To celebrate the magazine’s 40th anniversary, we decided to publish some pieces that made history in our field, hoping that such articles could incentive new generations of artisans to bring more innovation to the industry. In a context such as ours, where historical revisionism is used by some to manipulate the name of great masters in order to emphasize one idea or another, we decided to start with a special article: the first article by Luca Caviezel published in Gelato Artigianale (for the Host Milano fair in 1988). Caviezel, in his article from the late 80s, reflected on the role of businesses and artisans in the world of gelato during the first quarter of the century (2000-2025) and it’s incredible how many reflections from that time are still extremely relevant now…one has to wonder what kind of gelato will accompany us from half our century.
Artisans form 2000”: On the occasion of the latest Sigep in Rimini (1988), I’ve been part of a lively yet friendly discussion with other colleagues on the issue of using semi-finished products in artisan gelato. A topic that I believed to be done: I would’ve never thought that the arguments for and against them could have so many motivations and be so lively debated. What surprised me the most was finding out that often enough their position depends on how a gelatiere first approached the product. Instead, the triumphal stance of “I still use my father’s and grandfather’s recipes” is not as prevalent. Other highlighted an enormous disinformation on the role and the nature of the semi-finished product itself. Artisan gelatieri have greatly improved in the last decades. The merit of much of this improvement goes to the factories that produce machines and to those that make gelato ingredients. Thirty years ago we set foot in the right direction,that also taught us to recall and remind the need for an ongoing update towards more and more defined goals. Such continuous refinement must be applied to every side of our business, be it the production or the sales, the administrative, market or legislative issues.The artisan of tomorrow won’t just have to know how to produce or sell, but to be a manager too. Do we still want to be artisans? Do we think that the peculiar characteristics of gelato are still valid now? And in a future that is going to be much more industrialized, will artisans still have their role? Will there be room enough for the artisan soul, that is mostly made up by passion, taste and love for a job well done? Taking care of our true identity of artisans and become aware of it is a fundamental step to take. Infusing our job, while keeping up with the most advanced technologies, with the spirit of creative liberty, taste, perfection, passion means to preserve a priceless value, without which the artisan soul loses its meaning and dies. This long introduction to the topic of using semi-finished products in a gelato shop doesn’t have the pretense of refusing or avoiding such product to the product itself. It would be irrational, silly and meaningless to ignore the usefulness of semi-finished products. Moreover, they are not a recent invention, and they aren’t only made for artisan gelato shops either. Among the factories that sell semi-finished products for the gelato industry, there are some who have been successfully active for decades. One of them will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary. All kinds of semi-finished products can be found in the cupboards of bakers’ laboratories , and even in the kitchen of hotels and restaurants. Even the best chef nowadays uses semi-finished products, while maintaining a high production quality. One of the masters of Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi, said this in a recent interview: “The restaurant of the future will be a three-star one, using frozen or vacuum sealed products.Advanced technology of conservation and search for taste, a synthesis of the scientific approach and the culinary sensitivity represent the only key to understanding of the future Italian cuisine”. And what can we say about the endless amount of semi-finished products for household kitchens, that fill the shelves of our supermarkets and of our fridges? Nowadays, all industrialized countries use industrial semi-finished products more and more. Classifying them is not easy: they are all the products that became more and more common in the last decades, created by specialized factories to make the job of artisans both easier and quicker.
They are products that the artisan could avoid, but that are priceless in our increasingly technologically advanced world. It must be said that many of such products, other than making the worker’s job more smooth and rational, they also simulate and encourage them to keep learning and staying up to dates with the advancement of new techniques and with the knowledge and use of such products. It must be also said that that such industries contribute to the ongoing search for new products and new ideas to stimulate the dynamism of the category of artisans as a whole. Nowadays there are still some debates among colleagues about the use of such “industrial” products. Often, those who use them doesn’t want their colleagues to know as if they’d done something shameful, or at least less qualifying. When taking a stance, a gelatiere is forced to face a reality that he’d like to refuse, unconsciously believing to loose the professional values he holds dear.nFrom this point of view a colleague who sees this as an issue finds my solidarity, I still think that we must look at the issue from a different point of view, let’s say, from a more modern one. The semi-finished products have been for far too long the scapegoats of old generations of gelatieri for different reasons: such products were labeled as the reason why inexperienced gelatieri could open new shops near theirs, increasing the competition, so that old gelatieri accused new sellers of being “know-it-all”, as new gelatieri boasted to have taken part in courses not to learn a job, but to gain a participation certificate. These and similar stories, if on the one hand clarify the stance of some gelatieri, on the other are dissonant with the reality we live in. I agree with what my friend Carlo Pozzi said, that if semi-finished products hadn’t been made, whe should have invented them. Which artisan gelatiere could be able to make every day dozens of different flavors of gelato without using the priceless help of aromatic pastes? Other times I’ve heard the objection that they are expensive: we can find on