After the great strides made by Italian catering in recent years in terms of cuisine, now we are looking beyond food. The dictates that have always inspired the strict judges of the Michelin Guide, who in their assessments assign stars not only to what you eat in a place but also to how you eat, how you are served, the pleasantness of the context have made text in the world. The brand new guide "Noi di Sala, the protagonists of hospitality in Italian catering" (Giunti Editore), presented in Rome during the XNUMXst edition of the PASS event, stands in this vein. The Guide maps the best restaurants in the country from North to South, where the art of hospitality is of absolute excellence, and at the same time tells the story of the protagonists, who with great devotion and professionalism enhance the dining room every day and make the customer experience.
One hundred and fifty-nine, in particular, the restaurants and taverns included in the volume created by the dream team of the Noi di Sala association, which since 2012 has been supporting and enhancing the profession of waiter and dining room staff through networking, training and promotion activities. On the board are names of the caliber of Marco Reitano, Head Sommelier of La Pergola (and president of Noi di Sala); Luca Boccoli, sommelier and patron of Selezione Boccoli; Matteo Zappile, Restaurant Manager and Head Sommelier of Il Pagliaccio; Alessandro Pipero, Patron of Pipero Rome; Marco Amato, Maitre and Sommelier of the Imago of the Hassler Hotel; Rudy Travagli, Restaurant Manager and Head Sommelier of Enoteca La Torre Villa Laetitia; Davide Merlini, Maitre and Head Sommelier of Le Jardin de Russie.
Another plus of the guide is the one made up of the contributions of 20 of the most important names in the food&wine sector. “Noi di Sala – explains the president Marco Reitano – was created to make people understand the value of hospitality, of our work made of passion and continuous study, of those who with competence and smiles can give the customer an unforgettable experience. Today there are more and more chefs who pay close attention to the dining room world and the preface of our guide entrusted to Heinz Beck sums up this evolution well”.
The presentation of the new guide coincided with the XNUMXst PASS Congress which dealt with very sensitive issues for raising the quality of dining room service.
How to pour or uncork a fine bottle, what are the right glasses based on the wine and what are the rules of the mise en place, how to prepare a cocktail in the dining room, up to the importance of training and teamwork. Every aspect related to the work in the dining room and the service (also and above all of the wine) was therefore pitted over the course of the event which was a real training day. Many professionals and opinion leaders took turns between meetings, masterclasses, workshops and live demonstrations on stage, including Marco Bolasco (Giunti Editore), Gianluca Ferrauto (Champagne Taittinger), Franco Pepe (Pepe in Grani – Caiazzo), Savino Muraglia (Frantoio Muraglia), Mariella Organi (La Madonnina del Pescatore), Rodolfo Maralli (Castello Banfi), Alessandro Tomberli (Enoteca Pinchiorri), Cristian Ridolfi (Cantina Santi), Matteo Bernardi (Le Calandre).
All to take stock of the tradition of hospitality in Italy, the value of great denomination wines, the new red wine combinations on the table, the choice of international wines on the menu according to market trends, the importance of researching quality products to meet the needs of an increasingly attentive clientele. Space also for extra virgin olive oil as an opportunity for customer service, for mineral waters to learn the correct service and the right pairings, and for the offer of beer in haute cuisine.
But between trends, guidelines and updates in terms of wine, mixology and menus, the common thread was also the employment opportunities in this sector, especially for young people. In fact, a conference and the "Work pass" were dedicated to them, the recruiting area where hundreds of curriculum vitae were delivered and entered in the Noi di Sala ˜database" (a network made up of numerous partners , between professionals and companies in the food & wine world), in order to maximize the matching between supply and demand and thus facilitate entry into the world of work.
