(Finance) – Six billion euros. This is the “turnover” of the Italian table in the upcoming holidays between home and non-home conviviality. A figure that has finally risen well above the pre-Covid food and wine turnover, also thanks to inflation. This is revealed by aCNA investigation. The investigation focused on public holidays of the two weeks (Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany) which fall between Tuesday 24 December 2024 and Monday 6 January 2025.
Costs aside, where and what will Italians eat during the holidays? An increase in out-of-home choices is certainly expected: restaurants, clubs, agritourisms. With a peak at Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Eve for restaurants. And in more rustic structures, such as farmhouses and mountain refuges, at Epiphany.
The majority of Italians will choose i traditional dishes and Italian “comfort food”. with a lean dinner on Christmas Eve and meat-based products especially at Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany. However, not only for those forced to do so due to intolerance and allergies, vegetarian options are making their way (including gourmet options) which on the days before will be combined with the choices of observant Catholics.
The return to tradition goes hand in hand with local and valuable raw materials. Quality reigns supreme and substance overcomes appearance with the help of artisans and small companies. It is precisely artisanal productions that make the difference compared to the years before the financial crisis and also the pandemic. Often the search for quality typical products also drives taste tourism which has now expanded to all agri-food ranges and not just wine and oil. And if prices have risen, quality also wins over quantity, avoiding, or at least reducing, food waste. Incomprehensible especially on days when many people don’t celebrate, sometimes a free choice, but mostly a forced choice. Fortunately, however, this year charitable initiatives are multiplying and solidarity is growing.