QUALITALY 140

June/July 2024 IX MAGAZINE landscape emerges in which independent and smaller retailers also exert a substantial influence in terms of supply. PIZZA AND BEER: A WINNING COMBINATION Speaking of drinks, beer is the most consumed in pizzerias, with 40% of Italians opting for local or national beers and 28% preferring imported or craft beers. Analysing the expenditure of beer drinkers in pizzerias, CGA by NIQ notes that it represents 18% of the total expenditure of beer consumers in the eating-out market. In parallel, there is also potential for wine producers, in fact, sparkling wines, including prosecco, are chosen by 23% of pizzeria-goers. In general, and in relation to beer consumption, the OPUS (On Premise User Survey) of CGA by NIQ reveals that choices and preferences vary according to consumer age, occasion and venue and that value for money drives 33% of choices, while bar staff recommendations, at 19%, are increasingly influential (+5pp compared to the previous year). __________________________________ BOX Each to his own pizza According to a Coldiretti analysis, 2.7 billion pizzas are baked in Italy every year, using 200 million kilos of flour, 225 million kilos of mozzarella, 30 million kilos of olive oil and 260 million kilos of tomato sauce. Pizza Margherita - according to analysis by the farming organisation - remains the most consumed, while, worldwide, Americans are the biggest consumers with 13 kilos per head. In Europe, the Italians are in the lead with 7.8 kilos per year, followed by the Spanish (4.3), French and Germans (4.2), British (4), Belgians (3.8), Portuguese (3.6) and Austrians who, with 3.3 kilos of pizza per capita per year, close the ranking. Also satisfying is the trend of pizza orders, based on the processing of Just Est food delivery: in 2023, in Italy, almost 5.5 million kilos and over 5,800 kilometres, ‘a distance,’ they stress, ‘that’s the equivalent to going from Rome to the North Pole’. The most ordered pizzas nationwide are the margherita, diavola and capricciosa pizzas. On the other hand, the most innovative pizzas include carnivorous choices such as pizza with frankfurters, sausage and ham, or vegetarian pizzas such as pizza bufala, quattro formaggi, marinara and quattro stagioni. __________________________________ AT PAGE 34 CHEF’S FACES “Cooking sets me free” MARTINA CARUSO, 35 YEARS OLD FROM MALFA. SHE IS HEAD CHEF AT THE RESTAURANT OF THE SIGNUM HOTEL IN MALFA DI SALINA, THE GREENEST OF THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS. AFTER GRADUATING FROM THE HOTEL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL IN CEFALÙ, SHE MOVED TO ROME FOR AN ADVANCED TRAINING COURSE RUN BY IL GAMBERO ROSSO, WHICH LED HER TO THE BEST RESTAURANTS: LA ROSETTA IN ROME, JAMIE’S ITALIAN IN LONDON, PIPERO AL REX AND OPEN COLONNA IN ROME, THE TORRE DEL SARACINO IN VICO EQUENSE, THE MALABAR IN LIMA WHERE SHE WORKED WITH MASSIMO RICCIOLI, GENNARO CONTALDO, LUCIANO MONOSILIO, ANTONELLO COLONNA, GENNARO ESPOSITO AND PEDRO MIGUEL SCHIAFFINO. AT THE AGE OF 23, SHE RETURNED TO MALFA AND WITH HER BROTHER LUCA TOOK OVER THE REINS OF THE FAMILY BUSINESS. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS RECEIVED AN ENDLESS SERIES OF AWARDS, STARTING WITH THE MICHELIN STAR (2016), WHICH ESTABLISHED HER AS THE YOUNGEST ITALIAN COOK TO ACHIEVE SUCH A DISTINCTION. IN THE SAME YEAR MARTINA WAS EMERGING CHEF OF ITALY FOR GAMBERO ROSSO AND CHEF OF THE YEAR FOR IDENTITÀ GOLOSE. IN 2019 SHE WAS NAMED MICHELIN BEST FEMALE CHEF. LASTLY, IN 2020, SHE WAS INCLUDED BY FORBES IN ITS RANKING OF THE 100 MOST SUCCESSFUL ITALIAN WOMEN. THE GAMBERO ROSSO FORKS AND L’ESPRESSO HATS AWARDED TO HER CUISINE ARE COUNTLESS. MARTINA IS A MICHELIN GREEN STAR, YOUNG RESTAURATEUR OF EUROPE (JRE), TASTE AMBASSADOR AND MEMBER OF THE ATELIER DES GRANDES DAMES. BUT ABOVE ALL, MARTINA IS PASSIONATE, A DREAMER, A FIGHTER. A LOVER OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND FISHING, SHE LISTENS TO THE LAND, AND FOLLOWS HER EMOTIONS. HER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ISLAND WAS BORN WITHIN LIKE A SEED THAT OVER TIME HAS PUT DOWN DEEP ROOTS THAT CANNOT BE ERADICATED. A SYMBIOSIS NOURISHED BY CHATTING WITH THE FISHERMAN WHO TALKS ABOUT THE WAVES AND THE CREATURES OF THE SEA, WITH THE CAPER PICKER IN THE CALDERA OF AN EXTINCT VOLCANO, WITH THE FARMER WHO HAND-CUTS CHERRY TOMATOES AND EXPOSES THEM TO THE SUN ON WOVEN MATS, WITH THE VINE GROWER WHO CULTIVATES THE VINEYARD, WITH THE WILD COUNTRYSIDE MADE OF EDIBLE, FRAGRANT FIELD GRASSES. COOKING FOR HER IS AN ACT OF FREEDOM. I MEET CHEF CARUSO LATE ONE JUNE AFTERNOON ON THE TERRACE OF THE HOTEL SIGNUM. WE ARE IN THE GARDEN AMONG FRAGRANT LEMON AND POMEGRANATE TREES. THE MEDITERRANEAN IS IN FRONT OF US. PANAREA AND STROMBOLI, IN THE DISTANCE, REMIND US THAT, ALTHOUGH EVERY MAN IS AN ISLAND IN THE CURRENT, NO ONE IN THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS IS ALONE, ESPECIALLY AT THE SIGNUM, WHICH HAS THE FEEL OF HOME AND EMBRACES EACH GUEST WITH A MOTHER’S LOVE AS IF HE WERE A LONG-LOST SON. by Gianluca Donadini YOU WERE 2019 FEMALE CHEF OF THE YEAR. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THIS RECOGNITION? DO WE STILL NEED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FEMALE AND MALE CHEFS OR ARE WE SIMPLY CHEFS? Maybe in the beginning there was a need to count how many women starred chefs there were, but we cannot continue to distinguish between women or men forever. I don’t think a female, or male figure is recognisable in a dish. Everyone expresses themselves with their own creativity, free to have their own style. If I think about my father, I observe that he learnt from my grandmother. And Credits: Paola Licciardello