Funk Made in Vicchio.

The week before last was the Umbria Jazz Fest. The festival was 10 days long and this year marked the 35th anniversary. There were more than 350 artists and almost 300 concerts. Some of the headliners included Herbie Hancock, Roberta Flack, Sonny Rollins, Chip Wilson, Alicia Keys, and R.E.M. All of the shows took place at various places in historic Perugia.

     Things were slow at work so we were able to make it to some of the shows. The best outings were when to went to see local favorite Funk Off. From Vicchio, Funk Off is bacially a high energy funked out marching band. They are awesome!!!! Marta had given me a couple of their CD's a couple of weeks earlier so I was familiar with the music, but they are off the wall live.

     They played 3 free shows at night in the Piazza IV Novembre, right by the historic center. We were able to make it to 2 of the shows and they were a total blast. It was definately one of the cooler venues that I have seen a show. After the final show we were able to go and meet the band. Super cool bunch of guys. Ciao!

     Still recovering from the loss of Chris. He was such a great person. I don't know anyone that knew him that didn't absolutely love him. He was the personification of the word jolly. His newest and possibly greatest attribute was that he was an amazing dad. He absolutely loved his new roll. I'm glad that there is a part of him left behind. 

     For me, my friend Glen said it best when he wrote, "Humbled by the yearning to accomplish greatness for the legacy". My heart goes out to those who where closest to Chris. May they all be strong.

Overwhelming Sadness.

     Until today I hadn't really cried since my grandmother died. I forgot how much this feeling sucks. Today I found out that my good friend Chris Calvert died from heart failure at the age of 35. I'm not really sure what happened. I know that he was sick for a week or so and he went into Strong hospital the other day and his heart stopped. They currently think that it was a virus.

     I am at a loss for words. I guess that I am writing because it is my only outlet right now. Completely devastated, I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm sitting here listening to the Beta Band, the last song that was on his myspace profile, still crying. Chris really meant a lot to me and everyone else that knew him. He was one of the funniest, most kind hearted, sincere people that I have ever met or will ever meet. Along with many friends and family, Chris leaves behind his wife Jill and his seven month old baby Jacob Angus. I am so grateful that that I was able to say good bye to him before I left for Italy. He was an incredible friend and we will all miss him terribly.

Terrazza Frau and Vecchio Molino

     Last weekend was our last big outing for off premises catered events for awhile, and it definitely went out with a bang.
     On Friday we made our way to Spoleto for a dinner of 250. The Dinner was for the end of the Festival dei due Mondi (festival of two worlds)an arts festival which takes place in Spoleto, and in Spoleto's sister city of Charleston SC. 

     The dinner was for a famous Italian artist whose name I seem to have forgotten, but I remember that he his the son of famous Italian actor Vittorio Gassman.

     I guess it was a pretty big deal because they had the local news teams there with cameras and lights and microphones. I was completely unprepared for this and I made a small deposit in my shorts when all of the reporters bum rushed our staging area and it was lights camera action time. 

     It was a strange evening because we didn't start service until almost midnight. We cranked out four courses for 250 people in just over an hour. It was nuts. These people were ravenous. Once we got into the rhythm, I forgot about the cameras. Everyone went crazy for the pasta course of potato stuffed tortelli with white and black truffles. People were coming up and grabbing plates and eating it with their hands. Under the circumstances, with everyone eating so late, how everyone was dressed, people losing their freekin minds over a pasta dish, my imagination started to stir. I started to envision scenes right out of "From Dusk till Dawn". I started to think that maybe I was dessert. Maybe when the clock struck one the gates would close and all of these truffle crazed vampires would start feasting on the blood of the innocent.

     Fortunately, none of that happened. We banged out the food, then cleaned up and packed up the truck. It was definately a late night(didn't get home till 4:30am) but it was lots of fun. 

     The next day was a wedding at Vecchio Molino, a 15th century mill outside of Spolete. The building and the surrounding lands were really beautiful and I really wish I had more of an opportunity to take some more pics,but things just didn't work out.

     The structure was built on a strip of land with a large creek on either side. I really felt like I was in another part of the world because the surroundings were very tropical. I guess that Umbria is crazy like that.

     This was probably the most entertaining wedding that we have catered. They had a great jazz band followed by a couple of hours of these two medevil jesters that were sooooo cool. They topped the night off with an impressive fireworks display. Good times.

    Every thing went smoothly, and we are all looking forward to the break and Umbria Jazz. Ciao. 

