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into the glass, add coffee and
chocolate at will, and garnish with a
Savoyard.
Photos by Viviana Bernardi, taken at
Fattoria Toccaferro.
2. All Inclusive Pizza
Why choose a pizza taste when
you can put EVERYTHING on
the starting base? The pizzeria
‘La Piazzetta’ in Pescara produces
a ciabatta filled with buffalo
mozzarella, cooked and raw ham,
spicy salami, mixed fried vegetables,
eggplant in oil, plus a mix of fries,
roasted pork and fried sausages.
It’s called MAN VS. FOOD.
3. Fried Tortellini
A classic first re-invented in take-
away version, to eat with your
hands as if it were a savoury snack.
A cheese sauce instead of grated
parmesan to garnish everything.
An Emilian invention that is
sometimes served impaled on long
sticks like a skewer. In the photo,
the Agriturismo Viaggiante – Street
Food version.
4. The seafood carbonara
Whoever said that pasta alla
carbonara must be made with pork
jowl? A variation of the traditional
Lazio dish can be prepared with
swordfish (or with shrimps) that
will go alongside beaten eggs. User
Desiree Lazzaro points out the dish
proposed by the refined restaurant
Baylik, in Reggio Calabria.
5. The Kono Pizza
The purists of the margherita
pizza turn their noses up but the
Kono pizza is an idea that children
really like and (actually) is not
very different from the concept of
calzone with tomato and mozzarella:
similarly stuffed and portable. The
user Roberta Mughetto proposes
the fun version of the locale ‘Il
Gastronomo di Castellammare di
Stabia’.
6. Seaweed Noodles
Spaghetti of algae, with raw
pesto. “Sea Vegetables” with detox
properties, widely used in Japan. The
intriguing “crudist” dish arrived on
SnapFood comes from the Mantra
Raw Vegan restaurant in Milan.
______________________________
AT PAGE 44
Food blogger, the craze
They eat, photograph and share.
Between likes and followers on
every social media in existence, they
create trends and destabilize the
market. They are the real Italian
stars of the restaurant: bloggers and
vloggers, journalists, photographers,
influencers: i.e. “influencers” of a
sector ready to be mercilessly judged
BY Riccardo Sada
It was said “That’s the press, baby”,
when communication and journalism
were solely linked to paper, to the
newspapers. Today, where everything
runs on the ‘network’ wire of sites
and social media, everything has
changed: the food bloggers cover an
important space in the field of criticism.
Although it is still hard to understand
whether these new reporters are
a threat or an opportunity for the
professional sector related to catering.
One thing remains a certainty: their
work and their relationship with the
chefs and the managers of premises
is important, fundamental, unique.
We at Qualitaly wanted to meet those
on the rise, unconnected to any links
or business ties to be complied with,
often recognised in their job. “We are
talking about the foodie, “one who
loves food and loves to eat, and who
makes food a religion”, explains Alice
Agnelli, a risng blogger and ready to
answer two crucial questions: are food
bloggers a threat or an opportunity
for the category of restaurateurs? And
what are the winning characteristics of
the best restaurateurs? “Through social
sharing you can also create a frenzy
so that restaurateurs can advertise”,
sums up Agnelli. Her colleague Laurel
Evans adds: “It always depends on a
restaurateur. The threat is for those
who base everything on low quality
and therefore a blogger can always
unravel the weaknesses. But bloggers
are an opportunity. Sincerity: because
we are really customers, certainly
the reaction and criticism is direct”.
Deep down the food bloggers are
really normal people, passionate and
who like to share their photos, their
opinions, believes the influencer
Michael Gardenia. “Those who teach
cooking and suggest tricks to use
in the kitchen, those who like to
discover new places, taste unique
or traditional dishes and then share
their impressions with an audience.
Today, anyone can do this, thanks to
dozens of apps that allow the best
maintained and better value locations
to be placed in greater emphasis by
the users themselves. It is certain that
the influencers have an extra power
and worth.” And this destabilizes
the market, raises the threshold of
attention and forces restaurateurs
to satisfy customers more and
more. FOOD BLOGGERS, NORMAL
PEOPLE The winning attributes of
the best restaurateurs? What are the
moves to get into the bloggers’ good
books. “The restaurateur must avoid
any kind of error, both with a food
blogger and with a normal customer,”
explains Gardenia. And that’s because
food bloggers are actually ordinary
people. “They do not enter a place in a
professional capacity, since they could
receive a favourable treatment and their
judgement would not be credible. It
happens sometimes that a restaurateur
recognizes a food blogger, but in this
case the attitude of the staff is always
consistent. If not, it could appear bad.”
For Agnelli “the quality of the food,
the attention and the ability to choose
between suppliers allows an informed
consumption and reaction.”
The judgement is born from evaluations
related to taste, goodness of the dish
and also image, table setting, service,
cleanliness and above all details. Agnelli:
“As far as I’m concerned, I like to judge
at 100%, the whole experience”. Irene
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