QUALITALY 139

May 2024 VIII MAGAZINE and was later adopted as a traditional dessert during special occasions such as weddings, festivals and religious celebrations. The name, which literally means ‘gazelle horns’ in Arabic, is due to its shape. The cake has different variations according to the regions of North Africa, but generally involves a filling of ground almonds, sugar and orange blossom water, wrapped in puff pastry and often decorated with icing sugar or honey syrup. Among the desserts of Moroccan culinary tradition is the chebakia, typical of the Maghreb. This fried dough made from durum wheat semolina and flavoured with orange blossom water, saffron and cinnamon has a lozenge or spiral shape and is mainly prepared during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. FROM SOUTH AMERICA A SWEET DISCOVERY WITH A THOUSAND USES: DULCE DE LECHE A sweet, spreadable cream made by cooking milk and sugar for a long time, whose colour varies from hazelnut to dark brown, depending on the cooking time: dulce de leche, a native of Latin America, tastes similar to caramel, but with a softer, milkier flavour. In its variants, depending on the area, cocoa powder is added for a more intense flavour, or it is flavoured with vanilla or cinnamon. It can be eaten alone, as a spoon dessert, or used in the preparation of desserts such as the delicious alfajores biscuits, or spread on bread, crackers and rusks. AT PAGE 28 DID YOU KNOW? Catering: a record- breaking sector 2023 WILL STAND OUT AS AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR FOR THE ITALIAN RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, WITH 90% OF COMPANIES SEEING AN INCREASE OR STABILITY IN THEIR REVENUES COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND EXPECTING 2024 TO BE EQUALLY POSITIVE OR CONSTANT The twelfth edition of the annual Catering Report, presented by FIPE last March, aims to investigate and better interpret the economic, social and cultural evolution that the world of public establishments is undergoing. After the turbulence faced during 2022, triggered by geopolitical tensions and price rises that led to supply difficulties for companies at times for certain products and, above all, the staggering rise in energy bills, 2023 can be described as a good year for the restaurant sector. The grip of inflation has loosened, thanks mainly to the marked slowdown in energy prices. Economic indicators attest to the marked improvement in the sector’s performance compared to 2022, starting with the full recovery of the haemorrhaging of jobs that occurred during the pandemic. Moreover, the past year also marks the definitive recovery of the eating out market. In the past year, the sector has also faced a profound transformation, both on the demand and supply side, driven by the energy, sustainable and digital transitions underway, which are reshaping not only lifestyles and eating habits, but also customer relations and, last but not least, business objectives and strategies. In this regard, an in-depth study on the propensity of companies to invest was carried out to detect whether, and to what extent, the sector is adapting to the new requirements of energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and technological and digital innovation. 2024: A YEAR OF GROWTH The past year will therefore be remembered as a positive one for the Italian catering industry, considering that 9 out of 10 companies improved or matched the previous year’s turnover and we expect 2024 to increase or, at least, be stable. In spite of inflation and the uncertain international context, eating out food consumption remained healthy at 92 billion euros and, with over 1 million employees, employment in the sector returned well above pre- pandemic levels. A positive balance, in short, but the story that the Catering Report translates into data is far from finished. Stability, in fact, does not mean immobility in the sector, which is instead changing its skin from the point of view of both demand and supply. The pause triggered - psychologically, socially and economically - by the pandemic has initiated a profound transformation which must be accompanied with a keen eye and that entrepreneurial spirit that suggests not being content with merely surviving the present but pushing on into the future. In fact, if we move on from observing ‘how much’ we consume to looking more carefully at ‘how’ we consume, it is possible to note a constant, perceptible change in the lifestyles of Italians, who turn out to be less habitual than in the past and more conscious in their choices, which, out of conviction or necessity, are more oriented towards obtaining so-called ‘value for money’. Not least because the average ‘money’ needed for eating out has become higher: albeit with much caution (in some cases, even reticence) on the part of operators, the adjustment of price lists has been an inevitable consequence of rising costs and soaring inflation. Nevertheless, 2023 will close with a +5.8% increase in prices in the sector, among the lowest values at the level of the 27 EU countries. EVERYTHING CHANGES The new Italian consumption profile, which rewards quality and efficiency, is reflected in parallel in the data reporting the transformation of what’s on offer. In 2023, around 50% of public establishments made at least one investment, mainly in renewing their equipment, controlling energy consumption and enhancing digital tools. Something like 90% of restaurants and 80% of bars have implemented digital tools in their premises (open wi-fi network, more advanced cash registers, smart POS, online booking systems, etc.). On the other hand, throughout the country, there is a growth