Michelin awarded Chef Marc Lanteri headlines signature hospitality event
As an elementary school student in Italy, Juliette Lanteri’s lunch periods looked a bit different than what most imagine stateside. Forget your lunch line and cafeteria tables, Juliette’s lunches were often spent observing her father’s award-winning kitchen. She sat in the back of the kitchen, eating and quietly soaking it all in.
“I would watch everything, all day,” she said. “It’s crazy the way a kitchen works. I don’t think people realize how strict it is and how the chef’s role is essential for everything to work.”
Despite growing up in a kitchen, Juliette Lanteri never wanted to be involved in the hospitality space. She was interested in forging a new, distinct path from her restauranteur parents, intrigued most by engineering. One visit to the University of Denver’s Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management changed her entire outlook.
Now, the junior is set to lead the upcoming Public Good Gala at the Daniels College of Business alongside her Michelin star awarded parents, Marc Lanteri and Amy Bellotti.
Marc Lanteri and Amy Bellotti
The annual Public Good Gala takes place on Thursday, Feb. 20, and features passed hors d’oeuvres and a wine pairing dinner, along with a silent auction to raise funds for the student chapter of the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality. The hallmark event is staffed by students from Fritz Knoebel’s Contemporary Cuisine and Human Capital Management courses, as well as the Ready for American Hospitality (RAH) program.
For over a decade, the (RAH) program has provided support to refugees looking for career development and cultural immersion. Refugees in the program are trained in food safety and U.S. work culture, collaborating with Fritz students to put together this culminating event where they host a formal meal that’s open to the public.
While hospitality students will staff the event, Marc will lead in the kitchen alongside his daughter. He brings with him decades of experience. Born in Tenda, a small village just across the border from Piedmont, Italy, Marc shares an unwavering commitment to high-quality, seasonal ingredients. This dedication translated to a Michelin star in 2004 at Delle Antiche Contrade in Cuneo, Italy, and another in 2011 at Il Baluardo restaurant in Mondovì, Italy, alongside Amy, who runs front of house operations at his restaurants.
“I use traditional recipes but in an innovative way,” Marc said.
While preparing for the Public Good Gala, Juliette and Marc workshopped recipes back in their family kitchen in Italy. They wanted to channel their love of their home cuisine into the menu, recognizing that a student team would be tasked with preparing it. For Juliette, the Agnolotti del Plin does exactly that.
“In my opinion, it’s the star of the dinner because it’s such a simple dish, but it’s an emblem of the Langhe [region] where it comes from,” she said of the ravioli filled with roasted meats. “It’s really fun, but that’s a harder dish because you just have to be really precise. And my dad loves everything to be done a certain way.”
Amy, who is originally from the Western Slope of Colorado and encouraged her daughter to attend college in the U.S., chuckles as she describes the similarities between Marc and Juliette. Both are strong-willed, serious about their craft and have high expectations for what they’ll deliver to guests.
“She and Marc do cook together at home, but it’s a very prickly experience,” Amy said with a smile. “She resists well but he’s never given her an inch.”
While Amy works alongside her husband in their new restaurant, Ristorante Marc Lanteri, she’ll be taking a seat as a guest at this event.
“I’m not going to be refereeing but I am going to be usual my bossy self,” she said. “I will be present until the dinner rolls and I go take my place at the table.”
In anticipation of the meal, Juliette has been running through her preparation schedule, balancing her schoolwork with the upcoming dinner. Her parents arrive just days before the event. She feels the pressure, but she’s focused on the outcome. The kitchen is home for her, it’s where she feels most comfortable. Each downward stroke of the knife helping to ground her.
“It’s very therapeutic,” she said of cooking. “It’s something I love to do and spend time doing, and it’s something I think about all the time.”
When Juliette was in high school, she worked at her parent’s restaurant, serving in front of house roles. She’d work on the weekends, voluntarily passing up time with friends to be at the restaurant. Her parents were appreciative of the help but slowly guided her away from that world. The hours are long, the work is taxing and the gratification sometimes feels hollow.
Even Juliette doesn’t know how she found her way back to the kitchen at Fritz Knoebel, but she knows it’s right for her right now.
“I mean, I love it,” she said.
This summer, Juliette expects to spend ten weeks interning at an esteemed three-Michelin star restaurant. She’ll work in front of house roles, paired with a mentor throughout the experience. With one year left at DU, she’s unsure of where her career will take her. She doesn’t want to exactly follow her parents’ footsteps and open a restaurant, but she’s enthralled by the hospitality space.
“I’m trying to explore different options in hospitality because when I think of hospitality, I think about my parents, and I know that’s not the only path I can take,” she said.
While tickets are sold out for the Public Good Gala, the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management will welcome another award-winning chef to its DU Vin Dinner on May 15. Michelin recommended and James Beard winning chef Alex Seidel will return as guest chef for the event. Seidel recently closed his beloved Denver restaurant Fruition and will return to Fritz Knoebel after serving as guest chef for the 2022 DU Vin Dinner.
For tickets and information, please contact the Fritz Knoebel team at DCB.FritzKnoebel@du.edu.