The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to confront major change – both on individual and social levels. What are these changes? How are we changing? What will we learn from this experience? To get some answers to these questions and more, we interviewed Nicola Perullo from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo (in the Cuneo province of Piedmont), where he is a Full Professor of Aesthetics, the Pro Rector and Director for Education and Director of the PhD Program in Ecogastronomy, Education and Society. Perullo is also a respected member of the Barilla Brand Advisory Board for Barilla.
We are in an exceptional situation due to the global COVID-19 epidemic. These days, food is on our minds a lot – a little because of boredom, but also because of a certain atavistic (or instinctual) reaction. What's changing?
One thing that struck me is the fact that, at the beginning, there was this grabbing race for food, especially in the first stage. There was fear and worry that we would run out of resources – as if we were at war. This, of course, didn’t happen so that phase ended; the trend has now shifted, almost inverting itself – where grocery shopping has become our occasion to escape quarantine, to go on an errand to distract ourselves. So the opposite problem arose: People went shopping and bought too little. In fact, I read about a Tuscan municipality where the mayor required that shoppers spend a specified minimum amount at the supermarket, while elsewhere, someone was fined because they only bought wine – not considered a necessity in its own right. These events create interesting occasions for us to consider the distinctions between essential and non-essential goods, which is a very difficult differentiation to make, if you think about it. It opens up a number of ontological and philosophical questions that deserve to be explored in depth. The essentiality of one good with respect to another depends on culture, situations, biographies. For example – I could show, that for me, it is more important to drink a good glass of wine a day than to prepare a pizza with different flours, which is now back in fashion.
What are your thoughts about it? Why do you think we have dedicated so much attention (and so much time) to kneading dough?
This topic is very interesting because it brings us back to a manual, artisanal dimension. Making pizza, bread and pasta at home has become a way for many people to explore their creativity by connecting it to food. From a certain point of view, it's a positive opportunity to rethink the subject of food as a value, but it also opens the door to a series of degenerations and distinctions that can be limiting. For example, I have noticed that everyone has used this pandemic to confirm their theories about food. Supporters of the vegetarian and vegan diet have said that their diet is the best way to maintain good health; others have said that cooking traditional recipes helps us satisfy a need for freedom, conviviality and creativity. Everyone has found reasons for what they already thought before the pandemic, missing the opportunity to think about – and eventually overcome – the limits of their own thinking. This could be an opportunity to change, to grow, but if you use it to strengthen your convictions, once the pandemic is over, you return to your initial state.
At this point, we were wondering: Will all these things we are doing now help us find a sense of reality that we may have lost? Are they bringing us closer to food in its primary essence? Or is it just fun – a hobby that will leave a blank behind? After quarantine, will we have earned a more visceral, authentic relationship with the food we are handling so much, or will we forget about it in your opinion?
I don't know. On the one hand, there is necessarily a tendency to go back to the idea that food does not necessarily mean going out to restaurants or ordering take-away, but rather making it at home. We have witnessed a kind of social shift from that point of view, which could lead to significant changes in the hospitality industry – that has perhaps exploded like a bubble in recent times. Then, it also depends on how long this new condition lasts. We feel like we have been living in quarantine for a long time, but we have actually changed our habits for only a couple of months. Human beings forget things very quickly. We forget the good, but also the bad. I'm not sure we' ll have a relevant memory of this period.
But something has definitely happened. The most conscientious people have realized that we can live without football players, but not without farmers. Putting these priorities on the scale should be natural: I think that globally this could have significant effects, but we can't really count on the breakthrough of this new awareness in everyone. It's as if the universe was speaking to us, sending us signals. All this has led us to thinking about specific spheres from which we draw our inspiration and strength.
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If we think of an intermediate step out of this epidemic, it is natural for us to take those countries that have faced it before us – such as China – into account. There, the hospitality industry has been transformed, but it has followed a model that is very different from ours. In the East, in fact, it is common to eat sitting at a counter, one person next to the other, so the idea of being divided by plexiglass barriers could be less disturbing there than in a country like ours where conviviality plays a major role at the dining table. If we were to give up the social dimension of food, do you think we would start to perceive it more as a functional tool – or do you think we would still find a way to build an emotional bond with it, as we have done until now?
I believe that human beings are very resourceful and that they always try to find the best solutions to problems they encounter. So I lean more towards the second hypothesis, which is that new and different ways of socializing will be found. We will see a transformation, that at the beginning will make people cry out “scandal” about loss of tradition and relationships, but that could also give rise – if we can live it in a creative and positive way – to new forms of individual affectivity, even intimate. The pleasure we find in eating or drinking something that comforts us – especially during long days of loneliness and silence – has assumed an important value; it gives us the opportunity to take a break from our hectic lives. Of course, I won’t go so far as to say that everything is necessarily positive; we have also seen negative symptoms surfacing, such as anxiety, depression, and insecurity. It's all very fluid and evolving, and it's impossible to say where it will go. Those who are trying to predict the future with certainty – whatever the scenario – leave me rather stunned.
The one thing that hasn't changed – but has only momentarily shifted location – is the success of “food images” on social media that have moved into the more intimate space of the home. These have not decreased at all. The phenomenon of “foodstagramming” – sharing food images on social media – has even been very successful during the pandemic without suffering any crisis at all. It is also a way to maintain a link with what we were before, representing a sign of continuity. Following the same approach, events related to the world of food have not ceased, but they have instead taken on a new virtual identity. The most successful example of this is the phenomenon of “tasting webinars.” Organizing online tastings may seem a contradiction of concepts, but it was created entirely by virtue of necessity. Creativity is also developed through these initiatives. The only certainty about the gastronomy of the future is its unpredictability, and the only way to manage it is to be open and flexible.
At a time when geographical barriers and new limitations are on the rise, it is precisely these new ways of doing things that enable us to break those walls down, but this period has also shown us that perhaps we travel too much sometimes. What do you think?
Yes, exactly. For people's lives today, the transportation of food is fundamental, but we cannot say the same about people moving around. We need to be connected, but this connection can happen in many ways. For a long time, we thought that people should move just as goods do, taking customs, that we have to leave behind today, for granted. In this sense, which immediately and directly involves the tourism business, this summer will be interesting and will reveal the potentials of tourism, which according to some studies may also be the only way to save some businesses. I read an interesting analysis that hypothesized that the lack of possibility for taking holidays abroad and the consequent need for Italians to spend their holidays in their own territories, could lead to an increase in business that could compensate for the economic disaster of these last few months. A model that worked in the 1950s – during the recovery after the war. I am positive; I believe that there will be growth in the end, even if it will not be immediate. I believe that there is space for a collective consciousness that grows and evolves.
Nicola Perullo Portrait @Madiai