QUALITALY 141

August /September 2024 II MAGAZINE two thousand products, carefully selected to meet the needs of an ever-expanding market segment. Being part of Cooperativa Italiana Catering was for us, as for all of you, an essential strategic step. Thanks to the Qualitaly brand, we can guarantee our customers the highest quality and authenticity of Italian products. This is an added value that allows us to distinguish ourselves from our competitors, especially in today’s increasingly competitive and challenging market. The strength of our offering lies in the continuity of our range and our ability to offer products of the highest level. For example, ‘our mozzarella’ fior di latte, which we import directly from Naples twice a week, or the pinsa, which we have managed to introduce and be appreciated in the Austrian market, where it is now becoming very popular. I believe that, in this industry, it’s not the biggest that wins, but the one who is quickest to anticipate new market trends. That’s why our focus remains on specialised catering, capable of responding to customers’ specific needs with innovative, high-quality solutions. Being a member of the Cooperativa Italiana Catering means having a competitive advantage that allows us to move with speed and agility, in a landscape where it is essential not only to resist, but to stand out. The support of the Cooperative allows us to keep up with new trends and to propose an offer that goes beyond the product, focusing on impeccable service and a strong link with Italian tradition. At a time when global challenges impose new business models, we are fortunate to be able to count on a support network that allows us to continue to grow and expand, without ever abandoning the values that characterise us: quality, authenticity and a passion for Made in Italy. Fabio Buratti, CIC Board Member __________________________________ AT PAGE 6 #CICMEUP What you need to know about bread, and more THIS MONTH WE VISITED DELIFRANCE’S PANITALY FACTORY. SOME OF OUR MEMBERS ALSO ACCEPTED THE INVITATION, SO WE WERE REALLY A GOOD BUNCH. IT WAS A DAY SPENT IN LEARNING AND ENJOYMENT. by Manola Scomparin You know the smell of freshly baked bread? One of the most comforting smells in the world. Those of my generation know it well, if they were not fortunate enough to have a grandmother, who, like mine, used to bake bread from the oven, at least they follow the scent that wafted from the nearby bakery, passing by on their way to school on foot. This was the scent and the memory that a visit to the Panitaly factory brought back to me. From the smell came the feeling of the dough between my fingers, the smile of my grandmother and the Sundays spent at her house. The state of adoration in which I used to watch the loaves rise in the oven, a miraculous transformation, for which I still nurture a curiosity that is renewed from one bake to the next. Panitaly is a production site of the Delifrance group. This is where bread is produced, as you may have already guessed... and is distributed in the Ho.Re.Ca. channel by our associates, who were also present in large numbers for the visit. Factory visits are always exciting, and this one certainly did not disappoint our expectations. Doing the honours was Joao Fiorito, our sales representative for the Lombardy area. We received an enthusiastic welcome from the Panitaly staff, who even before the presentations greeted us with delicious sweet and savoury muffins. Yes, there is also a savoury version which is really very good. The company was first introduced to us by Paola Nicoli, Quality and Safety Manager, who oversees internal customer service, with thirty years of honourable service. She introduced us to the world of which Délifrance is also a part, Vivescia, a farmers’ cooperative specialising in the cultivation and processing of wheat, whose “Mission is to feed people and cultivate bonds”. Vivescia in fact continues to innovate in the field, to select the best grains, which are then processed in the Delifrance factories into bread and pastries, following the ‘Baking good better’ philosophy. Trying is believing! We were waiting for nothing else, also and especially for this reason the morning was spent at TheLab, a place dedicated to all-round training. Upon our arrival, the foodservice solution specialists Riccardo and Andrea were also waiting for us, and they had set up a banquet for us, worthy of the gods. We sampled various products from brioche to pizza, from muffins to bread - it was a pity that our colleague Gloria, who had a sweet tooth, was not with us, she would have really enjoyed it. Both we and the members also enjoyed it and appreciated that excellent products are the result of skilful and continuous research at many levels. The icing on the cake was the mini chocolate muffins, a mixture of energy and indulgence. The presence of the specialist technicians was enlightening. They introduced us to baking techniques, but also to product preparation, from the simplest to the most innovative, and expertly showed us the different applications that can be made even with a single brioche, using simple moulds, satisfying all our professional curiosities and not just the palate. Thank you! Finally, having donned every, but really every, piece of protective equipment, we visited the factory and as we went deeper into production the scent became more intense and pervasive. The safety of the food and the workers in the plant is an issue that Délifrance takes very seriously. This is the first time I have seen the numbers of non- accidents on the job and the years to which they refer. But even more so, I was surprised to find myself in front of a mirror inviting me to be the first person responsible for my own safety, in addition to taste, the corporate culture is also shared here. Naturally, we were accompanied on the tour, and by no less than two guides, albeit with the same name, Riccardo. We went into the technical details of bread production and technology, monitored by state-of-the-art inspection instruments. Every employee within the factory knew expertly, yet carefully, how to move. A massive, automated production of the sort of operations my grandmother used to do. That, of course, as I have signed a privacy agreement, I cannot report. Once again, we had a thousand questions to ask which Riccardo answered professionally, so that even those of us who are laymen in bread production came away from this visit better prepared. __________________________________ Nella foto Fabio Tarini e Joao Vito Fiorito di Delifrance