Tag: Restaurants

Surprise: Italy is full of great restaurants … green – Italian Cuisine

Hats off to Italian places where vegetarian or vegan cuisine is only (or even). As many as 31 have entered the most important specialized guide in the world, the "We're Smart Green". And six deserved the highest rating of five radishes

We had always had the certainty that the greater attention paid to vegetables by almost all Italian chefs not only met with increasing approval from the public, but had raised the general level of Italian cuisine. Now the applause also comes from guide We’re Smart Green which rewards restaurants where the creative use of seasonal vegetables prevails, the percentage of fruit and vegetable dishes on the menu, the minimization of waste and, in general, a strong focus on eco-sustainability. The idea came from the Belgian chef Frank Fol, former owner of the starred restaurant Sire Pynnock and now "green consultant": he reviews the places around the world recommended for their approach to garden products. The 2020 edition, recently presented online, has 1000 of them scattered across different continents, but for the first time Italy is making a good leap forward. There are 31 places who conquered five to one radish.

You are at the top

There is a fact that is particularly pleasing. In the list there are historical or very trendy names of our cuisine, but also lesser known places, in the province or managed by enthusiasts who are not part of the circuit. Our gallery is dedicated to them. At the top there are obviously Piazza Duomo in Alba led by Enrico Crippa (green award in the last edition); Arnolfo from Colle Val d’Elsa with Gaetano Found in directing; Joia (which in 2018 had won the Best Veggie Restaurant Award) by Pietro Leemann in Milan; Lume by Luigi Taglienti always under the Madonnina; the new steak La Madernassa in Guarene with the young Michelangelo Mammoliti to lead the kitchen, and the Montali Country House in Tavernelle di Panicale, in the province of Perugia.

Tuscany protagonist

Here are the other winners. With four radishes: Il Margutta (Rome), S. Hubertus (San Cassiano, Bz), Krèsios (Telese Terme, Bn), La Montecchia (Selvazzano Dentro, Pd), Villa Feltrinelli (Gargnano, Bs). With three radishes: Avignonesi Le Capezzine (Valiano di Montepulciano, Si), Le Calandre (Sarmeola di Rubano, Pd), Exki Italy (it's a chain), I Portici (Bologna), Accursio (Modica, Rg). With two radishes: Osteria Le Logge (Siena), Osteria Perillà (Rocca d'Orcia, Si), Restaurant Sadler (Milan), Taverna Vesuviana (Nola, Na), Villa Crespi (Orta San Giulio, No), Chi Burdlaz (Rimini), Dagorini ( San Piero in Bagno, Fc), Il Nazionale (Vernante, Cn), Il Povero Diavolo (Poggio Torriana, Rn), Il Vegetariano (Florence), Magnolia (Cesenatico, Rn). With a radish: La Grotta (Montepulciano, Si), Osteria La Porta (Monticchiello di Pienza, Si), Mandarin Oriental silk (Milan), Al Fornello da Ricci (Ceglie, BR).

The best dishes

Among the prizes awarded by the guide, even those for single dishes, which form an ideal international menu, from appetizer to dessert according to Frank Fol. Here they are: Radish salad, peas, fresh herbs and flowers. Benoit & Bernard Dewitte – Zingem, Belgium; Stuffed lettuce braised with fennel, mango, lemon, oregano and croutons from L’Oustau de Baumanière, Les Baux de Provence, France; Mushroom tartlets with fresh Bon Bon thyme – Brussels, Belgium; "Kalette" sprouts with olive oil and fresh black truffle by Xavier Pellicer – Barcelona, Spain; Belgian endive “Tarte tatin” with Graanmarkt mustard leaves – Antwerp, Belgium; 3 x kohlrabi by Enrico Crippa, Piazza Duomo; Potatoes, sea lavender and Bord’eau butter – Amsterdam, Netherlands; Grilled cardone, grapes, lemon and basil from the Château de Bourglinster, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; Cucumber, avocado, lemon, crumble and Zilte flowers – Antwerp, Belgium. Also note the three best 'green' restaurants on the planet, according to the guide: the French Culina Hortus by Thomas Bouanich and Maxime Rémond in Lyon, Vanilla Black of the spouses Andrew Dargue and Donna Conroy in Holborn, London.

Coronavirus, how to reopen restaurants – Italian Cuisine

Phase two, that of living with the virus, will impose strict rules and, inevitably, the reduction of the number of covers. Here's how our Swiss neighbors did it

The first restaurants will reopen on May 18, and industry workers are waiting for guidelines. With a little fear, because they know that phase two, that of living with the virus, will impose strict rules and, inevitably, the reduction in the number of place settings. The Italian Federation of Public Exercises (Fipe) has calculated that "if the rumors about the distancing measures provided by the government, with one person every 4 square meters, were confirmed, Italian restaurants would lose 4 million seats in one fell swoop , or 60% of the total ". Italian restaurants have an average area of 90 square meters and 62 seats. A seat every 0.7 square meters, which drops to 0.6 in the smaller rooms, but which, if 4 square meters of space between the diners were really needed, would drop below 0.3.

Half of the place settings

The Federation has also hypothesized two other possible scenarios. First: if the government decides to distance the tables of 4 linear meters from each other, the loss of seats would be 3.5 million, or half of the 7 million currently available in Italian restaurants. Second: if you opt for the two meters of distance between the tables, without distancing the diners at the same table, the loss would be "only" 30% of the place settings.

In addition to guaranteeing spacing, it will be necessary to make available i disinfectant gels for hands in several places in the room. The staff will wear the mask and, after each service, reusable containers such as salt shakers, oil cruets, vinegar sets and jugs must be sanitized with care.

