Iron Chef Judge Donatella Arpaia Talks Food + More @ Fairfield University

Photo: Donatella Arpaia; Credit: Anna Williams

If you’re up on the world of food culture like we are, you definitely know who Donatella Arpaia is. But, in case you need a reminder, here goes:

She’s a graduate of Fairfield University, class of ’93
She is lead judge on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.
She’s a regular on NBC TODAY.
She’s the owner of Kefi restaurant in NYC.
She’s just plain awesome. ;)

Well, you’ll have your chance to hear her talk and meet her on 2/28 at 8 pm as she leads the Quick Center’s Open VISIONS Forum. Tickets are $45 and are available through the Quick Center Box Office: 203-254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at www.quickcenter.com.

The topic on hand is: “From Undergrad Stag to a Hotshot TV Foodie: How This Iron Chef and Restaurateur Followed Her Dream to Success.” It’ll definitely be great to hear how Donatella took on a completely new career and completely knocked it out of the park!

Before the event, she will be judging meatballs made by Fairfield University students . . . and she’s perfect to be a judge because she is a two-time winner of the NY Food & Wine Festival’s Meatball Madness contest. After the judging, Arpaia will take the stage and will be joined by Sissy Biggers who was the host of Ready, Set, Cook on The Food Network and who also happens to be a Fairfield County resident. You can also see Biggers on NBC’s Today Show and she also owns Big Sis Productions.

The Quick Center is located at Fairfield University, 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, Connecticut.

Fairfield University is a Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.