Italy: Prosperous Entertaining
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Entertaining for business success
The business breakfast is almost unheard of. Very rare exceptions may be found in the major cities.
Breakfast tends to be a very quick affair in Italy so it does not lend itself to talking business.
Breakfast in bars [cafes] is served from about 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Typically, it consists of a brioche which is a roll similar to the French croissant. It can be plain [liscia], filled with jam [con marmalata] or confectioners custard [con crema]. Frequently, the coffee served in the morning is cappuccino [coffee with foamy milk]. Standard coffee is espresso and is dark and strong. In the south, breakfast begins earlier and can be more substantial. Cappuccino is considered to be a breakfast drink only and Italians typically drink it up until about 11.30 am. Usually only tourists drink it at any time during the day.
Hospitality plays a key role in Italian business culture, and usually involves dining in a restaurant. Regardless of how you feel, refusing an invitation of any kind will be perceived as an insult. When planning your schedule make sure to leave time for lunches and dinners with your host as they may assume that you will dine with them. It is best to play this by ear keeping some flexibility.
Business dinners involve only a small, exclusive group. If you are the host, consult with your Italian contact before extending any invitations. Since you have no way of knowing all of the “inside” personalities and ranks, don't hesitate to ask for help.
Business is often conducted over a long lunch, which can last some time.
Depending on how well developed your relationship is with your Italian colleagues, business decisions usually are not made during mealtimes. Follow the example of your Italian dining companions and wait for them to initiate any discussions about business.
Be aware that the formalities of dining are taken seriously here. If you feel that you have upset your hosts in any way--make some comment about how different the Italian culture is from your own and let them understand that it was not deliberate. Italians know that they have many formal ways of doing things and are tolerant of blunders. They can, however, be sensitive if they sense criticism [however unintended].
Lunch is still the main meal of the day in most areas of the country and is usually served after 12:30 p.m. in the North of Italy, 1 –2pm in the centre and 2-3pm in the South. Business lunches used to last for hours but nowadays they tend to be shorter especially in the North. Whether at home or in a restaurant, lunch can be quite an elaborate meal with numerous courses. Typically, however, lunch will include a light starter, followed by soup, pasta or rice, then meat or fish with vegetables, or a side salad. The meal finishes with dessert or cheese with fruit, and, of course, espresso.
Wine and water are served throughout lunch, along with bread. Sometimes olive oil is used as a substitute for butter. Avoid mopping up any olive oil or sauce on your plate with your bread.
Italians believe that wine should be sipped slowly. Drinking too much at once or appearing inebriated is considered gauche and will always be an affront to Italian business etiquette. It is normal to have a glass for wine and a glass for water simultaneously. The bigger glass is usually the water glass.
If you need to alert the waiter or server, motion with your fingers pointing down or simply make eye contact accompanied by saying “senta” or “scusi”. One would never snap one’s fingers to attract a server’s attention.
Smoking is not allowed in public places in Italy (e.g. bars, restaurants, cinemas etc) and it is very strictly enforced. You will often see little groups of smokers just outside on the patio or in the street instead.
If you are invited out, you may offer to pay. In accordance with Italian business etiquette, however, your host will usually decline this offer. As a general rule, insist on paying only when you have made the invitation.
If you are hosting a meal in a restaurant and footing the bill, it's a good policy to make all payment arrangements ahead of time. This guideline is especially important to follow if you are a woman, since your male guests may refuse to let you pay.
Tipping'
For taxis, a simple rounding up is sufficient e.g. 8 euros instead of 7.50 euros. In restaurants 10% is sufficient if the food and service have been good. There is often an item on the bill called “coperto” which is usually calculated on a per person basis. This coperto is considered as a tip and rarely comes to more than 5%. If you have been particularly happy with the meal you could tip up to a total of 10%.
Coffee is taken throughout the day. A coffee break during a meeting is often used to re-establish personal relationships, especially when the meeting has been a tough one. Even if you are not a coffee drinker, it is worth taking the time out anyway and perhaps drinking water instead.
Cafes [called "bars"] can be found everywhere: they are the places to go for breakfast, coffee, filled roll (panini) at lunch, aperitif in the evening, even an ice cream. They are popular venues for socializing, open at all hours. These establishments traditionally have indoor and outdoor seating, with tiny tables, often crammed next to each other. Usually you pay a different price whether you consume your food/drink standing at the bar or sitting down with waiter service. In bars that do not offer waiter service it is fine to order at the bar and then go and sit down at a table. If however they offer waiter service you must be served by the waiter (and pay the higher prices) if you wish to sit as well.
Bar staff get annoyed sometimes when tourists pay the bar price but then sit down at a table and are usually quick to let you know that you are in the wrong place. If this sounds confusing – it is a bit! Usually though you will see a waiter and the choice is clear.
When you enter a café, you may seat yourself. Once you ask for the bill, be prepared to pay it, since the waiter will typically wait at your table until you pay.
Dinner tends to be served late. For example, 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. is the customary starting time in the north, 9:00 p.m. in Rome, and 10:00 p.m. in Naples. In the major cities, dinner can last well past midnight if it substitutes for lunch as the main meal of the day.
