To: Professor John Akana
From: Antonio Tlapanco
Date: September 18, 2011
Subject: Anna Nurse Workshop
Who was there?
The guest chef for the first Anna Nurse Workshop was Michael Ayoub. He is the owner and chef as well of Fornino’s located at 187 Bedford Ave in Brooklyn. He is well known for his pizzas however he mention that he has a new passion for making pasta. I decided to do a little more research on him and I found out he has a passion for glass art. He actually does some himself and displays it in his restaurant.
What did he do?
It is hard to forget what he did during his time at the presentation because the food was great. The first thing he did was make mozzarella from scratch. This was not the first time I seen it made from scratch however it was still a good experience. The process was first having the mozzarella curd in hot water and stirring it. Next, the water was drained and then Michael Ayoub makes small mozzarella balls and dropped them in cold water with ice. He cut the mozzarella in pieces so that we the audience can have a taste. He topped the mozzarella with black lava salt and some olive oil which in my opinion tasted great. After the tasting he made some of his grilled pizza using the cheese he made. The grilled pizza was also great and looked good as well.
How did I feel?
I think that the Anna Nurse Workshop was definitely worth going to even though I had to stand. I plan to visit his restaurant in Williamsburg since I spend a lot of time there. It is a disappointment that I have only attended one workshop but there is always next year.
