Compostable waste ready to be sent to our composting partner, Organic Diversion

The Philadelphia Catering Company has been doing ‘Zero Waste’ events for two years now.  Despite the excellent environmental benefits, it has at times been a hard sell to clients and a steep learning curve for guests at events.  We have experienced incredible successes and complete failures.  Each time we do this type of event we learn something and try to apply it to our future operating procedures.

What we have learned is that the single greatest factor to driving the success of a zero waste event is good, informative signage.  That being said, even with great signs – inexperienced, uninformed, uninterested guests can diminish the diversion rates at your event.  Only time and a commitment to holding more of these events will change people’s thought process and the disposal of their waste.

Our longtime client, The University of Pennsylvania, is jumping in with both feet by encouraging and supporting event planners to hold zero or reduced waste events whenever possible.  It is strongly encouraged now and expected to be University policy in the not so distant future.  To help the event planners see that holding a zero waste event is not as daunting as it may seem, the University held an informational lunch.  A zero waste lunch, of course, with presentations by sustainability experts from Penn’s Green Campus Partnership and an experienced caterer – The Philadelphia Catering Company.

Zero waste informational event at the University of Pennsylvania

Zero waste buffet display

Verterra dinnerware is not only fully compostable, but attractive and sturdy

PCC provided a beautiful, tasty lunch as well as zero waste services

PCC provided the lunch and zero waste service as well as some insights on how to conduct a successful zero waste event.  Alan DeCecco, President of PCC, explained that one of the most difficult tasks is getting the guests to put their waste in the correct receptacle – reading the signs.  We guaranteed, that despite all the great signs we provided, someone would place their waste in the wrong receptacle today….but this savvy group proved us wrong.  100% of the waste from this lunch was diverted from the landfill.  Not one item was placed in the wrong receptacle.  So we are moving in the right direction.

The key to success – proper receptacles with good signage

As time goes on, and zero waste events become more the norm, people will get the message.  Guests truly want to be part of an effort towards sustainability.  We just need to keep doing it.  Since the luncheon at Penn, we have provided 3 additional zero waste events and the demand for our compostable dinnerware is at an all-time high.  Among them, an exceptional zero waste BBQ for Penn Engineering on Shoemaker Green – the greenest of Penn venues.

Barbecue on Shoemaker Green – Penn’s open green space

A beautiful day to be green!

An awesome day – great weather, great food and a successful zero waste event – 99.1% diversion from the landfill!  Of course, it wasn’t perfect at first, especially when one of the very first guests tried to cram their plate in the recycling bin.  We responded by having our on-site attendants talk up all the zero waste points of the event – they listened.  As an added service, we tallied the final weights of compostable, recyclable and landfill waste.  111 lbs compostable waste, 6 lbs recycled waste and a mere 1 lb landfill waste.  By next week all the compostable material will be at a professional composting facility – Organic Diversion – working its way back to a local farm.

PCC tries to make guests aware that everything is compostable

Good signage reminder guests that materials are compostable

PCC attendant measuring the weights of waste after event

Keeping track of our success – logging compostable, recycling, and landfill waste

From Shoemaker Green – to Organic Diversion – to local farm

Mission accomplished! 

If you are interested in getting more information on eco-friendly options PCC can provide: Zero or reduced waste options, samples of compostable dinner ware, please call our office and ask for Kim, our Sustainability Czar – 215.468.0518

The Dolomites

It is day 6 of our tour of Northeast Italy, which we have now officially dubbed – ‘Never Eat on an Empty Stomach Tour’.  It is time to move on.  Out of Friuli, through Austria and Alto Adige, to Trentino and some hiking in the Dolomites.  Three incredible days in Timau at Albergo Matiz da Otto will be hard to top.  We leave Italy and enter Austria through the Plocken Pass.  We drive through the beautiful Tyrol Valley in Austria hoping to come across a nice bakery for classic Austrian pastries and hopefully a restaurant that serves Wurst for lunch.  As luck would have it, we found neither.  We stop in Sillian on the Eastern edge of the Tyrol Valley for lunch.  The Italian cuisine over the past six days has been great, but I am actually looking forward to some Austrian-German style cuisine for a change of pace.

