Vincenzo Donatiello, director of the three-star Piazza Duomo, wrote the "Modern Dictionary for Waiters" where he tells the emotions of those who are "servants" and are happy to be so. Also read as a customer. Because there are not only cooks, on the contrary
“I'm a waiter. Sometimes a psychologist. A friend and confidant. I can be a comedian when needed. An ambassador of territories, near and far. A gastronome. I can become a babysitter. Sometimes in dogster. I talk and tell but I listen a lot. I always smile. Because I have chosen the most beautiful job in the world . It is the beautiful introduction to a book – for sale on Amazon, at 26 euros – with the original title: Smile. I serve – Modern dictionary for waiters . He wrote it Vincenzo Donatiello, director of Piazza Duomo in Alba, one of the best men in the hall in Italy. There are 140 pages for everyone, not only for the Olympus of haute cuisine, but for anyone who works in contact with the public. For us, in truth, it is an even more interesting book for everyone who sits in a restaurant "for the chef": without understanding how much service counts in experience. Or rather, complaining (sometimes rightly, mind you) about some aspect of the service, but not noticing the effort and commitment when everything works.
He is also a sommelier
Donatiello is 35 years old, a native of Vulture: he has always been a waiter, grown up between Puglia (where he attended the Vieste hotel school) and Romagna, with his first experiences along the Adriatic Riviera. In 2009, he was in La Frasca di Milano Marittima (at the time with a Michelin starred) and from there his real career began: Porticciolo di Fiumicino, Platino di Pennabilli since February 2013 in Piazza Duomo in Alba, newly three-starred Michelin, the reign of chef Enrico Crippa. From sommelier (with the right fixation for Pinot Noir) in two years he became maître d 'dining room, and won various awards. "But I'm staying udining room man with a passion for sommellèrie, who has never stopped being a waiter he underlines. And in this disbanded time, where you can't even smile because of a mask, he doesn't get depressed, on the contrary. "Ultimately, it gave us an extra chance: now we communicate emotions to customers with our eyes", He says.
A book of pills
The originality of the book lies in the choice of cross pills that make up a deeply democratic writing, without any kind of literary ambition. The pills, obviously in alphabetical order as a dictionary, are fulminating. Fun and very lucid. The intent of the work is to ennoble the profession of the waiter which, too often, risks being overshadowed by that of the cook, ennobled by the media. «Instead the servant it is necessary, I am proud to be, even if the general public has not yet understood our role , Donatiello underlines. And he's right, either because of the media, or because of the chefs, who are very good at capitalizing on the wealth of credibility and fame that has come in recent years. But service does matter. For the record, the absolute genius of Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi, when asked about the subject, he repeated that "the dining room is worth 51% and the kitchen 49%, because if outside the kitchen, there is no one who knows how to value the work of the cooks, it is all a waste of time".
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