Bistrot Century Ave, at Pudong’s business district in Shanghai, presents these days Chinese customers with a rich offer of authentic Italian dishes, pizza and handmade pasta, freshly baked bread, locally grown vegetables, and carefully selected traditional products. China is a market where the interest in the world of food is growing and where “eating Italian” and “drinking Italian” has become a status symbol, mainly spread in large urban centers such as Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. It is in large urban centers, where Italian cuisine is adapted to the typically Oriental tastes, that ‘fusion’ cuisine is at home. In this regard, Bistrot offers a ‘local food’ range of dishes with recipes that include local ingredients and provide a mode of consumption that can be tailored to Shanghai’s customers.
Local suppliers for an international menu
The menu will feature many recipes that are typical of Italian tradition (such as pizza) revisited according to Chinese culinary habits (horizontal meals, soft and digestible foods, great attention to food safety). The service modes have been revisited as well: for example, only table service is provided. As is the case in all Bistrot restaurants around the world (more than 20 in airports, stations, highways, and urban centers) HMSHost International will collaborate with local suppliers who share Bistrot’s same passion for healthy and sustainable food. One of these suppliers is “The Rainbow of Hope”, a platform that supports local farmers who adopt sustainable farming practices without the use of chemicals. With this project, HMSHost International wants to support local communities while maintaining the authenticity of Italian cuisine. The training program of the exclusively Chinese store staff was held in Italy, partly within the ‘Spazio Fucina’ of Autogrill – the site dedicated to the Group research and development at its headquarters in Rozzano – and partly at the Bistrot of the ‘Mercato del Duomo’ in Milan, thus transferring the prestigious Italian know-how appreciated all over the world.