Austrian Village Tyrol Valley

Potatoes, Speck, herbs & eggs

Schnitzel with fries & cranberry

Hunters Stew

The Gasthof Sillianer Wirt does not disappoint.  The dishes are real Austro-German meat & potato comfort food that we enjoy thoroughly.  Schnitzel & fries, spatzle – pork stew(hunters Stew), and potato, ham & egg combo.  A couple of Steiger beers some apple streudel and we officially & joyfully have overdone another meal on this trip.  Our first order of business will be to find a coffee shop.  We will need triple espressos to keep us alert on the mountain roads ahead.  It is an overcast day and the Dolomites are in the clouds as we cross back into Italy in the Alto Adige.  Despite the caffeine jolt, lunch has been lulling me to sleep even with the treacherous roadways.  It is the 4^th week of June and it snowed here last night.  A snowball fight on the pass and we are awake again, and maybe even getting hungry as we descend into Canazei.

Snow covered pass in Dolomites

Canazei

Canazei is a picturesque Italian Alpine village in Trentino in the Val Di Fassa.  In the winter it is a ski resort, and summer a base station for hiking Marmolada – the highest mountain in the Dolomites.  Because of the recent snow, our plans are foiled and we will need to come up with a new plan.   In the meantime, we are in Italy and there are many culinary treasures to discover.  We check into Hotel Soreghina, where the owner recognizes my brother and again we are given the VIP treatment.  With the hiking shut down, the hotel is somewhat empty, we have the place to ourselves.  We enjoy a nice dinner – Risotto Primavera.  A couple rounds of various grappas and we are back on track with a new plan for an alternate hiking route just west of Canazei.  I have done many hikes – but the Italians have it right.  First, no slogging up the base hills around the mountain to get to the good parts.  They take a ski lift or cable car up to the scenic trails – then they hike.

Cable car ride to hiking trails

Incredible views hiking

Next, along the trails they have Refugios.  A Refugio, meaning refuge in English, is an alpine lodge where you can stop and get a meal or a room for the night.  In fact, you can plan your hike to go from Refugio to Refugio for as far as you like.  The best part is the food at the Refugio’s is incredible – unlike the PB&J’s and ham sandwiches I had at the base camp of the Grand Canyon.  The best meal on the entire trip was at Refugio Vajolet  – 2500 meters in altitude.  The supplies and personnel are trucked up death defying roads and sometimes via helicopter.  I peeked into the kitchen and saw 7-8 chefs working around multiple enormous steaming pots, presumably for the polenta.  I ordered the polenta with wild mushrooms and gorgonzola, a very simple meal. The combination of incredibly fresh ingredients, perfect preparation and a Paul Bunyan sized appetite made this the best meal of the trip. The rest of our entourage agreed – their meals were great.  This is the only way to hike.  The best part is calorically, we burned more than we consumed – win win.

Awesome meal at Refugio Vajolet

AJ had fresh taglietelle with meat ragout

Incredible meal at 2500 Meters

Two foods I discovered in Trentino are Speck and Grana Trentino.  Speck is similar to prosciutto – however it is lightly smoked.  It is used in many of the local dishes – with pastas, sauces, sautéed with vegetables.  We mainly ate it with the breakfast served at the hotel, sliced thinly– we couldn’t get enough.  We also stopped at a place where they made Grana Trentino.  Every region of Italy has its own aged cheese they use for grating – mainly Parmesan, Pecorino Romano and Grana.  Grana has been produced for 1000 years and is made from cow’s milk.  Gran Trentino has been granted its own D.O.P. (protected designation of origin).  There is nothing like tasting this cheese where it is produced.  It has a milder taste than parmesan, less sharp & grainy.  I can’t pass it up and I buy a large wedge to bring home.  Val Di Fassa is also known for the honey produced here.

Finding Grana Trentino

We have one more night in Canazei, and another nice meal at Hotel Soreghina.  This stop in Val di Fassa has been interesting.  Our culinary exploration was geared more for the foods of our family heritage in Friuli, but the food from Trentino is interesting and worth some more investigation.  Our trip is winding down and we have one last stop before we go – Venice.

Risotto Primavera

Albergo Matiz da Otto – Diego Matiz in center

One of the purposes of our trip, other than a culinary adventure, was to visit the WWI battlefields of my grandfather.  During WWI, my grandfather spent his military service on the Austrian front, high in the Carnic Alps at the battlefields of Freikofel and Pal Piccolo.  A few years back, my brother Angelo who is a retired US army colonel and military historian, researched and found the exact locations where my grandfather’s unit fought.  This search led him to Timau and Diego Matiz.

