In UK, "Italian cuisine" is "Italian recipes" are real trends on Google. "Italian restaurants" is one of the most frequent searches, along with how to cook the chicken and the pasta. To say it is the research "Italy on the tables of Europe". But all this momentum for Made in Italy food could suffer a sharp slowdown. March 29th, the day it was supposed to be released Brexit, has passed and, to date, nobody knows whether and how London will have to leave the European Union. The latest news even speaks of the possibility that everything remains unchanged, given the latest statements by British Prime Minister Teresa May: "Either we leave the EU with an agreement or we don't leave it at all". At the moment, the only certainty is that it is not only Queen Elizabeth II who reigns supreme on the island, but also a widespread sense of uncertainty.
Brexit for Italian cuisine: price increases and problems with staff
A precarious situation that also closely concerns many compatriots employed in the catering sector. In fact, there are hundreds of Italian restaurants in London. Alongside those who mimic our cuisine, in recent years there has been a succession of restaurateurs who have tried to enhance the culinary tradition of our country. «In case of a hard Brexit, an exit without agreement, the price of products imported from Italy would increase considerably. Another problem would concern staff. The talking is Ciro Salvo of the pizzeria 50 Kalò of Naples, which opened a restaurant in London last July.
50 Neapolitans make Kalò, pizza in London
Pizza is one of the strong points with which Italy has conquered not only the United Kingdom but the whole world. Apparently easy to do, many try to propose "the pizza, the real one" while putting on it the most unlikely ingredients, but only a few Neapolitan know how to do it properly. And the English also understood, thanks to pizza makers and entrepreneurs who, like Salvo, have decided to export not just a brand, but also workers and typical products. Certainly it will never be like eating it in Naples, but it is very close. After having convinced the Neapolitans with his light dough and his refined ingredients, Salvo, instead of arriving in Milan, as many of his colleagues are doing, has decided to embark on a London venture. His 50 Kalo in London it has less than a year and already an excellent response from the public and critics. This is demonstrated by the "constant growth in turnover". The result of teamwork. A team made up mostly of people who worked alongside him in Naples, snatching his secrets, and who are in London today.
No deal, what would happen to the Italians who work in London
In case of "no deal", "it is possible that some of them will have to return to Italy and in the future it will be difficult to find qualified personnel". As stated in the vademecum of the Italian government which provides a series of indications to companies, institutions or institutions in view of the exit without agreement, the residents of more than five years will have no major problems. Those who will come to the United Kingdom after Brexit will find it most difficult: they will be treated differently, based on UK national immigration legislation: a residence permit linked to an occupation will probably be required.
For the English the increase in the receipt is in the air
"The team is all for the success of a pizza, for how I set the job, so for me it is unthinkable to change personnel every five or six months." Just as it would be unthinkable to budget other costs, such as customs duties for products imported from Italy. "To make ends meet it could increase the receipt". In the immediate future, then, the English would lose out. Even because 30% of the food consumed on the island comes from the European Union. But in the near future, they could Italian producers pay the consequences too: in 2018 Italy exported almost one and a half million tons of food products to the United Kingdom, for a total value of 1.6 billion euros. The imposition of customs duties could compromise this positive trend.
Food & Beverage, the sector suffers for Brexit
Ivan Crispo, co-director of an important communication agency active in the Food & Beverage sector, in London for almost 20 years, speaks of «a rather dramatic situation. The week immediately following the referendum there was an increase in raw material prices of 13.5%, today it has risen to 18%. Also restaurants they found themselves in general in one situation not easy, both due to the widespread uncertainty and the increase in rents, and to the increase in so-called business rates, property taxes. The result is that many locals they are no longer able to offer a service with a good value for money and some have been forced to close. I think about Londrino by Portuguese chef Leandro Carreira, opened in November 2017 and entered the February settlement. But also a Gazelle by Rob Roy Cameron (formerly El Bulli) and Tony Conigliaro, a top level restaurant opened last July and closed in March .
Escort effect: ran to the exit supermarket
Secondo Crispo «"The escort effect" – to fill the house with food before everything costs too much – it has not yet started but is just around the corner . A trend that seems to be confirmed also by some data from Coldiretti Emilia Romagna: in the last quarter of 2018, theexports of Emilian products to the United Kingdom increased by 5.5%. While on the one hand the signal is positive, on the other it could be the symptom of a substantial purchase of goods in view of the duties. In short, the love of the British for Italian food is overt, but if they continue to dine with prosecco and raw ham or begin to drink vodka everything will depend on the commercial agreements that will be tightened by 10 Downing Street.