the market many valuable products and their price is equivalent to the quality and the service they offer. Therefore, it will be the colleague’s job to evaluate, using critical thinking and with no preconceptions the pros and cons. I said before that many steps in the right direction have been made by Italian gelatieri with the aid of specialized factories of semi-finished products. The last years have been very successful for Italian gelato thanks to everyone’s contribution. No other Country in the world has such a large and qualified industry of semi-finished products made specifically for gelato and therefore no other gelatiere in the world has so many products available. For the future we have to wish for a more constructive and productive collaboration. I think that everyone needs a more professionally qualified gelatiere so that the product he sells can maintain the good image of Italian artisan gelato. Luca Caviezel – Gelato Artigianale Number 19, page 75 – October 1988
The gelato from the future
In the future we are going to face our biggest challenge yet: combining Italian tradition and knowhow with the development of new markets. Recently I took part in a meeting that saw the presence of important entrepreneurs from different fields: I explained with pleasure to them that, to many markets, gelato is a newcomer. I often make the parallelism between gelato and automotive: how many market sharesncan the car industry occupy? With the exception of some thousands of kilometers of asphalt in the African continent and in lesse developed Countries (where the need for cars will come exclusively if there are social structure developments), the car market as we know it is saturated and it’s even sufferingfrom the harsh European legislation regarding electric engines, with critical effects on workplace and mobility – without mentioning that new generations see cars as a cost, and not as a status symbol to achieve. Gelato instead is 50% below its potential: there are 100.000 shops in the world, most of which in Europe, we can understand the potential development of our market when we compare the number of gelato shops in America to their number in Lombardy: in Lombardy there twice or thrice as many gelato shops as in the whole United States. This shows two things: that there are too many gelato shops in Lombardy, while they’re lacking in the rest of the world. Be careful: if there’s so little market for gelato abroad, there must be a reason. This depends on culture: consum- Luca Caviezel with the great Carlo Pozzi ers aren’t used to sweet cold products or they consume alternative products that have been part of their culture. But here’s the challenge: the industry can and must unite to develop new markets. This is why we miss the big names of the field from the 60s and 70s at Fiat 500, working 18/19 hours a day, who “knocked at Europe’s door” to make our business grow. We’re lacking pioneers, probably because there are fewer and fewer people with the “work above everything else” mentality. This won’t stop us: to those who ask me, at least abroad, what we can expect from gelato, I always say the same thing. We should double, even triple if possible, the current volumes. We are gelato’s made in Italy, which, in contrast to other products, is still in its infancy, and that has the potential to grow for decades. This can only happen if we don’t miss any occasion: debate as much as possible, work all together and take advantage of all opportunities at our disposals. I’d like to extend this invitation to investment funds guided by such good managers, who, for this reason, must look beyond a 2/3 year financial round for the the good of the businesses they represent. Looking at domestic market, many other markets can double: Spain, Greece, Hungary and the Balkans first of all. Instead, where gelato is mature enough for number of shops (Italy and Germany), we’re facing other exciting challenges. The total quality will save us: recently a manager from a famous company made me reflect on this point. We sell cuddles: gelato is intrinsically linked to pleasure. It will be necessary to to communicate this kind of pleasure even more: I don’t know what you think about it, but I don’t really like mediocre gelato shops. If they don’t change they’re destined to disappear, especially since the consumer grows too, and if many mediocre bars haven’t been profitable in years, we have to question our own business’ economic sustainability. In the future, it will be necessary to increase quality: gelatieri will have to communicate as much as possible with clients, make them try new things, open the door to their laboratories during dedicated events, create a “family” bond with the neighbors. In the gelato sops of the future, I wish to see a gelatiere like the good friend of children and adults, capable of sharing a moment of joy by bringing people to their shop from their homes. But now, some of you may ask..what do they have to communicate?
The first answer is quality.
The suppliers we have, the ingredients we choose come from calculated thinking, that lead us to choose the products we think are the best. Then why not share these thoughts? Tell the consumer what is in your gelato, explain that bases are nothing more than milk, sugar and a bit of stabilizer, made by the best industries in the field. Should we talk about the pastes, then? Buy the best raw materials whit little to no impact on the gelato shop’s economy, but that can still place it at a high level. It will be natural to emphasize such choices and explain them to the client. Quality must be chosen and communicated: explain to the client that your gelato is more expensive since it’s made vith excellent products. Lastly, open the doors of your laboratories: organize, if possible, dedicated events and/or thematic workshops.The customer will feel at home and this experience will be priceless. Transform your gelato in an essential Trademark and that goes beyond an easily replaceable product. Recently in a well-known lecture at London’s LSE they talked about the concept of experience. When a client buys a Rolex he’s not simply buying a clock, but an experience; when we choose a small artisan boutique over great distribution, event when he buys a Tesla he’s buying a vision, not a car… What’s the difference between one brand and another? More than concrete performances of what we’re buying, it’s the experience and the positive feelings related to it that determine our affinity to a brand. Gelato as an unparalleled charm, and it’s time to make it shine.