The Village of Timau

Timau is a tiny village  nestled high in the Alps close to the Austrian border.  Diego owns and operates Albergo Matiz da Otto where he serves local specialties to regional acclaim.  He is somewhat of a local celebrity who has traveled the world on trips that have become local legend.  He works tirelessly day & night at his hotel/restaurant saving and planning for another epic journey – next is Kilimanjaro.  Our plan was to spend 3 days in Timau hiking up to the mountain top battlefields – working up an appetite for Diego’s incredible dishes.  Having skipped a meal in Udine, we had plenty of time on the 2 hour ride to think about the possible culinary exploits ahead of us.  First on the list was Cjarsons.

Cjarsons

Cjarsons can only be found in this region of Italy.  They are a cross between a ravioli and a pierogi.  The filling is a sweet & savory complex combination of potatoes, cheese, figs, cinnamon, cocoa, raisins and a long list of ingredients.  They are usually served in a butter sauce and sprinkled with smoked ricotta and cinnamon or sugar.  There is no standard recipe and each restaurant or household has its own version from family recipes handed down through the ages.  It has been ten years since I had this dish and the long ride gave us plenty of time to discuss possibilities – first plate?, main entrée?, wine parings?…

As we pulled up to Albergo Matiz, we could see Diego in his kitchen.  The window sill was packed with glass bottles of his famous flavored grappas steeping in the fleeting alpine valley sunshine.  We are right on time – dinner is being served.  Diego’s restaurant is a gem.  They prepare everything fresh from local ingredients.  Menus are designed daily based on what is available that day.  For the next three days we will be eating classic Friulan dishes prepared by Diego’s award winning chef, Stefano Buttazzoni.   We start with a first plate of the Cjarsons.  They are amazing – I plan to have them every night I’m here.  They pair perfectly with sauvignon blanc from Friuli.  As a second plate, I have the Frico and polenta.  The Frico is made with Montasio cheese and potatoes.  The polenta is made with a cornmeal I have never seen before – coarse yellow cornmeal flecked with red cornmeal.  It is rustic and delicious – it will be on my list of items to seek out when I return.  With our second plate we have a wine that can only be found in Friuli – a full bodied and peppery red wine made from local grapes called Shioppettino, a petite red grape that was brought back from the brink of extinction.  For dessert I have the apple strudel with pine nuts and raisins – not a what you might expect in Italy, but we are just a few miles from Austria and its influence can be seen in all the cuisine.  Finally, Diego treats us to his homemade grappas – flavored with fruits, & local herbs picked by Diego.  They are unlike any grappas I have ever had – a real highlight of the trip.  Again sleep comes easy with grappa and the clean alpine air – tomorrow we cross into Austria to hike to Freikofel.

Frico

Delicious Apple Strudel

PCC employees and family members volunteered to help with the event

In the spirit of giving back to the community, last year we launched the charitable arm of our company which we dubbed –   PCC 5000. The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to provide 5000 meals to our city’s neediest and homeless people.  In the past we have always donated to charitable organizations and events, but we wanted to host an event of our own.  Last year we teamed up with Bridging the Gap Ministries and provided a Thanksgiving feast for 100 homeless people – see our blog: https://philadelphiacateringblog.com/2012/12/.

Bridging the Gap Ministries provided a hearty helping of spiritual support

The event was such a success we decided to do it again this year.  PCC employees finished worked on Wednesday, clocked out and got back to work, donating their time doing the prep work for the Thanksgiving meal.

Family members of employees also joined in to help serve the food at the event.   A hot satisfying meal was just what was needed for such a cold wet and blustery day.  One hundred needy people were served, and many left with containers full of seconds for later.

 There is much to give thanks for. Right now I am thankful for our generous and caring staff and family members who helped make this possible by taking time out of their busy Holiday weekend to help the underprivileged.  200 down – 4800 to go!

Throughout the year we get many calls for donations. While it is not possible to help in all cases, we do our best to contribute when we can.  This year in addition to PCC 5000 we partnered and contributed to the following events.  They are all great causes.  Check them out and help out if you can!

