Lollobrigida on the KFC case. “The mountain environment is the polar opposite of fast-food culture”

“I believe that the mountain environment and what tourists seek from an experience amongst the peaks are the polar opposite of fast-food culture.” This is how Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, commented today in Il Foglio on the news that has been causing a stir in the Dolomites for days.

From 5 December, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), the American fried chicken chain founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, will open two restaurants right on the ski slopes. One in Madonna di Campiglio, at 1,700 metres, in the Piana di Nambino, next to the Meraviglioso Campiglio après-ski venues. The other will be in Cortina d’Ampezzo, at 2,123 metres, in the Monte Faloria-Cristallo area, with a terrace and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ski area, where one of Italy’s historic cable cars operates. They will remain open until the end of the season. This marks the first time an American fast-food chain has set up shop in the Italian Alps. The venture was launched by Super G, the group that for the past few seasons has transformed the après-ski scene into a party with music and views of the mountain ridges, but the two outlets will be run directly by the chain, which aims to reach 185 restaurants in Italy by the end of the year. The company says it wants to reach places where no one would expect to find it and to cater not only to young people but also to families and mountain enthusiasts. There has been no shortage of protests in the valley, starting with that of Kristian Ghedina, the former downhill skier from Cortina, who believes the mountains deserve respect and that a fast-food restaurant at 2,000 metres is not the answer.

Lollobrigida is keen to dispel the most obvious suspicion – that she is defending canederlo out of national pride. “It is not a question of parochialism or nationalism, but a clear distinction between the culture, identity and tradition that I imagine everyone who visits our extraordinary mountains is seeking, and a food culture that embodies the exact opposite, regardless of the products that will be distributed.” It is therefore not the breaded chicken thigh itself that troubles him, but what it represents. “Nothing is further removed from the serenity of the mountain peaks,” he says, than a “standardised and homogenising” product.

The minister is not calling for bans, nor is he threatening inspections or decrees from Rome. He is relying on the skiers’ palates, convinced that the verdict will come from their choices at the table – that is, from the mountain huts that have been serving polenta, canederli and strudel on the very same slopes for generations. “It will be the tourists and local residents themselves who will pass a definitive judgement on this model, simply by continuing to choose products of the highest quality in the mountain huts that prioritise quality and the sense of well-being guaranteed by that convivial atmosphere which makes our cuisine the only one recognised worldwide as a heritage to be protected and defended.” However, he is asking the valley authorities for something more. “It will be the local people who pass a definitive judgement on this choice, and I hope that the institutions, including local ones, will take action to introduce regulations to protect a culinary model that is as sought-after as it is appreciated.”

No exclusion of competition, provided it drives prices up rather than harming the bottom line. “I hope that legitimate competition in our mountain regions, including in the catering sector, will focus on delivering quality that is affordable for everyone, because that is the challenge,” explains Lollobrigida, “without having to resort to what I consider to be lower standards.”

The Dolomites, after all, are no strangers to such gastronomic processions. Last summer, in Val di Fassa, hundreds of people queued up outside a mountain hut at 2,300 metres to buy a krapfen. On 5 December, at the summit of Faloria, we shall see whether the skiers side with the minister or with the queue.