The year 2021 changed many things in catering industry. What do we expect for 2022?
The year 2021 will be remembered as the year of fragility and power for the catering and pizza industry. Two terms clearly opposed to each other but that give an idea of the complicated period the entire world is living through.
Fragility: the biggest problem concerned staff members. The whole pandemic situation led many people to change their life outlook. This has been even more evident in the catering industry, due to the particular nature of this kind of job. In spite of the mediatic vision they give to the sector, working in the catering industry is still very tiring, with often absurd hours and paychecks that are not up to par.
After the lockdown period, many people have not returned to the restaurants where they worked, making it extremely complicated to carry on business. Add to that the recent return of the virus at Christmas time, which has resulted in several cancellation of company dinners and Christmas lunches (December is the most profitable month for the catering industry).
Power: during this past summer, eating out was the key word for tens of thousands of people, not just during their vacations. Restaurants and pizzerias were full every night. In some cases, booking was practically impossible. This is a sign that going to a restaurant is still one of the pleasures that people will hardly give up as long as they can do it. It is true that Italians have saved a lot in these months and therefore could afford it, but this is a trend that will last for a long time. And this is good news.
What does 2022 hold in store for us? I’ve never liked making predictions, least of all in this very troubled time, but some trends are already quite clear.
Kitchens will become increasingly digitized and engineered. It’s an inevitable process to make the profession less tiring and stressful. Until last year, only 33% of restaurant companies had invested just the 5% of their budgets in introducing technological tools. By 2022, this change will become essential for the sector.
It will mean for pizzerias to progressively abandon the twentieth century belief that it is possible to get a good pizza only with a wood-fired oven. There will be more attention to the quality and personalization of the raw materials needed to make a good and digestible pizza, while the venues will become increasingly functional from an aesthetical point of view as well and will pay more attention to reduce noise pollution.
These are essential choices in order to meet a demand that no longer chooses restaurants on the basis of good food alone, but rather on the basis of the entire offer.
Technology will also characterize dishes. To overcome the obstacle of lack of staff, raw materials will be chosen that require as little processing as possible: cleaning, cutting, portioning will be less and less manual work and this will also have a positive impact on waste reduction.
The trend will be to consider seasonality as a fundamental asset of the kitchens, and this is due to a series of factors. First of all, the different perception of guests who are not interested in the fact that oregano comes from Cuba; on the contrary, they consider it negative for the image of the restaurant itself. Enlightened chefs will place small orders, almost daily, to shorten the supply chain and reduce stock. In fact, there is still a strong fear of stockpiles that could go to waste, as happened during the lockdown period.
Finally, with the with widespread vaccination, the virus will be defeated in its most dramatic form. Gradually, this will bring people back to a completely different social life than before, but the pleasure of a nice, tidy table with excellent service will remain one of the main desires to be fulfilled.
