When Larry and Jill DiPasquale visited the Tuscany region of Italy several years ago, one of the things they enjoyed most were evenings spent in the outdoor pizza gardens.
So much so that he decided to build one, primarily for use by family and friends, at the Centennial headquarters for his Epicurean Group.
Bella Cucina Giardino has a pizza oven and interactive chef’s station, hydroponic garden, fireplace, custom tables, and a bocce ball court.
Reviews of it, he says, “have been amazing.”
Earlier this month, Bella Cucina Giardino was the setting for a rustic Italian dinner presented by Denver FIVE, a group that includes Epicurean’s “innovation chef,” Jenna Johansen.
Other members are Aniedra Nichols, executive chef at Elway’s Cherry Creek; Nadine Donovan, pastry chef at Old Major; Elise Wiggins, executive chef at Panzano; and Carrie Blake, executive chef at Table 6.
Leigh Sullivan started Denver FIVE in 2008 in an effort to “put Colorado cuisine on the national culinary map.” Members stage the FIVE @ Five dinner series and take part in such high-profile events as the Aspen and Denver food and wine classics. They’re also invited to present a dinner at the prestigious James Beard House in New York.
The money generated at Denver FIVE events goes to Share Our Strength and to a scholarship fund for students attending Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Events.
After a cocktail hour featuring appetizers like Carrie Blake’s pickled peppadew peppers stuffed with Polidori Italian sausage and topped with kale pesto, guests sat down to a meal that began with Elise Wiggins’ grilled pancetta-wrapped shrimp that was stuffed with dates and gorgonzola and served on a bed of creamy polenta and ended with Nadine Donovan’s espresso panna cotta garnished with amaretti meringue and arioso chocolate.
Diners included Sharon Magness Blake and Ernie Blake; Rachel Chaparro, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s deputy director of communications and legislative affairs; Jeffery Hoyle, a member of the Cooking Matters Colorado board; Mark and Kristy Dym, owners of Marco’s Coal-Fired Pizzeria; ERH & Associates president Ellen Robinson; Devany McNeill, a territory manager with the Colorado Restaurant Association; Radhika Black, marketing director for Larimer Associates; AOR, Inc. president Matthew Keeney; attorney John Head and Colorado Expression publisher Terry Vitale.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
