February 01, 2024 | NEWS | By Annalise Selby
From tiramisu, to gnocchi, to focaccia, students enrolled in Colorado College’s Italian cooking Half Block were able to get hands-on experience in the kitchen and learned to cook many delicious, comforting Italian recipes with the guidance of professors in the Italian program.
The Half Block class had two sections, taught by Dr. Amanda Minervini and Professor Ken Scriboni. Students met for a few days in the classroom, where topics like the history, globalization and ethics of Italian cuisine were discussed. The rest of class time was spent in the kitchen of Bemis Hall, a large commercial kitchen typically used by the employees of Bon Appetit.
For all the recipes made, students were able to participate throughout the whole process by making dough from scratch, kneading and shaping that dough, cutting vegetables, making the sauce, cooking the pasta and then finally getting to enjoy a delicious meal together. It was not uncommon to leave with Tupperware full of the day’s creations.
On the last day of class, students used their newly acquired knowledge to produce a final project, where many created their own recipes and brought them to share.
The inspiration for this Half Block class came from Dr. Minervini’s Italian 320 class called “Gusto.” The class offers students an in-depth exposure to Italian food, and will run this spring during Block 8 in Italy. “Gusto” was made in collaboration with emeritus professor Salvino Bizarro, the founder of the Italian program at CC, and the pioneer of all abroad classes in Italy. While the class is full for this upcoming session, it will be offered again during spring of 2025.
Dr. Minervini created the Half Block program for those unable to travel to Italy, wanting students “to at least have some exposure to the joys and health benefits of the Mediterranean cuisine, with attention to sustainability.”
Both professors offered unique knowledge and expertise of Italian culture and cuisine that helped students to make the most out of the class. Dr. Minervini was born and raised in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, surrounded by a family of talented cooks.
“My brother used to blindfold me and let me smell spices as a way to train my tastebuds,” they said. It wasn’t until they moved to the U.S. and their friends expected them to be a great cook that they really began to dive into the world of cooking in order to bring their home traditions to life. This came easily to Dr. Minervini after growing up in an atmosphere where such a strong emphasis was placed on amazing, quality food.
Professor Ken Scriboni was born into an Italian-American family in the U.S., where he, too, grew up in a rich culinary environment, learning the joys of food early in life from his mother and grandmother. Before coming to CC, he worked in the food industry for about eight years, holding nearly every position imaginable from serving to bartending, leading wine classes, cooking and managing. He speaks highly of his time as the manager of a farm-to-table restaurant called Daily Operation in Massachusetts.
When asked about his experience with the Half Block class, Scriboni explained how he loved having the opportunity to be in the kitchen with the students. Scriboni also mentioned their end-of-class reactions upon tasting the recipes they had produced; “From everything as little as how to properly cut an onion to getting to share [the food that is] so important to me…that’s what it’s all about,” he explained.
Scriboni stresses the importance of accessibility in Italian food; he is glad to show students that a cuisine, which many perceive as inaccessible, is actually quite the opposite. Recipes don’t need to be so complex and expensive to still taste great, and one class even specifically focused on dry pasta, where a few different recipes with minimal ingredients were taught to students. Dr. Minervini also explained how when creating the course, it was designed around using “easily available, inexpensive ingredients.” Many of the recipes made were vegetarian and even vegan-friendly to be mindful of students with dietary restrictions.
This Half Block class will be taught again next year, so make sure to pay attention to Half Block sign-ups as history shows both sections fill up quickly!