News & Updates

Colavita: Let’s start with something general. How did you get into baking?

Impress your valentine with this four-course seafood dinner complete with wine pairings from Panebianco Wines.

Last November, 10 teams of two competed against each other with hopes of advancing to the third and final round of the Colavita Challenge at the Food and Finance High School in Manhattan. At stake was the grand prize of an all-expenses paid trip this summer to Italy where they will get the chance to learn traditional Italian cooking methods and explore a handful of cities throughout the country. Additionally, each winner will be given a $2,500 scholarship to aid in their upcoming college expenses.

Explore new regions in the kitchen with this West African vegetarian delight made with collard greens, sweet potatoes and peanut butter. Peanut stew, also known as maafe, is native to the Mandinka and Bambara ethnic groups of Mali in western Africa. There are many variations and room for customizations, so if you must have a source of protein other than peanut butter, lamb, beef or chicken make good additions. But our New Year’s resolution at Colavita was to figure out interesting ways to incorporate vegetables into our recipe collection to inspire you to do the same in your kitchen. What it lacks in meat, it makes up for in flavor. Thick from the peanut butter and served over rice, you definitely won’t leave the table hungry.

What does the holiday season mean for you? It’s highly subjective, but for many it offers the opportunity to commune with family, friends or even coworkers in some way. The most common way? Over food, of course.

Remember home economics class? Perhaps if you enjoy cooking, you have fond memories of making basic dishes such as biscuits, baked chicken and pasta for one school period, in perhaps your sophomore or junior year of high school. While for many schools across the U.S., home economics class is more of a thing of the past, Food and Finance High School in Manhattan takes it a step further by offering a rigorous professional culinary program to its curriculum. Students learn kitchen basics such as knife skills, safety and sanitation, and eventually progress to preparing and developing more complex recipes throughout their entire high school education. It is the only culinary high school in New York City and is tuition-free.