The sustainability of the food system was the focus of the second meeting Homo Faber Economy, a project for the city of Venice and promoted by Ca' Foscari University in partnership with Venice Foundation and Upskill 4.0.
During the event, Vladi Finotto, associate professor in business economics and management, Founder of theAgrifood Management & Innovation Lab of Ca' Foscari University Venice, sought to chart the directions of change and future of food and what these changes imply for the restaurant industry.
Food sustainability includes very dense interdependencies between 3 major areas: that of theenvironment (the ecological dimension ), the social (the living and working conditions of workers), that of the health.
FAO, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, on 2020 data quantified worldwide the hidden costs of food to the tune of 12 trillion, about 10 percent of the world's GDP.
In the post covid era, people are spending a lot on experiences, tourism and food, but is the consumer really aware? Consumers often have "social" knowledge, which is very susceptible to fads.
Many experiences show that key turning point on sustainability in the food sector is often in supply chain operations between those who produce and those who make policies, with the goal of creating a new awareness of food in a systemic way.
What is being done in Venice?
In the city, there are already important experiences that have been declining the concept of sustainability and incorporating it into their business for years. However, these are isolated cases, the result of great efforts by individual chefs and restaurateurs.
The concept of sustainability is declined in the environmental dimension, with attention to waste reduction, plastic reduction and shortening the supply chain, and in the health dimension, through the selection of genuine raw materials, sourced from trusted producers and, when possible, self-produced.
During the meeting, realities such as Venissa, several times awarded the Michelin Green Star. At Venissa, menus pander to the new seasonality imposed by climate change, using not ingredients that are disappearing, but those in overproduction, proving that they can adapt to the most diverse criticalities thanks to the technique of the chefs who have started a real "laboratory" of culinary research. "Being set limits has given way to creativity and innovative, interesting solutions that work," - says Matteo Bisol, all of which start from the dialogue between local producers and our collaborators.
Court of Gabriela Boutique Hotel strives to personally tell its clients about the goodness and freshness of raw materials and is also made witness to this through local experiences. These include taking guests to the market to select breakfast ingredients, which helps reduce waste.
Located on the small Rose Island in the Venetian lagoon, the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa focuses on offering authentic cuisine with strong ties to tradition, based on the use of seasonal ingredients and as much as possible at Km0. A strong supporter of this concept is chef Giorgio Schifferegger, who through the cultivation of an island garden that even goes so far as to produce honey and oil, emphasizes the importance of bringing sustainability forward in the day-to-day of his work. Chefs and restaurateurs need to set an example with their initiatives and what they bring to the table.
Aman Venice, a luxury hotel that overlooks the Grand Canal, has built a great deal of recognition in recent years for its Food & Beverage offerings, which are built around the use of local ingredients and the use of the raw material in its entirety to minimize waste. Additional component is that of experience, through which guests can visit the Rialto market in the company of the chef and watch him cook in a Chef's Table kitchen where the hotel also offers cooking classes for its guests.
Davide Bravetti talked about the cuisine of Glam, where dishes by star chef Enrico Bartolini are reinterpreted with ingredients from the Veneto region. A testament to how the culinary background of star chefs can bring new contributions to the city, yet adapt to the culture of the city itself.
The starred restaurant Wisteria reminded us of the importance of making choices, in the selection of ingredients, but even before that in suppliers, with whom it is essential to establish a direct relationship and mutual trust.
Finally, is it possible to bring together two seemingly distant cultures in the kitchen? It has been taken care of. Koenji, a Venetian-Japanese fusion concept capable of repurposing famous Japanese dishes with the grafting of ingredients characteristic of Venetian cuisine, such as salt cod, radicchio or sardines.
The success stories shared by chefs, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs featured in the focus group showed a concrete idea of sustainability that is not so much flaunted as practiced. This idea of sustainability-responsibility starts from the choices made by individuals, but has the potential to positively influence the work of others in the area.
In the afternoon, the discussion continued with the webinar "High craftsmanship on the international stage. The future of food between innovation and sustainability", Paolo Manfredi, columnist for "Il Gambero Rosso" and former restaurateur, presented a snapshot of the restaurant industry as a sector undergoing great change.
Seven major trends characterize these landscapes: the demise of the family restaurant; the increasing complexity of the restaurant business; the low average life span of a restaurant; the spread of very sharp and simplified formats and experiences; communication and social trends direct supply and demand; the scarcity of human resources is set to be structural; and distribution homogenizes supply.
But how is it possible to be more sustainable in catering?
There are three elements they can work on: processes-compliance with regulations and attention to the environmental and social impact of the business; supply chain-buying more consciously and less tied to distribution offerings and cost assessments alone; and creativity-making sustainability a central element of one's offerings, integrating it into the venue, the menu, the entire experience.
At the conclusion of the webinar, Lorenzo Cinotti and Laura Scarpa of Venezia da Vivere recounted the best practices of mindful dining in the Venice area.
Project "Homo Faber Economy" - Code 2120-0001-727-2023 - CUP H77G23000350002 - PR Veneto ESF+ 2021-2027 - DGR. 727/2023 VENICE I.C.O.N.A.