Orlando Science Center-inspired, Pompeii’s Table is culinary magic
The ancient city of Pompeii is best known for its epic, volcanic demise, but did you know it was cosmopolitan, a center of trade and commerce for the Roman Empire?
Pompeii was multicultural, multilingual and — to the delight of the Orlando chefs curating the tastes of Pompeii’s Table — a city of diverse ingredients that those living in the region have cooked with for the near 2,000 years since its destruction.
“But no tomatoes,” says Joseph Hayes.
Hayes — Orlando Magazine’s former food writer — is also a freelancer and playwright. When he got word that the Orlando Science Center had put out a call to artists for programming in conjunction with its Pompeii: The Immortal City exhibit, he eagerly threw his hat into the ring.
The result: Pompeii’s Table, a culinary event series that will educate, entertain and feed participants with dishes wholly authentic to the ancient city and inspired by ingredients available at that time.
Hayes reached out to his ample connections to see if there was any interest.
“Not one person I asked said no,” he says.
And so from casual events that will resurrect the ancient ales (Redlight, Redlight’s Head Brewer Brent Hernandez is already at it) and pair them with era-appropriate street food to a grand four-course dinner at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort with Chef Fabrizio Schenardi, Pompeii’s Table will engage, enlighten and, of course, appetize.
The events — along with the exhibit — were delayed due to the pandemic, but with flexibility have been retooled.
“Everyone was happy to adapt,” says Hayes. As such, tickets will be even more limited than before, but “everyone had different rooms, different ways of doing these things.
“And the diners are ready to be fed, to learn and be entertained.”
Hayes says he’s constantly learning new things about the city. He’s eager to pass on the knowledge.
“We’ve been indoctrinated by movies and popular culture,” he says of our general ideas about Pompeii. “I enjoy showing people that we have more in common with its residents than you’d think, that it was more than togas and wine out of a sack.”
On a related note, many of the Pompeii’s Table events come with pairings. Guests can expect authenticity as well as dishes inspired by those of the ancient city.
“Modern chefs have their own ideas of what to do,” Hayes explains. “But without exception, all the ingredients will be things that would have been available and familiar to a chef in Pompeii at that time.” That means prosciutto, ricotta, asparagus — just a few elements guests will enjoy at the Four Seasons’ Ravello dinner.
“Chef Stephen Doyle at Hamilton’s Kitchen will be making braised wild boar with mead,” says Hayes, noting that Pompeiians often cooked with honey.
“Everything you’ll see on the plate will have been easily recognizable 1,900 years ago.”
It’s a food geek-meetshistory nerd’s delight. And with limited seats, tickets are primed to be hotter than a pyroclastic flow … and they may fly just as fast (the Et Two Brunos Collaborative event has already sold out!), so hit up the Pompeii’s Table website (jrhayes.net/ pompeiistable) to learn more about the events and snag yours before they’re gone.
Pompeii’s Table is made possible through an arts and cultural partnership with Orlando Science Center and the Orange County Arts and Cultural Affairs Office to support the event, Pompeii: The Immortal City, open from Oct. 26 to Jan. 24, 20201. More information and tickets can be found at osc.org/pompeii.
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando. foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com.