The passion for food and wine has been transforming the professions linked to this world for some time. Some are still little known or widespread, but they represent new opportunities. We are not talking about cooks and pastry chefs, but of lesser known activities that arise from the great passion for the food & wine and everything related to cooking, ingredients, healthy eating, but also innovation and technology. Accomplices a certain resourcefulness, a pinch of creativity and also the desire to contribute to the fight against food waste.
The food coach
Myriam Sabolla, The food Sister, he has worked in communication for many years and today he is food coach and trainer, after graduating as a cook at the Joia Academy, the vegetarian cooking school of chef Pietro Leeman. What exactly does the food coach do? It helps you to cook good things that are good, colorful and cheerful, for everyday life, without having to spend hours in the kitchen and rediscovering the happiness of feeding yourself and others. A personalized and tailor-made service.
"My job – says Myriam – it combines organization and cuisine, this is because my desire is to help people with simple planning tools, such as the weekly menu. I also like to tell how physical spaces in the kitchen and beyond, influence our attitudes, so the kitchen and pantry reorganization phase is so important". But who are the people who turn to the food coach? "They are mostly women, mothers and freelancers – the food coach explains – precisely the people who find it most difficult to organize their days between unexpected family and work. Working with flexible hours and at home is often not an advantage, indeed! So it's nice to work with them because I feel very empathic, we have the same difficulties and problems, in short".
Sommelier at home with an App
Marco Mauri, Luca Intelligente and Maria Grazia Salatino are three young Brianza people, wine enthusiasts and experts who started the start up Unpack your personal sommelier. The sommelier at home, which arrives home to embellish an important dinner or an anniversary or on the farm for an event or a presentation. Stappo selects the best bottles of wine, also agrees with the customer based on the dishes that will be served and then through the story and the history of a label explains the aromas and flavors of the chosen wine.
A different and more intimate way of promoting wine culture, which also sees the organization of wine tours and events, such as the Tram Wine during the Fuorisalone 2019, in partnership with the ATM transport company and the Milan guides Con Voi. The city tour by tram while tasting excellent wines, given the many requests, will also be replicated in June. The profession of sommelier marries creativity and seeks more original opportunities to promote the culture of wine, the traditions and the charm of the world of viticulture and winemaking, always starting from the tasting.
The anti-waste apps
Against waste comes technology. Ecofood Prime is the App designed by two young Sicilians that connects consumers, merchants and solidarity associations with the aim of limiting food waste starting from simple daily choices. Martina Emanuele and Giuseppe Blanca, founders of Olivia Srls have developed this system of commercial offers, donations and activities to save and reduce food waste. "Faced with a problem of planetary proportions such as food waste – say Giuseppe and Martina – we believe that change can come from the simple gestures we make every day. It's enough to be aware of it.
This is why Ecofood Prime aims to educate people on more sustainable consumption, but also on a lifestyle that respects our environment and allows resources to be better distributed.". The mechanism of the platform is very simple, thanks to the ecoshop on the smartphone, the user receives the offers of the nearest stores that use the system to offer food and food products that are likely to remain unsold, because they have a tight deadline, are in surplus or with aesthetic defects, but still perfect to be consumed. These products can be purchased at advantageous prices and in the meantime the consumer saves on the purchase while the operator recovers part of the costs. The App also contains a list of associations and volunteers to whom to donate the products purchased. Ecofood Prime, part from the city of Palermo experimentally where it is expanding its network of operators.
A contribution to improving their behavior, to achieve greater awareness and reduce consumption also comes from another App, born in 2015 in Denmark, present in 10 European countries and recently landed in Italy. Is called To Good To Go, that is, too good to be thrown away. The application collects food offers in perfect condition, but close to the deadline and therefore ready to be thrown away, directly from bakeries, supermarkets, restaurants, pastry shops.
The operator put on sale the Magic Box, of the bag with fresh products and dishes left unsold at the end of the day and the buyer, in the role of waste warrior, to avoid that good food ends up in the trash, buy it from the App and then go directly to the point of sale for collection, buying up the products at an extremely affordable price. The research allows you to find a specific dish or the activities that adhere to the initiative. To Good To Go is an application that has managed to find a balance between the basic idea that is to contribute to the solution of the problem related to food waste and the economic sustainability of the platform itself. In Italy, we start from Milan where, after the launch in late March, numerous bars, pastry shops and restaurants are joining daily. All that remains is to download the App, geolocate and find the nearest Magic Box, which will also allow a reduction of 2 kilos of Co2.
Mariacristina Coppeto
April 2019
DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES OF SALT & PEPE