OPEN HOUSE CELEBRATION 2009

Our Fourth (and Counting) Annual Holiday Celebration

a bit more red wine…
It was back in December of 2006 that Avanti Savoia celebrated the first holiday open house with a modest gathering of family and friends. The small group enjoyed tasting some of the best extra virgin olive oils and authentic balsamic vinegars in America. At some point a bit more red wine was required and several of the guests made their way to me for a little consultation. I understood their search for good wine but was intrigued by their request for something to be paired with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Our shared passion…
This was my first encounter with the fledgling Avanti Savoia Import Company. Next was an Avanti shopping trip by my wife, Gail and then a number of meetings between me and the three partners, Doug, Ben and Vito. Our shared passion for the “best of the best” helped form a bond and a wonderful working relationship.

a tradition and precedent were clearly established…
The second Avanti open house included a few more family and friends and was an opportunity for me to display some of my culinary creations based on the exceptional Avanti products. Open house number three was not only a chance to share our products but also a celebration of our newly purchased office and warehouse. This time the guest list was expanded considerably and a tradition and precedent were clearly established.

the guests kept right on arriving…
It was determined that to avoid December scheduling conflicts and to encourage early holiday shopping that we would throw this year’s party on the Friday before Thanksgiving. Now, the guest list really has grown and we hoped for a really good response. Ben’s wife, Erin served as our charming “greeter,” and reported that she ran out of name tags at number 165, although the guests kept right on arriving.

our supplies of food and beverages…
Fortunately, our supplies of food and beverages were ample for the demand. For the first time we enjoyed the services of a professional catering service, whom also happens to be our neighbor. Rosa’s Catering is a well known and established service which is especially noted for their delicious, beautiful cakes. We appreciated the efforts of Executive chef Rosa Nussbaumer and her son, Phillip who is the President of the company. You can check their work out for yourself at (www.RosasCatering.com).

the dashing and somewhat mysterious server…
After a warm greeting from Erin, our guests made their way to the wine bar, where they were served by the dashing and somewhat mysterious server working under the alias, Diego Festival. Directly across the room from the wine bar (perhaps as an unintentional balance) was an inviting coffee display of products from our coffee supplier, Vienna Coffee Company. The owner of the company, John Clark was able to personally interact with the guests, informing them about his products and telling stories surrounding his venture into the world of coffee roasting. Watch for an entire blog soon to be devoted to Vienna Coffee.

“Formaggi”
After finding a beverage of choice, attendees passed into our warehouse and found themselves face to face with our intrepid Italian partner, Don Vito de Carolis. Vito was serving samples of our fantastic new line of Italian cheeses, along with his encyclopedic knowledge and tales concerning all things “Formaggi.” We will be providing these great cheeses on our website very soon along with an informative post.

the real heart of our open house…
A few feet away from the cheese center, guests found the real heart of our open house, a 24 foot buffet offering a taste of some of our best “Culinary Treasures from Around the World.” This tasting featured over 35 products out of our inventory of approximately 500 items.

compare… and experience for themselves…
Rather than just viewing pictures in our catalog or on our website, visitors could compare great extra virgin olive oils and experience for themselves the delights of authentic balsamic vinegars. Also included were delicacies from Italy, France, Spain, Texas, Hawaii and the ever popular Lowcountry of the Southeastern US. As a matter of fact, a runaway favorite was the Lowcountry Sweet Potato Butter piled on Gail’s Homemade Southern Biscuits. Of course, our excellent chocolates from Olivier, Hachez, Alberti and Tortas from La Serentissima found an appreciative audience, as well.

“shooters”
Just to make sure no one left hungry, Rosa’s Catering supplied Mushroom Bruschetta, Crudités Nouveau and a luscious Goat Cheese Torta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pesto.
The caterers also served “shooters” of Lowcountry Gazpacho.

…serious foodies of all stripes…
We were thrilled to see such a great response to our invitations. Loyal customers mingled with friends, family and serious foodies of all stripes. The diverse collection of people also included community and business leaders, chefs, food writers and stylists, cookbook authors, a local radio personality and the directors of a regional food pantry. Our party goers were also encouraged to wander up and down the aisles of our warehouse discovering and selecting their own choice of products.

gratitude that we owe to so many friends…
It truly was a grand occasion that we enjoyed very much, but we are also very aware of the debt of gratitude that we owe to so many friends. Among those that we need to extend special thanks to are: Kathy Slocum, Erin Slocum, Zach Slocum, Gail Lowery, Sheri Treadwell, Linda Ullian Schmid, Diane Cole, Julie and Peter Wolf and many others. The photos on this post are provided courtesy of Bruce Cole Photography, (www.brucecole.com).