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HomeLatest NewsThe Extraordinary Adventures of Don Giulio: How an Italian in Russia Established...

The Extraordinary Adventures of Don Giulio: How an Italian in Russia Established Sausage Production

Date: March 28, 2024 Time: 20:26:35

Unlike many Russians, an entrepreneur from Verona believes that doing small business in our country is very cool

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

I met Giulio Zompi at a food festival, where national producers demonstrated their success in substituting imports for Parmesan, ham, prosciutto, and other European delicacies.

– And we have a real Italian here, he makes Italian sausages near Volokolamsk, – the organizers boasted.

Almost every manufacturer I spoke to complained loudly about problems due to sanctions and logistics, with equipment, packaging, ingredients… And the “real Italian” just shrugged: “There are no special problems “.

So I went to find out how he does it.

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

ITALIAN IN RUSSIA

Snow-covered outskirts of Volokolamsk, a type of semi-abandoned industrial area. A couple of dogs as guards. Italian businesses outside have a completely Russian look. But only outside. Inside, dry-cured sausages and meat delicacies “mature” on Italian equipment. The equipment is precisely to keep future delicacies in the right conditions of temperature, humidity, etc. Sausages and other products are prepared by hand, as has been done for centuries in Italy.

This is the production under the brand “Italian in Russia”. In addition to him, Giulio has an Italian food store with a Don Giulio confectionery in the center of Moscow and a restaurant. And his own philosophy: familiarizing the world with Italian culture and lifestyle is best through Italian cuisine: simple dishes made with quality ingredients.

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

“Don” makes an espresso for me, strong and good in Italian. And in a very Russian way, he cuts a sausage stick at the table, to taste it. The last time I tried something like this was in Verona. Julio, as it turned out, was from there.

WOMEN AND SANCTIONS AS A BUSINESS ENGINE

The future “Italian in Russia” came to our country, as often happens, because of a woman. In the mid-90s he met his first wife in Italy, a native of Donbass. And, as he himself says, he “began to ride” to Russia and Ukraine. Family life did not work out, but the “romance” with Russia turned out to be long-lasting. In the early 2000s, Giulio already came here for work, then he was in the IT business. And so he stayed.

He now has a third Russian wife and three children. And so it is with business.

– There was a huge increase in sales of computers in Italy in the early 90s, and here in Russia in the early 2000s. And then this business stopped being very profitable, everyone was already computerized, says our hero. – Therefore, I changed my life plans and decided to do what was closest to me. I love wine, I love food.

This is how an Italian grocery store appeared in Moscow on Pokrovka and a restaurant.

But an Italian in Russia simply must have affairs. And they were not long in waiting. The year 2014 broke out, the Western sanctions. And our anti-retaliation sanctions against the food embargo on European cheese and meat products.

– It was a shock, almost 90% of the products in my store were imported – Giulio recalls. – And I thought I’d produce something here. Because there were two options: react in some way to the situation or return to Italy, but I didn’t want to. I love going there on vacation. It turned out that here in Russia many took cheese. There is also a very good cheese. And no one faced the typical Italian jerky. My uncle is engaged in these products, there was already some knowledge of him. That is why I decided to make such a production.

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

ITALIAN SAUSAGE OF RUSSIAN MEAT

It took Giulio five years to create the sausage production. By Russian standards, tremendously long. But Italians have a different mentality: they don’t like to run.

The main problems were related to the choice of meat suppliers. Again, in Giulio’s interpretation: “no special problems, in Russia you can find everything, but there are some peculiarities.”

The “features” referred to the fact that many weight providers “pumped” the meat with water. For dry curing, the meaning of which is the opposite, this is categorically not suitable.

On the good side: According to Giulio, Russia also has its own evolution, and during his work, the overall quality of the meat has improved a lot.

But Italian standards are still very different. In Italy, certain breeds of meat are grown for a specific purpose. For example, to create specific dry cure products.

– Butchers in Italy don’t have to think about what kind of meat they have. They just take it, add salt, add spices, and voila, Giulio laughs. – There are more technological moments in Russia. The meat must be prepared in order to make a normal sausage from it.

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

Now, under the brand “Italian in Russia”, about 4-5 tons per month of traditional Italian salami, pates and sausages – coppa, panchetto, etc. are produced. In the new year, they promise to start producing prosciutto. , popular with “Russians in Italy”.

