Culture Behind The Plate Plate

by Natasha Davis

I‘ve studied Spanish for the past ten years of my life, yet somehow I learn more from working in a restaurant than I do in a classroom.All of the restaurants I’ve worked at in my twenty years of living have had Mexican or other Spanish speaking chefs. I will constantly hear a familiar Spanish song when I pick up my ready made entrees in the kitchen. Little do people know the love and hard work that is behind the plate.

Cento Restaurant has been my new home for almost a month now, and I’ve loved every second of it. I thought serving at a new restaurant other than my normal stomping grounds would be odd and difficult to adjust to. But from the first day, I was greeted by Mariachi music flowing in from the kitchen. After my first couple of shifts, I got to know the chefs through pracicing my Spanish. Then I began to get free dessert. Tiramisu, Chocolate Panna Cotta, Lemon Sorbet, the list could go on. I haven’t tried one thing I haven’t loved.

This high end Italian restaurant is near the Madison Capitol Building, featuring a seasonal menu filled with classy cocktails and a wide variety of wines. Before my time at Cento, I did not know much about the meaning behind each pasta shape, how they were made, and how skilled you hvae to be to produce a perfect wood fired pizza. Each day I trained, I learned more and more about how to describe the food to the customers. It was difficult at first, but slowly I knew all the tiny details. How you need to crack black pepper on the Rigatoni alla Carbonara and keep the poached egg intact, or how the Swordfish Cioppino was prepared with dairy so I had to keep watch for allergies.

However, still to this day I do not know the secret ingredients they put in their Funghi e Formaggi Pizza to make it so addictive. The types of mushrooms and cheese had been carefully selected from areas around the world, simply for that flavor, but an added cultural depth. Each meal made at Cento is so special because of how it was crafted by the incredible chefs who made it.

The blend of Italian cuisine with the preparation from native Spanish speakers has somehow created the perfect atmosphere for Cento. I never knew how important the culture was behind the plate. My job has everything I could want in an after school activity: a way to practice my Spanish with the cooks, fun coworkers, interesting cutomers, and most importantly access to delicious Italian food.

There are a number of food spots in Madison that are great for when you are having latenight cravings or need a place to end your night out. Many will take a trip to Taco Bell, Conrad’ or McDonald’s to satisfy this hunger. But after four years of living in Madison I can safely say there is only one correct place to end a night downtown: Paul’s Pel’meni.

Paul’s Pel’meni has been a Madison favorite since 2013 when it first opened its doors for business on Gorham Street. The small restaurant only serves one thing: Russian Dumplings, or rather, Pel’meni.

Pel’meni has often been referred to as the heart of Russian cuisine. Deriving from the word pel’nyan, which so eloquently translates to “ear bread” in English, pel’meni has been a favorite long before it hit the streets of Madison. Pelmeni is thought to have originated by the Mongols traveling to Siberia and the Urals, and gradually spreading to Eastern Europe.

The dish was historically favored by hunters, as the dumplings were easy-to-prepare, light and nourishing for long trips in winter.

Pel’meni typically contains either meat or potatoes that are wrapped in an uneven thin dough, and are usually accompanied by sour cream. If you order like I do, they are accompanied by two (or three) servings of sour cream.The dumplings however, are not to be mistaken with the dumplings you might be used to if you frequently visit Chinese restaurants; rather than fried or seared, Pel’meni is boiled and much smaller in size.

Paul Schwoerer, the owner of Paul’s Pel’meni, moved to Madison after living in Tenakee Springs, Alaska, where he worked making Pel’meni for a friend’s business. Those dumplings were served with the traditional butter and sour cream. It was after a suggestion from a fisherman traveling to Alaska that the toppings had been upgraded to the version our stomachs are blessed with here in Madison.