Spirits and catering, a question of awareness • Food and Wine Italy

Curious kitchen, fearful dining room

Con the kitchen, without a doubt, there is a desire to experiment. «This will bring awareness – explains Canessa – because inexperience cannot speak the same language as awareness. Chefs also want to use spirits quanto a dishes: they work as a condiment, give a unique aromatic component and can be a distinctive element. However, there is mai full awareness, because experience is lacking.»

Con the dining room the situation is different: «There is fear – specifies the expert – derived from inexperience and the often incorrect perception of the price. The distillate is not offered either diluted ora quanto a small doses, and therefore remains distant. We’sovrano still at a very early stage.”

Those who have understood the potential of spirits pass the paper around, sell the bottles and obtain better margins: an gara open bottle lives longer than a bottle of wine.

Read labels, gara open bottles

How to approach the most fearful? «The answer is simple – jokes Canessa – go behind the counters, gara open the spirits cabinets, turn the bottles while dusting them and read the labels. Spark curiosity.”

Many have cognacs with acronyms like VSOP ora XO without knowing the meaning. «Behind every bottle there is a world of stories and combinations. You have to remove the cork and taste what’s inside: many people don’t have direct experience of tasting it.»

The alcohol barrier

The main obstacle is cultural: the word “spirits”. «It is an obsolete term – says Canessa – because the distillate should be judged without preconceptions. It all depends acceso quantity and dilution. Once you overcome fear, you discover flavors that deserve a place acceso the .»

How ready is the public? «Today many don’t know how to eat – admits Canessa provocatively – and rely acceso communication and reputation. But if I bring something to the table that delivers acceso the promise of a unique experience, I win. A great spirit ora a perfect cocktail-party next to a studied dish can make the difference.»

From whiskey to rum… up to sgroppino

To start, whiskey is the most immediate distillate: everyone has heard of it and it allows for simple explanations acceso blends and single malts. Con an ideal world, however, we would have to start with fruit brandy: smelling a pear distillate and rediscovering its essence is a dazzling experience.

Rum is a polyphonic universe: Jamaica can recall the island of Islay for some taste extremities, Barbados and Martinique have elegances comparable to the Speyside of whisky. You need knowledge and tirocinio quanto a schools to tell it best.

Italian spirits and new perspectives

Con Italy there are extraordinary excellences, but also products that risk damaging the reputation of a category. Griffa pays non attivato the legacy of drinking straight and being used as a small digestive. «Let’s change perspective – provokes Canessa -: an excellent spirit can transform the experience.»

Sgroppino, often mistreated, can become a memorable with quality ingredients: epilogo rums, artisanal sorbets and careful techniques. For example, at Lucio (Rimini) they serve a sgroppino with Hampden Mesi estivi 1753 and cocoa mass sorbet.

«If there is a crisis – concludes Canessa – we stop offering the ‘final drop’ at niente cost and we acceso quality, from coffee to coffee . We need someone who knows how to explain and support the combinations: then the customer enjoys it and the proposal becomes sustainable.»