     

Villa Monticelli and Villa Fontana...Again

The weekend before last we had two more off premises weddings. The first wedding was on friday and was located at Villa Monticelli, a beautiful villa right in Perugia. The betrothed couple were again from Ireland making it our third British wedding in a row. This group thankfully was quite a bit more lively then the last. In case you are wondering where all of these british people are coming from, the restaurant is connected with an English couple that organizes weddings and parties in Umbria. 

     The villa is beautiful, with great views and this crazy funnel/roof thing. I'd like to hang out underneath it during a crazy storm. Everything went well with the ceremony and with the food. The priest was awesome. He also served as MC during the reception. Very charismatic. I guess that the couple is some how close with The Rolling Stones so on Sunday they flew home to party with them.

     The wedding on Saturday was big and crazy. It was back at the Villa Fontana. I think it was for 185 people and they were friends of Chef. These people went all out. They had a huge buffet. Lots of appatizers. There were 18 kinds of cheese!!!! I had never herd of a lot of them but they all looked great. I was lucky enough to be able to sample quite a few. 

     After the buffet they had a 4 course sit down dinner, followed by a huge dessert buffet. I think they ate for almost five hours. Everyone was really nice and seemed to have lots of fun. Things started to get a little crazy towards the end of the night which is to be expected.

Ciao Rosella!!!!

      Well, Rosella is done with her internship, so we had a little party to send her on her merry way. I burned her a CD of Louis Prima's greatest hits and we listened to it while we worked. It was a big hit. There was lots of singing and dancing going on. 

     Along with dinner, we had pastries and Prosecco for dessert, which of course involved spraying Prosecco all over each other. After dinner, the festivities culminated with carrying Rosella around upside down for awhile and then there was a small water war. Tons of fun was had by all. Rosella will be sorely missed and we wish her the best of luck.

     We are getting ready for one last big weekend of catering and then I think we get a bit of a break for a while because everyone is going on vacation. 

     We start a new menu on Monday which is exciting because it is a lot of new stuff that I haven't seen. I am actually working on translating it into english for tourists now. Ciao a presto!

Tuscany and Villa Fontana

     Our last couple of outings for catering took us to some grate places. First we set out for an old church in the town of Buonconvento which is in Tuscany near the city of Siena, about an hour and a half from the restaurant. The event was a wedding for a young English couple. It was very cute. These people were partiers!!! It was a total eighties throw back wedding. Everyone had a blast. Lots of screamers. 

     The place was absolutely beautiful. There was a vineyard on the property and the weather was perfect by the time the wedding started. It was hot as blazes when we arrived to set up, but it manager to cool off quite a bit as we entered the evening.

     The next day we had a wedding at the Villa Fontana, located about five minutes from L'Osteria dell Olmo. This was a group of Irish people that were the exact polar opposite of the English group the night before. They all seemed very heavily sedated.

    The Villa was outstanding. Very posh. Great views and facilities and it was nice to finally have a decent kitchen to work in. With all of these catering gigs we have come across some pretty sad kitchens or often no kitchen at all, and the one at Villa Fontana defiantly made life easier. It is always unfortunate that I never get a chance to get any food pics because we are putting out some great stuff. 

     Aside from being half asleep everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Everyone except for the groom that is. I've seen happier people at a funeral. It appeared as though he thought that at the end of the night everyone was going to roll him up in a carpet and light him on fire. Poor sap.

     Everything is still going well for me. We are all getting psyched for Umbria Jazz which starts on Thursday and lasts for 10 days. Can't Wait! I'll be in touch.

     

Villa Milani and Rocca Albornoziana

     The weekend before last was a whirlwind of parties culminating on Saturday with two catered events going on at the same time in the city if Spoleto.

     The first event was a wedding located at Villa Milani. The Villa is beautiful inside and out  and has out standing views of the city. Back in the day it was apparently frequented by John Lennon. 

     I only stuck around long enough to help unload and set up then a group of us headed accross the city to another hill top to set up for another wedding. This one located  at the Rocca Albornoziana, which was built in 1360 and was a  one time castel/major defensive position for the city, turned prison,turned museum/party house. It was a really cool, gigantic place. Unfortunatly there was no place to get a good panoramic photo. Both events went well, but the weather was a real bummer. It rained really hard on and off all day. Good luck for both couples I guess.   

     The first four pics are of the Villa Milani. In the one with the view of the city, if you look at the hill on the right you can see the Rocca Albornoziana. The last pic is of the well in the courtyard at the Rocca. It was really cool. There are drainage holes all around the courtyard and water all underneath that can be scene when you look down the well. I closed my eyes and imagined what the place was like 600 years ago. It was very humbling. 

     I hope that everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend. Have fun!!!!!! I don't know why I suddenly started writing in bold print, but I can't fix it so to heck with it!!!!!!!!! Ciao!!!!