The volumes are small, dispersed to restaurants and specialized stores. As “Italian in Russia” himself explains, these are products that are not for ordinary retail chains, since they need to be informed, what it is about, to prove it. The buyer must first understand what the trick is.

I am also receiving an educational program. The traditional Italian product is dry-cured, not smoked, sausage and meat. Also, Italian, Spanish and French curing is a special tradition. These products lack acidity and taste sweeter than Austrian and German dry-cured sausages or traditional Russian smoked meats. For this original feature, according to Giulio, meat delicacies from southern Europe are loved all over the world.

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

“NO SPECIAL PROBLEMS”

Giulio’s production workers are all Russian: eight people. Mostly local, from Volokolamsk. The technologist is himself. The main raw materials – pork and beef – are purchased from Russian farms.

But Italian technology, of course, involves Italian spices and some other ingredients. And this is the question that intrigued me the most, that is, how is this now “no problem”?

Turns out there are…

“But they are solvable, there are no irresolvable ones,” Giulio explains with traditional Italian joy. – There is no embargo on ingredients for the food industry. Yes, the logistics have become more difficult. Whereas we used to buy as needed, now we buy ingredients six months in advance to give our suppliers a chance to organize everything. So no big problem. There were some difficulties only with some shell types. We have everything else.

In the current situation, as our “Italian in Russia” claims, there are not only disadvantages, but also advantages. Since the spring, your company’s turnover has grown by almost two to two and a half times. Including due to the fact that difficulties arose with logistics not only for official affairs, but also for smugglers. That is, those who delivered here for sale small batches of traditional Italian products, literally in a suitcase.

– However, the demand for restaurants is falling, especially since September, adds Giulio. – But we are so small and dynamic that there will still be a market for us, we just have to work harder.

“IS THERE CORRUPTION IN RUSSIA? YOU DID NOT DO BUSINESS IN ITALY»

– To Italy now 15 hours to fly. And I have an ex-wife with a son, a father, a brother there. Here are the real difficulties. But another…

Julio is finally sad for a split second.

– Aren’t you going back there?

– I watch how life develops there … I’d rather go there and go on vacation. The tax burden is very high there.

I listen to Giulio and I marvel. From his words it turns out that in Russia not only the best, but far from bad conditions for small businesses. Somehow I’m still used to hearing something else.

Corruption? Little support for small businesses?

– You have not seen Italian corruption in the distribution of public money. And in Russia, although it is difficult for a small company, it is still possible to make sure that the state helps you to develop your business a bit, explains the Italian. – The difficulties are mainly related to the fact that the State cannot simply say: “Whoever wants subsidies, raise your hand. Nate, take the money.” There must be some mechanism. Sometimes these mechanisms in Russia are difficult for a very small company. You have to do a lot of extra work. But if you really want it, you can get subsidies.

Unlike many, Giulio does not want to expand his business. Here is his explanation:

– Here, many are eager to enter trading networks and distribute their products throughout Russia. Of course, this is not possible with a small business. We need a different scale of business – Russia is big. But the advantage of a small business is that it is more dynamic, it is easier to adapt to the situation with it. If I had a big factory, there would be a lot more problems now.

Another advantage of a small company, according to our Italian, is that this is the only way to make an exclusive, more expensive and high-quality product.

– Small businesses, regardless of the country, succeed when they occupy some special niche, – Giulio is sure. – Now I have larger competitors who industrially produce traditional Italian and Spanish meat products. They have good products, but they are different. The sausage we produce by hand in small batches has a different smell and taste.

I am addicted to sausage. It smells like Verona.

Photo: Elena ARAKELYAN

TO THE TABLE!

What kind of sausage is eaten in Italy for the New Year?

Sausages, Giulio explains, are always on the table in northern Italy. But in the case of the New Year, there is a special tradition: 98% of Italians will eat kotekino with lentils. These are something like fatty and spicy sausages made from pork and pork skin, dried in a special way and cooked in their own broth. It is believed that this particular dish, I quote Giulio, “will bring spoils in the New Year.”

* This website provides news content gathered from various internet sources. It is crucial to understand that we are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented Read More

Puck Henry
Puck Henry
Puck Henry is an editor for ePrimefeed covering all types of news.
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