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APR. MAG. 2020 V a few, who do not even know how to prepare a boiled egg or who do not like to cook, continue to turn to the only restaurants open for lunch or dinner. Caresses from which, after almost three months of ‘culinary idleness’, many people will hardly be able to give up, considering that the establishments in question, according to the Dpcm of last 26 April, will only start up again from next 01 June. “For 60% of Italians, Food Delivery at this moment is a cuddle,” said Daniele Contini, Country Manager of Just Eat, “Users order ice cream and desserts. They also choose delivery as an alternative to going shopping, so as not to queue up.” NOT ONLY HAMBURGERS, PIZZA AND SUSHI Many, especially in the province, until recently, mistakenly associated Food Delivery with certain types of food: hamburgers, pizza and sushi. And not just a few Italian restaurateurs, especially those linked to traditional cuisine, did not imagine that home delivery of food could be a new and attractive business opportunity for them. Today, both small and large local food realities, which have had the opportunity to see directly what it is and how to do the delivery, are organising themselves to continue to deliver their speciality at home. “The lockdown has given us the opportunity to discover ourselves in other ways,” said Pietro Zanotta, a Milanese restaurateur who runs the historic Milanese trattoria San Filippo Neri with his father Mario, in the Lombard capital. “A formula that in the past I, much less my father, had taken into consideration, both for the dishes we prepare, tripe, casseoula, eggplant parmigiana, and because our restaurant is the real Milanese trattoria, known to all for the goliardic atmosphere that you can enjoy at lunch and dinner. Thanks to this experience, we decided to continue making home deliveries, using our Facebook page where we publish daily lunch and dinner menus.” There is another part of the tricolor catering, the modern one, whose managers make use not only of the old but effective method of word of mouth, but also of modern technology. “As soon as the Dpcm came into force on 11 March,” said Alessandro Palmieri, manager of the Restaurant Alex in Lecce, “we organized ourselves to make home deliveries, so on our website (https://www. alexristorante.it ), we added the page dedicated exclusively to delivery, where our customers can choose the dishes they want. To guarantee them greater safety, through the App ‘Authentic’ customers can check at any time the origin of the food, the preparation procedures, sanitation, packaging and delivery.” TECHNOLOGY, A VALUABLE ALLY Being traceable and performing at any time in modern society is therefore an advantage, especially for those who work in the catering industry. This can be guaranteed mainly by technology, social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, but especially by some platforms already known as Deliveroo, Glovo and others that are emerging in the boundless world of the web. Ristoacasa.net, for example, is one of them. “We baptised it in fact during the lockdown,” said Luciano Sbraga, Vice Director of the Italian Federation of Public Exercises (Fipe) and Director of the Fipe Study Centre, “and in a few days, with just one press release, we have raised 600 subscriptions. We are investing a lot in communication and promotion. Because we want Ristoacasa.net to become a showcase both for the businesses that deliver on their own and for those who use third parties.” Deliveroo, the leading online delivery platform, also announced a new initiative on 08 April, a new weekly fast payment service to support the liquidity of its partner restaurants and improve their cash flow throughout Italy. In this way, restaurateurs have the possibility to request, every week, access to the proceeds from deliveries. A new payment mechanism allows them to cover certain costs, such as personnel and bills. “We want to do everything we can to support our partner restaurants at this difficult time,” said Matteo Sarzana, General Manager Deliveroo Italia, “We are working to guarantee our delivery service, working with restaurants that want to continue to offer their best dishes to families at home. This new quick payment system will immediately improve the cash flow of thousands of restaurants, helping them to better manage their finances in this delicate phase.” Having reached this point, in order to overcome the old habits linked to delivery as an end in itself and to the customs associated with the concept of proximity between restaurateur and customer, food entrepreneurs, if they want home delivery to turn into a new business opportunity for them, must commit themselves meticulously to acquiring those notions that modern catering has incorporated without giving anyone any notice: digitization, traceability, delivery times and methods. Elements that did not go unnoticed during the government’s blockade of bakeries, greengrocers and grocery stores. Small artisan and commercial realities that, riding the wave of the moment, especially in the Italian suburbs, using their own means of transport, have continued to deliver their products to buyers’ homes. “Almost all pizzerias, but also grocery stores and greengrocers here, in the Province of Barletta-Andria- Trani (BAT),” said Antonella Cusmai, City Councillor of Margherita di Savoia, “have immediately equipped themselves to make home deliveries, perhaps using Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp for orders”. AN UNEXPECTED REVOLUTION At the time the total block of activities came into force, according to FIPE data, only 5.4% of traditional catering companies were already able to provide a Food Delivery service. The