Good luck to Big Mama's Cucina Popolare

And again a new Italian cookbook is out! Made by the employees of the Italian franchise chain Big Mama in France whose average age is 24 years. Originally published by Phaidon, the book has now been published in translation by Good Cook. A beautiful cookbook with fun Italian recipes. What I mainly think about, however, is those Italian workers who put together the recipes.

Immigrants

Historically, Italy has had three major emigration flows. The first was towards America and supplied the world with concepts such as Little Italy, pasta with meatballs and books like C.V. by Melania Mazzucco. This was the great emigration between 1860 and 1920 . It was the period of Enrico Caruso, the famous Italian tenor who also recorded records in New York.

There are beautiful pictures on the internet of large boats resembling the Titanic and Italians queues at the US Immigration Service. The quest for great happiness in the unknown promised land.

Postwar period

After the Second World War, the second wave of migration started to countries in Northern Europe where there was a need for low-skilled workers. It was mainly Italians from southern Italy and characteristic of this period is the organization of Italians in their new homeland.

The Netherlands still has organizations such as Ente Società Italiana or COI-ACLI that, on the one hand, help Italian immigrants in the Netherlands to integrate and, on the other hand, help to preserve the culture of their home country. I always find those organizations a bit dated.

in our time

The latest influx of migrants started after the 2008 crisis and mainly affects young graduates who cannot find work in their home country. There are all kinds of reasons why the crisis in Italy mainly affects young people. It has to do with, among other things, a geriacracy in which seniors in particular hold important positions and do not give them to young people. In addition, there is a culture in which it is important to find work in an sometimes artisanal small business through family and friends. Also, the free movement of labor is smaller and the civil service is organized by the state.

What to do with a literature study in this day and age?

Theoretical knowledge has traditionally been highly valued in Italy, but in the neoliberal society completely different qualities are important: flexibility, commercial insight and entrepreneurship, for example. Italians certainly have those qualities, but they are not polished in their education and in preparation for professional life. This also applies to Dutch literature students. But the Dutch economy is doing better and I see many of my former fellow students finding work as an administrative or communicative employee or as a project manager.

Connection

Now I know quite a few Italians in the Netherlands with an enormous amount of diplomas, certificates and a mountain of theoretical knowledge. But they are not always appreciated in the Netherlands and so many of these Italian emigrants work below their level. It wouldn't surprise me if Big Mamma's employees include many laureates with master's degrees in literature. The humanities in particular find it difficult to connect with another culture. With the technical studies, the connection often seems better and companies can appreciate an Italian diploma.

language barrier

And then there is the language barrier. An Italian who has studied the arts and comes to the Netherlands often benefits from learning Dutch if he or she wants to find a job in Dutch education (traditional legislator of the arts students) or at a cultural institution.

But also as a communication or administration employee or as a project manager you usually need knowledge of Dutch. Speaking a language at a high level is something you don't do for a while. And then there are all the cultural differences.

In short: I do not find life easy for the Italian young emigrant in the Netherlands.

Hand on the cut

Recently I saw an Italian acquaintance standing on her hind legs when it was about Rutte who stood his ground and did not want money to Italy. A lot has been said about this in the media, but the fact is that the Netherlands is not viewed so positively in Italy.

Italians have a very different view of the crisis than the Dutch, as it may be clear. It would be interesting to look at it from an Italian perspective, which, by the way, is nicely articulated by this article in The green or this article in The Correspondent.

Cultural appropriation

And then this article on the cultural appropriation of food. The Dutch also do it with Italian food. Me too. Sometimes you make an Italian recipe, but much more often we, or Dutch cookbook authors, give our food an Italian twist. Or something that we think is an Italian twist, because often the Dutch understand the unwritten rules of Italian cuisine not.

This also happens with Italian dishes in Dutch restaurants. Restaurants where Italians work in the kitchen, but where the business is run by a Dutchman. Elena Basilio (link above) writes in her blog about cultural differences between Dutch and Italians. If you don't know Italian, you can read it using Google Translate, because it is highly recommended.

I remember that of the approximately 30 Italian cookbooks that I've reviewed for This Is Italy for the past 6 years was about half made by non-Italians.

To award

I recently came across it positive lexicography project by Tim Lomas. He attempts to contribute to positive psychology by collecting words from all the languages ​​of the world with a cultural meaning. Positive words that help you understand the world. His collection also contained the Dutch word gunnen.

To award† Dutch / v. / ˈɣən.ən / khun-un. To think that someone deserves something (good); to feel happy for them getting it.

I give it to these employees of Big Mama very sad that this cookbook and their restaurant chain will also be a success in the Netherlands. It is a wonderful collection of good Italian recipes. Quite classic and traditional but with a contemporary twist.

What's great is that they work with all authentic Italian products, imported from Italy. In doing so, they financially support their families at home and make good use of their cultural assets. Working in a restaurant where speaking your native language is a plus is a good tactic in finding work.

Resilience

Giving has nothing to do with being pathetic or with alms, with alms. For me it has to do with appreciation for the qualities and autonomy of other people. And you will see that more than in this cookbook. In the Netherlands there is a lot of talk about resilience as a quality, but the authors of this book have it.

Big Mama's Cucina Popolare – Italian classic with a contemporary twist
(preview copy)
by: Big Mama
380 pages
€ 35
Good Cook, July 2020
ISBN 9789461432377