Tag: Covid19

Plastic gloves are useless against Covid-19. Here's what the WHO says – Italian Cuisine

According to experts, they do not effectively protect against contagion and, in addition, they give a sense of false protection

No, plastic gloves – used in the way we are used to doing it – do not effectively protect against coronavirus and, in addition, give a dangerous sense of false protection. To reiterate this, together with many infectious disease and virologist experts, is the World Health Organization. Plastic gloves, writes WHO, can "increase the risk of infection, since they can lead toself-contamination or transmission to others when touching contaminated surfaces and therefore the face ”.

How many times, in the aisles of the supermarket, do you see buyers wearing gloves, taking a pack of pasta from the shelf, putting it back in place, touching their faces and taking out the phone to answer a call? From what we know, coronavirus is mainly transmitted through the droplets expelled into the air, but it cannot be excluded that the infection also occurs through the contact with infected surfaces (studies show that the virus can live on surfaces for up to 72 hours): if an infected person had previously touched that pack of pasta, the buyer could have transferred the virus to his gloves, then to his face and, again, on his phone. "What's the use of gloves?" Asks Sally Bloomfield, professor at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “While walking through the supermarket, you can touch your nose, mouth and eyes with gloved hands. The only reason gloves might be useful to you is to remind you that you shouldn't touch your face. "

So why do healthcare workers use them in hospitals? The truth is that doctors and nurses are trained to use gloves properly. This also means remove them safely: grasp the outside of the first glove by the wrist and detach it from the hand, pulling it outwards, then remove the second by putting your fingers inside the glove, at the top of the wrist, and pull without touching the outside, before dispose of them.

The World Health Organization recalls that the regular hand washing – or disinfection with sanitizing gels – offers greater protection against Covid-19 than using rubber gloves. Not to mention the ecological issue: gloves are often dispersed in the environment rather than properly disposed of in the bins. This is not only a (huge) problem for the environment and wildlife, but also, if abandoned by an infected person, for those who have to collect them, such as a child.

Francesco Panella: Open letter to restaurateurs at the time of Covid-19 – Italian Cuisine

Guest at EPCC, Francesco Panella tells Alessandro Cattelan about the future of catering and sends a message of positivity to colleagues, heart in hand.

Francis Panella he is not only a successful restaurateur who conquered the United States with Italian cuisine, he is above all a visionary. So he defined it Alessandro Cattelan, on the occasion of his participation in the TV program EPCC – And then there is Cattelan on Sky. Live from the Milan studios, Francesco Panella brought his testimony on the restaurant situation at the time of Covid-19, which turned out to be a true declaration of love.

Friends of … table

Alessandro Cattelan has known Francesco Panella last year when he went to New York to record the special episode with Jimmy Fallon, one of the most famous American anchormans. To celebrate the milestone, Cattelan and the crew chose Francesco's restaurant and a good friendship was born from there. Cattelan could not have chosen anyone better than the known face of Little Big Italy to feel the pulse of the restaurant world from one side of the ocean to the other.

Raised in the historic Antica Pesa restaurant since 1922 in Rome owned by his family for four generations, in 2012 Francesco Panella set out to conquer New York by opening Antica Pesa Brooklyn and then Feroce in Manhattan in 2017. In his restaurants made in the U.S.A., resumes the Italian culinary tradition that in Rome carries on the brother chef Simone Panella with creativity and dedication. The American success of Francesco Panella and his restaurants is confirmed by the large clientele, which has VIP names of the caliber of Leonardo Dicaprio, Quentin Tarantino or Charlize Theron, for an endless list of Italian and international stars (take a look at the Gallery!). A further confirmation took place live during the EPCC broadcast when Cattelan and Panella connected live with the actor Andy Garcia, passionate about his carbonara strictly without cream.

Panella and the lockdown

Francesco Panella he lives in New York, but managed to return to Italy in time before the lockdown. Incurable optimist, the Roman gentleman has transformed the unpleasant situation into an opportunity to spend more time with the family and to help others. If on the one hand he became a "professor" for young Food & Beverage students, on the other he collaborated with the Italian chefs of theItalian Chefs Association New York creating una onlus Italians Feed America which served to prepare one hundred thousand meals for people in need in coronavirus emergency. As communication director of AICNY, Panella thanked his friends chefs connected live as a virtual audience for the wonderful collaboration, all superstars of Italian cuisine in the Big Apple, from Rocco DiSpirito to Ciro Iovine or Fabrizio Facchini until Barbara Pollastrini, just to name a few.

The future of catering at the time of covid-19

Between a joke and a laugh, Cattelan has dealt with Francesco Panella the future of catering, in serious difficulty due to the pandemic. It is time to put an end to the invention and work in a way that was not imagined before, suggests the conductor. "Now there is the emergency that needs to be addressed as such. I think the two fundamental things in this period are communication and the focus on security. If once the benchmark of a restaurant was the name, a dish, an ingredient, now the polar star to follow is definitely safety ", said Francesco Panella confidently.

Between social distancing, masks, gloves, and all the (very right) precautions of the case, it is difficult to combine security with the pleasure of being at the table together, says Cattelan. With his proverbial positivity, Francesco Panella he replies smiling: “There was a bit of confusion in my opinion, but luckily we have fantastic engineers, very good teachers, creatives, designers, who have given us solutions that are beautiful, innovative and also very technological! ".

