Fresh off a year in the fragrant markets of Florence, Italy, the Forest kitchenettes just couldn’t contain the culinary dreams of Jill Santopietro ’99. Soon, she found herself at a roundtable discussion with Middlebury Dining. She recalled being nervous to present her big idea: a student-run restaurant.
It was an instant hit. With the support of Middlebury staff members — and an unlimited budget — Santopietro and her swiftly assembled team of volunteer cooks, servers and dishwashers got ready for the inaugural meal. At the time, 70 lucky diners squeezed into the Château for weekly Dolci dinners every Friday night.
Since 1998, the group has evolved, continuously responding to the passions of its staff members at the time. In 2005, wannabe-matchmakers hosted Blind Date Dolci. When Santopietro and the other founders reunited for Dolci’s tenth birthday, they were served appetizers and finger food rather than four courses. This past fall, Dolci collaborated with the Knoll for the all-vegetarian “Knolci” menu, and just last month they hosted a “Ratatouille”-themed evening, complete with mushroom pastry, gnocchi and chocolate mousse in addition to the titular dish.
Like Dolci, Santopietro seems to have had nine lives. She has worked jobs ranging from food stylist to food writer, riggling in and out of different pockets of the culinary world. Across restaurants and in culinary school, “There wasn’t a lot of the backstory of the food we were cooking,” she recalled. Through her organization The Children’s Food Lab, Santopietro goes into schools to teach about where food comes from. For example, she and her students will thresh wheat berries, grind the seeds, separate the bran and the germ, and discuss the effects of only eating white flour… all before making their own crackers.
“It’s a certain kind of person that likes to feed other people,” Santopietro said.
Luckily for us, students who like to feed people are in no short supply here at Middlebury.
When Kim Golding ’99 reconnected with chef Peter Ross ’78 at her 25th reunion last year, she was amazed to learn that Dolci was still active. Soon, Golding and Santopietro were connected with current head chef Sophia Giliberto ’24, who was eager to meet the founders.
“We did this Zoom call, and a bunch of old Dolci members ended up coming,” Giliberto said. “Jill [Santopietro] invited a bunch of her friends, and we invited a bunch of our friends, and it turned into a really cool conversation.”
From that conversation about Dolci memories and the original menu came the idea that inspired this year’s final meal. Head chef Margaux Eller ’24 summed it up as a “history of Dolci dinner.”
“The dishes that we’re doing … are all based on old Dolci recipes,” Eller said. “The founder wrote a cookbook, and there’s a Dolci cookbook, and we tried to use some of these recipes and put our own flair on them to make dishes with our own creative touch.”
For example, the main course of duck confit was adapted from an apricot chicken that the original Dolci team cooked up in ’98. Santopietro recalled one of her chefs calling his mom to ask what went into the recipe. “It was like a bottle of mayonnaise, a bottle of ketchup and a bottle of apricot,” she said, remembering how she thought it sounded disgusting at first. “It was one of our best dishes.”
Unlike the Dolci founders, the Arts & Culture editors didn’t receive formal invitations to last Friday’s dinner, but with one press pass, one lottery win and one prayer-fueled waitlist entry, we made it to the flower-adorned table of our dreams. Our reactions to each course are dished up below.
1. “Some Crispy Apps”: mushroom arancini and veggie tempura
Acadia’s take: The arancini were my most-anticipated menu item, and they did not disappoint. Rich and creamy, the pearl-like texture is so satisfying.
Jack’s take: My mom makes mean arancini, so I had high expectations. Dolci’s spin on the Italian classic definitely cleared them. I still prefer the traditional risotto as the filling, but the mushroom twist proved that practically anything is delicious when it’s rolled into a ball and dropped in a fryer.
Catherine’s take: The arancini and tempura made for a first course that was perfectly crispy, easy to divvy up among the table and whetted my appetite for what was to come.
2. “A Hot Take on Caesar!”: grilled romaine salad
Acadia’s take: When first I tried to visualize a hot salad, my brain stuttered. As it turns out, the literal option was the correct one. I was hesitant (and, admittedly, slightly amused) to see a full head of uncut lettuce on my plate, but ultimately I liked it. My anchovy-free dressing was delicious and buttery rich despite being vegan, and the lettuce’s crunchiness was enhanced by the grilling, which also added a charred flavor that was fun and unexpected in a salad.
