THE OPINION: The future of fine dining

Revolutionizing the
restaurant world

by Antonio Di Lorenzo

On this past New Year's Eve, the Strauss Konzert Orchestra of Vienna was poised to play on a stage in Lucca, Italy. However, on this cold December night, Andrea Colombini, the director of the orchestra, decided to finish his concert with a surprise.  Right before the last piece was about to begin, Colombini pulled someone directly from the audience to conduct Strauss's famous Radetzky March. Was this some kind of a joke? No. “If we do not alter the rules, if we do dissolve the wall between the stage and the public, if we do not break boundaries just for the sake of it, classical music will die. It will become a story told by old barn owls,” explains the director.

Ironic, yet professional, informal, yet serious, this is the same concept behind Barack Obama's decision to meet the press in a jacket, but without a tie. Nobody, however, seemed to object, even the American press which is generally very serious and critical, quick to comment on Michelle's sleeveless dresses.

These are just two signs that the times are changing, and not just in Italy. A cultural revolution is underway, but this time Mao Zedong has nothing to do with it. In other words: professionalism is longer synonymous with rigid, formal work environments.

Outside of Italy, this new rule is making headway in restaurants as well. In Italy, however, it hasn't taken hold yet. Restaurants, especially high-end restaurants, are having a hard time grasping the desire for liberation from formality that is spreading across all age groups and is directly related to the desire to be one's self. In terms of dining, this means feeling comfortable, even at the table.

Alfred Tennyson, the great 19th century English poet, captured the essence of this desire when he wrote: Faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null, dead perfection; no more.” And he was right, because we want to live. From music to gastronomy, everything is life.