Tag: Open

Milan open city (against Coronavirus) – Italian Cuisine

72 hours after the forced "curfew", the Milanese react. The restaurants are open and the aperitif capital is confirmed resilient: we will not change our lifestyle

The Jamaica bar had said it straight away, it won't close. The historic Brera restaurant has been open 7 days a week since 1911 and had not lowered the damper even under the bombing, let alone an influence. The images released by the media spoke of quarantine: no museums and public meeting places, gyms and cinemas, few open restaurants and above all no aperitifs, concerts, bars. Milan has emptied itself, who can work from home, in the subway seems to be August and a curfew starts from 6pm. All true, but … It took 48 hours and after a moment of bewilderment the Milanese raised their heads, well before the politicians candidly turned back on the measures launched to contain the danger. If they wanted to paint Milan as a city in war, frightened enough to shut themselves in and attack the bakeries of the Esselunga, the Milanese of Milan-Milan are not there to live on Netflix and food delivery. You are outdoors, along the Navigli you can drink beers sitting on the steps, the parks are full of children at home from school and via chat friends organize alternative evenings. "We will not change our lifestyle," was the reply, brushing up on Bush's statements against post-9/11 terrorists.

We will not change our lifestyle

The Milanese Imbruttito wrote it well: "Milan, get up and work out". You know, you are in a hurry in Milan, and it is already time to do something. 50 leading restaurateurs of 74 brands, a thousand brands and 10,000 workers of theUnion of Italian Catering Brands they did not close and they wanted to give a signal. "We express our common sense by deciding to keep our premises open, adhering to the invitation of our Mayor Beppe Sala who calls Milan to common sense and invites us to avoid attitudes that can generate excessive alarm, including the image of a city" off "In every sense, without there being an actual need – declared Antonio Civita (Panino Giusto), Nanni Arbellini (Pizzium) and Vincenzo Ferrieri (CioccolatItaliani), promoters of the initiative – With our colleagues we have decided to donate economic support to the voluntary forces in the field, represented by recognized associations, which we are defining in these hours because Milan is a living city … and a living city is a city that reacts ".

Milan, get up and work out!

Part of the Milanese association and entrepreneur, Tunde Pecsvari had no doubts "Osteria Brunello it never closes, we are open 365 days a year, lunch and dinner, and we continue to be so even at this particular moment. Milan needs positivity, to look ahead and to find again its vitality, the desire to do as soon as possible. Osteria Brunello is always there, it is a certainty, we are always open and ready to welcome our customers ". Ugo Fava, entrepreneur of the Vista Group (Triennial Terrace and Dock View), founding member of the Gud Milan with chef Stefano Cerveni, Marco Giorgi and Luca Miele said – "A week that is a bit special for our beloved city begins. We decided to decrease the number of seats, to enlarge the space from one table to another, hoping not to see the number of customers decrease! We were able to keep those with a hot table open until 10.30 pm, with the idea of serving the customer. Without forgetting the Gud Bye delivery service that can help those who have decided not to go out from home ”.
Restaurants can open, of course, but opening has a cost and if you don't cash in, the losses are stratospheric. But there are those who have decided not to think about turnover for once, like the Chinese restaurants of the MU group (Mu Fish, Mu Dim Sum and Mu Corso Como), who decided to face the economic effort. Because Milan is not like Wuhan.

Closed rooms and empty restaurants, hotels that have reservations canceled and Salone del Mobile postponed to June mean an assured crisis and months and months to return to being the most visited city in Italy. Concern is expressed by Fipe (Italian Federation of Public Exercises), which through the words of President Stoppani warns "The sector risks a state of crisis". Raise your voice with an appeal to the government and institutions alsoItalian Association of Ambassadors of Taste (CEO): "The uncontrolled fear of the population about the infection threatens the survival of our category which, debased by the unjustified development of the phobia and without profit margins, remains in any case bound to compliance with tax obligations. We are exposed to unprecedented risk. " They call for the abolition of tax obligations in the regions affected by Covid-19, tax exemption and decontribution programs aimed at businesses and holders of VAT in the supply chain, access to unemployment funds, but above all to preserve a sector from collapse , in fact, the flagship of an entire system.

