“The recovery of catering in Italy? It will be difficult, but we will come out on top." The battle cry is launched by the starred Tuscan chef Cristiano Tomei, television star and owner of “L'Imbuto” in Lucca. FIRSTonline asked him for a reflection on reopening of restaurants and on the distance of one meter between people, which scientists consider narrow but which for catering establishments means saving seats and jobs. “My restaurant is in Palazzo Pfaffer, in the large Baroque garden where the film “Il Marchese del Grillo” was shot with Alberto Sordi, to whom we also dedicated a dish. Therefore, especially in the summer, we don't have space problems, even if we still had to reduce the seats from 40 to 25”.
Chef, isn't there the risk that, by allowing just one meter of distance between people, the establishments will have more seats but the customers will feel less safe?
“I can't say that. After all, we are living in such an unprecedented situation, never experienced before. To be safer, we have foreseen a distance greater than one meter, but it is difficult to say absolutely what is right and what is wrong and I am not a scientist. As a restaurateur, I can only say that being angry is understandable, but that you also need to be proactive. Ours is a mad job, especially at a time like this, and it takes a bit of madness to even get out of it. Are there fewer seats? So let's think about giving a better service, for example”.
How?
“Taking care of the customer more, not making him weigh the situation. Never as in this moment is human warmth so important, you have to be generous. To put it in a slogan, this is a phase in which we must be distant but at the same time very close".
However, catering is based on physical contact with the customer. How do you cuddle him from a distance?
“I can't say what I'll do in the kitchen, but in the meantime you pamper him, for example by sending him the wine list on Whatsapp, at the time of booking, so that he can choose them comfortably even before arriving at the restaurant. And then there are the side activities, which in our case also serve to involve some of the staff who would otherwise risk staying at home. For example, we launched Imbuto Box, the home delivery service, throughout Italy by refrigerated courier, of ingredients that we prepare, then providing customers with instructions for cooking the dish, with various options. The initiative was successful and we will absolutely continue to propose it. After all, we have to resign ourselves: the world has changed, and therefore also the way of making restaurants".
Do you initially anticipate more excitement about your newfound freedom or fears of contracting a virus that's still around?
“We reopen on Friday (May 22) and we already have several reservations. However, ours is a high-end restaurant, with a clientele that doesn't have economic problems and with outdoor spaces. It won't be like this for everyone and that's why I can't make a prediction on how it will go. From what I perceive around, we will have an initial phase of euphoria, then we'll see. However, going to the restaurant is as risky as going to the supermarket, yet by doing it safely we have managed to contain the virus in recent months ".
What security measures have you set up at “L'Imbuto”?
“Besides how I told you to foresee a distance greater than one meter between people, we are doing literally everything that has been asked of us: sanitizing the premises, cleaning the air conditioning filters inside, etc. We have even organized ourselves to respect distances in the kitchen, where there will have to be fewer people at a time but I will make sure that as many people as possible work, involving them in other activities, even diverting them to the laboratory where we make bread".
What could quarantine have taught you, as restaurateurs but also as people?
“To correct some mistakes of the past, especially in work planning. As far as I'm concerned, this emergency has made us rediscover the value of time".
Do you have special initiatives in mind to support Made in Italy raw materials, in this difficult moment for the supply chain?
“We've always done it, also because in my opinion seasonality is a very normal, even physiological thing. It is the human body itself that requires seasonal products, so obviously we only use top quality and local raw materials”.
Will quality be a factor in the restart?
"Decidedly. We Italians have a cultural duty to produce quality. In the kitchen, culture is more important than technique. And even in the kitchen people look for certainties”.
