Roscioli, the dining room philosopher

Among the most awaited protagonists of the second edition of Identità di Sala there’s also Alessandro Roscioli – his is a debut on the stage of IG but he’s a primary protagonist in the Roman food news. A modern host, a talent scout of what is tasty, a “food philosopher”: use the definition you prefer. What’s important is to know that you can always find this man, timid rather than unfriendly, pragmatic when it comes to personal history and DNA, directing the dining room of Roscioli, the Roman establishment that can boast the highest number of aficionados and countless attempts of imitation.

The delicatessen, acquired in 1990, to which the “con cucina” suffix was later added, is today a perfect crossover. It is open 18 hours per day, and the best products from all over Italy and from all parts of the world can be found: white pizza and patanegra, taleggio cheese and oil preserves, monumental cacio e pepe pasta and elegant tartares, rum agricoles and Wachau riesling. All this while attracting the masses of an important football match.

Alessandro, with the complicity of brother Pierluigi (master bread-maker in the historic and adjacent family bakery) and brother's wife Giusy, direct the traffic and set the time of a team made of (acrobatic) talents that never remove their feet from the gas pedal in a small and insidious room, being so overfull of delicacies in every single centimetre of available space. Alessandro Roscioli will speak on the stage of Identità Milano. Meanwhile, he’s giving us some delicious anticipations and a precious anecdote regarding a great protagonist in the history of Italian gastronomy.

This is your debut on the stage of IG: which themes will you bring under the spotlight?
I believe it is a privilege to be able to tell our story and our professional journey on the stage of Identità Golose. The theme will be the evolution of dining room service. Many people joke and say that rather then waiters we have tightrope walkers, since they are forced to move at high speed in very narrow spaces. I will tell about the qualities needed to work with us but also about our objective, which is to maintain a high quality throughout the day, with a very numerous number of clients.

So, which are the characteristics necessary to work at Roscioli’s?
You need a great love for raw materials and the capacity not to take yourself too seriously. What I try to do is to share the house philosophy, make everyone participate in our objective and train the staff. Looking for the best taleggio in Italy is a pointless accomplishment if the person in the dining room is not capable of serving it and illustrating it in the best possible way. And you need to be rather flexible: the guys who serve in the dining room, during the day often work behind the counter, preparing the cheese platters.

What stands out when interviewing the new generations looking for a job?
Sometimes I feel that for young people the job of waitressing is a sort of last resort, something to do when you really cannot find any other opportunity, and that it is considered as an easy job, while in fact this profession needs a lot of preparation.

Why does it not seem possible, today, not to open multi-format restaurants, the evolution of the famous “salumeria con cucina” of which in Rome you’ve been the pioneers?
Because times have changed and now the limits to opening hours and service offer that used to apply have been cancelled. The experience is varied. Besides, Rome is a super-touristic city and you clash with other gastronomic formats. This in fact has been our characteristic right from the start, over 15 years ago: we didn’t want to limit ourselves and enclose our establishment in defined categories.

What has been your greatest satisfaction as a product talent scout?
For sure, the Gavoi fiore sardo cheese produced by Giuseppe Cugusi: this is an incredible and atypical product because he is a unique person with an ancestral skill. I had to run after him for quite some time before managing to have his cheese: the first time I called him on the phone, he hanged up on me.