Switzerland's example: customer registration

On the other hand, also in Switzerland, where bars and restaurants left on Monday, there is a particular attention to hygiene, between the measures for phase two. The protection plan decided by the Federal Council provides that a maximum of 4 people or a couple of parents with children can sit at each table, and the mandatory distance between one table and the other is "alone" two meters (just like the second hypothesis of the Italian Federation of Public Exercises provides).

But Switzerland has also drawn up a recommendation (in the forecasts it had to be an obligation, then the Council backed off) that could be really useful to avoid contagions, and which perhaps Italy could also be inspired by: customer registration. Diners are invited to leave their data to the restaurant owner (name, surname, telephone number, date and time, table number and name of the waiter who performed the service), which will be kept for 14 days. This register can be used to monitor the spread of the virus, as well as to track customers and inform them if a positivity is discovered.

how to help restaurants overcome the crisis – Italian Cuisine

I pay today, I eat tomorrow: the formulas with which we can support restaurants and trattorias in this moment of great difficulty, including vouchers, gift vouchers, dining bonds and the like

It hurts to see our lowered gate valve from afar restaurant of the heart. The unlit signs hurt, as well as the menus of the day that disappeared suddenly, replaced by signs that warn of the temporary obligation to close due to a medical emergency. Yet in our hearts we know: this terrible moment will end, and those tables that today take dust behind the darkened windows will return to host our dinners, our toasts, our "will you let me taste it, please?". Soon, very soon, or so we all hope. According to a recent survey carried out by Nomisma for the Lockdown Observatory, on the other hand, among the very first things that Italians intend to do as soon as the Covid-19 alarm returns, there is precisely the return to eat outside the home. A fact that undoubtedly encourages the restaurateurs of our country, who in recent months have been able to rely substantially only on two forms of income: on the one hand, for some, the conversion of their business into a key food delivery, which made it possible to keep ovens and stoves on to prepare dishes for home delivery; on the other, the presale of vouchers for future dinners, already renamed – winking at the increasingly discussed Eurobonds – such as Ristobond, Restaurant Bond & Co.

Diningbond.com – Milanese restaurants participating in the initiative.

I buy today, I have dinner tomorrow

The idea of the voucher for a future dinner is not something particularly upsetting. And anyone who has chosen this option as a gift for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and the like knows it well. At the time of the global lockdown, however, there were those who saw in this possibility an excellent idea to somehow finance their favorite restaurants in their darkest hour: so, for example, Helen Patrikis, Steven Hall and Alan Aurmont they developed the campaign Dining Bond, left in the United States and also landed here in Italy; through the initiative portal it is possible to discover all the places that have decided to join, and that make available to their customers special vouchers at discounted prices.

A project somewhat similar to that also proposed by TripAdvisor, which in addition to helping the locals convert as easily as possible to food delivery, is also allowing restaurateurs to add to the profile of their restaurant the"gift certificates" option, through which customers can purchase a lunch or dinner in advance. Or to that of Dinnerbond.it, a platform for the purchase of vouchers inaugurated in recent days by Massimo Giannuzzi, Micaela Marcialis, Maurizio Rosazza Prin and Paolo Colapietro who, with the cry of "Love now, enjoy later", involved a team of famous chefs which also includes Cristina Bowerman, Lorenzo Cogo, Filippo La Mantia, Luigi Taglienti and Cristiano Tomei.

The ravioli egg of San Domenico di Imola.

Support haute cuisine

To trust in customers' trust and, consequently, in the success of vouchers purchased in advance, are above all the signs dedicated to haute cuisine, which have been less able to continue working in these months by playing the home delivery card. So many star chefs have inaugurated real funding campaigns via gift vouchers: Andrea Berton, for example, has launched the Restaurant Bonds for its restaurant in Milan, in the Porta Nuova area, which allow you to buy a special with 150 euros tasting menu for two people, accompanied by a glass of aperitif. "I thought that with the sale of these vouchers we could reduce the economic impact caused by the necessary prevention measures adopted", explains the chef. "Buying a voucher is not just a matter of investment, but a way to send a message of confidence that this crisis will end and the restaurant sector will recover."

A thought shared also by San Domenico di Imola, two Michelin stars, which thanks to this formula has already sold over 50 dinners for two people. "We did it to stay in touch with our customers and let them know that we are there, and that we are expecting them as soon as possible", underlines the chef Massimiliano Mascia. "Mand also to send a positive and hopeful signal, as if to say that everything will pass sooner or later, and we will meet again to toast together . Among the chefs who have decided to bet on culinary bonds, we also find Massimo Bottura, which however soon had to sanction the stop to bookings: all the vouchers for future dinners at his Osteria Francescana Modena sold out in less than 24 hours.

Restaurants, of course, but also hotels

Then there are all those restaurants somehow embedded within hotels, resorts and so on that they face not only the difficulties due to the temporary closure of the premises, but also those related to a tourist season which from now on promises to be problematic, to say the least. Also in this case, the purchase of vouchers and gift vouchers on trust can constitute an injection of confidence and liquidity for hoteliers and restaurateurs. The excellent proposals, on the other hand, are certainly not lacking, especially when exploring the field of experience packages, ranging from total relaxation to good, delicious food.

La Madernassa di Guarene in the province of Cuneo, for example, offers the romantic formula "Two hearts and a resort": an 8-course menu, with wine pairing, prepared by the chef Michelangelo Mammoliti, fresh from its second Michelin star, combined with a stay for one night in a suite with breakfast included. In this case the gift voucher (Weekend Bond? Hotel & Restaurant Bond? In short, call it as you prefer) could probably support at the same time tourism is Restaurants: two sectors that have always been the undisputed flagships of our country, but which this damned virus risks compromising in a truly brutal way.