PASTA FEST: A TASTE OF ITALY

The experience begins with the formation of teams and some spirited ice-breaker activities to get the energy flowing. Teams then compete in our “Mamma Mia” kick-off challenges. Depending upon how they score here, they are ranked in order to choose the pasta, ragu, and salad they’ll then prepare for consumption. 

Your participants will create a homemade sauce from scratch to serve on top of their favorite pastas, accompanied by an authentic Italian-style salad. With pastas ranging from rigatoni to ravioli, sauces from bolognese to primavera, and salads from the classic Caesar to the always-popular caprese, this experience is sure to result in both tummies and creative minds being fully stuffed.

As soon as all teams have their ingredients in hand, chefs begin cooking, while carpenters begin building (with limited supplies and a whole lot of creativity) a façade of the team’s trattoria. Complete with a unique name, logo, and live publicity presentation, each team has the opportunity to take home the gold.

Using criteria including the trattoria’s façade, complete with a “health department” cleanliness rating, name, logo, publicity presentation, and of course, presentation and taste of the culinary masterpieces, teams are judged, with the highest-scoring group taking home the gold medals.

In order to enhance the experience, many groups choose to add a selection of wines, supplied and served by the venue, to the experience. This is an excellent way to “pair” the food, made by your group, with Italy’s incredible vinos. 

Of course, the final stage, and often the favorite, is a “roaming” dinner, where participants meander from one trattoria to another, tasting the delectable delights they’ve just created. Mangia! Mangia!