FIPE, the Italian Federation of Public Establishments, and Altoga, the Lombard Association of Coffee Roasters, Importers and Food Wholesalers, will join forces at 2017 to organise an event devoted entirely to coffee, in all its many different aspects.
On the well-being front, the countless health benefits offered by the beans of the Coffea plant will be explained.
An exploration of coffee starting with the green bean, through to the roasting and grinding processes, and ending with tastings of the blended product.
In the space devoted to barista training, Latte Art Grading courses will be run (teaching the technical and creative skills that Latte Art require) with participants from 15 countries. In an adjoining space, chefs will hold other compelling show-cooking events, the theme here being coffee and cuisine.
“FIPE is delighted to be taking part in the next edition of Host, the top event for those involved in the sector and for which we are working on an extensive programme of activities in support of the work being done by those in the business today and tomorrow’s professionals.
FIPE’s presence will centre around the subject of coffee, with a dedicated space inside the relevant hall,” explains FIPE president Lino Enrico Stoppani.
A choice we made after careful consideration, because coffee-related products, FIPE has found, make up the lion’s share of the work done in Italian bars accounting for around one third of turnover.
Bars in Italy get through an average of 1.2 kilos of coffee every day, served in 175 cups of espresso or cappuccino.
“These are significant amounts, Stoppani goes on, “and FIPE wishes to emphasise the fact that the Italian coffee business needs to be relaunched in terms of quality – three key aspects being blending, machinery and manual dexterity – in order to highlight and improve the image of Italian espresso.”
In today’s fiercely competitive market, from production to the retailing of the end product, those factors are sometimes not given the attention they deserve.
“In addition to this, as we have repeatedly stressed, relations with suppliers, especially roasters, need to be rethought.
All too often economic and financial considerations often prevail over quality aspects. Public establishments are the final link in what is a complex commercial chain running from producers to distributors,” the president concludes.
As well as being involved in the coffee event, FIPE will be using its spaces to organise a programme of its own at Host 2017 with master classes and training sessions for youngsters attending hotel schools, to provide skill-boosting experiences.
One other fundamental theme that will be covered is that of innovation and the need to for public establishments to keep up with the times, catering to the needs of today’s ever more discerning consumers, who are increasingly demanding when it comes to quality
