Today I decided to attend an "Interactive Session with
Donatella Arpaia". Interesting programs and seminars are often offered at work and I am usually too busy to take advantage of them but today I decided to make an exception. I have not been to any of Donatella's restaurants, but I was curious about her partnership with
David Burke and finding out how she got to where she was now. A successful restaurateur just a few floors away? A no brainer!
When I entered the conference room, I was greeted with a pink goodie bag containing a jar of arrabiata tomato sauce; one of the new line of "artisanal products" that Donatella has launched (we were reminded quite a few times that these products are available in your local Whole Foods & Shop-Rite). Basically, the sauce is made in Italy from San Marzano tomatoes and appears to be pretty close to natural. I'll be sure to post a review once I open it!
After watching Donatella's vain yet mildly entertaining "reel", she told us her story about how she was a lawyer who after passing the bar decided that she wanted to be in the restaurant business. Her family owned a restaurant so it was an environment she grew up in and knew well but was never encouraged to pursue a career in the restaurant business.
It was interesting to hear her story and how she has become the successful businesswoman she is today. You can tell that she is a confident shrewd business head who has had to hold her own in a male-dominated testosterone filled industry. Her story is by no means a rags to riches tale; when she opened her first restaurant it was a well-financed endeavor using money from a large trust fund and an additional loan that she has since repaid.
Her advice about finding your passion, changing careers, translating skills from one industry to the next (her legal background certainly helps in negotiations) was interesting and insightful. She was also cognizant of what she has given up in getting to where she is now and how her life is very different from her childhood friends. Of course with any group presentation, there's the one person in the audience who continues to ask inane annoying irrelevant questions but besides that it was interesting to learn more about Donatella. It certainly has made me want to check out her restaurants to see if the food stands up to the woman.
I am not sure if she intends on selling herself as a Mario Batali in Jimmy Choo's, an urban Michael Chiarello or a thinner U.S. version of Nigella Lawson but her determination to become a television presence is fairly obvious. With an upcoming book and what sounds like some development deals in the works, I'm sure if like it or not, you'll be seeing more Donatella soon.
The best part of the presentation was in one of her many references to her line of tomato sauces, she talked about how when she was growing up,
her family would jar tomatoes (aka making passata) for use throughout the year. This was something we would do in my maternal Grandmother's basement every Labor Day weekend growing up! The tradition stopped after my Grandfather passed away and I can't tell you how much I miss it! My Grandmother & her sisters would be responsible for the tomato paste; spending the day cooking sauce in large stock pots and eventually placing the cooled tomatoes in Mason jars with some basil leaves.
My uncles would work the food mill for the bushels of tomatoes and we would be armed with glass bottles, cups, funnels and sticks to scoop up the tomatoes from a large pan and push them into the glass bottle. The bottles would be then wrapped and boiled in a large pot (about the size of a small swimming pool) to sterilize and eventually distributed among the families to use throughout the year. My relatives who are regular readers of this blog can certainly add some more details since I was about 9 or 10 when this tradition stopped so some of the details are a bit fuzzy.
I did mention this to Donatella in the beginning of my question to her about how to maintain what you started while developing your brand and expanding your businesses. I certainly felt like not a whole heck of a lot of kids were doing this growing up and it was nice to know there are others who follow this tradition.
Maybe this jarred sauce isn't going to be so bad after all...
I finally found an opportunity to try out my Donatella tomato sauce. My preparation was super easy and the result was well beyond my expectations.
In hindsight, some squid ink pasta would have made this dish absolutely incredible, but I made do with the whole wheat pasta I had on hand. When the water boiled, I turned off the heat from the sauce so as not to overcook the seafood and let the flavors meld. When the pasta was al dente, I added a heaping portion of freshly chopped parsley to the sauce and gently mixed in the pasta. 
Even though it is made from San Marzano tomatoes, I was surprised at how fresh and tasty the Donatella sauce was. I am not a big proponent of jarred sauces simply because I prefer to make sauces from scratch but if you are pressed for time or don't consider yourself much of a cook, you can't really go wrong with this product. Would I bear standing in line at Whole Foods? Probably not but if you are already there bearing the annoying crowds, it certainly wouldn't hurt to stock up and have a jar in your pantry. Am I becoming a Donatella fan?
