Comments on: Olive Garden cooking school in Tuscany?

By: Chiffonade

Chiffonade — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:04:41 +0000

So they microwave everything in Tuscany?

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:09:47 +0000

KJ, That fact that this is what we do is what qualifies me. It is like the way a true artisan would compare themselves to a large assembly line factory that markets its products as artisan products. One is true, one is not. By making the statement, is the artisan now a production line factory? Of course not. We are a small, family-run organization. Our entire staff is less than the wait staff of a single olive garden restaurant. We pride ourselves with passion on immersing our guests in the true culture, the true culinary experience, and real.. yes REAL and AUTHENTIC Italian cooking. As the owner of the company, I can tell you the nam of every guest we have ever had, when they came, what they look like, what their likes and dislikes are, etc. This is because we truly bring our guests into our intimate family. If you were to spend a week with us, you would fully understand that it is a truly unique and special experience. You would also completely understand why I so strongly feel that Olive Garden’s marketing dilutes one of the world’s greatest cultural traditions for the sake of a ‘feel good’ marketing strategy that has no basis in their own reality.

By: kJ

kJ — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 02:19:27 +0000

It amuses me. I appreciated the passion at the beginning of this article but by the time I reached the end I saw it for what it was…an advertisement for this person’s cooking school. Makes them no different than Olive Garden.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:45:08 +0000

We all have our opinions. Mine is this: Have you been to Buca di Beppo? They don’t represent themselves as an authentic Italian restaurant. Instead, they market themselves as a throwback to “Old New Your Italian”, and they do a pretty good job. Maggiano’s is similar. Oliv Garden goes way out of their way in their marketing to create the impression of authenticity… old world Italian… A true Tuscan experience. It is not. In fact, item for item, it is less so than the previous places I mentioned. They market Italian hospitality, family, recipes brought back from Tuscany, etc. All they deliver is a poor-quality chain restaurant experience. See the difference?

By: tb33

tb33 — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:10:50 +0000

Get over yourselves. Yeah, Olive Garden isn’t as good as, and does not represent the variation in regional italian cuisine, but so what. It’s not the best, that’s for sure, but it’s not the worst either

By: Catherine

Catherine — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:45:31 +0000

Ugh! That poor Italian woman. She doesn’t even know what she’s promoting.. Bad food!
.-= Catherine´s last blog ..Love Thursday: April Showers Bring… =-.

By: WBird

WBird — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

After being to Italy and eating some of the most wonderful food I have ever had I will never eat at an Olive Garden again.

By: Scott P

Scott P — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000

You know it’s not really Italian because there will never be a mob hit at Olive Garden.

Go to Italy. You will never go to olive garden again!

By: orjy

orjy — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Sad and offensive. I’m Irish-American by birth but even I am offended by the racist misrepresentation of Italian culture and cuisine by the Olive Garden. True Italian food is a thing of beauty. Simplicity and elegance. A real Italian chef can take the same four ingredients and rock your world for a lifetime, Can take a tomato from fresh to asciutto, garlic from raw to roasted. Pure heaven. Olive Garden is a big McDonald’s.