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APR. MAY 2018
VIII
the menu - the average bill ranges
from a minimum of 80 to 300 euros.
My suggestion is therefore to review
the menus of your activity.
How do you rate the Italian supply
chain today?
In the 593rd episode of MelaVerde,
a programme born in 1998, we
celebrated twenty years: years of
stories, from region to region, from
country to country, to try to tell the
story of the national supply chain.
And there are still many things
to discover and rediscover in the
territory.
How can restaurateurs make a
qualitative leap while keeping
costs moderate and therefore
accessible to the average client?
First of all: limit storage. Then,
reduce the wine list, rather than
specialise, and pay attention to
detail, a few things but targeted.
Take the Terrazza Gallia in Milan
which, thanks to the Marriott chain,
has raised the quality in a very
careful way thus highlighting its
specialities.
How should chains and
restaurateurs manage supplies?
Is there still much to discover in
Italy?
If Italy were to reduce its heavy
industry, the territory could be
exploited more. The wine lists are
an example but, more generally, the
whole catering industry should learn
to enhance the local products. Let
us always remember that Italy is a
country with a strong tourist calling.
The management of ingredient
costs, which is not infinite, is
always a delicate question: how
would you solve it? How can one
find the right balance?
Delicacies should be reduced,
products that come from distance,
but also certain fineries. Spanish
strawberries, fruit and vegetables
out of season: why? Let’s talk
about hazelnuts, the IGP ones from
Piemonte which are out of this
world.
Principals, cultivation,
associations, old and new
excellence: what and how much
can still be done?
We Italians, unlike many others,
are still provincial: from valley to
valley, from bell tower to bell tower,
history repeats itself. I understand
the differences. Meanwhile, there is
a lack of sociality.
According to the latest Italfruit
report, certified fruit and
vegetables in comparison with
other products such as cheese are
used by very few restaurants. How
do you explain this?
When eating in a restaurant, you
switch from a second course to
a coffee: fruit is often not really
included. After all, filling up on cake
is easier. How can this be done with
an orange or a peach?
C.I.C. BRAND PRODUCTS ARE
THE RIGHT ANSWER THAT
WHICH EDOARDO RASPELLI
SAYS, TAKING US STRAIGHT TO
THE REASON WHY A CHOICE
FALLS ON A BRAND AND ITS
SPECIALISATION.
While companies provide the
purchaser with a useful tool to
recognise what they want to buy, the
trade mark enables the proprietor to
prevent his product from becoming
generic. Raising the quality of this
then creates a range of excellence.
Precisely those highlighted by
Edoardo Raspelli
, discovered on his
endless tour of Italy.
Vito Galati
, commercial
representative of the C.I.C. Cured
meats and cheeses sector, including
7 brands, talks about this. When he
joined the cooperative in 2006, there
were only two: Qualitaly and Tavola
Viva. There were not many products:
below the threshold of 200. Today
C.I.C. It has more than 560 and
covers all sectors.
We then invented Q for IGP and DOP
products. In fact, on some products
there is not written Qualitaly but
only the letter Q: it is not a printing
error, but only a way to indicate
the products linked to the IGP
consortium. Then Gold arrived for
the innovative range segment.”
Are your products suitable for
today’s complete and demanding
catering?
Yes, and they differ carefully. The
members give us many suggestions
and we evaluate these very carefully.
We check consumption diligently. We
have at least two branded suppliers,
this in order to guarantee a certain
flow in the production. All brands
are offered in price range segments.
But let’s not deal with the price.
How do you choose your
suppliers?
We work together and test them for
at least one year, so in this period we
can make our own assessments. The
plus for restaurateurs is obviously
a really wide range of products and
services of unquestionable quality. A
curiosity that I would like to share is
that end customers have sometimes
even asked to buy our branded
product from the restaurateur. And
this gives us great satisfaction.
Where are the C.I.C. brands
‘heading’?
With the collaboration of members,
representatives and distributors, we
are on the tables of many restaurants
and pizzerias throughout the
territory.
What are the advantages of using
C.I.C. brands?
The trader often has to reduce
his margin in order to stay in the
market. The added value of the
C.I.C. brands is to be able to have
high quality ingredients at very
advantageous prices, thus allowing
the restaurateur to make money.
The premises used for the realisation
of this service were suggested to us
by some of our members.
______________________________
BOX
A word for chefs and restaurateurs
Which C.I.C. products? are used
by those in the kitchen? To which
brands are more oriented chefs
and restaurateurs?
We asked some customers suggested
by our members.
Mirko La Porta, chef at Lapo’s in
Monterosso al Mare, in the province
of La Spezia, explains that “Qualitaly
tuna and extra-virgin olive oil
are really excellent, especially
those from the pizzeria line. the
MAGAZINE