and the consultant for DVM Imports. Under his guidance, I Trulli's wine list was highly praised by the The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Food Arts, New York Magazine, Time Out, Departures, and many other publications. The restaurant and Charles were nominated by the James Beard Awards for outstanding wine service and wine list for six years running. Currently Charles develops wine lists on a freelance basis for both restaurants and individuals, including Al Dente in New York City, and the Westchester Italian Cultural Center.

Charles was the coordinator of the wines for the Italian-themed James Beard Awards and for the St. Vincent's Hospital Kids Project Fundraiser. Together with his wife, food and wine writer Michele Scicolone, Charles is the author of Pizza -- Anyway You Slice It! published by Broadway Books and has written articles for Eating Well, Sante, House Beautiful, Gourmet, McCall's, Beverage Media, Wine Enthusiast, and www.tibesti.com. He writes a wine and food column for a website co-sponsored by the Calandra Institute and the University of Rome at www.i-italy.org. Charles and Michele also host wine, food, and cultural tours to Europe several times a year.

Charles has lectured on wines for the Italy America Chamber of Commerce, the Agricultural Ministry of the Region of Sicily, La Cucina Italiana Magazine, the Region of Umbria, the Italian Trade Commission, The Wine Media Guild, The Smithsonian Institute, and many private organizations. Charles has taught wine tasting classes for the Astor Center, Westchester Italian Cultural Center, Murray's Cheese Shop, The Taster's Guild, the Institute for Culinary Education, Cooking by the Book, La Cucina Italiana, The New School, and De Gustibus at Macy's in New York City, The Silo in Connecticut, the Rhode Island School of Design and Draeger's in California. He has participated in special corporate events for clients including American Express and has appeared on national television on Emeril Live!, In Food Today, Ciao Italia, and Cooking Live. On radio, he has been a guest on The Arthur Schwartz Show and was the weekly wine commentator on The Bea Lewis Show. Charles has also acted as a consultant to Waterford Crystal. He is co-chair of the Wine Media Guild.








Stefano Albertini, Italian Native


Stefano Albertini a native of Bozzolo in the Northern Italian province of Mantua studied at the Università di Parma, where he majored in Political History. After obtaining his M.A. in Italian Literature from the University of Virginia he was admitted to Stanford University where he earned his Ph.D. with a dissertation on the rethoric of violence in Niccolò Machiavelli's writings.

He has published extensively on topics ranging from Dante to Renaissance Literature, to Church/State relations during fascism. Since 1994, he has been teaching literature and cinema in the Department of Italian Studies at New York University. From 1995 to February 1998 he was Associate Director of Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and since then he has served as Director.