Qualitaly_109

FEB. MAR. 2019 I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2019 AT PAGE 1 Italy is a multi-ethnic country Anyone who knows me will know that I don’t like to talk about politics and comment on the actions, right or wrong, of our Government representatives. And yet, we can’t keep avoiding what is an objective status quo: Italy is a multi-ethnic Country. There are 5,234,000 foreign citizens resident in Italy (+17,4), and represent 8,7% of the total population (Istat data, 1 January 2019). It’s a fact: immigration is a growing phenomenon and, further to all the actions that can be taken to limit the entry of foreigners into Italy (right or wrong), we must acknowledge that our society has changed.And you can see this throughout the country. What is causing this ‘peaceful invasion’? A big change in all sectors: from school, to work, even in the field of music (see the recent victory of Mahmood at the last Sanremo festival). And our industry? Catering has always been central when there are important migratory phenomena. How can we fail to remember the huge Italian emigration to the United States until the end of the 1950s, which also had a significant impact on American cuisine. Modern catering is the result of a melting pot of traditions that come together in our own or in other food cultures around the world. What does all this tell us? In this issue of Qualitaly we wanted to draw your attention to ethnic cuisine and to the new trends that are emerging in our country both in terms of restaurants and as regards the use of foreign ingredients (articles on page 14 and page 20). But the arguments do not end here. We published a survey carried out by Doxa for The Fork to take stock of what are the trendiest foods at the moment but also the attitudes of consumers who ‘eat out’ (page 26). And again, great importance is given to the issue of food waste and how our sector can or must put in place virtuous attitudes to ‘combat’ this problem, which has been neglected for too long (page 44)... We could say then that something is brewing. Read this issue and find out! By Lorenzo Morelli AT PAGE 3 Change approach. This is the real innovation! There is a saying by Bill Gates that often resonates in my head: “Every day we ask ourselves - how can we make this customer happy? How can we do this by continuing to innovate? – We tell ourselves because, otherwise, someone else will.” Many of you will think that these are obvious questions, that the happiness of the customer is the foundation of our work. And yet, in my opinion, many times we think we are working to pursue this goal, but we probably overlook some details. It is true that to be successful today innovation is that little extra that differentiates us from others. But innovation without training is pointless. I think it is quite useless to offer customers visionary or futuristic supplies if we don’t then explain to them how to use them in their daily business. Innovation at all costs is of little use if there aren’t the necessary tools for making the most of it. What, then, is the ‘new’ role of the distributor? To be able to provide the restaurateur with a consultancy service that does not start from the product but from the evaluation of the most suitable range for each type of restaurant. We need to change the approach, this is the real innovation. There is no future for the distributor if, in addition to as complete a range as possible (and in this CIC gives us MAGAZINE Traduzione a cura di Christopher Farley