The World`s Gone Mad , MAD I Tell You (country, dance)

Urban Hat€monger ? · 06-27-2005, 01:12 PM

When home cooking is criminal

Barbara McMahon in Rome
Monday June 27, 2005
The Guardian

The venues are kept secret to bamboozle the police, and the guests are told where to go by text message. But the latest underground movement sweeping Italy has nothing to do with drugs or dance music: it is fuelled by home-made sausages, mouth-watering risottos and freshly baked bread.

Fed up with the high cost of eating out, and the recent ban on smoking in restaurants, Italians have taken to organising illegal private meals, charging €15 (around £10) a head for parties of up to 40 people.

The authorities have taken a dim view of the practice - known as fai da te, or do it yourself - because the hosts avoid paying taxes and sidestep health and safety rules that restaurant owners have to abide by. It is also illegal to charge people for food cooked in your own home. However, that has not stopped the movement.

The trend started in Milan with groups of young people organising do-it-yourself restaurants in private clubs or halls and apartments. In the past few months, the phenomenon has spread and "private trattorias" are springing up in central Italy.

According to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, they have become popular because of the dire state of the economy. Many Italians cannot, or will not, pay to eat out any more because prices in restaurants have soared since the introduction of the euro.

Groups of young Italians have been the driving force, the newspaper says, and all that is needed is a venue, such as a country house with a large wood-burning oven and a barbecue. Once the number of customers is known, the group of amateur cooks devises a menu and brings dishes, cutlery, pots and pans.

"Depending on the type of clientele, the evening's entertainment might just be people sitting around talking after dinner or they might dance and have music," says Luca Goldoni, who has attended such evenings. No one protests, he says, because in summer they usually take place in isolated spots in the country.

The menu for one of the meals included home-cooked antipasti of salumi (cooked meats) with freshly baked bread, asparagus risotto, chicken with olives or wild boar stew, followed by freshly picked peaches with ice cream. Entertainment is provided by someone who plays a guitar or accordion, and people can smoke freely and remain at table until the small hours.

Organisers of a private trattoria can make significant amounts of money. Forty people paying €15 a head means a take of €600 an evening. Ten such evenings a month adds up to €6,000.

The Italian authorities point out that, as well as the tax evasion issue, it is against the law to charge people for food cooked in a private home.

Real restaurants also have to undergo hygiene inspections, are subject to health and safety regulations and have to pay for insurance cover and properly trained staff. The police have said that anyone setting up a private trattoria will get a warning but will face prosecution if they continue.

OMG!!!!

PEOPLE ARE EATING IN THEIR OWN HOMES

Barnard17 · 06-27-2005, 02:15 PM

The point is that people are charging people to eat at their house, essentially as a restaurant, but they are able to bypass health and safety, taxation and other restaurant regulations.

Tommyrocker · 06-27-2005, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fal

they are able to bypass health and safety, taxation and other restaurant regulations.

One word - Macdonalds.

adidasss · 06-27-2005, 04:33 PM

you can't smoke at mcdonalds

shandapanda · 06-28-2005, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fal

The point is that people are charging people to eat at their house, essentially as a restaurant, but they are able to bypass health and safety, taxation and other restaurant regulations.

i get the part where they charge, but are people's homes that dirty, i mean they live there......

Barnard17 · 06-28-2005, 10:11 AM

You'd be surprised. And they can't be regulated. That's the problem.

06-28-2005, 10:15 AM

i think if people wanna take the risk then let them

Barnard17 · 06-28-2005, 10:48 AM

The other problem is taxation. Their profits from the hotel business will not be taxed.

06-29-2005, 07:04 AM

i dont care

06-27-2005, 01:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Urban Hat€monger ? The Sexual Intellectual Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Somewhere cooler than you Posts: 18,605	The World`s Gone Mad , MAD I Tell You When home cooking is criminal Barbara McMahon in Rome Monday June 27, 2005 The Guardian The venues are kept secret to bamboozle the police, and the guests are told where to go by text message. But the latest underground movement sweeping Italy has nothing to do with drugs or dance music: it is fuelled by home-made sausages, mouth-watering risottos and freshly baked bread. Fed up with the high cost of eating out, and the recent ban on smoking in restaurants, Italians have taken to organising illegal private meals, charging €15 (around £10) a head for parties of up to 40 people. The authorities have taken a dim view of the practice - known as fai da te, or do it yourself - because the hosts avoid paying taxes and sidestep health and safety rules that restaurant owners have to abide by. It is also illegal to charge people for food cooked in your own home. However, that has not stopped the movement. The trend started in Milan with groups of young people organising do-it-yourself restaurants in private clubs or halls and apartments. In the past few months, the phenomenon has spread and "private trattorias" are springing up in central Italy. According to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, they have become popular because of the dire state of the economy. Many Italians cannot, or will not, pay to eat out any more because prices in restaurants have soared since the introduction of the euro. Groups of young Italians have been the driving force, the newspaper says, and all that is needed is a venue, such as a country house with a large wood-burning oven and a barbecue. Once the number of customers is known, the group of amateur cooks devises a menu and brings dishes, cutlery, pots and pans. "Depending on the type of clientele, the evening's entertainment might just be people sitting around talking after dinner or they might dance and have music," says Luca Goldoni, who has attended such evenings. No one protests, he says, because in summer they usually take place in isolated spots in the country. The menu for one of the meals included home-cooked antipasti of salumi (cooked meats) with freshly baked bread, asparagus risotto, chicken with olives or wild boar stew, followed by freshly picked peaches with ice cream. Entertainment is provided by someone who plays a guitar or accordion, and people can smoke freely and remain at table until the small hours. Organisers of a private trattoria can make significant amounts of money. Forty people paying €15 a head means a take of €600 an evening. Ten such evenings a month adds up to €6,000. The Italian authorities point out that, as well as the tax evasion issue, it is against the law to charge people for food cooked in a private home. Real restaurants also have to undergo hygiene inspections, are subject to health and safety regulations and have to pay for insurance cover and properly trained staff. The police have said that anyone setting up a private trattoria will get a warning but will face prosecution if they continue. OMG!!!! PEOPLE ARE EATING IN THEIR OWN HOMES __________________ Urb's RYM Stuff Most people sell their soul to the devil, but the devil sells his soul to Nick Cave.

06-27-2005, 02:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
Barnard17 My home? Discabled, Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 204	The point is that people are charging people to eat at their house, essentially as a restaurant, but they are able to bypass health and safety, taxation and other restaurant regulations. __________________ Vita brevis, Occasio praeceps

06-27-2005, 04:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,993	you can't smoke at mcdonalds __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

06-28-2005, 10:11 AM	#6 (permalink)
Barnard17 My home? Discabled, Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 204	You'd be surprised. And they can't be regulated. That's the problem. __________________ Vita brevis, Occasio praeceps

06-28-2005, 10:48 AM	#8 (permalink)
Barnard17 My home? Discabled, Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 204	The other problem is taxation. Their profits from the hotel business will not be taxed. __________________ Vita brevis, Occasio praeceps

06-28-2005, 10:15 AM	#7 (permalink)
pastor of muppets Guest Posts: n/a	i think if people wanna take the risk then let them

06-29-2005, 07:04 AM	#9 (permalink)
pastor of muppets Guest Posts: n/a	i dont care