Bistros and Pubs in Decline. New Old-style Osterias Triumph

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Bistros and Pubs in Decline
New Old-style Osterias Triumph

French and British eateries in crisis. Magic moment for Italy. Slow Food's Carlo Petrini says, "They've lost their soul. We've improved".

It's a Frenchman speaking. "Bistros are in crisis today because they no longer have a soul. When I was growing up in Brittany, I used to go with my father. Everyone was meeting and talking and doing business and enjoying everyone else's company. Now bistros are just nice places with designer interiors, and salami and wine that may or may not be good. But what does that mean?" Philippe Leveillé, 41, chef of the two Michelin star Miramonti l'Altro at Concesio, Brescia, pulls no punches with his colleagues back home. The cover story of the latest issue of America's Newsweek magazine was "The Death of the Bistro", blaming taxes and red tape in particular for its demise. But the article inside the magazine slammed the fall in quality of raw materials, which are frequently not from France. Leveillé comments drily, "Everyone has to pay taxes". Times are hard for La Cuisine Française, but there are also other victims. Another mainstay of the non-Italian food pantheon, the English pub, is in deep trouble. So much so that there exists an extremely serious "emergency" movement, the Campaign for Real Ale, which has now shown that only 134 of London's 5,700 pubs have conserved their original interiors.
Is this the end? Could it be that globalisation is dictating increasingly perverse rules, even at table? Above all, has Italy contracted the virus of self-destruction of the country's culinary traditions?



(Tam Tam)
THE HAPPY CASE OF ITALY - "Thankfully, and with a touch of parochial pride, we say no, there is no contagion," jokes Carlo Petrini, president of Slow Food, a name that needs no introduction after fifteen years of national and international commitment to supporting the culture of food and wine. With the publication of the successful Osterie d'Italia (Italy's Eateries) series, Slow Food has made a significant contribution to the promotion of the small restaurants that are increasingly committed to quality in their raw materials and service. "A situation like the French one would be impossible here because we have a wealth of biodiversity in our tradition. Po valley osterie are unlike the frasche of the south or the stube you find in some of the Alpine areas," claims Petrini.
In addition, variety is not the only ingredient in the secret formula of Italy's "vaccine". "There's another element, and that is the immense strength of the women who runs these eateries with shrewdness and skill. Our women have their feet on the ground, and know how to maintain relationships with local farms. They have not forgotten their origins in popular cooking," continues the Slow Food president. And he adds, launching one or two barbs, "The French have always been chauvinists, with their eyes fixed firmly on their own navels. They've stopped looking around, convinced of their supremacy in the kitchen. That's how they have lost touch with the customer and the warmth of socialising, things that fortunately the Italians have not lost". On the British situation, the analysis is much the same. Petrini wonders, "Why is the English pub in trouble, but not the Irish version? The reason is simple. In Ireland, people today still go to the pub to sing, dance and be together. As soon as you step into an English pub, you are deafened by the noise, there is confusion, you don't know who is next to you, and you feel invisible in the crowd".

KNOWING HOW TO CHANGE - It would be foolhardy to conclude that Italy has been able to count solely on its extraordinary food and agricultural history. The eateries themselves have had to change with the times, by varying their formula a little at a time to improve the quality of service and, when necessary, by increasing prices. "You can't expect to go out and eat well, in a place where there may be someone playing a guitar or an accordion, and then spend less than you would for a film and a pizza," Petrini points out. Meanwhile, Roberto Piccinelli, the veteran author of the Guida al Piacere e al Divertimento (Guide to Pleasure and Entertainment), published by Editore Outline, lists the increasing number of eateries that combine novelty - that is, an element of surprise - and tradition. "That's what happens with the bakeries that sell bread in the morning, and are transformed in the evening into small restaurants where you can enjoy a plate of onion soup. About ten must have sprung up in a short space of time. And it's not something a big-city thing. One of the first to offer this mix was La Spezia". Piccinelli continues, "Things don't always turn out well. In the 2005 guide, I'll be changing three quarters of the eateries reviewed in Trentino Alto Adige with respect to the previous year. This means there is an incredible turnover, as well as superficiality and lack of preparation, which don't pay".

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUL - Naturally, we all hope that the French and British crises will pass swiftly. Healthy competition entertains the public and rivals only if the playing field is level.
That's why chef Philippe Leveillé encourages his countrymen with a tip, "One of the oldest and most famous restaurants in Paris is the Tour D'Argent. For as long as I have been a chef, Claude Terrail has been in charge. When you go there to eat, you know you will find him, and you cannot separate the Tour D'Argent from Terrail. When I say that it takes soul, I am saying this. I am thinking about the something special that makes the place you choose to eat in unique and familiar. Because an elegant chair, an expensive table, or a nice painting to hang in the dining room can always be bought. But not soul". Touché.

by Elvira Serra http://www.corriere.it