Prof. Iannacco’s Italian III, IV, and V classes visited Eataly at the Short Hills mall in Livingston, New Jersey. This trip consisted of a tour of the location, lunch, and time afterward to shop and look at the products. This was a highly informative trip with many facts about Italian food, with samples from different parts of the store, many of which were imported from Italy.
The tour began with an introduction to the company’s founding and explained that many of their products are imported from Italy. We then listened to the produce manager inform us about the fruit and vegetables they have. They spoke to us about the benefits of whole foods over processed foods: whole foods contain more vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients than processed foods. The Italian III class tasted the sweet Sumo oranges, the Italian IV and V classes sampled the Hidden Rose apples, and all three classes tried the tri-color salad. Due to their high prices, truffles are sold with cheese and deli meats to prevent theft. We were given a chance to smell the white and black truffles, both of which have a unique earthy smell. We later sampled Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh Prosciutto, a fresh cheese and cold cut, while we were by their cheese station. They had many wheels of cheese and deli meats, all imported from Europe.
We later learned about the two main types of pizza: Pizza Neapolitana (from Naples) and Pizza Alla Pala (from Rome). The pie from Naples is much gooier, requiring a knife and fork, while Rome’s
is much closer to the New York style we commonly have. We sampled Eataly’s Margherita pie, which was very flavorful and arguably one of the best we have had. We passed by the bakery and saw many common Italian breakfast foods. We then sampled some of the gelato, including chocolate, hazelnut, vanilla, coffee, and more. We ended the tour by walking into the restaurant, looking at the kitchen from the outside, and meeting the chef who prepared our upcoming lunch.
Along with learning about Italian culture and cuisine, we were also enriched with real-world applications, such as Eataly’s founder, Oscar Farinetti, and his entrepreneurial attitude. Farinetti continued to grow his business, which inspires us to chase our goals and dreams. We learned about different careers here, such as franchise or produce managers and chefs. Italian students then created a project about a specific product they found, and included pictures from Eataly. This allowed the rest of their classmates to learn more about the product they chose, further enriching their knowledge.
