Presenting the first Restaurant Day in Italy, promoting the entire restaurant industry concretely

After years of pointless talking about the grandeur of Italian cuisine. After many empty promises of networking. After countless seemingly beautiful projects, but whose only goal was to give visibility to the respective creator. At last, after all this, there’s something concrete that goes beyond the barriers and envy that runs between different associations. Altogether, this time; all together for the Italian restaurant industry. These are the key points of the first Giornata della Ristorazione (Restaurant Day). We borrowed them from Paolo Marchi, who was in the front row at the meeting in Rome organised by FIPE to present this project which on the 28^th of April will liven up restaurants across Italy. Thousands and thousands have already joined the project (to join them, click here): a sort of “system test”, a yearly event to give visibility to the industry and which will provide a good excuse to draw the attention of politicians and institutions to its needs. We’ll have proof of this in around 20 days or so.

A popular, inclusive and deeply ethical project developed to celebrate the sharing of a renewed feeling of community. The Giornata della Ristorazione is created by Fipe – Federazione Italiana Pubblici Esercizi, under the creative and artistic direction of R&P Creative Studio. An event that aims to celebrate Italian restaurant culture and the art of conviviality.

THE GOAL - The event, scheduled on Friday 28^th of April 2023 wants to contribute to reinstating the country’s sense of community through the theme of conviviality. It aims to unite Italian restaurateurs and restaurants abroad to build a large network of values and solidarity. By joining the project, restaurants will offer on their menu a dish based on bread, the fil rouge of the first event.

THE EVENT – The idea is to give life to a yearly event that will have restaurants, trattorias, osterias, pizzerias and taverns take a main role as the cultural agents capable of re-educating people to live together. This is strong signal, in difficult times, to express how the restaurant industry can act as a witness and spokesperson for the value of hospitality and community.

THE ALLEGORY OF BREAD – Bread has a strong symbolical value as the element of sharing par excellence, and an absolute protagonist, since ancient times, of conviviality; in this respect, bread is not just the protagonist of the dishes presented by the restaurants joining the project, but is also the fil rouge that runs across the project, inviting its participants to develop dishes that will pay homage to their region, classically or innovatively.

PAOLO MARCHI’S COMMENT - «For twenty years we’ve been trying to give our contribution to creating something important. But then we’ve always had to fight with jealousies, parochialism, prima donnas and all sorts of obstacles. This is the turning point, everyone finally appears to be willing to act as a team. It was about time: even the Fær Øer islands have joined forces around their culinary excellences; and let’s not talk of France, they were very good in imposing their standards that penalise Italy to the world, because we’re not just the country of great chefs and fine dining restaurants, but also of fine pizzerias and trattorias that represent their respective region and the culture of good food. All in all, we’re talking of around 300K establishments [the rest are tiny family businesses]. We’ve been needing something that would mirror this complex reality for quite a while. And only we Italians could be fighting so much, instead of supporting a joint cause. The Giornata della Ristorazione will be an important turning point».

THE VALUES – The Giornata della Ristorazione is founded on some crucial values:

- Hospitality culture: restaurants have a crucial social function, contributing to the safeguarding and mending of the collective fabric.
- Tradition and innovation: the recovery and enhancement of agricultural cultures and popular rites that are reunited in the ferment of modern influences.
- Quality and ethics: every entrepreneur is aware of the desire to act as a real “agent” that supports the territory and promotes its know-how.
- Environment: the environment can be saved through dining too, with the quality of the food produced in respect of the land and the people who work this land.

THE EVENTS – The Giornata della Ristorazione is shared by 85 local divisions of Fipe-Confcommercio who have taken part in the project. Each one of them will take part in a series of special events including workshops, round tables, press reviews and cooking demos, all dedicated to the food industry and to promoting the values of Italian cuisine. The city of Rome will be the protagonist of a big main event with the involvement of the institutions, press, companies and organisations that supported the project.

THE CHARITY PROJECT – On the occasion of the Giornata della Ristorazione, Fipe is also supporting an important charity project. Supporting the project is easy: for every dish that the public will choose one from the restaurants involved in the project, Fipe will give a donation to Caritas Italiana, to underline the importance of promoting inclusion, sharing and the relationships that are the basis of hospitality culture. Intesa Sanpaolo will also support the charity project in favour of Caritas Italiana and against food poverty with a connected fundraising activity on the crowdfunding platform “ForFunding”. Moreover, in the days before and after the Giornata della Ristorazione it will be possible to donate also through the Intesa Sanpaolo ATMs.

The Giornata della Ristorazione received from Sergio Mattarella the Medal of the President of the Republic for the high value of the project. It includes the participation of Ambasciatori del Gusto, Associazione professionale cuochi italiani, Charming Italian Chef, Federazione Italiana Cuochi, Identità Golose, JRE, Le Soste, Slow Food and Unione Ristoranti Buon Ricordo; the contribution of A2A, Angelo Po, Grana Padano, Intesa San Paolo, Lavazza and Sanpellegrino; the support of Ebnt | Ente Bilaterale Nazionale Turismo, Fondo Est |Assistenza Sanitaria dipendenti aziende del Commercio, Fon.Te | Fondo Pensione Complementare and Quas |Cassa Assistenza Sanitari Quadri; and finally the collaboration of MagentaBureau.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE GIORNATA DELLA RISTORAZIONE

Translated inti English by Slawka G. Scarso