• The Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging  – Philadelphia Meals on Wheels Auction – www.pcacares.org
• City Year Philadelphia – Smith Park Cleanup Lunch – http://www.cityyear.org/philadelphia.aspx
• Jarell Christopher Seay Love & Laughter Foundation  – Annual Toy & Coat Drive – www.jarellcseaylalf.org
• Action Aids – Volunteer Appreciation Event  – www.actionaids.org
• United Way / Towers Watson Fundraising Event
• Penn SPO Sustainability –New Recycling Room Event
• German Shepherd Rescue –  Annual Flea Market – www.GSR-SP.com
• Early Head Start Program  – Annual Health Care Institute on Child and Home Safety – https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc
• Universal Charter School – Event Celebrating Graduating 8^th graders
• Penn Medicine – National Laboratory Professionals Week Event – raises money for Manna & PEC – http://pathology.uphs.upenn.edu/Events/LabWeek2013/labweek.aspx
• Helping Hands Ministry – Annual Honoree Dinner – www.hhmvolunteers.webs.com

We provided lunch for 80 volunteers who, along with City Year, cleaned up Smith Park in South Philadelphia

Buon appetito!

One of the culinary highlights of the trip was dinner with Luisa.  There have been many visits to Italy from my family members, and they almost always include a stop in Maniago and dinner with Luisa, Franco and Max.  The dinners are discussed in detail with tones of awe.  Upon returning from Italy usually the first question after “how was your trip?”  is “what did Luisa cook for you?”.  Her meals are the truest representation of the Friulano cuisine in our family’s heritage.

Luisa’s mother, Gemma, and my Grandmother are sisters.  As tradition would have it, family meals were prepared together and cherished recipes passed down through the generations.  While my grandmother immigrated to the United States, Gemma remained in Italy and over the years we have been fortunate to stay in touch.

Luisa, her husband Franco and son Max cherish the culture and cuisine of Friuli and endeavor to stay true to its roots and preserve its authenticity.   A meal with Luisa is bona fide Friuli – exactly the same as my grandmother’s except for her access to the local, more authentic ingredients that my grandmother could never find in the USA.

As we pull up to the house, I know she has been cooking all day.  The anticipation is almost unbearable.  What did she make; ucels scampis(veal skewers), roasted rabbit, stuffed peppers????  One thing is certain, she will prepare polenta.  While the rest of Italy eats and is famous for pasta, in Friuli they make polenta.  Growing up we had polenta regularly.  It was like our family secret, since no one we knew had any idea what is was, let alone ever eaten it.  Of course, now it is considered very gourmet and is on the menu at many high end restaurants, often prepared richly with cheese, butter, herbs and much more.  My family always ate it in the peasant style – made with just cornmeal water and salt, and then turned out as a large loaf on a wooden cutting board.  It is a labor of love requiring 40-60 minutes constant stirring over a low flame.  It is mainly served with a slow cooked or braised meat with a rich sauce.

For this meal Luisa prepared Brasato al Barolo or in this case Brasato al vino nero – prepared with a Fruiliano red wine instead of Barolo.  Brasato is a classic Italian dish of beef marinated and braised in Barolo wine.  I have never had it because I could never bring myself to use a $50 bottle of wine as a marinade.  This is going to be a real treat.    Polenta is the perfect side dish for this exquisite entrée, and to our delight Luisa had made two.  A yellow polenta was already prepared and a second white polenta was on the stove – mixing itself!!  Luisa had solved the problem of the constant stirring required, with a stove top polenta mixer. The proper pot for mixing polenta is a paiolo – a copper pot for even heat distribution.  The polenta mixer is a modern, labor-saving, addition.

Electric polenta mixer

Old school polenta mixer

Traditionally, the proper way to prepare polenta was over an open hearth stirring for hours.  When the polenta is ready, dinner is served – the polenta will not wait.  Our dinner started with an appetizer of prosciutto di Sauris, olives and Prosecco (sparkling white wine).   Prosciutto di Sauris is lightly smoked, cured ham and is produced in Sauris, which is far north in Friuli in the Carnic Alps in the highly German-Austrian influenced region of Friuli.  It has a lighter, sweeter taste than its more famous cousin,  Proscuitto di parma and pairs perfectly with the Prosecco.

