The question is,what is Italian food? I continuously see commercials for large chain restaurants that promote their pizza or pasta or panini or whatever “they think”Italian food is and how they have conquered it…finally!! The ones that irk me the most recently are from Pizza Hut. One commercial shows how they go to Italy and serve unsuspecting Italians Lasagna and how they all rant and rave about how good it is and how similar it is to their mother’s recipe. Really? Then the chef comes out and announces to everyone that he didn’t really cook the lasagna but it was actually from Pizza Hut and they give the delivery guys a standing ovation. {If you know Italians at all,you know that NOTHING is as good as their mother’s food (unless it’s their grandmother’s.)}
A recent commercial shows a family that is blindfolded as they drive off to dinner but are actually brought back to their own house…walk up the same 10 steps to their front door but after tasting the pasta they think they’re at an Italian restaurant (if that’s true,they could be the dumbest family in America.) Pizza Hut’s claim is “Restaurant Quality Pasta”…which goes to show that they don’t even consider themselves a restaurant (neither do I by the way.) In my opinion,restaurants should be shooting for “Home Quality Pasta.”
Let’s look at this from a marketing standpoint for a second… In my opinion,Pizza Hut’s campaign revolves around the company’s ability to fool people. So you go to Italy and fool Italians into eating your lasagna and go to New York to fool people into eating your pasta…you even go to someones house and fool them into thinking they’re somewhere else! Why would you do that? The obvious answer is to get people to try something that they would otherwise not try then create conclusions for your real target consumer. I don’t believe Italians are a target consumer for Pizza Hut…but if their Pasta and Pizza is good enough for Italians then their target consumer will feel better about how authentic it is and buy it. The contradictions are endless though.. authentically fooling people? So this leads me to one of two conclusions:
- Either they are incredibly naive (drinking from the company Kool-Aid) and think their Tuscani Pasta (which is what it’s called) is truly authentic Italian food or…
- They have no intention of being authentic because that’s not what their target consumer wants. If their target consumer wanted authentic Italian pasta then they wouldn’t be offering “Creamy Chicken Alfredo”or the ever popular and authentic Italian dish,“Premium Bacon Mac N’Cheese”neither of which would be found a mile from an authentic Italian restaurant.
So why does this irk me? To me as an Italian American,it’s insulting. Food is a big part of our culture and not only do we as Italians and Italian Americans know this but the rest of the world knows it as well. So if your plan is to capitalize on this fact (and many companies have) then try harder! otherwise don’t brand it as Italian. There’s nothing wrong with creating a Pizza Hut line of pastas…great,maybe it even tastes good but once you call it “Tuscani Pasta”(which isn’t an Italian word that I know of but is meant to be in my opinion) and then create a campaign on how Italians in Italy love it and people who eat it think they’re in an Italian restaurant,then it’s a different story. If Pizza Hut really thinks they’re Tuscani line is authentic then maybe we should have a taste test…How about any of their Tuscani Pasta vs. my mother’s pasta. We can get a whole restaurant full of Italians and see what they think. I’ll even substitute my mother’s pasta for any Italian mother’s in the country. Surely their “Restaurant Quality Pasta”is superior to Mom’s Pasta. Or maybe they can open a Pizza Hut in Italy (surprisingly there are currently no Pizza Huts in Italy) and serve their pasta and Lasagna! Their taste test obviously proved that Italians love it! What do you think Pizza Hut? email me and we can make it happen.
So back to the question:What is Italian Food? Italian food to me is more than just ingredients…it’s an experience,it’s creativity,it’s simple and not overdone,it’s making the best out of what you have locally. It’s creativity that created pizza when southern Italians had little and wanted to make something delicious with the little they had. It’s not stuffed crust or extra cheese.
5 clues that your food is not authentic Italian
- Your tractor trailer pulls up once a week and delivers pizza dough and other food made somewhere else that only needs to be cooked or warmed up at your restaurant.
- Your menu is a never ending list of over-doing-it. Super sized,stuffed crust,meat lovers supreme,butt buster specials that come in portions that could feed a large family…twice.
- You need to try way too hard to get approval from Italians because they would never eat in your restaurant and/or have never heard of the dishes you’re claiming are Italian.
- You use ingredients that can’t be pronounced in an effort to enhance taste and preserve “shelf-life”
- Your recipes were developed in a laboratory by chefs with chemistry degrees.
So what is authentic Italian food to you?