Open Table, social and anti-waste cuisine in Melbourne – Italian Cuisine

In Australia, in Melbourne, there is a social and community kitchen project called Open Space, which brings people together and reduces food waste

Every year huge quantities of food, worth about 5 billion euros, are wasted in the homes of Australians, an alarming official figure if we consider that it concerns only private and not commercial waste. To deal with this problem, from 2013 to Melbourne she's born Open Table, a charity that shares free lunches in different neighborhoods of the city, using only food that would otherwise be wasted. Their activity therefore goes well beyond that of any canteen run by volunteers or a simple social kitchen, but it is thought a lot to reduce food waste how much for shorten social and cultural distances between community members.

Unity is strength … and saves wasted food

Food has the extraordinary ability to unite us, no matter who we are or what our origins are. This is one of the motto of the Open Table staff, which it announces every month gastronomic meetings and events always free and always open to any member of the community, without any social distinction. The lunches cooked by the organization's volunteers take place regularly in seven different community spaces, scattered in different areas of the city of Melbourne, and the food used is that donated by local companies or collected from supermarkets in the various neighborhoods of reference, i.e. all food products fresh and in good condition that would otherwise be thrown away. The unpredictability of the ingredients "saved" and cooked from time to time makes it impossible to have a pre-established menu, but it also represents a creative stimulus for volunteers in the kitchen. In this way the culinary and itinerant project of Open Table is stimulating and always different, just as the different are always different recipes prepared and inspired by world cuisines, which change according to the cultural backgrounds of the volunteer cooks. What always remains the same is the will to aim for a vegetarian menu, therefore accessible to all, with proposals and alternatives also vegan and gluten free. As the images shared on Open Table social channels testify, every meeting is different and every meeting is a success, a real community party in which you have the opportunity to get to know your neighbors, taste the delicious cooked dishes and find out more about problem of food waste.

The objectives achieved by Open Space

In addition to the environmental, culinary and community aspects of the initiatives, the Open Space staff has always taken care of information and dissemination. Both through their social channels and during seminars and debates, they do not miss an opportunity to talk about the global problem of food waste and its environmental impact and to give practical suggestions on how to reduce it in their homes and daily activities, for example through creative recipes to reuse leftovers and good practices to follow when purchasing food products. The non-profit organization has also recently disclosed goals achieved in 2019: 88 free organized lunches with over 3 thousand dishes served and the participation of about 30-70 people per meal, 4 tons of food saved is 18 "zero waste" workshops.

We can only hope that initiatives such as that of Open Table will inspire citizens around the world to learn how to avoid food waste and have a more responsible and aware attitude towards this problem, perhaps transforming leftover food into opportunities for meeting and discussion. .

Photo: Open table Australia social anti-waste kitchen_page facebook Open Table.jpg
Photo: Open Table anti-waste kitchen in Melbourne_Pagina FB Open Table.jpg

Recipe open endive pizza – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

550 g head of scarola
500 g Manitoba flour
100 g re-milled durum wheat semolina
50 g raisins
50 g pine nuts
15 g fresh brewer's yeast
desalted capers
anchovy fillets in oil
olives of Gaeta
garlic
salt
extra virgin olive oil

Duration: 3 h 15 min

Level: Middle

Dose: 16 people

For the recipe of the escarole pizza, mix the Manitoba flour and the semolina, then mix them with the crumbled yeast, 370 g of water and a pinch of salt. You will get a rather soft and pliable dough; collect it in a bowl, cover it with a cloth and let it rise for 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature of the environment. The volume will have to double. Soak the raisins.
Roll out the dough into two round baking pans (ø 25 and 30 cm). Tap it with your fingertips, creating many small depressions; Brush it with 2-3 tablespoons of emulsified oil with a dash of water. Let it rest for another 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, clean the escarole and break it up.
Fry 1 clove of crushed garlic in a pan with a drizzle of oil, a handful of crushed raisins, 1 tablespoon of capers and a dozen pitted olives. Add the endive and season it for 30 seconds. Spread this dressing over the two pizzas and bake at 200 ° C for about 20 minutes. Finally complete with anchovy fillets, toasted pine nuts and, to taste, with a little fresh endive.