Qualitaly_105

JUN. JUL 2018 XII AT PAGE 48 IN THE RESTAURANT Catering: the match of the future is played in the hotel New signals from the market are confronting us with a rapidly rising trend: hotel catering. No longer reserved for hotel guests only, but also open to outside customers. A competitor to be closely monitored By Maria Elena Dipace n contrast with what happens abroad, Italians are still a little skeptical to choose the restaurant of a hotel as a destination for a lunch, an aperitif or a dinner to delight the palate. Tourists and residents think that almost always in the hotel one eats badly and, as a result, keep away. The hotelier, for his part, not having the passion and profession (except in rare cases), considers it impossible to make his restaurant attractive to outside customers. In this way, beautiful spaces and hundreds of square meters are underused and lose their value for lack of enthusiasm and courage. However, this mood is gradually changing. So, among the new styles of dining and legacies of the past, in the metropolitan cities of Rome and Milan in particular, the new hospitality destinations seem to be the restaurants of large hotels that can be used at any time of day or night. The Ramada Plaza Milano project was born following this ‘new feeling’ and in 2014 it decided to try to open its doors to non-hotel guests every Wednesday (during the summer season) in the splendid garden outside at aperitif time and every day (Monday to Friday all year round) at lunchtime in the beautiful rooms of the Decanter restaurant. “To create a successful restaurant we thought of de-hoteling it, making it “special” and different from the hotel itself - explains food and beverage manager Marco Nigro - We have a direct entrance from the outside, focused on the atmosphere, the proposal, the welcome and communication.” Let’s start by telling the experience of the aperitif... We started with this proposal 5 years ago. We did some promotion in the area through flyers and brochures. From our part, we have a plus that makes us absolutely appetising: a wonderful garden where we set up the buffet under some gazebos. Each group at the entrance to the location can request a tablecloth (strictly red checkered) and a basket and choose a space for a ‘bucolic’ picnic. Inside the basket are chips and nachos (strictly with spicy Tex-Mex sauce). Under the gazebos, on the other hand, we have the drinks area with 2 bartenders who prepare cocktails ‘live’ and the food area that can be enjoyed free of charge by all customers. In the middle of the evening there is a special moment: the cooking show during which our chef Filippo Manara proposes a special dish that changes every Wednesday. To brighten up the evening, every week we host a band that performs live. What type of customers have you involved? We could have chosen to make ours a cool appointment for the nightlife in Milan, but that’s not what we are aiming for. Our customers on MAGAZINE