![]() One such is Julio, a 31-year-old Peruvian who declined to give his surname because he has no work permit. Naples is the original home of pizza.Ī peep into the kitchens of even the most traditional Italian restaurants shows the local dishes are often prepared by low-paid immigrants. Typical dishes include tortellini in broth from the northern Emilia region, spaghetti alla carbonara from central regions around Rome, and pasta alla Norma in Sicily. Italians take their food very seriously, not just as nourishment and pleasure, but an important part of their regional and national identity. Such undeclared work is particularly rife in the hospitality sector, Italian economic data shows. Undeclared work accounts for around a fifth of the Italian private sector's output, well above a European Union average of 15%, according European Labour Authority statistics. 'ALWAYS IN THE BLACK'įor many restaurateurs, the answer is not to declare their workers at all and a large 'shadow economy' is rife in the restaurant business. It has 156,000 restaurants and takeaway food outlets, the second most in Europe after France, data from international industry research group IBISWorld shows.īut the ratio of new restaurants opening to existing ones closing has been negative for each of the last six years in Italy, according to the sector's business lobby FIPE, amid high taxes, endless red tape and the difficult economic backdrop. ![]() "I can't ensure work for my employees all year round."Įating out is part of everyday life in Italy. "I stay afloat, but I can only offer seasonal contracts," she said. Last year, rising costs forced her to close for three months during the winter low season and she could not get a loan from her bank for a sector considered at risk after the COVID pandemic. Instead, Di Marzo opened her own eatery in her native Gaeta, a seaside town between Rome and Naples that has been a resort dating back to the Roman Empire. Wages in Italy have declined over the past 30 years, adjusted for inflation – the only country in Europe where that has happened. The 36-year-old said she wanted put down roots and be closer to her family.īut an offer of just 1,200 euros ($1,284.84) a month to work 50 hours a week in a restaurant in Milan made no sense for her. Giorgia Di Marzo decided to take a chance and return to Italy in 2018, after working in Britain as a chef and restaurant manager for eight years. ![]() "Where do I see myself in five years' time? Not in Italy!" ![]() "After gaining experience abroad and reaching a high level, you would hope to go back to Italy and find a suitable role and salary, but that doesn't happen," he said. Roberto Gentile, a 25-year-old chef from Sicily, has worked for the last two years cooking French food at Le Suquet, a two-star-Michelin restaurant near Toulouse, after previous jobs in Britain and Spain.ĭespite his passion for Italian cuisine and the sentimental desire to go back to what Italians call the Bel Paese (the beautiful country), Gentile said the economic disincentives were too strong to consider returning. Much of the emigration has come from the Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, as well as Italy's economically underdeveloped south – the 'mezzogiorno'.
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