Qualitaly_122

APR. MAY. 2021 IX since I worked in the bar with my brother. I get on very well with Sara, when we have needed her she has always supported us and has come to my aid at various times, even in this last period. Then, of course, I have smaller suppliers, because obviously, I like to choose the fruit and vegetables myself, as I also prefer to buy the wines directly. Let’s get to the heart of this difficult period. Did you manage to get any relief? In these times you have to make a virtue out of necessity so as not to let everything you have built up with so much sacrifice collapse. We’ve had a little relief, but we’re talking about a sum that wouldn’t have allowed us to go on living if they hadn’t given us the chance to open for a while and do takeaway and delivery. We try to be positive. Will you change anything in your working approach? I am a person who faces problems as I experiences them. I also want to test the ground a little bit of what we are experiencing. We will probably change something, but I want to put my nose in it first. The fact that we have a loyal clientele certainly helps. We are chameleon-like. Since the first lockdown we have been trying to create a new outlet for our business with delivery. We’ve been advertising on our social media inviting the customer not to go out: ‘stay at home, we’ll come to you’. In the last period, we have instead ‘adapted’ to working through lunch, and our customers - thankfully - have followed us. We have received many messages of solidarity from our customers, which, I can assure you, have also moved us because they have been strong words. How did you modify the menu for delivery? We started by doing a three-course menu. I tried to devise an offer with dishes that didn’t suffer too much from transportation, and also making simpler and less expensive proposals. I started with the concept that you can’t spend the same amount of money for dinner at home as you would at a restaurant (we spend about 40 euros). So we came up with these three-course menus with a starter, a main course and a second course for 25 euros and, to tell the truth, it wasn’t too bad. What will happen in the short and long term? I am positive. We are slowly coming to the end of the tunnel. They have now allowed us to re-open gradually in the run-up to the summer. Obviously, being an evening restaurant, we are waiting for the time restrictions to be relaxed so that we can start working at our usual times and with an à la carte menu. Will the consumer change? I don’t think so. I think the consumer will remain the same but we will have to change, starting with our menu. People don’t want too many frills anymore. They want to feel good and eat well. We have to make things that are always beautiful and refined but simpler. ______________________________ BOX Give us a recipe of your own... Tortelli filled with red prawn from Mazzara del Vallo in saffron sauce, lemon gel and its bisque. Ingredients 125 g ‘00’ flour 125 g semolina flour 10 egg yolks 1 whole egg 100 g red prawn 100 ml water oil to taste salt to taste pepper to taste 1 celery stalk 1 carrot 1 blond onion 2 saffron pistils 10 g minced lemon thyme 100 g mint leaves 1 Sorrento lemon Procedure for the dough 1) Combine all the flours with the egg yolks and the whole egg yolk in a planetary mixer, mix everything together until the mixture is even. 2) Leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. Procedure for the filling 1) Remove the carapace from the prawns and put them aside in a bowl. Now take them and chop them until you have an even mixture, adding oil, salt, pepper and the lemon thyme, well chopped. Procedure for the bisque 1) Take the shells you have set aside and place them on an oven tray. Bake without seasoning at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. 2) Proceed by putting everything in a saucepan and adding the celery and onion, deglaze with cold water and leave it for another 20 minutes. Procedure for the saffron sauce Take the saffron pistils and soak them in 100 ml of water, blend and emulsify with oil, salt and pepper to taste. Procedure for the lemon gel Squeeze the lemon, bring to the boil and gel as desired using the elastic gum. Finally, to complete the dish, dry the mint in an oven at 80 degrees and sprinkle it over the plate with grated lemon. At this point, all you have to do is compose your course and wish yourself a good lunch (or dinner)! AT PAGE 26 ON THE TABLE Lunch break. Save if you ‘become’ a canteen A note from the Ministry of the Interior focused on a derogation: restaurants can remain open for lunch as long as a company canteen service is provided. The law is still valid: why not take advantage of it? by Riccardo Sada Restaurants can serve lunch at the table to employees of open companies, no matter if they are in the orange or red zone. This is possible thanks to a specific exemption, but which doesn’t give absolute freedom. It is a concession that only applies to the company canteen service. In addition to table service, catering can also be provided and in this case employees of companies and offices can benefit. This does not include self-employed people with a VAT number and freelancers; however, if you are an employee with a VAT number you can benefit from this service. This is the extra possibility that many restaurant entrepreneurs were hoping for and that has gone unnoticed by several businesses. The procedure requires a few steps in order to avoid the famous Italian saying, “once the law is made, the trick is found”. It is not a ploy to circumvent the opening ban, but a derogation to meet the needs of those who need a canteen when it is closed for various reasons. You must sign a written agreement with the company that includes all the names of the employees entitled to access the service. In fact, the documents are needed for the issue of the municipal concession and must be provided to the police in the event of a check. The possible opening as a canteen service must be guaranteed in compliance with Covid rules for the yellow zone: maximum number of people seated at the table, spacing inside the room, temperature measurement at the entrance, obligation to use a mask when getting up from the table as written