Director Roberto Carcangiu makes a reflection, which is also a suggestion and a wish for the young talents of Italian catering. For current students, for those who are deciding whether to become a chef or a pastry chef and for those who already have some experience behind them.
In a sector that recognizes a positive trend in the current scenario, without going into detail, we try to grasp these bursts of optimism after the Covid period which acted as a real watershed and make the most of it. The school, as a place of training, acts as a bridge between what the students who come here want and what the market demands. Our experience and know-how make us able to interpret the needs of the parties and act as a filter. We live in an era where we risk becoming completely slaves. Yes, I'm thinking about the use of AI, which comes to help with food costs and menu compilation but certainly cannot replace hands. Never before has there been a need for increasingly trained and specialized chefs and young professionals, because the hands that know what to do are irreplaceable. The important thing is to always want to learn. The market crisis is caused by productivity, so we need to be increasingly better at keeping things in balance and studying without ever stopping. Here, a key word is balance. Because, I like to underline, working with one's hands makes man free. Man, with his costs and also his limits, is the only true value. Dedicating yourself to the customer, rediscovering love for the guest, this is the useful concept. Abandon professional ambitions if the goal is the star, enter a certain guide or receive consideration from food and wine critics. When what you do is good and you do it well, you don't need to concentrate on making sure others see you at all costs. It seems a bit like going back in some ways, but to make leaps forward, to free ourselves from all the accessories that are no longer needed. The cycle of a chef almost always goes the same way, when he is young he moves with caution, he is fearful, then experiences come, little by little he learns new things and wants to experiment, and then goes back to the essentials and really understands this. that matters.
Happy New Year!
Roberto Carcangiu
