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Flying Italia

As one of the more established ethnic cuisines, Italian food continues to hold its own against other choices and its popularity among UK consumers is still high. Sheila Eggleston reports.

The ABC of Italian cuisine when spelt out by leading players stands for authenticity, the best ingredients and cost effectiveness.

New menus shout about provenance, premium quality and, with the squeeze on everyone's purse strings, affordability.

Brakes says according to a Mintel report released in October 2008, the fallout from the credit crunch and now the recession has caused many to look at cost saving. "The service industries, including catering, are often one of the first to be downsized as it can be seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. Couple this with the rise in food costs throughout the industry, with rice having the biggest increase of 117% year on year, it is easy to see why some caterers are struggling to continue," says grocery product marketing manager Rob La Francesca. "For this reason, it is important to stock quality products, which also keep all costs down for the operators.

He adds that catering for high volumes can be demanding. For example in the education sector there has been a 19.2% growth in meals served, which puts extra strain on caterers who have to ensure meals taste good but are keenly priced.

To satisfy demand, Brakes has introduced frozen pasta meals that can be served with minimal time and cost. These include: flaked salmon pieces, leaf spinach and penne in a rich cheese sauce, topped with paprika breadcrumbs; and spinach and ricotta ravioli in tomato sauce, finished with olive oil, oregano and basil, that can be microwaved from frozen in three minutes.

3G Food Service believes Italian cuisine continues to be one of the most popular food types in the UK, with outlets featuring at least one Italian dish on the menu.

Its line up includes premium lasagne using ingredients such as British beef, Italian vine ripened plum tomatoes, mascarpone and mature cheddar; traditional risottos made with Arborio rice; and for sharing platters its innovative stone oven baked crustless mini pizza bites come with toppings that include Mexicana melt, and mozzarella and mushroom on a vine ripened tomato sauce base.

Unilever Foodsolutions says the rise in popularity of Italian food can partly be attributed to the number of visits to Italy by UK residents which rose by 6.3% between 2002 and 2006. Mintel's 2007 report on Thai and other emerging ethnic food says Italian is the third most popular cuisine in the UK with 42% of people regularly eating it, thus providing caterers with a lucrative profit opportunity.

Unilever's marketing director Claire Sullivan comments: "In face of the current economic climate, caterers need to do everything they can to maximise profit while minimising labour and overheads. Our tomato sauces can be used as required in small batches, by conventional stove or steam cooking methods, and they can be microwaved. With ambient storage and a shelf life of 12 months, wastage is minimised resulting in cost efficiencies and increased profit potential."

No Italian dish can be without cheese in some form and Lactalis McLelland offers a diverse range. Out of home marketing manager Warren MacFarlane says: "Italian cheese is showing strong growth through increased penetration of products. Galbani, which is part of our range, is the number one brand for Italian cheese in the UK and Italy, so we are in an ideal position to drive further category growth."

He says in light of the current economic climate products such as mozzarella cubes and mini pearls make it simple to control the amount of product used in each serving and therefore save costs.

New for 2009 are Galbani products specifically for pizza and pasta. These include: Estremo, a grated mozzarella and emmental mix; Optima, grated mozzarella with extra long strands that means up to 20% less cheese is required; and Pizzaiola, which are small mozzarella cubes. In addition, Président Râpé three fromages is a blend of grated mozzarella, emmental and processed cheese that offers spreadability, a nutty flavour and a good finish to a dish.

Taking Italian food along the fusion route, Pasta King has introduced curry sauces to its pasta dishes such as Kari Veg and chicken balti. Kari Veg is a sun ripened spicy tomato sauce that contains mixed vegetables and quinoa, while chicken balti combines chicken portions with a tangy tomato sauce. The company has also received accreditation from the Halal Food Authority and will shortly be offering a new accredited range of halal pasta sauces.

The company provides pasta and more than 30 sauces with a free on loan pasta bar unit, and says latest sales figures show that it now serves more than 17 million meals a year – up from 14 million in 2007.

Napolina's marketing director Remmelt Jongkind says Italian food is more diverse than pizza and lasagne, and today's consumers are just as likely to opt for regional dishes such as Tuscan bean soup. Consumers were also becoming more aware of the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, he adds. "Italian dishes in particular have strong health appeal given that they are largely based around tomatoes, olive oil and vegetables. But it's important caterers get the basics right.

"Many people are looking to reduce household spending and the way we eat out is changing. However, consumers are savvy. When they eat out, venues are likely to be selected based on quality and atmosphere as well as price. Our beans, tomatoes, pasta and olive oils are designed to give chefs practical, cost effective ways to recreate an authentic taste of Italy in their kitchens."

Further proof that Italian food hasn't lost its flavour is the current rush of Italian restaurant openings with more on the way.

A third branch of Piada opened in the City of London in January. Taking its name from the flatbread used to make traditional Italian street food to go, dough is prepared on site, cooked and filled to order, and food is ready in less than four minutes.

Rossopomodoro has three London restaurants and plans to open two more this year and eventually to have between 10-15 in the capital before expanding outside the city – although this obviously depends on the economic environment.

Its global reputation is based on traditional food and wine from its home city of Naples. The majority of its ingredients are sourced from that region and this has been a key selling point.

General manager Mario Romano says the business strives to produce traditional cuisine. "What has had an effect on us is the value of the pound. Since we import all our ingredients, it's pushed up the cost of food that was higher than competitors' anyway.

"On the other hand we have good relationships with our suppliers and have made a lot of effort in sourcing the right products, therefore we have been able so far to manage the increase in costs. As authenticity is the key to our success we aren't going to change the ingredients or our standards. What we offer is the Neapolitan gastronomic experience.

"We have ingredients other Italian companies don't, which increases loyalty to our cuisine. Over the past 10 years there has been an increase in attention to ingredients and quality and, with people travelling more, they know what Italian food should taste like. This combined with competition pushes everyone towards higher standards."

Everything at Rossopomodoro is made from scratch by chefs from Naples or have a good knowledge of Neapolitan cuisine. Pizza dough is made daily from Caputo flour and specially imported mineral water, olive oil and mozzarella cheese. Another factor that characterises Neapolitan pizza is the oven, which cooks quickly without losing moisture. But he stresses this isn't fast food and people take around an hour to enjoy meals.

Earlier this year it promoted a 'no cutlery' challenge to diners which, he says, went down well. "The idea was basically to take knives and forks out because Neapolitan food is street food. It engaged them in enjoying it."

This year it is planning to test home delivery and work on ways to target foodies. This group, he says, doesn't want ordinary pizza but would try an authentic experience. "We are always trying to target people who are active in food groups and passionate about Italian cooking."