You might find all but the “tourist” restaurants closed prior to 8.00
If the main meal of the day was lunch, then the family dinner at home is light. In this case, it is usually a simple pasta or soup and cold cuts with salad, followed by fresh seasonal fruit.
Being invited to a private dinner party is a rare honour; so accept this opportunity to solidify a business relationship.
Dinner parties usually end at around midnight.
When you are invited to a home, refrain from wandering around from room to room. Houses are considered private. Likewise, you shouldn’t help yourself to a beer from the fridge!
Dinner parties or large lunches often start with an aperitif such as prosecco, campari or a non-alcoholic cocktail. One popular after-dinner drink is grappa, which is a brandy made from grape skins and stems; another is sambuca, an anise-flavoured drink.
Italian regional wines are usually served with dinner and are carefully selected to complement the food. Again, when wine is served with a meal in Italy, it is meant to be savoured, and is not to be used for getting drunk.
White wine [bianco] is typically served with appetizers or fish, while red wine [rosso] usually accompanies appetizers and meats. A sweeter wine may be served with dessert.
The most common toast is “salute” [to your health], or, more informally, “cin-cin.” When clinking glasses with other members of your party it is considered bad luck to cross arms with another couple that are clinking glasses at the same time.
The most honoured position is at the middle of each side of the table, with the individual of the greatest importance seated to the immediate right of the host. If a couple is hosting, one will be at one end of the table, and the other at the opposite end.
Occasionally, at dinner parties, couples may be broken up and seated next to people they do not know. The intention of this arrangement is to introduce new acquaintances and promote conversation.
The Italians do not switch knives and forks, as Americans do. When both are to be used, the knife remains in the right hand, and the fork remains in the left.
There are often many additional pieces of cutlery. If you are unsure of which utensil to use, the best policy is to start from the outside and work your way in, course by course.
Pass dishes to your left.
Italian dishes vary and include risottos [rice-based dishes], pastas, pizzas, gnocchis, soups and stews. Seafood and fish are abundant throughout the country thanks to the enormous coastline. Vegetables and fruits are impressive, especially in the south.
Be careful about adding salt, pepper or ketchup to food, since this implies to your hosts that the dish is bland or otherwise inadequately flavoured.
Instead of cutting lettuce in a salad, you are expected to fold it with your knife and fork so that it forms a small bundle that can be picked up with your fork.
An Italian would not use a spoon for assistance in handling spaghetti but there is no problem if you want to do it. You could instead, discreetly use a fork and the sides of the bowl or plate to twirl the pasta into a manageable bundle. Then place the entire forkful of pasta into your mouth at once; slurping the strands is considered poor manners. Lifting your napkin so that it protects the front of your shirt while you are eating pasta is perfectly acceptable. You should hold it in place though and not tuck it in as this is what children do.
If there is gravy or sauce, you may use your bread to soak some of it up using a fork. Do not, however, go so far as to mop the bread around your plate using your hands (though this is what Italians would do in the privacy of their own homes).
When the meal is finished, the knife and fork are laid parallel to each other across the right side of the plate. If you put both utensils down on the plate for an extended period of time, it is a sign to the servers that you are finished, and your plate may be taken away from you.
When not eating, keep your wrists resting above the table.
Portions are generally smaller than in the United States, but with a larger number of courses.
You are always welcome to have additional beverages. Fruit should always be peeled, cut into easy to eat pieces and in a more formal setting eaten with cutlery. It is never correct to pick up a piece of fruit e.g an apple or a peach and just take a bite out of it.
You won’t be expected to eat everything on your plate, but eat as much as you can. If you do not want more food, you will probably have to insist several times before the hostess will believe you.
A cup of strong, black espresso is traditionally served at the conclusion of the meal and is known simply as café. It should be drunk fairly quickly while it is still hot. If you want to have milk in it you should ask for “café macchiato”. If you want decaffeinated coffee, look for the term “hag”, which means without caffeine.
You may find yourself in a lengthy conversation about food and how it differs from place to place. You should look interested and be willing to try different meals. Extensive praise should be given to your Italian hosts and do not be afraid to use superlatives. To say that food is merely “good” or “nice” is bordering on an insult. Do not be afraid to use words like “wonderful”, “Exquisite”, “delicious”, “fantastic”!
Regional Cuisine
Italians have a wide variety of regional food and one of the major pleasures in life is visiting a new region and eating the local specialities
Bologna--food from this region is characteristically rich and substantial--representative dishes include tortellini and prosciutto
Florence and Tuscany--dishes from these regions rely on boar, meats, beans, generous amounts of olive oil, herbs, and garlic.
Genoa—gnocchi, pesto, fresh fish stews
Lombardy—osso buco, lamb dishes, polenta
Rome—varieties of pastas, meats e.g lamb, vegetables e.g artichokes
Veneto—fried fish from the Adriatic, fresh vegetables
The south and beyond Sicily—pizza, fresh farm vegetables, figs, olive oil, herbs, seafood