Jack’s take: As a salad skeptic, I was my table’s resident lettuce donor.
Catherine’s take: There’s something conceptually beautiful about the idea of a hot salad, and the execution of this dish was nothing short of delightful. To me, Dolci is at its best when it’s clear the chefs are having fun — a quality that came through in this “hot take.”
3. “Duck, Duck, CONFIT”: duck (or chickpea) confit, apricot and guajillo chile aioli, broccolini
Acadia’s take: Crunchy chickpeas and a flavorful sauce atop well-toasted bread made this veggie alternative worthy of plan A. My stomach is rumbling just thinking about it.
Jack’s take: I may have only eaten it once before, but this was the best duck I’ve ever had. Tender, juicy, and with a savory skin roasted just right, the bird paired well with the mild chile aioli and crisp broccolini. Dolci has set the standard by which all my future duck outings will be measured.
Catherine’s take: As a recreational vegetarian, this was my first time trying duck, and I was a huge fan of each component of the dish. The duck leg had a delicious golden-skinned outside and tender inside, paired with a tangy aioli that perfectly complemented the confit flavor.
4. “A Sweet Goodbye”: green tea- and mocha-flavored mochi
Acadia’s take: Those with the patience to let it thaw (or a strong spoon arm) were thrilled to discover the sweet, melty interior of this trendy Japanese dessert.
Jack’s take: The dessert was — quite literally — rock solid, with smooth ice cream nestled inside balls of chewy rice cake that were frozen to perfection. As a chocoholic, I preferred the mocha flavor over the green tea, but both ended the night with palette-pleasing final bites.
Catherine’s take: A fun, frozen sendoff. The mochi’s flavor was almost as enjoyable as watching my tablemates turn their spoons into icepicks to hack away the sticky, chewy goodness.
Overall, the Arts & Culture team could not have been more pleased to share its first and final communal Dolci. The dinner was also the last for seniors Giliberto and Eller, close friends who have spent their time at Middlebury bonding over their shared passions for food and cooking.
“Sophia and I have always been big foodies,” Eller said. “We knew freshman year [Dolci] did focaccia pop-ups out of the food truck, and we were like, ‘We want to be involved in this club.’”
Four years and many special meals later, Giliberto encapsulated the Dolci that she and Eller are leaving behind for the next generation of student chefs and diners in one word: inclusivity.
“Something that we’ve tried to do in the time that I’ve been in Dolci has been to make it as inclusive as possible. So that means reshaping the board, trying to involve more people […] with different culinary backgrounds,” Giliberto said. “We’ve tried to make it so that more people can experience Dolci.”
Given the resounding success of this latest dinner, that’s an experience that every Middlebury student should strive to partake in at least once. For any who still need convincing, just take it from Santopietro herself on the night of her Dolci homecoming – “It’s such a pleasure to be here and to see what a little idea 25 years ago has become.”
Jack Torpey '24 (he/him) is an Arts and Culture Editor. He writes film reviews for the Reel Critic column.
Jack is studying English with a minor in Film and Media Culture. Outside The Campus, he works as a peer writing tutor at the Writing Center and is a member of the Middlebury Consulting Group.
Catherine Goodrich '24 (she/her) is an Arts and Culture Editor.
She previously served as a staff writer. Catherine is an English major and Film minor hailing from Birmingham, Alabama. She is the prose editor for Blackbird Literary Arts Journal and works concessions at the Middlebury Marquis where she's developed a love of trivia.
Acadia Klepeis ’24 (she/her) is an Arts & Culture Editor.
She is an English major and a French and Francophone Studies minor. Last year, Cadi studied literature in Paris and in Oxford through Middlebury’s school abroad programs. She spent this past summer working as a communications intern for the Vermont Arts Council. Previously, she completed internships with Tuttle Publishing, Theatre in Paris, and Town Hall Theater. Cadi is also on the board for Middlebury College Musical Theatre.