Hear about it Francesco Panella about the future of catering is reassuring: “Many things will change in catering. Fortunately, architects, designers, etc … have done a lot of crazy things, for example on conservation. We will have a hot fridge that will keep the dishes at temperature and will be served in two minutes because they were previously cooked and made safe in the hot refrigerator ". Another innovation due to the ban on paper menus concerns the technology closest to us, smartphones: "The menus will be directly on the mobile phone thanks to the QR code that goes beyond the order with the waiter and the tablet, it is you who interact directly with the kitchen by sending the order. " There is no shortage of curious news such as special copper pots, antibacterial material, which will also act as a dish and allow the chef to bring the dish directly to the table by recreating theexperience direct. The importance of the experience will also be redesigned as regards the ritual of the cocktail at the counter before sitting at the table for dinner: “When we enter, it will no longer be possible to stand at the counter to enjoy the cocktail before dinner, it will be a direct experience one on one at a safe distance from the table. "

Open letter to caterers at the time of covid-19

Upon conclusion of the participation in EPCC, Francesco Panella he put on his glasses to read what his message is for the restaurant and his actors, all together to make it a film with a happy ending.

"A love story" by Francesco Panella

Work is not a job if it is not done with passion. How many times have we heard this phrase? So many. How many is it really like? Few. I am among them.

Being a restaurateur is more than a passion for me, it is life. I was actually born in a restaurant and from that moment it has always been my home.

The noise of the kitchen in full service, the screams of the chef, the waiters who move to the rhythm of the courses, the voices of the diners, the laughter, the tears … you will think "what a mess!", A mess that, to my ears , it is better than rock'n'roll.

But catering is also renunciation: it means not having schedules, it means taking risks… because a dish does not have a second chance and if you are wrong, you have failed; it means questioning yourself every day, making miles and miles to find the perfect ingredient … is giving up parties, family …

In short … You are there day after day, between the kitchen, the hall, the customers and in the end you don't know what time it is and how long you have been there. You work while others celebrate, you concentrate while others relax your nerves, you don't drink while others enjoy a good glass of wine … Yet there is something that keeps you there, nailed, that makes you get up every morning with one big awareness: that with your dishes you can make people happy. Yes, people. How important are they? For me they count more than anything else and I try to please them by doing the simplest thing in the world, by feeding them.

For this I will continue to do what I do and I know it will be hard, that we will want to throw in the towel and give up, but I want to tell you one thing dear colleagues: even if the covid-19 has bent us and many of us have failed to reopen, we must remember that what we do is important. We make people forget problems and make them feel what they really are: special. We take care of them … that's why we can't give up.

Barilla and Fabio Volo united to support the bodies involved in the Covid-19 emergency – Italian Cuisine

Barilla is sponsor of Fabio Volo's new live format, The Orchite Show, together to donate the sum of 100,000 euros to entities engaged in the protection and support of local communities severely affected by the coronavirus

A beneficial sponsorship, that of Barilla who wanted to support The Orchite Show, the new live project on Instagram by Fabio Volo; a light and home-made format designed to keep the public company during these delicate weeks.

The Orchite Show

A project with an ironic title, inspired by the feeling of dissatisfaction that accompanied this period. A spontaneous, sincere program with great guests, VIPs, singers, actors, chefs and the super star of the show, Mrs. Annamaria, a very nice pensioner who with her genuine laugh has conquered everyone. Among the many characters who participated in The Orchite Show also star chef Davide Oldani, who shared his simple and delicious recipe, with Barilla spaghetti n.5 and a tasty Piennolo cherry tomato sauce.

And the laughter never ends, with the funny videos that cheered us in this quarantine, the irony of Fabio Volo from Brescia and the most electrifying comments from the listeners. A program that enters the homes of Italians with cakes and candles to blow out, pajama parties, improvised weddings, funny jokes and in every episode the moment of gratitude with the column thank you, graziella and thanks to … all doctors, nurses, radiologists and professionals committed daily to fighting the emergency, bringing them a little energy, positivity and a moment of light-heartedness.

Barilla and Fabio Volo: a charity project

The heartfelt and familiar nature of the creative format makes its breakthrough in the heart of Barilla, which fully reflects the spirit of #aCasaConBarilla, the leitmotiv of the story proposed by the company since the beginning of this emergency, to keep people lightly company and creativity on social networks.
And it is precisely the desire to try to transform this particular and in some ways painful moment into something more positive, which has led to the consolidation of the collaboration between Fabio Volo and Barilla, in order to define further socio-humanitarian projects to support organizations and associations engaged in the front line to deal with the Covid-19 emergency and, in particular, the choice of Barilla, in agreement with the author, of donate the sum of 100,000 euros to entities engaged in the protection and support of local communities.

Guest of honor of thelast episode, online from Sunday 24 May, it will be Luca Barilla, vice president of the Group. During his speech, he will be the protagonist of the ceremony signing a special check prepared by the show; a symbolic rite with which to give voice to the company's donation.
Fabio Volo wanted to thank Barilla for supporting the project and, in an atmosphere of sincere and mutual respect, Luca Barilla also underlined the immense gratitude and enthusiasm that accompanied this perhaps unusual, but decidedly energetic and precious union.
"For many years Fabio Volo has been filling some areas of Italian life with his delightful company, and in this difficult moment for everyone, we are happy to join him by supporting his program born with the aim of giving a concrete hand to those who need it most, "he said Luca Barilla, Group vice president.
"When I started The Orchite show, a program that was born as a game, I could never have imagined that such an important, large and serious company could be interested in supporting such a project. I am honored, flattered and happy that laughing and joking we will be able to do something concrete for the families who need it. A program born in the kitchen that with the help of Barilla helps families I would say it is perfect! " commented Fabio Volo.

The donation of 100,000 euros it will be half donated to Food Bank and half as an offer to the charitable activity of theApostolic almsgiving, to support the country and people in difficulty. Moved by the desire to be close to Italy, Barilla is always at work to find new ways to enter the homes of Italians and bring them many great news, not to be missed.