You are so on the right track here Joe. Most of the food we consider “Italian”here would never be found in Italy –too much sauce,too much cheese,etc. Yet there are people here who think that if you eat arugula you are elite. Arugula may be a symbol of the arriviste here in the U.S.,but it’s been grown and eaten for thousands of years in Italy. Fresh ingredients,simple preparation and cooked with love to honor those ingredients –Now THAT’s Italian.
I saw this commercial too. I thought to myself,“Yeah,right.”All the italians I know think Pizza Hut is crap. And olive garden too! Either they spent days finding the 3 people who said they liked it (weeks),or it’s all bull and they are actors. That’s my 2 cents worth.
I had the same reaction to the Pizza Hut commercial. When my friends from Italy visited the US they told me they were scared to even try pizza and laughted when I pointed out Pizza Hut.
My friends think I am a food snob because I usually say that most Italian food I have eaten here is not authentic Italian food. I would say good authentic Italian food is made with fresh ingredients,is not super-sized,and does not go overboard with too much garlic,sauce,cheese,etc. or too many ingredients.
Great post!
Oh Joe you are so so right.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I think that Real Italians don’t eat in Pizza Hut!
I actually have trouble with Olive Garden too…
This whole topic annoys me…they have to stop doing this!
Tuscani pasta? Premium Bacon Mac’n Cheese? Really? Fortunately,we don’t get Pizza Hut commercials in Italy.
While your basic premise is corect,you are forgeting that polite people rarely say anything bad as a guest. It could be the worst they ever had,but if you set up the right people in the right scenario,they will always have positive things to say –if they are a polite guest.
Just a little marketing trickery! People eventually figure it out.
I saw this commercial on another expats blog here in Italy. A few pointed out that the Italians in this commercial do not have Roman accents. They are actors and not very good ones at that.
Larry this was a restaurant not someone’s home. It’s not impolite to voice your opinion about a bad meal in a restaurant.
Amen Linda!
Maryann…they should send their “chefs”(is that insulting to chefs?) to your blog for a few lessons.
Thanks Girasoli…I agree.
Me too Susan…I really don’t have a problem with them…they just need to stop claiming it’s Italian!
You may be right Larry…especially when you’re getting a free meal,which I assume is the case. I also assume the Lasagna wasn’t the same as the one someone would order at any old Pizza Hut. The picture of the “big-mac”on the menu is never the one you get when you order is it?
Good point Ragazza…I’ll have to watch it again. Thanks for all your comments:)
This reminds me of when our son worked at Pizza Hut and someone asked what he recommends. He replied,“I recommend that you go someplace else.”
Great post! Some of this so called “eye-talian”food makes me want to scream.
I ABHOR this commercial and switch the channel whenever it’s on. First of all,shouldn’t it be Toscani and not Tuscani? Secondly,no real Italian would eat that much goo on their pasta. I’m not Italian,but that much I know,even after just visiting Italy a couple of times.
Loved Don Speranza’s comment.
Your post is reminding me of the face Daniele pulled when we ate at a Pizza Hut in London. I actually enjoyed it (I really did –sorry),but I swear he’d rather have stayed at home and eaten cheese on toast.
Have you seen the “Fail”blog? Well,this is a “fail”ad. Quite apart from all that you mention,I’m thinking:“Not going to eat there,they’ll spy on me”. Call it paranoia!
Regarding “Tuscani Pasta,”I haven’t researched the word,but it is probably made up so that Pizza Hut can trademark it,althouth it does not appear that they have done so yet. They have trademarked P’Zone(tm) and Pizza Mia(tm).
I work in marketing and spend hours in meetings making up words that sound real and invoke a certain thought/feeling/inspiration. One difference about my field however,is that if we made claims about our products as outlandish and misleading as Pizza Hut’s,the FDA would shut us down in a heartbeat.
The sad thing is–and I bet deep down you know I’m right–that if you gathered up Pizza Hut’s devoted clientelle and had a taste test of Tuscani Pasta versus your mother’s cooking,the Tuscani Pasta would win. Our society has forgotten what real food tastes like. Probably many/most Pizza Hut customers have never eaten a meal made of fresh ingredients with rich flavors,a variety of textures,and best of all the simplicity of foods before all the additives and preservatives go in. I once took my daughter and some friends to a restaurant,and one commented that the calamari was “Good like Captain D’s.”*grin*
One clue that your food has a pretty good chance of being authentic Italian:someone with the same name as the restaurant comes to your table and makes you feel as if you are a family in his/her own kitchen. Like family,you might get teased or scolded,but you know you are welcome and they take great care in feeding you.
