As a recently emigrated Italian and a long time CEO of Italian Food Companies, living and working in NYC is the experience of a life time – so rich in both, personal and professional stimuli.

For decades, NYC has been the point of entry into the US for so many Italian emigrants; symbolized by the Statue of Liberty, arriving in New York meant the beginning of a new life for millions of Italians.

This also brought parts of Italy and of its culture to America, since the emigrants contributed to the “melting pot” with their traditions and ideas. And as we know, the Italian rich food culture started to permeate American houses and restaurants and, eventually, supermarkets.

Some traditional Italian recipes and preparations were even metabolized, “Americanized”, and have become something new and different, and a staple for every American – like “spaghetti meat balls”, “pizza pepperoni” and “pasta alfredo”. I never had these growing up in Italy, but I can see where they came from. The emigrants’ thick Italian dialects mixed with somewhat broken English led to some peculiar words spelling like “muzzarel” or “fazool” that can still be found on some small store sign or product packs. These make me smile, but with a lot of emotional empathy.

The times of massive emigration from Italy have long gone, but the profound link between NYC and Italy has grown stronger and stronger. It has evolved from the migration of people to the import of goods, especially food products, and, more recently, it is leading to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the regional food cultures of Italy.

This is the exciting new opportunity for high quality Italian food companies; a growing number of foodies want to experience the real high-end products and recipes that are part of the rich regional food traditions in Italy. Not their “Americanized”, cheaper version, the real thing like they had the chance to try while traveling in Italy or as they can enjoy in a growing number of niche restaurants (as opposed to the big “Italian sounding” chains), or as they can research on internet.

Italian cuisine originates from an agricultural society that was poor economically but rich in culture and taste. Real Italian food is simple – normally just a few basic ingredients – but is based on high quality ingredients, well balanced in quantity and flavor. Spaghetti al Pomodoro like Pizza Margherita are made with very few simple ingredients, so if they are not individually excellent, the whole plate has no taste. If the pasta (or the pizza dough) is not excellent, if the tomatoes and the cheese are not outstanding (and the same goes for the touch of olive oil and fresh basil), the plate is dull. There is no point in adding a larger quantity of the ingredients to compensate for their luck of flavor; the tomato sauce, for example, should just dress the pasta not to drown it in a red lake. And, do not dare to add chicken!

It is now up to good Italian food producers to grow the export of their outstanding “simple” ingredients and to take part in the re-discovery of real Italian food in the USA, starting from NYC – which is still the gateway.

Despite the strong consumer interest, this endeavor is more difficult that it looks like. The Italian high-end food producers are generally small, while approaching the big US retailers requires significant financial and human resources investments. The “Italians” will have to be more creative to overcome these difficulties, but creativity has always been our strength – in food as in business.

Marco de Ceglie