An Italian behemoth

The food press in the region has been abuzz for weeks about the opening of Eataly Boston, the theme park of Italian food that opened on Nov. 29 in the Prudential Center in Boston.

Eataly occupies 45,000 square feet on a couple of floors of the Pru. For comparison, Eastside Marketplace in Providence takes up 33,000 square feet.

The space has four restaurants, 10 eateries, two cafes, three bars, five fresh-production counters, 10,000 products, and a hands-on cooking school. On its first day of operation, there were sold:

n 250 pounds of mozzarella curd (4,000 ounces).

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n 1,000 mozzarella balls, each made fresh.

n 500 pizzas at the restaurant La Pizza & La Pasta.

n 700 cannoli at the Cannoli Cart.

n 1,800 pieces of pizza alla pala (a long oval flatbread from central Lazio. The pizza has a variety of toppings and is served on a wooden pala, or paddle. The dough is dense and stretched lengthwise).

n 500 rustic loaves of bread (that’s 700 pounds) at the bakery.

n 2,500 coffee drinks at the two cafes, Vergnano and Lavazza.

This is a small Italian city. Needed to keep it running are some 600-800 workers of all skill levels, from executive chefs to maintenance personnel.

Not long after the announcement by Mario Batali and the Bastianich family that Eataly would be coming to Boston, its executive director of human resources, Cleo Clarke – a Johnson & Wales University alumnus – took a space in a career fair at JWU. More than 1,500 employers visit JWU campuses each year, including career fairs and events geared to specific majors.

At the most recent Food Service and Hospitality Career Fair held in October, the floor of the Harborside Athletic Complex was standing-room only, as thousands of students practiced their elevator speeches, swapped business cards and connected with their dream companies. Clarke outlined some of the criteria he and Eataly were looking for in employees: “One of the most important things for us is students or graduates who are hands-on and practical. They have to be able to jump in, and understand – from A-Z – how to run an operation.” Clarke continued, “Students that we have found from JWU have a pretty holistic view of the industry. It’s pretty interesting to get these students when they come out, they have knowledge and skills that some of the competing schools don’t really give students.”

Another hiring professional who graduated from JWU, Leslie Ferrier, vice president of human resources of the Momofuku restaurant empire in New York, said graduates of Johnson & Wales come to work with more than a culinary education. They also have “… hands-on training, a comfort level – not just within the kitchen, but within any area or division in which you’ve chosen to study, you have some hands-on experience.” •

Bruce Newbury’s Dining Out radio show is heard on 1540 WADK-AM, wadk.com and the TuneIn mobile application. Email bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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