I think the same thing! I hate these commercials. The thought of eating pasta in pizza hut (or pizza for that matter) makes me want to vomit. I would never eat that and I don’t understand why anyone would even if they aren’t Italian. There are so many pizzerias and italian restaurants that aren’t expensive so why sacrifice taste for a product like this. Yuck!
My feelings exactly. I hate those Pizza Hut commercials and the ones for Olive Garden. I do have to agree with Christie though…most people just don’t know what good Italian is. I work with a girl who eats pasta out of a can and turns her nose up to fresh lasagna. Now that’s sad.
Don,you have an intelligent boy on your hands!
Right on Rose!
Sally,it probably tastes good…my point is it isn’t Italian. Your right,no one likes to be tricked or spied on.
Christie,again that’s fine…their clientele,their target consumers would probably enjoy that more. I agree (I said,a room full of Italians though) A room full of Italians would probably be unanimous. I’m in marketing as well.. probably slightly different discipline as you but as you know an authentic story when creating a brand wins…there is no authentic story here. There’s nothing wrong with having American Style Pasta or Pizza,what irks me is when they try to spin it as Italian in order to create credibility. I may make a mean sushi roll but I’m not going to put peanut butter on it and claim it’s authentic Japanese cuisine,then take it to Japan and fool a group of people into thinking a Japanese chef made it.
I agree Michele. I wouldn’t go there either but I’m sure they do have good products for a good value…not my cup of tea but again,my problem is only that they tie it so strongly to Italian food and how much Italians love it.
Food Hunter…you are unfortunately right and “most people”is what makes them so successful.
This assinine commercial aggravates me no end. I could tell you what my husband thinks of the farce but my mother told me to NEVER use that kind of language…. Oh,did I mention that my DH is Italian?
Tis’indeed a sad state of affairs when people mistakenly think Pizza Hut knows anything about Italian cooking. I pride myself in transmitting my M in L’s recipes to my children:I am fortunate enough to have learned how to make her wonderful lasagna. It takes hours to make from scratch:ragu,bechamel,pasta,assembly,etc…It is true that people have eaten so much cr*p in so called restaurants that they are firmly convinced this is the way such things should taste. sob.
Joe,
Oh boy,I couldn’t have said it any better. Those commercials have bothered me ever since they began and I get angry every time they’re on. Aside from the fact that I wouldn’t return to Pizza Hut unless my life depended on it,any fast food or “Restaurant”that offers food with any one of your five clues,is on my list of failures. Olive Garden comes to mind. Even some “Italian Restaurants”have given up on quality for the sake of fast,easy,cheaper and longer shelf life. When I eat a ravioli or tomato sauce that tastes like Chef Boyardee,I get a little suspicious.
And for all of us real Italians or Italian Americans,no matter how often we’ve watched and listened to Mom or Nonna make that sauce or meatball,it never tastes quite the same as when it’s done with their own hands,and that special brand of love.
Thanks Joe for saying so well what’s been on my mind for so long.
Paul Valvo
Nice job Joe!! We as Americans continue to distort the Italian food as we know it. To big,to much,seems to be what is portrayed as good Italian food,not good. Also ,the way they display and explain the culture of the Italian people is so misleading.
Yes Joe you have opened a can of worms on this one!!
Thanks and take care
Oh we even get those stupid ads in Australia. They irritate me. As if a restaurant owner would agree to serve junk food from another ‘restaurant’therefore proving that their food is of equal quality to Pizza Huts as they are happy for their customers to be mistaken. Either those people are actors or are just being polite in front of a camera.
I’m still planning my trip to Italy and I am hoping that a nation renowned for it’s passion for food serves up better than Pizza Hut.
I just read this post in my Google reader. It is so funny. But I am wondering,Joe …how do you really feel?
According to my daughter (actually born there–and lived until she was 9) It’s not a “real”italian restaurant if they don’t know what a “suppli”is. That is the measure we still use. If you can’t order suppli–it’s not real italian.
mpbailey…did she grow up in Rome? It’s crazy how names of foods change from region to region. We cook foods that are called by another name a few towns over. It’s the beauty of Italian dialects. Thanks for reading.
Very nice article! I love Italian food,but the difference between authentic Italian food and imitation varieties is often very obvious. I liked your list of Clues that the restaurant is not authentically Italian. Very funny!