After three months away from the Stars & Stripes, Umbra Institute students who study abroad in Italy are ready for a change away from pizza, pasta, and canoli. Which is why the "Trattoria Americana" tickets have been an easy sell. A part of the community engagement part of the the "Business of Food: Italy and Beyond" course (one of the three Food Studies Program courses), students have to decide on a concept for a restaurant, come up with a marketing plan after pricing the dishes, and then actually run the restaurant for an evening.
This semester's students decided that by offering American fare, they could attract not only food-sick (as opposed to home-sick) Americans but also curious Italians. Despite their opinion about their own food's culinary superiority, Italians are often eager to sample American food. This has proved to be a winning marketing strategy, judging by the response so far. The dinner, which will be November 29th, will be Caesar salad, mac&cheese, a hamburger, onion rings, and brownies. Tickets are €12, €11 each for an eight-person table.
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