Lthe desire to celebrate is not lacking. The energy crisis and rising prices will not stop the intentions of Italians this year eitherwhich, at least for the most important and heartfelt holidays, those at the end of December, will not deprive themselves of the experience of good food: for Christmas and for the arrival of the new year, in fact, the restaurant halls could fill up again.
This despite the estimate made by Confcommercio in November, which underlined that more than 70% of Italians are tightening their belts to save money for Christmas expenses. Will expensive energy, bills and low salaries put the festive lunch at risk? Apparently not. Or at least, not in all of Italy.
From North to South we talked about it with some chefs Euro-Toques: Fabio Silva of the Derby Grill restaurant to Monza(Mb), Mark Sacco Of Floor 35 in Turin, Silvia Baracchi de The Falconer Of Cortona (AR), Stephen Ciotti Of Nostrano Restaurant in Pesaro and Pierluigi Vacca de The Ancient Village in Morano Calabro (cs).
The desire to celebrate is not lacking: for Christmas and for the arrival of the new year, in fact, the halls of the restaurants are filled up again
From North to South different situations
The picture that emerges a week before Christmas is that of an Italy split – more or less – in two: in the North there is a tendency to prefer the restaurant even for December 25th and not only for the New Year’s Eve party, while in the South the domestic walls resist as the scene of the traditional Christmas and Boxing Day binges with relatives and close relatives. So, if in the North it seems almost impossible to find a free table seven days before the holiday, in the South, the trend of going to a restaurant on December 25 is not yet so obvious. The restaurants, for their part, are oriented towards an exclusive proposal for holidays, with fixed menus designed ad hoc for the occasion in which – especially in the North – the very traditional panettone is never lacking. Often made right in the restaurant kitchen itself.
This year for Christmas we filled the entire hall in one day
For Fabio Silva of the Derby Grill restaurant in Monza the holidays represent a moment of excellent results again this year and he declared: «On 25 December we will offer only one menu for all the restaurant’s customers: a convivial aperitif with proposals to be shared with the whole table, then an appetizer, first course, main course, dessert and great closure with our panettone. A menu that, in my opinion, reflects in all respects what an Italian would like to eat on a day of celebration. In this period things always go very well, both at Christmas and at Easter. Also this year we filled the entire room in one day: 140 people booked when we launched the menu. We had more than 200 requests. From December 26, then, we close and reopen after the Befana: it’s right to rest because for us the month of December represents the highest season between events and festivities. And then I believe that it is essential to leave the freedom to experience the rest of the family holidays also to our staff ».
Fabio Silva
Bookings are going very well
For Mark Sacco Of Floor 35 in Turin, «At Christmas we will be open only for lunch, only in Turin, with Piano 35. Reservations are going well: we have seats for 50 people and we are almost full. Turin, as always, responds well even if I like to think that it is Plan 35 that responds well to the city of Turin. For the New Year’s Eve dinner we thought of something completely different, with a double proposal: the starred restaurant will offer a formula with aperitif and tasting menu, then closing with Champagne and dessert islands in a bioclimatic greenhouse that will allow all guests to enjoy the fireworks from above, looking at the whole city. The lounge bar, on the other hand, will be open from 10pm until 1am with a special offer of street food and four cocktails included in the price. An offer, the latter, designed for young people, cheaper and pop».
Mark Sacco
A return to normal after Covid
He also intervenes on the subject Silvia Baracchi de The Falconer of Cortona, who declared: «This year we will do something unusual and probably unique: we will be closed on December 25th but open on the 26th, in Santo Stefano. Reservations are going very well at the moment, also as regards the hotel: we will have many locals but also many foreigners. A bit of normality after the last two years in which December was heavily marked by Covid. We took a break in the middle of the month to give the staff some breathing room, then we’ll work yarns until Epiphany. Fixed menus? Not on Santo Stefano, there will be only the menu for guests, while for the New Year’s Eve dinner we have a fixed proposal that ranges from land to sea: customers who choose Il Falconiere will try to let them taste the best of our cuisine».
Silvia Baracchi
Italians feel like celebrating at the restaurant
Satisfaction with the results also for Stephen Ciotti of the Nostrano Restaurant from Pesaro, who declared: «We too were amazed, but this year we filled up sold-out both with Christmas lunch and with New Year’s Eve dinner well in advance. We didn’t expect it: so far I’ve seen December a bit low, I think the incoming bills are also affecting the spending power of Italians, but as soon as we publicized the proposals we had to close the reservations. All without doing any kind of sponsorship. This makes me think that Italians always want to go to a nice restaurant to celebrate these anniversaries: for us it is the most beautiful of confirmations».
Stephen Ciotti
We have put the initiatives on the field and now we hope to work
What is the situation in Southern Italy instead? For Pierluigi Vacca of L’Antico Borgo by Morano Calabro, «We have several reservations for Christmas, but we are not fully booked. Let’s see what happens in the last week before December 25th. Among the proposals, then, we have both the dinner on the 31st and the New Year’s lunch. My fear is that this year bills and various increases will affect a lot. However, we remain optimistic: we have implemented the initiatives and now we hope to work. How do you make ends meet in a moment like this? More quality at prices maybe a little lower to meet the customer. Today as today, there is no alternative».
Pierluigi Vacca
Christmas at the restaurant: this is how it will be from Northern to Southern Italy