27-09-2017
To the right, Daniele Repizzi from Fondazione Progetto Arca, a charity founded in 1994 in Milan. In 2016 they offered a roof to 86,000 migrants and homeless people and served over 2 million meals
When Daniele was a bone-breaking half back in second or third division, he knew he would soon have to retire. He had talent, of course, but his diploma from catering school Vespucci, which he got at 18, offered more guarantees. He dreamt of travelling well beyond the fields of the Milanese hinterland. And so he did, finding his way for a few years in crowded kitchen brigades in Spain and Portugal. Once back in Milan, he directed Cactus Juice in Via Mecenate, with a self-service lunch offer for large numbers and Tex-Mex specialities in the evening. He was a chef like many others, until 6 years ago when a meeting made him a little more special: at Fondazione Progetto Arca they asked him to direct the kitchen of their canteens scattered around Milan and beyond. Not business clients but homeless people, unemployed who live in the streets, civilians escaping countries at war. People who have a right to a bed, a hot meal and clean clothes like any other - thinks Alberto Sinigallia, founder of the charity. Given the conflict in Syria, the exodus of migrants grows every year, raising the number of clients at Arca’s canteens. While in 2012 they welcomed and looked after 13,000 people, in 2016 they were almost 83,000. «In the space of 5 years», Repizzi sums up, «we’ve moved from 400 to 5,000 meals each day. Over 2 million per year».
Queuing for lunch in the colourful canteen at Arca in Via Mambretti
Since these are places of transit, at first the pedagogists at Arca wondered what kind of food they were meant to serve. Better dishes from their country of origin or from their destination? These doubts were soon necessarily put aside. «Many migrants», says Repizzi, «arrive in precarious conditions given what they suffered during the journey: broken ribs, fractures, hepatitis C, pregnant women in precarious conditions, children who were badly weaned. In many cases we have no choice: diabetics or people with hypertensions need a diet low in sodium. People with mouth infection or problems with their digestive system can only drink liquids». More often, one must alleviate their hunger: «As soon as they arrive, many would eat half a kilo of sugar out of instinct, because it’s a luxury where they come from. Others, for the same reason, would eat meat every day and this is not good. Maggi cubes are so delicious they’d crumble and sprinkle them on anything». Indeed dishes are abundant and asking for a second helping is almost automatic. They queue, patiently, and then choose their seat out of ethnic affinity.
Kinship and solidarity prevail, the consequence of a shared tragic destiny. The menus always include two choices. «Like with platos combinados in Spain», explains the chef, «pasta or rice as first course, two second courses and fruit and yogurt. As for pasta, they’re happy only with spaghetti, because that’s the only kind they know. We often use legumes, vegetal proteins».
The fact most of them are Muslim influences rhythm and menu: «During Ramadan, which has always been in the summer, they all eat and drink a lot before sunrise. Then they start again after sunset: dates, fruit juice and milk to reactivate their metabolism. During the day, if they have to drink a drop of water with a pill, they’ll refuse». The menu often includes zighini, curry, couscous.
Time zones in the shelter Hub at Arca, in Via Sammartini
On Saturday 30th September and Sunday 1st October Arca is organising La Zuppa della Bontà
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
by
born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt