ANCIENT FOOD IN THE MODERN WORLD
This plant appears in Bronze Age pharmacological texts, survives in seed form archaeologically far more often than as a leaf, and bridges culinary traditions from the Nile to the Indus.
What is coriander?
Roman culinary law dictates that this pasta dish contains no cream, despite modern interpretations.
What is carbonara?
pasta, guanciale, eggs, pecorino, black pepper, salt
This Japanese philosophy of service prioritizes anticipating a guest’s needs so fully that the attention feels effortless and invisible.
What is Omotenashi?
The “queen of nuts” in medieval Europe, this nut was considered medicinal and is now primarily produced in France and Italy.
What is the walnut?
This fruit reshaped Mediterranean landscapes through terraced agriculture, produced a fat stable enough for ritual use and long-distance trade, and required generations of cultivation before yielding edible results.
What are olives?
This pasta shape was engineered to maximize surface area and trap oil-based sauces using ridges created during bronze-die extrusion.
What is rigatoni?
An ancient Chinese philosophy emphasizing flow, harmony, and nature guided by effortless action acting in alignment with circumstances rather than forcing outcomes.
What is Tao?
In restaurant accounting, this represents the direct cost of ingredients used to produce menu items, excluding labor, and is a key factor in menu pricing
What are COGS [cost of goods sold]
This cereal grain’s short growing season and drought tolerance made it a dietary anchor in marginal landscapes where wheat and rice repeatedly failed.
What is millet?
Though widely believed to have introduced pasta to Italy, this explorer had no role in its arrival; written Italian sources describe dried, threadlike pasta centuries earlier.
Who is Marco Polo?
A modern service philosophy that puts employee well-being at the center. It operates on the principle that happy, empowered, and respected staff create exceptional guest experiences.
What is enlightened hospitality?
employee first, empowerment, culture of respect, consequential guest experience
This tiny nut is a staple of Mesoamerican diets and was so highly valued that it was sometimes used as currency. The Mayans would blend with chili and corn to make bitter drinks, conquistadors sweetened with sugar...
What is the cacao bean (chocolate)?
This microbial process lowered pH to preserve vegetables and dairy, reduced lactose intolerance in early pastoral societies, and predates written culinary instruction by thousands of years.
What is lactic fermentation?
Pasta made from this grain exhibits strength under boiling due to high protein content but remains less elastic than bread dough
What is durum wheat?
Considered part of the Italian “la bella figura” approach; presenting oneself well and creating memorable social experiences. In Italian hospitality context, it’s the art of making guests feel at home, combining warmth, generosity, attentiveness, and personal connection.
Accoglienza
Facilities director at 85 10th avenue
This naturally occurring grass grew in the Fertile Crescent (modern-day Turkey, Syria, Iraq) long before humans farmed. Valued for a nutty flavor, lower gluten complexity and high protein/mineral composure, we wouldn't have break, beer or settled agriculture without it
What is wild einkorn?
The earliest dried pasta texts emerge from this cultural intersection, explaining why pasta spreads before tomatoes ever appear.
What is the Arab-Sicilian Mediterranean?
Famously phrased as “Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen,” this philosophy empowers employees to personalize and anticipate guest needs, with authority to make decisions on the spot.
What is the Ritz-Carlton Gold Standard?
Pistachio, almonds, cashews and coconuts are examples of this, a fruit that has an outer skin, fleshy middle layer and a hard, woody inner shell [the edible nut is technically the seed]
What is a drupe?