 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
GUEST SPEAKERS
Nina De Giovanni, architect, has devoted her passion, life and career to art and architecture. Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Nina lived and worked in Italy for 3 years avid to learn more about the eclectic Roman life from her husband, Antonio.
Her knowledge and passion of Italian art and architecture add a different touch to our DiVino Wine Studio activities and constitute a pleasant distraction from the focused business of “eating and drinking.” Stay tuned for our newsletter of activities, in order not to miss any of her lectures on Italian art and architecture, always integrated with good wine and food.
Nina often joins DiVino’s wine tours to Italy to offer an ‘artistic’ touch and to lead one of those romantic walks amongst monuments and art.
She designed and furnished the beautiful space and the open kitchen of DiVino Wine Studio. We take great pride in working and using this space day after day!
Nina currently works as Project Manager at NORR Architects in Ottawa.
Alea Cardarelli
Culinary Instructor
Originally trained as a teacher, Alea Cardarelli has an extensive background in creating learning opportunities for others( Bachelors and Masters degree in Eductation). By day you can find her at her quiet desk job but any other time you will find her in a kitchen- either hers or some elses!
Alea's biggest passion is food. Having grown up in an Italian family orignally from the Abruzzo region, creating simple recipes with the freshest ingredients are what she lives by. As often as she can she travels back to Italy to gather regional recipe tips and tricks and new kitchen experiences that she can share with others upon her return.During the summer months, you'll find Alea at the local farmer's market selling her artisan baked goods, weekly you will find her blogging her latest food adventures, and seasonally she opens her home to teach others how to adapt their recipes to suit a variety of dietary needs. In 2010 she appeared monthly on the Rogers televison show ReviveLife with cooking demonstrations, and has also worked in restaurant kitchens in Italy.
Join Alea in the exploration of regional Italian cuisine through DiVino's interactive hands-on cooking classes
Carol Anderson
Carol Anderson is at the helm of GrapeScot, a Wine and Whisky appreciation company. She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and has lived in Ottawa since 1980. An Honours graduate of the Algonquin College Sommelier Program, Carol is an avid Scotch enthusiast, writer, presenter and event organizer She frequently travels to Scotland to visit family, climb the odd Munro, and to taste and acquire more Scotch. Since her first taste of whisky, applied via a parental finger to sooth teething gums, Carol has been fascinated with Uisge Beatha – the water of life. She also loves to travel to different wine regions and delve into regional wine cultures. In 2006, she lived in France for a year, and explored some of the many wine regions of the country. Although Carol loves wine (especially Italian wines!), she finds herself leading increasingly more Scotch tastings – private, corporate and public.
“DiVino’s is a terrific venue for Scotch tastings”, she enthuses. “Guests have a wonderful time trying delicious tasting plates that work with the range of whiskies, and there’s always an enthusiastic group of tasters, ranging from those new to Scotch to lifelong Scotch lovers. The whisky selections are different every time and there’s just the right mix of education, tastings, great food and good fun”.
At GrapeScot whisky tastings, the emphasis is usually on Single Malt Scotches, of which there are a vast number. But occasionally tasters can try whiskies from other parts of the world, aged blends and other expressions. At DiVino’s there’s usually a multimedia presentation which can cover tasting techniques, influences on flavours, production processes, distillery details, cultural snippets and more than a few anecdotes. The aim is to have guests say "Slainte Mhath" on the first clink of their glass, and "terrific event" on the last. Here’s what one attendee had to say. “Thank-you for making the evening so wonderful! Your passion for Scotch was more intoxicating than the spirits themselves”. AC
Stefania Borrelli
Language Instructor
Born and raised in Rome, Stefania has achieved her studies in Modern Foreign Languages and Literature at the University "La Sapienza" in Rome. She also got her BA at the University of Ottawa, where she studied linguistics, phonetics, second language teaching, French, Spanish and German.
In Rome she received the Cerificate of Italian Language Training for teachers, at the Centre of Italian language and Culture "Torre di Babele", officially authorized by the Italian Ministry of Education and accredited by the University for Foreigners of Siena and the University "Ca' Foscari" of Venice.
She has been teaching Italian since 1994 and has attained the highest prestige among instructors of Italian for foreigners in Rome by providing tailor-made classes to the Diplomatic Corp of 19 Embassies, introducing newly arrived Diplomats to the beautiful and rich Italian language and culture. Some of her clients included the Ambassadors in Rome of Canada, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Japan and Malaysia, besides the staff of many International Companies.
Stefania has always had a great passion for the study of languages and foreign cultures, and has always loved to share with her students her multi-faced personal interests and positive outlook on life.
Pasquale Iannitti
Language Instructor
Pasquale Iannitti is a 'maestro' of Italian culture and literature. Born and raised in Italy, where he developed a strong base for the Italian language, he completed his education at the University of Toronto earning a degree in Languages and Literature with an Italian major. For his thesis, he researched and wrote the complete grammar of the dialect of his hometown Gallo Matese (Caserta), published in a book in 2007.
Recently retired after more than 30 years of dedicated service in the Public Service of Canada, Pasquale held many important positions including Director of Operations, International Social Security Agreements. He has also been very active over the years as a volunteer in the Ottawa Italian Community as a director of several organizations, as master of ceremonies and as an actor since his high school years. Recently, he played Pantalone in a Commedia Dell’Arte performance in both English and Italian.
Larissa Beznaczuk-Smyrnew
Culinary Instructor
Enthusiastic, dynamic, and always smiling. An Ottawa native, Larissa moved back from Montreal to continue work in the healthcare industry but instead landed by chance at DiVino with a great wind of energy and new ideas. Larissa is an active traveller and passionate about everything wine and food related (especially Italian). She has been Wine and Culinary Event Manager at DiVino Wine Studio for two years, overseeing all on-site wine and culinary events, marketing and communications. Her natural business sense and positive hospitable presence make her a perfect fit. Follow our calendar of events to see what Larissa's next cooking class will be!
Mirella Ioly
Mirella Ioly is the Italian lecturer from the Embassy of Italy. She is a passionate teacher of Italian language at the Universities of Carleton and Ottawa. Since her arrival to Canada in 2005, she has been sharing her special insight into Italian food and history, which she feels "blend in beautifully with the majestic Canadian landscape and nature".
During her lectures at some of the DiVino Wine Studio wine and food events, Mirella always enlightens the participants with her knowledge and her simple message: "Every culture travels through its food, as well as its language, habits, products, and way of being".
Sarah Cappeliez
Sarah Cappeliez returned to the Ottawa area after 2 years spent studying the gastronomic and food cultures of Italy and France. She holds a Masters in the history and culture of food from the universities of Tours and Bologna. She worked for the Slow Food association at its headquarters in Piemonte, and more recently, for Slow Food France and the Université Européenne des Saveurs & Senteurs in Provence, where she developed taste education projects. All these experiences and teachings come together in Sarah’s desire to “spread the word” about good food and conviviality, elements she finds in the Slow Food philosophy, and in Italy, the country that gave birth to this movement.