Events
'Ciao Down' Dinner Raises Funds for Study Abroad
RALEIGH, N.C. (March 24, 2025) – Fresh pasta, warm focaccia, and fine Italian wine! A taste of Italy came to Wake Tech Monday as guests enjoyed an amazing fine-dining experience to support Culinary Arts students planning a Study Abroad trip to Italy.
"Ciao Down," presented by the Marco Polo Institute and curated by Chef Filippo Marini, was served in Flavors, the college's student-led restaurant on the Southern Wake Campus. The fundraiser was organized by the Wake Tech Culinary Arts and Global Education programs, in partnership with the Wake Tech Foundation. Proceeds will help cover expenses for an 11-day Study Abroad experience across central Italy in the summer of 2026.
"We greatly appreciate the community's support for what will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our students," said Culinary Arts Program Director Chef Aaron Stumb.
The menu for "Ciao Down" featured several courses of traditional Roman cuisine, including pasta amatriciana with crispy pork cheek and Roman-style saltimbocca with braised artichoke wedges. Dessert was almond panpepato with mascarpone cream.
Chef Marini, who owns a restaurant near Rome and traveled to Raleigh for the event, says the secret to authentic Italian cooking is the extra virgin olive oil. "We have the most renowned extra virgin olive oil in the world," he said. "It's the base, or foundation, of all Italian recipes."
The trip will give students the opportunity to study different types of olive oil, as well as the many key ingredients that make Italian cuisine known worldwide, including pasta, cheese, charcuterie, bread, wine and coffee. The focus will be the cuisine and culture of three distinct regions of Italy: Piedmont, Emilia Romagna and Lazio.
"Every region has its own particular products," said tour organizer Giacomo Berselli, president of the Marco Polo Institute. "My goal is to show students the difference between the regions while they immerse themselves in the environment."
Berselli say local chefs will lead cooking classes, and the staff at Lavazza's headquarters will show how their coffee goes from bean to cup. Students will tour a winery, see how balsamic vinegar is aged, watch as prosciutto and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese are made and possibly even hunt for truffles.
Student Stephen Pigfold says he can't wait for the trip. "I'm looking forward to experiencing the culture," he said, "and learning the tricks of the trade from people who know it best."
He and other students planning for the trip helped Chef Marini prepare the meal. "This is a great opportunity to learn from some of the best chefs in the world," said student DuWayne McCoy.
Students in other academic programs who are members of Wake Tech's Global Connections Club helped organize "Ciao Down" and helped serve the dishes. The Global Connections Club was the brainchild of Associate in Arts major Devon Carhart, who worked two jobs to be able to afford a Study Abroad trip last year.
"I learned and grew so much on my trip," she said. "Everyone deserves that opportunity, but not everyone has the means. I want to help make Study Abroad experiences more accessible to all students."
"Ciao Down" raised more than $3,400, and although the fine-dining event is over, it's not too late to support the upcoming Culinary Arts trip to Italy!
To learn about Study Abroad and Wake Tech's Global Education program, visit studyabroad.waketech.edu.
