A thread runs roughly certainly ruin the work of the best chefs in addition to a movement to make unnecessary the life of a sole.
(Ennio Stocco - Maitre at the Grand Hotel )
At the port of Rimini, one of the most picturesque corners of the city, of which the most popular and Rimini are, rightly, very jealous, there is a some particular library. Some, especially those who love books, you may also refuse to define it and would not have a point.
The Library of Porto is a marquee plastic and metal in every direction exposed to the weather and the elements. Sand, salt and humidity are the masters, not to mention the heat, as the sun beats us on without interruption from dawn to dusk. The most obvious consequence of all this can be seen at the entrance: shelves more than one volume has the cover "curled, folded in on itself, in a clear expression of disgust and suffering paper. Moreover, taking up a book whatsoever, you immediately feel the thick layer of sand and dust that covers it. The sand is also inside, between the pages rustle and creak dramatically.
For fetishists of the book, an experience not to be missed. Or to be avoided.
However, if I am in those parts never give up a visit, especially since I discovered that there is a corner dedicated to the Adriatic Coast: Volumes of local publishers or who are concerned with the life, customs and traditions this stretch of coast. I found there in the middle of the Grand Hotel Maitre
Ennio Stocco, for thirty years in the service of the Grand Hotel of Rimini. Fifteen
€ for a paperback volume of 116 pages plus another 16 photos. Not a few! I bought it to see if I had found at least one while, despite the difference in class and, consequently, the type of clientele. And I was curious to find a point of view different from mine on the reality of tourism Romagna. To begin
Ennio Stocco but not Romagna Veneto. E 'come to Rimini in 1968 after several experiences in other Italian hotels and foreigners. He began making the case for the waiter at the age of 16 years. Did not attend a vocational school, barely managed to finish secondary school, despite what he writes:
"The waiter is recognized by professional details. The habit first. The way she moves among the tables should be thinking to that of a landlord with its guests. Cortese, always, never brash, never intrusive. There is talking in chat most of the time due and failure to address personal issues, nor will expose personal opinions. At the urging of the customer should be able to talk for hours about the weather. " style leaves something to be desired, I agree, this does not stop to highlight the most important fact: the full realization of his vocation. Not is quite a feat!
If I think of all the people who are offered each year to work at the hotel, offering itself for two or three different jobs (one is the other, provided they can work), I take a great sadness.
"In the long years of service I've seen all colors, shapes and sizes. could not be otherwise and I am sure that the anecdotes recounted in the book are a fraction of the actual measurements. Also, when you work for a life in the hospitality sector, develops a code of ethics is very similar to that of a doctor, lawyer or a journalist, and even after the leave can not negate its obligations towards patients, clients, sources or customers. It 's a matter of honor and loyalty. Probably the hottest secrets, revelations more rough, more gruesome events, they are to trust only those closest and trusted and disappear with the death of their depositary.
Bush and Gorbachev, Princess Diana, Shimon Peres, Spadolini, Enzo Biagi, of course, Sharon Stone and Federico Fellini. Everyone knows that the myth of the Grand Hotel of Rimini was born with his films and he used to stay there when he returned in Rimini. The Grand Hotel was one of the few corners of the city survived the big change after the devastation of war and then with the arrival of mass tourism. Fellini When he left for Rome in 1937, the resort was a privilege of a few: rich , noble people who had too much free time and had to find ways to fill it. Everyone else was too busy trying to survive.
Fellini did not accept the way down what had become Rimini after World War II and has never made any secret. As reiterated on many occasions, Rimini for him was more of a "memory size" and as such could live within the walls of the Grand Hotel. Indeed, Stocco testifies that when he died, at the Grand Hotel came dozens of messages of condolence: "
... including one of Woody Allen who believe that the hotel was owned by Fellini." There is another anecdote, but do not relate one of the guests, Stocco back with plenty.
One fellow with a passion for music and singing had to perform in a singing competition in a room near the Grand Hotel. The winner would be been decided by applause. Stocco and colleagues, unable to afford the entry and drinks from the local, were cheering outside, but when the organization became aware of noise from outside, poor competitor is disqualified by providing for the victory of the opponent, a certain Silvio Berlusconi.
The richest Russians, the mucilage, the theft of towels ... autobiography of
maitre Stocco there is all the footage of that kind of representation that goes to every summer replica now for sixty years. Stocco is old school and devotes an entire chapter to praising his profession, confirming at the same time the cliché waiters discrete actors, often unnoticed or even transparent, but essential. It does not save a dig at those who take, not always deserved, the spotlight:
"Today it is fashionable to do cooking shows, chefs from all we see, creative menu, low cost, fast. Applause, congratulations . Some chef even came to work in television. There is a news program that omits the section devoted to recipes or the Mediterranean diet advice and live culinary preparations. Waiters never! "
