“On March 8? Let's celebrate it at the home of a Cesarina, it's the best choice". Word of Egeria Di Nallo, president of the Home Food association for the protection and enhancement of the Italian gastronomic heritage. Home Food is a simple and delicious idea because it has put online around 500 people willing to prepare and serve traditional local dishes at home a couple of times a month to those who book and become a member. The only constraint is the number of patrons, based on the chairs available in the house and the size of the table. The Cesarine, renamed this way because the name is ancient and tastes like cooking, are women of the people or chatelaines, but they all have one thing in common: they cook very well. And in this period, bookings are more numerous than usual, perhaps also in view of International Women's Day?
“Perhaps, we represent this date well – observes Di Nallo – because we are glocal, that is, local and global at the same time like our food; we are the same and different, as feminist advertising dictates, because we combine tradition and innovation, an ancient craft such as cooking and a modern tool such as the internet; finally we are free, because we stay at home, but also emancipated, because we earn something. What more could you want?”. The tone is playful, but there is some truth in what the creator of this project says. On the other hand, the success of the proposal demonstrates its goodness: in about ten years, the female Cesarines in Italy have multiplied, going from 20, mostly concentrated around Bologna, to 500, scattered throughout the regions; they have become younger, because the average age has dropped from 60 to 50; and attractive, in fact they have entered the sights of some investment funds and in some time they will be married to the Israeli site "Eatwith", which carries out an online booking service at an international level.
“The union with Eatwith will not distort us – assures Di Nallo – it will only offer us a wider limelight. What distinguishes us from other similar initiatives around the world is the fact that we are very rigorous in the proposal and this will not change. The Cesarine are not only available, they are also good and their dishes are typical of the area where they live. To join the group, they pass a series of 'exams' and once they get the green light, they follow the menu that the association chooses from among those proposed by them. Our goal is to preserve the goodness and authenticity of Italian cuisine, to ensure that tradition is perpetuated. Our customers, or rather our 'partners', because they become such when they eat at a Cesarina, are informed about everything they taste. We give them a brochure with details of the dishes on offer and explain where one recipe rather than another comes from. The fact that the menu is always the same also allows the Cesarina to specialize, to get to know and make better known what she does".
The cost of a home-cooked lunch with all the trappings is, for the client member, 50 euros. Of these, 30 euros go to the Cesarina as reimbursement of expenses, while 20 euros are for the association. “Home Food does not keep anything for itself – explains the president – everything is reinvested in the site or is used to cover out-of-pocket expenses, headquarters, employees, publications. Soon we will also have to pay a percentage to Eatwith, but the step was essential because by now the demand is above all foreign".
In fact, the internal decline in consumption has also affected this sector, while the site is always besieged by new Cesarine women ready to get involved. On the other hand, these days everything is broth and everyone rounds off the earnings as they can. “However, ours is not an easy road – Di Nallo reiterates – because we want to keep the level very high, so the return for our 'cooks' is meager, it hardly covers the hours of work done. But cooking is like this, it requires time, passion and love and these are our main ingredients”. And the investment fund you were talking about? "That is still top secret news, we are in talks and hope to conclude within the year, because it could finance a further expansion of the project".
Finally, for some years now, the men have also joined the group: “We have a few Cesarinos and they are generally younger than the women, on average they are 40 years old. Our mascot is a 14 year old boy”. Do teenagers dream of being cooks? “Sure, and there's room here if anyone wants to try it. We take cooking classes in various cities and at our school you learn secrets and rare delicacies”.
Attachments: Le Cesarine – Home Food
