QUALITALY

FEB. MAR. 2017

XIV

true that the “domestic formats” are

not adequate for the “large numbers”

of public establishments, but it is

also true that specific products are

made for the catering industry with

dedicated formats.

Then why not try the advantages

of frozen products also away from

home?

The restaurateur should begin to live

with this as a plus for his restaurant.

Today the restaurant must know

the origin of the ingredients it uses

in the kitchen (traceability); frozen

food gives the operator this type of

guarantee. On the other hand, it is

also important that the products used

in the catering industry are different

from those intended for general

consumption. So yes to semi-finished

products, vegetables, meat, to deep-

frozen fish products also in the

restaurant.

“Freezing is absolutely the best

method of preservation: for the

maintenance of both the organoleptic

and nutritional properties - explains

Renato Collodoro, patron chef of

several restaurants as well as author

of the book ‘The dream of opening

a restaurant and not to close it

before you wake up’ - What makes

the difference is the quality of the

original product, and the freshness

at the moment it is frozen. The

opportunities are obviously tied to

the menu choices that you want to

adopt. A varied menu that follows

the requests of the customer, cannot

do without the use of products out

of season, and consequently must

resort to frozen food. But if we want

to also consider a seasonal and

traditional menu, for example that of

farmhouse cooking, it is right to think

that the surplus of the harvest from

the garden can be frozen and used

again later to continue to make good

soups. And also mushrooms which

are collected in this period, those

which are leftover, do we throw them

out? Restaurant management requires

common sense; after all it’s what we

also do with the domestic budget”.

“Education: this is what the catering

sector needs. When we talk about

education we also need to explain

to staff about the correct use of

equipment - explains Fabio Tacchella,

chef and owner of the restaurant

Antica Pesa of Stallavena (Vr), and

consultant gourmet and instructor in

the industrial food sector - technology

allows you to speed up a lot the work

in the kitchen, but very few people

are aware of the real advantages of

this equipment. If someone makes

incorrect use of this, he compromises

the genuineness of the product. There

should also be the “Blue Badge” for

“do it yourself” (many are those who

don’t freeze fresh products properly).

So why not use the “industrial” frozen

products also in the catering industry?

The latter allows the availability of

a wide range of ready to use foods

throughout all seasons of the year,

which guarantees a considerable time

saving for those who work in the

kitchen as well as maintaining the

nutritional value and organoleptic

properties of the food. You just

need to know how to enhance this

creatively. Then again is this not the

chefs job?”.

______________________________

BOX

The frozen fish market triggers

training for members

Frozen fish is more often on the

tables of the restaurants. A choice

dictated by the awareness on the part

of the chef that the frozen product

maintains the same characteristics

as the fresh, with the added value

of having a product of undoubted

quality. But what is essential for

this type of products is the exact

knowledge of the frozen fisheries

industry is frozen both by the

restaurateur, but especially on the

part of the supplier. And it is this

concept that the Italian Catering

Cooperative has wanted to work

on recently by establishing a

two-day conference, 14

January

at Marghera, and 21

January in

Mestre, during which Stefano Del

Vecchio, the CIC fisheries marketing

representative, met three members of

the cooperative, Siqur Spa, St Anne

Srl and Tre Esse Srl, by assessing

with them the market for frozen

fish relative to trends, national and

international consumption and

differences between fresh and frozen

fish. An educational course that has

proved to be very useful and that has

been met with great approval by the

participating members.

______________________________

AT PAGE 46

Finally, it’s Sake time!

The alcoholic beverage that arrives

from the land of the Rising Sun

finally used with skill and creativity

by the barman Gian Nicola Libardi

By Maddalena Baldini

Let’s clear something up immediately.

Sake, the typical Japanese drink, is

neither a distillate nor a liqueur. It’s

an alcoholic drink born from the

fermentation of rice and it’s not true

that it is only drank hot. Actually,

served at 8-10° it exalts aromas and

perfumes making it a pleasure in

combination with traditional dishes

and otherwise. The confusion that

surrounds the symbol product of

the Rising Sun speaks clearly about

how little Sake is known and drunk,

despite the proliferation, especially

in large cities, of Japanese restaurants

(or similar) that should be specialised

in the diffusion and knowledge

of sake. In short, a little like what

Italian Restaurateurs should do when

it comes to Italian wine, territory

and food and wine pairing. Despite

a hesitant presence on the table

(you can place it alongside an entire

Japanese menu without considering

it just to finish the meal, as happens

today), Sake has attracted the

attention of Italian mixing, bringing

about respectable results, involving

internationally renowned names

such as Gian Nicola Libardi, elected

2017 Sake Master after a contest

against other important industry

professionals.

YOUR FAME AS A BARMAN

OF DISTINCTION GROWS

EXPONENTIALLY. A WELL

DESERVED SUCCESS

CONSIDERING THAT, RECENTLY,

YOU RECEIVED ANOTHER

AWARD. DO YOU HAVE ANY

PARTICULAR STRATEGY TO

PREPARE FOR A COMPETITION?

I never follow strategies and never

make valid programs for every

situation. Each competition, in which

I decide to participate, has its own

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