Max with a perfect polenta

Brasato al Vino Nero

The main course was served with the white polenta and pistiche – sautéed greens.  When I inquired about the greens they used, they took me out to their yard and showed me their lawn.  The greens were picked from what we here in the US might call a weedy lawn – everything is used, nothing wasted.  For our second polenta plate, we had the sliced and pan fried yellow polenta – served with Formaggio Salato (salted cheese or Formai Salut in Friulano).  The cheese was fresh and savory with the consistency of a smooth ricotta cheese. Incredibly good over polenta.  I have made polenta many times, but I never seem to be able to achieve the creamy consistency of Luisa’s polenta.  I inquired as to what her secret was – the constant stirring or possible the fresh milled corn meal perhaps? Whether it was the language barrier or her closely guarded secret  – I will have to find out on my own.  After dessert of strawberries, grappa and hours of conversation, we called it a night.  Tomorrow we venture out of Fanna and further into Friuli – San Daniele and Udine.

We had been traveling for two days without sleep.  When we finally bedded down at the Albergo Alle Alpi, it came easy – also, the grappa didn’t hurt.  Due Cappuccinos and a simple pastry to start the day and we are ready for the momentous hike.  The plan is to hike the trail of my grandmother’s youth from Frisanco to Fanna, my grandparents’ village in Friuli.  We had consulted with a few locals who have confirmed the existence of the trail and it’s ease.  This is good because it is about 9 AM and already we can feel the heat of the day bearing down on us.  My brother Ange, our tour guide and the closest thing to a local in our entourage, will be tending to some business in Fanna.  So he will not be participating in the hike.  We will meet him in Fanna in a couple of hours for lunch.  He drops us off at a chapel at the top of the hill in Frisanco at the trailhead.  There is a trailhead sign, so onward we go.

Chapel in Frisanco

Trailhead Sign

View of Fanna From Trailhead

My brother, our guide to this foreign land, departs and we start the hike.  From the trailhead we can see Fanna.  How hard can this be?  I mean, I’ve hiked the Grand Canyon.  About two minutes in we have no cell phone signal, but we continue on.  The trail starts to split in different directions, still we continue on.  The heat & humidity are now at Philadelphia levels and we only have about 24oz of water between four of us, but we keep going.  Each split in the trail seems to lead to a dead end and a thorny brier patch. At points I am crawling under the thicket to see if the trail continues.  I didn’t even bother wearing hiking attire – I am now soaked in sweat, my clothes are torn and I am bleeding in several places (I am finally regretting the Grappa).   Doesn’t Italy have Boy Scouts that maintain these trails?   We have a choice – keep going and risk getting lost in the mountains of Italy and worse, missing lunch.  That, or we head back to Frisanco, while we can still recognize the trail.  After a moment of indecisiveness, my nephew Patrick points out that we can be back in time for a gnocchi lunch in Frisanco.  We turn around and head back.  Along the way we acknowledge the abuse we will take at our next family function – after all, Nonna did this hike yearly.  But we console ourselves with thoughts of Gnocchi Pomodoro just over the hill. This time at Alle Alpi, we indulge in some of the more seasonal dishes.  We have Vitello Tonnato, sliced veal in tuna sauce, and Bresaola, a cured beef with arugula, lemon and Grana Padano.  Of course we also had the Gnocchi Pomodoro.

Vitello Tonnato – classic summer dish from Lombardy

Bresaola – a typical summer dish in Friuli

Another gnocchi lunch under our (straining) belts and we continue the day.  We are joined by our cousin Max from Maniago.  He guides us on brief trip through the mountains to Longarone.  An extraordinarily tragic event occurred here in 1963 when the side of a mountain slid into the reservoir of the newly constructed Vajont dam.  The resulting wave wiped out the entire town of Longarone in an instant in the middle of the night.  The dam stood and the town rebuilt and today thrives. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajont_Dam

Vajont Dam

Swimming in the snow melt

After a quick dip in the frigid Vajont River, we head to Maniago, where Louisa, Max’s mother, has been preparing food all day for our visit.  First, we stop in Maniago to do some shopping.

Maniago – Founded in 981AD

Furlan #1

3oz Proseco

2oz Aperol

1 oz seltzer

1 orange slice

Furlan #2

2oz white wine

2oz Aperol

2 oz Gassosa (or Sprite)

1 orange slice

Cheers! Furlan with Max